818 



♦ KNOWLEDGE ♦ 



[August 2, 1886. 



nistork Boys. By E. t:5. Brooks. (Blackie & 8on. 

 1886.)— A wholesome book, manly iu tone, its character 

 sketches enlivened by brisk dialogue and high-class illustra- 

 tions ; altogether one that should incite boys to further 

 acquaintance %vith the epochs in which Marcus Aurelius, 

 Baldwin, Leo X., William the Conqueror, and other rulers 

 of men whose careers are narrated, were central figures. 

 We advise schoolmasters to put it on their list of prizes. 



We have also received the following : — Dehreit's Peerage 

 and House of Commons (Dean & Son) for the current 

 year. The Peerage has now reached the venerable age of 

 173 years, and improves like old wine; therefore needs 

 '■ no bash " from us; while its fellow volume, packed with 

 information, well set out, embodies changes up to February 

 last. — Templeton's Practical Mechanic sWorkshop Companion 

 (Crosby Lookwood & Co.), reissued in enlarged form, with 

 such needful revision as the advance of mechanical science 

 demands. The new editor, INIr. Hutton. has done his work 

 carefully and thoroughly. — Xotes on Uolinan Hunt' s Pichires 

 ( William Reeve), indispensable to the visitors to the collec- 

 tion now on view in Bond Street, and, moreover, contains 

 a reprint of matter no longer easily accessible. — Romance of 

 Matlii'matics, by P. Hami'SON, M.A. (Elliot Stock), a clever 

 jeu d'esprit on the conquest of conies and cosines by Cupid. — ■ 

 Sun, Moon, and Stars, by PiIciiard Ri'ssEt.L (Ward, Lock, 

 it Co.). — The fourth edition of Mr. Macleod's Theory and 

 Practice of Banking (Longmans), of which vigorous and, 

 in some respects, original work we hope to give fuller 

 notice. — Part IV. of The liotifera or Wheel Animalcules, by 

 C. T. Hudson, LL.D., and P. H. Gosse, F.R.S. (Longmans).— 

 Who and What is God ? By Rev. J. Lonhland (Hamilton, 

 Adams, i Co.). — St. Luke's Gospel, Preliminary Examination 

 Scripture Manual, by Arthur Rich (Relfe Brothers). — The 

 New York Electrician. — The Woman Question, by Edward 

 and EleakorMaux Aveling (Swan Sonnenschein ctCo.). — 

 Jn the Watches of the Night : Poems by Mrs. Horace Dobell 

 (Remington & Co.) — The Camera (Wyman & Son), the first 

 number of a monthly for " those who practice photography," 

 which, both in letterpress and ilustrations, makes a good 

 start. 



We have received a pile of elementary educational works 

 from Me.ssrs. Griffith, Farran, ct Co., Messrs. Cassell & Co., 

 and Messrs. Moffatt & Paige, but none of them call for any 

 special notice here. 



THE FACE OF THE SKY FOR AUGUST. 



By F.R.A.S. 



3 HE sun should be watched for the spots which 

 appear from time to time on his disc. Map viii. 

 of " The Stars in their Seasons " exhibits the 

 aspect of the night sky. Minima of the variable 

 SjKBS t^^i star Algol (" The Stars in their Seasons," map 

 ».ii*.a y/<^*J sii.) will happen at 12h. 18m. p.m. on the IDtli, 

 and at 9h. 7m. p.m. on the 2Gth, in addition to 

 other times, when their observation will be 

 difficult or impossible. Mercury is an evening 

 star for the first half of the month, and a morning star during 

 the remainder of it. He is in inferior conjunction (or between the 

 sun and the earth) on the IGth. He may be best observed after 

 sunset very early in August, and before sunrise at the very end of 

 it. Venus may be seen glittering over the east north-east part of 

 the horizon before sunrise. Mars now merely looks like a big red 

 star in the western sky, a little to the north of Spica Virginis 

 (" The Stars in their Seasons," map v.). Otherwise the night sky is 

 an enthe blank as far as the planets are concerned, Jupiter, Saturn, 

 Uranus, and Neptune all being invisible. The night of the lOlh is 

 that on which the familiar August shooting stars may be looked for. 

 They radiate from the constellation Perseus, and leave trails of light 

 in the sky. The moon enters her first quarter at 9h. 6-3m. P.M. on 

 August e', and is full at Gh. t2-2m. P.M. on the 11th. She enters her 

 last quarter at 7h. 41-8m. P.M. on the 22nd, and is new oMm. 



after noon on the 20t.h. Six stars will be occulted by the moon at 

 convenient hours for the amateur during the month. On August 5, 

 95 Virginis, a star of the 6th magnitude, will disappear at the 

 moon's dark limb at 9h. .51m. P.M. at an angle from lier vertex of 

 108°. It will not reappear at her bright limb until after it has set. 

