Vol. XXIV. No. ii.] 
POPULAB scie:nce news. 
173 
m,"' 
h 
was 3.52 inches, giving an average daily movement 
of .117 inch. This average for the last seventeen 
Septembers has been .125 inch, with extremes of .074 
and .166. The largest daily movements were .38 on 
the 24th, and .23 on the ist and 18th, with .22 on the 
27th. The high pressure continued through all that 
rainy fortnight, with only four observations below 
;o inches. 
WINDS. 
•• The average direction of the wind the last month 
was W. 23° 12' N., (or nearly W. N. W.), four points 
more northerly than last August. The average 
direction the last twenty-one Septembers has been 
W. 5° 31' N., (or half a point N. of W.), with 
extremes of W. 10° 10' S. in 1874 and 1881, and 
W. 50° 29' N. in 1887, — a range of 60° 39', or nearly 
five and a half points of the compass. 
COMPARATIVE METEOROLOGY OF NEW ENGLAND FOR 
AUGUST, 1890, WITH REVIEW OF THE SUMMER. 
The table below is gathered from the Bulletins 
of the New England ileteorological Society for June, 
July, and August, 1890, exhibiting the mean temper- 
ature and precipitation, State by State, with that 
of New England combined; also the combined 
number of reports, with the extremes and range in 
each division. The upper line of figures against 
each State presents the statistics for August, and 
the line beneath those for the entire summer. The 
lowest space in the table gives the New England 
average for August and the summer, from records 
kept over ten years, with the number of reports 
combined. 
z 
e 
I 
a, 
a. 
■fl-vO 
4-0 
o>q 
?? 
M 
fs 
f4 <^ 
8-2 
« 
OOCO 
00 Ol 
3- 3- 
Sir 
s 
s 
\0 fO 
53. 
^3 
6 
= Sf 
S'S, 
n ?o 
'Sot 
%OCO 
?^ 
8-i? 
H 
as 
s 
5 
X 
M 
ft. 
u 
H 
be 
TO 
2 J 
a 
°°5- 
\0 VI 
si 
CO t^ 
<?q 
353; 
ia 
00 « 
■<- 
•0 'O 
VO 
■<3 -: 
q-T 
m 
.5 
X 
> 
a 
a 
(3 
as 
zi 
. 
• > 
6 
■ST 
10 ■^ 
.8« 2S. 
^S 
5"% 
In review, it appears that the last September was 
warmer than usual, had a remarkably cloudy, rainy 
spell, high pressure, and unusual freedom from 
frosts ; while in New England, as represented in the 
second table, both the last August and summer were 
cooler than usual, and the rainfall was larger in 
August and less in the summer. D. W. 
Natick, Oct. 6, 1890. 
[Specially Computed for Popular Science News.} 
ASTRONOMICAL PHENOMENA FOR 
NOVEMBER, 1890. 
Mercury is quite near the sun throughout the 
month — too near to be seen without a telescope. 
It is a morning star at the beginning of the month, 
passes superior conjunction on November i5, and 
becomes an evening star, but does not get far 
enough away to be seen easily. Venus is very 
bright at the beginning of the month, having been 
at its greatest brilliancy only a day or two before, 
and will probably be visible to the naked eye during 
the first part of the month in full daylight. It is 
still an evening star, setting rather more than two 
hours after the sun on November i ; but the sun is 
rapidly overtaking it, and by the end of the month 
it is only about 7" distant, and it probably cannot 
then be seen at all after sunset unless the sky is very 
clear. On November 29 there is a very close con- 
junction between Mercury and Venus, the latter 
passing about one-third of the moon's diameter to 
the south. The time of nearest approach is about 
2h. 30m. P. M., Eastern Standard time. Mars is 
getting farther away from us and fainter; at the end 
of the month its distance is about 125,000,000 miles. 
It is moving eastward among the stars, but not quite 
as rapidly as the sun, and it sets a little before 10 
P. M. during the month. On November 13, at 
about 6 P. M., it is in conjunction with Jupiter, 
Mars being south about 1°, or not quite two diame- 
ters of the moon. Jupiter is quite prominent in the 
evening sky, setting about 10.30 P. M. on November 
I, and at about 9 P. M. on November 30. It is mov- 
ing eastward among the stars, and changes its posi- 
tion about 4'-^ during the month. The following 
eclipses of his satellites will be visible at one part 
or another of the United States — not all at any one 
place, however. The phenomena all take place 
off the right-hand limb of the planet, as seen in an 
inverting telescope. D. denotes disappearance; R., 
reappearance. Times are Eastern Standard. 
II. R. November i, 5h. 46m. P. M. 
I. R. November 2, I2h. 16m. A. M. 
III. D. November 2, 8h. 27m. P. M. 
III. R. November 3, I2h. im. A. M. 
I. R. November 3, 6h. 45m. P. M. 
II. R. November 8, Sh. 24m. P. M. 
I. R. November 10, 8h. 40m. P. M. 
II. R. November 15, iih. 2m. P. M. 
I. R. November 17, loh. 35m. P. M. 
I. R. November 19, 5h. 4m. P. M. 
I. R. November 26, 6h. 59m. P. M. 
IV. D. November 30, nh. 22m. P. M. 
Saturn is in the eastern part of the constellation 
Leo, and is moving slowly eastward — about 2° dur- 
ing the month. It rises a little after 2 A. M. on 
November i, and at about midnight on November 
30. Uranus is a morning star, in the constellation 
Virgo, rising about three hours before the sun on 
November 30. Neptune is in the constellation 
Taurus, and comes to opposition with the sun on 
November 27. 
