Vol. XXIV. No. lo.] 
POPULAR SCIENCE NEWS. 
157 
The extremes of temperature were at Lawrence, 
Mass., and West Jonesport, Me.; the extremes 
of precipitation at New Haven, Conn., and Bar 
Harbor, Me. In both aspects the average July, 
1890, in New England was below the average for a 
series of Jul^-s of over ten jears, as seen hy compar- 
ing the two lower lines in the above table. 
D. W. 
Natick, September 5, 1890. 
*^t 
[Specially Computed for Popular Science News. ] 
ASTRONOMICAL PHENOMENA FOR 
OCTOBER, 1S90. 
Mekcuky is a morning star during the month, 
having passed inferior conjunction at the end of 
September. It reaches its greatest western elonga- 
tion from the sun at i A. M. on the 15th of October, 
when its distance is 18-; but, as it is then about 9" 
north of the sun, the position is not very favorable 
for visibility. It may be seen in the morning 
twilight before sunrise, low down on the horizon, 
nearly due east. Venus is very conspicuous during 
the month. It is an evening star, and during the 
month approaches the sun, diminishing its distance 
about 5 . It attains its greatest brilliancy on the 
morning of October J9, and is probably bright 
enough to be seen in full sunlight at any time 
during the month, if one has reasonably good eye- 
sight and knows where to look for it. Mars is still 
visible in the western sky in the evening. It crosses 
the meridian about 5h. 30m. P. M., and sets about 
four and a half hours later. It passes quite close to 
the moon on the morning of October 20, and is 
occulted for some portions of the southern hemis- 
phere. It is in the constellation Sagittarius, and 
moves eastward 23'' during the month. Its bright- 
ness diminishes and its distance from the earth 
increases during the month. Jupiter is on the 
meridian at about yh. 30m. on Oct. i, and at a little 
before 6 P. M. on Oct. 13, and sets about five hours 
later. It is in the constellation Capricorn, and 
moves eastward about 2'-' during the month. At the 
end of the month it is about 8° east of Mars. It is 
in quadrature with the sun on the evening of Oct. 
36. The following eclipses of his satellites are 
visible at one point or another in the United States. 
The phenomena all take place near the right limb 
of the planet, as seen in an inverting telescope. 
D. denotes disappearance ; R., reappearance. Times 
are Eastern Standard. 
I. R. October 2, loh. 6m. P. M. 
H. R. October 7, 8h. 33m. P. M. 
I. R. October 10, I2h. im. A. M. 
IV. R. October II, 9h. 30m. P. M. 
H. R. October 14, iih. urn. P. M. 
I. R. October 18, 8h. 25m. P. M. 
I. R. October 25, loh. 21m. P. M. 
III. R. October 26, 7h. 59m. P. M. 
Saturn is a morning star, and is getting far 
enough away from the sun to be easily seen. It 
rises at a little before -4 A. M. on October i, and at 
about 2 A. M. on October 31. It moves eastward 
about 3° during the month, and is still in the con- 
stellation Leo, but is now 12' or 15° east of Regulus 
{Alpha Leonis), the bright star which was near the 
planet during the spring and early summer. 
Uranus is too near the sun for observation, and 
is in conjunction on the morning of October 20. 
Neptune is in Taurus, between the Pleiades and 
Hyades. It will be occulted by the moon on the 
morning of October 30. 
The Constellations. — The positions given hold 
good for latitudes diflering not much from 40^' 
north, and for 10, 9, and S P. M. for the beginning, 
luiddle, and end of the month, respectively. The 
small constellation Lacerta is in the zenith. Pegasus 
is just below it, to the south, on both sides of the 
meridian. Aquarius is on the south meridian, about 
halfway up, and below it is Piscis Australis. Cetus 
is low down in the southeast. Pisces follows Aqua- 
rius, and is just below Pegasus. Andromeda is high 
up, a little north of east; and below it are Aries, a 
little to the right, and Taurus, lower down, a little 
to the left. Perseus is about halfway up, in the 
northeast, and Auriga is below it. Cassiopeia is 
coming to the meridian, between the zenith and the 
pole; and Ursa Major is on the north horizon, with 
the pointers on the meridian below the pole. Ursa 
Minor is mainly to the left of the pole star, and a 
little below; and Draco is to the left of Ursa Minor. 
Cygnus is to the west of the zenith. M. 
Lake Forest, III., September 5, 1S90. 
LITERARY NOTES. 
A Treatise on. Neuralgia, by E. P. Hurd, M. D. Pub- 
lished by George S. Davis, Detroit, Mich. Price, 
25 cents in paper, 50 cents in cloth. 
This most excellent monograph of Dr. Hurd's, 
upon a disease which is not only extremely painful 
to the patient, but which oflen bafHes all the en- 
deavors of the physician to afford relief, can be read 
with profit by everyone engaged in the practice 
of medicine. The subject is very thoroughly treated, 
and the work forms a complete compendium of our 
present knowledge regarding this most distressing 
affection. 