 On the 8th, 24 Scorpii, a 5th magnitude star, will disappear at the 

 dark limb at 7h. 15m. P.M. at a vertical angle of 92°. It will 

 reappear at the bright limb at 8h. 34m. at an angle of 255° from 

 the vertex of the moon. On the 11th, d Sagittarii, another 5th mag- 

 nitude star, will disappear at the dark limb of the moon at 6h. 44m. 

 P.M. at an angle of 74° from her vertex. It will reappear at her 

 bright limb at 8 o'clock at an angle from her vertex of 242°. On 

 the 17th, 5 Ceti, a 6th magnitude star, will disappear at her bright 

 limb at lOh. 3m. P M. at an angle of 10° from her vertex, reappear- 

 ing at lOh. 32m. at her dark limb at a vertical angle of 323°. 

 On the same night li.A.C. 5, also of the 6th magnitude, will 

 disappear at the bright limb at lOh. 11m. at a vertical angle of 

 62°, and will reappear at thed.arklimb at Uh. 21m. p.m. atan angle 

 of 278^ from the vertex of the moon. Lastly, on the 19th, v I'iscium, 

 a 4^ magnitude star, will disappear at the bright limb at lOh. 42m. 

 P.M. at an angle of 68° from the moon's vertex. It will reappear at 

 lib, 47m. P.M. at her dark limb at an angle from her vertex of 

 261°. The rest of the occultations this month happen during the 

 early morning hours. When our notes begin the moon is in Leo 

 ( ' The Seasons Pictured,'' plate x.xiv.), which at oh. A.Jt. on the 3rd 

 she quits for Virgo ("The Seasons Pictured," plate xxv.). She 

 is travelling across Virgo until 4 A.M. on the Gth, at which hour she 

 crosses into Libra ("The Seasons Pictured," plate xxvi.). Pursuing 

 her course througli tlie last-named constellation, she arrives at; 

 4h. A.M. on the 8th on the boundaiy of the narrow northern strip 

 of Scorpio. By lib. 30m. on the same morning she has crossed this 

 and entered Ophiuchus. Here she continues imtil 7 a.m. on the 

 10th, when she passes into Sagittarius, her passage through which 

 occupies her until 8h. 30m. in the evening of the 12th. Then she 

 enters Capricornus (" The Stars in their Seasons," plate xxi.). She 

 leaves Capricornus, in turn, for .iqu.arius at 1 A.M. on the 15th, as 

 she does Aquarius for Pisces at 2 A.M. on the 17th ("The Seasons 

 Pictured," plate xxii.). Her journey through this great constellation 

 is not completed until 9 a.m. on the 20th, when she arrives at the 

 western boundary of the northern prolongation of Cetus, and 

 through this she has passed byl 1 o'clock the same night and 

 entered Aries. She is in Aries until 3 a.m. on the 22nd, and then 

 passes into 'Taurus (" The Seasons Pictured," plate xxiii.). Pursuing 

 her path through the last-named constellation .■ihe arrives at 7 p.m. 

 on the 24th on the boundary of the narrow northern strip of Orion. 

 By 7 o'clock the next morning she has crossed this and emerged in 

 Gemini (" The Seasons Pictured," map xxiv.). At 8h. 30m. P.M. on 

 the 26th she leaves Gemini for Cancer. She is in Cancer until 

 7 A.M. on the 2Sth, when she crosses the boundary into Leo, Her 

 passage across Leo occupies until 3 p.m. on the 30th, when she quits 

 it for Virgo (" The Seasons Pictured," map xxv.). She is still in 

 Virgo at midnight on the 31st. 



O^iir SHIjiat Column. 



By " Five of Clubs." 



ILLUSTRATIVE GAME. 

 HE foUow-ing game illustrates the discard. I -^ save 

 an apparently lost game by following common- 

 sense principles. Had they played according to 

 the recent directive-discard sy.stem, A-B must 

 have won. 



THE HANDS. 



„ fS (tnmps).—k, Q, Kn, 9. C.^.A, 3. \ 

 •" (H.— .\, K, Q, Kn. D.-K, 8, 3. / 



?, (trumj>f).~%,^,2.'\ 

 H.-4, 2. \ y 



C— 2. [6, 2. r' 



D.— A,Q,Kr, U), 7, I 



. f S {frumps').—^, 4. C.^ Q, Kn, 10, 9, 8, 5, T 

 ^1h.— 10, 9, 8, 7. D.-4. / 