The Constellations. — The positions given hold 
good for latitudes differing not much from 40° 
north, and for 10, 9, and 8 P. M. for the beginning, 
middle, and end of the month, respectively. An- 
dromeda is in the zenith. Pisces is to the south, 
high up. Cetus is just coming to the meridian, low 
down. Aries is in the southeast, at about 60^^ alti- 
tude. Taurus follows Aries, a little south of east, 
at about 40° altitude. Orion has just risen in the 
east. Perseus is high up, a little north of east. 
Auriga is below Perseus, and Gemini is on the 
horizon, a little north of east. Ursa Major is below 
the pole star, and Cassiopeia is above, toward the 
zenith. To the left of the pole star are Cepheus 
(above) and Ursa Minor (below). Cygnus is about 
halfway up, a little north of west, and Lyra is below 
it. Hercules is setting on the northwest horizon. 
Aquila is low down near the northwest horizon. 
Pegasus is southwest of the zenith, high up, and 
Aquarius and Capricornus are below it, the latter 
being just above the southwest horizon. Piscis 
Australis is low down, a little west of south. 
M. 
Lake Forest, III., October 4, 1890. 
BoRACic Acid has been found in certain plants. 
The ash of the beech trees that grow in the borax 
districts of Tuscany contains a minute amount of 
this substance, which is estimated at one thirty- 
thousandth part of the total ash. 
LITERARY NOTES. 
Progressive Exercises in Practical Chemistry, by 
Henry Leffman, Ph. D., and William Bean, Sl. A. 
Published by P. Blakiston, Son & Co., Philadel- 
phia. 
To use a very hackneyed phrase, this little book 
seems to fill a "'long felt want."' It is exactly 
adapted to the requirements of beginners in chem- 
istry, for use in connection with some good work 
giving the theoretical principles of the science. 
The present work, as its name implies, is entirely 
devoted to the practical part of chemical work, and 
contains full directions for performing nearly three 
hundred experiments, many of them new, and all 
of them easy and simple, with a brief explanation 
of the chemical principles illustrated by them. It 
also contains complete directions for the manufac- 
ture and use of the apparatus necessary for their 
performance. Members of the Agassiz Association 
and all others interested in the study of chemistry 
will find this work extremely useful and helpful. 
Sugar Analysis, by Ferdinand G. Wiechmann, 
Ph. D. Published by John Wiley & Sons, New 
York. 
Within the past few years numerous changes 
have been made in the older methods of sugar 
analysis, new methods have been devised, and many 
researches of importance to sugar chemistry have 
been accomplished. In this work the writer has 
prepared a concise yet thorough treatise on sugar 
analysis that should prove of service to the prac- 
ticing chemist as well as to the student of this 
branch of analytical chemistry, and we can recom- 
mend it to all interested in the subject. 
The Tornado, by H. A. Hazen. Published by N. 
D. C. Hodges, 47 Lafayette place. New York. 
It is not likely that any more tornadoes occur 
now than in former years, but, as the country 
becomes more thickly settled, many more are ob- 
served, and the damage done by them is much 
greater. To meet the popular interest in the mat- 
ter. Professor Hazen of the government signal ser- 
vice has prepared this interesting little work, which 
presents in a popular sfyle the various theories 
bearing on the subject of tornadoes, and manv facts 
which have been collected from year to vear, which 
can now be had only by consulting rnany scores 
of volumes. The author has endeavored throu<Th- 
out to be absolutely unprejudiced, and to give 
impartially all the observations, researches, and 
theories that have seemed of importance. 
Health for Little Folks, published by the American 
Book Company, 808 Broadway, New York, is adver- 
tised as No. I of an "authorized" physiology 
series. It is evidently written to comply with the 
conditions of the law requiring temperance instruc- 
tion in the public schools, but, while fairly correct 
from a scientific point of view, we have no sympathy 
whatever with ^ch attempts to fill the minds ot 
children with crude ideas in regard to the structure 
and functions of their internal organs, or the evil 
results arising from the excessive use of intoxicating 
liquors. The primary courses of study already con- 
tain too many useless branches, and it is not only 
useless but loolish to waste the pupils' time over 
puerilities about the harmfulness of alcohol and 
tobacco, which will be forgotten long before they 
arrive at the age of discretion. We notice that the 
author of this "physiology" does not publish his 
name on the title page, thereby showing his wisdom 
in one respect at least. 
The same firm also publish An Easy Method for 
Beginners in Latin, by Albert Harkness, Ph.D., 
which is a most excellent work and well adapted to 
its purpose, as any Latin text-book must be coming 
from the pen of such a standard authority as Profes- 
sor Harkness. 
Pamphlets, etc., received: Medical Reform, or. 
Why Do People Drink Alcoholic Liquors! (20 cents), 
of H. G. Collins, 15 Milton place, Boston, Mass.; 
The Helation of Eye-Strain to General Medicine, by 
George M. Gould, M. D., Philadelphia; The Use 
of Commercial Milk Sugars in Infant Feeding, by 
E. F. Brush, M. D., Mt. Vernon, N. Y. ; A Synopsis 
of a Course in Microscopy for Pharmacists, by Dr. 
H. M. Whelpley, St. Louis, Mo ; Sanitary Science, 
by Prof. Delos Fall, Albion College, Michigan; and 
Hecent Developments in Massage, by Douglas Graham , 
M. D., Boston, Mass. 