Electro- Oiemieal Analysis, by Professor Edgar F. 
Smith. P. Blakiston, Son & Co., Philadelphia. 
Price, $1.00. 
In preparing this volume the author has had in 
view the needs of a large class of students of 
analytical chemistry desirous of becoming ac- 
quainted with the methods of quantitative analysis 
by electrolysis ; these are daily acquiring greater 
importance, and being introduced and applied 
wherever possible. The plan adopted has been to 
give a brief introduction upon the behavior of the 
current toward the different acids and salts, a short 
description of the various sources of the electric 
energy, its control and measurement; after which 
follow a condensed history of the introduction 
of the current into chemical analysis, and sections 
relating to the determination and separation of 
metals, as well as the oxidations possible by means 
of the electric agent. 
The same firm also publish No. 10 of the Quiz- 
Compendt series, which is devoted to chemistry, 
including urinary analysis. It is from the pen 
of Dr. Henry Leffman, and will prove an invaluable 
assistant to students of chemistry and medicine in 
preparing for examinations, as it affords them an 
opportunity to keep up with the lectures, and obvi- 
ates the necessity of taking voluminous notes, in 
which serious errors are liable to occur. 
A Stem Dictionary of the English Language, by- 
John Kennedy. A. S. Barnes & Co., New York 
and Chicago. 
This work is intended for use in the elementary 
schools, and will doubtless prove of great service in 
showing the formation of many words occurring in 
the English language, and the way in which they 
are derived from other preceding tongues. The 
plan of printing the stem, or radical part of the 
word, in a heavier type than that of the modifying 
letters or syllables, is a good one, and indicates at 
once to the eye much that would otherwise require 
a long verbal explanation. 
Another book of interest to philologists is Three 
Lectures on the Science of Language, by F. Max 
Muller, published by the Open Court Publishing 
C0.7 of Chicago, at 75 cents. Dr. Muller is well 
known as an eminent authority in this branch of 
study, and, as the lectures were delivered before a 
popular and non-professional audience, they can be 
read with pleasure and profit by all. 
Pamphlets, etc., received : The Principles of Me- 
chanics as Applied to the Solar System, by R. P. 
Traxler; price, 50 cents, of P. Brine, San Francisco. 
Report of the U. S. Geological Survey, (Mineral 
Resources of the United States for 188S), by David 
T. Day; Advance Bulletins of the Census of IS'JO ; 
Bulletin of the Natural History Laboratories of the 
Iowa State University ; and the Catalogue and Re- 
ports of the University of Pennsylvania. 
n^edicine aijd Pljarn^acy. 
PHOTOGRAPHY FOR PHYSICIANS. 
To no class of professional men is tlie 
camera more useful than the physicians. In 
itself a most fascinating diversion antl recrea- 
tion, the practice of photography is of direct 
benefit to the practitioner of medicine in 
many ways, and the small cost at which a 
camera and outfit can now be obtained brings 
it within the means of the most impecunious 
member of the profession. 
Every physician has met with unusual 
cases in his practice of which a permanent 
record would have been of great value. 
Peculiar eruptions on the skin or other ex- 
ternal lesions can readily be caught on the 
sensitive plate and preserved indefinately for 
future study and comparison. Fractures, 
dislocations, and, in fact, nearly all surgical 
cases or operations, are especially adapted to 
such a form of record, and the practical diffi- 
culty of taking a photogiaph in the poor light 
and other unfavorable conditions of a sick 
chamber, is readily overcome by the u.se 
of the flash-light, with which the time of 
e.xposure is practically instantaneous, even at 
night or in a darkened room. 
Where there is liability or certainty of a 
suit for malpractice, a set of photographs 
of the case in its various stages might be 
of the utmost value to the physician, and 
save him many times the original cost of the 
apparatus. It is unfortunately true that in 
such cases, as in all similar suits, juries are 
only too likely to assess damages with sole 
reference to their prejudices, and with little 
regard to facts or justice ; but an indisputable 
pictorial record of the progress of a case 
from beginning to end, would doubtless make 
some impression even upon the average jury- 
man, and would at least be of .service in 
securing a favorable charge from the judge. 
Cases have been recorded where a photo- 
graph of a person has shown the presence 
of pigmentary changes in the skin, which 
were not visible to the eye, thus giving warn- 
ing of the approach of some eruptive disease, 
before it became actually manifest. This 
result of the varying actinic power of differ- 
ent color*would, of course, be of no practical 
service, and is only mentioned as one of the 
curiosities of photography. 
Every physician is likely to be called upon 
to testify in court, either as an expert or wit- 
ness, in regard to matters relating to his pro- 
fession ; and with a small magic lantern and 
photographic transparencies, he can plainly 
illustrate to the judge and jury scientific facts 
and principles which could only be verbally 
explained to their satisfaction and comprehen- 
sion with the greatest difficulty. To take a 
single instance only: the difl'erence between 
the blood-corpuscles of a man and a bird 
would be at once apparent to the dullest 
