March 9, 1883.] 



• KNOWLEDGE ♦ 



153 





ment. It is common to hear the Fellers of burners and regulators, 

 and sometimes glasses, say that their goods act by purifying ami 

 improving the gas. 



THE WEATHER TOItECASTS. 



[749] — The observations quoted in this week's Knowledge fully 

 bear out those that I have been mentally taking at various times 

 during different times of the year, and all alike tend to show the 

 ab6olnte absurdity and uselessness of the Weather Forecasts that 

 ^ipear day after day in the newspapers. It is briefly nothing more 

 or less than a " farce." As a rule, the forecast given is vague in 

 the extreme, and might cover any weather that might naturally be 

 expected to follow the weather at the time the forecast was made, 

 and I have noticed that on no i^in'jle occaaion has any sudden and 

 ttartlinti chanye in Ihc iieather heett ann'^iinced in clear and unmis- 

 lakable terms. 



The great changes, consisting of the incidence of various of the 

 gieat and disastrons storms of last year, were covered by the usual 

 inane and vague announcement, but never once did the forecast tell 

 OB in plain language that a direct change was coming. On the daij 

 JcMoieing any marked change of weather, then we see the forecast, 

 following the existing weather. 



Everybody who knows the state of the conditions regulating our 

 insular climate must well know the impossibility of ever being able 

 to foretell the weather for even an hour, and, therefore, it seems an 

 (lutrage to common sense (and the natinnal purse) to see the large 

 sums of money spent in such an absurd and impracticable under- 

 taking as to attempt to foretell the weather. 



A* the seaside it is as often as not that the people concerned 

 lungh at the ostentations hoisting of the cones and drums, unless 

 they can see wnth their own eyes and realise from their own 

 sensations that there is bad weather brewing. 



The Meteorological Office is nothing more nor less than a waste 

 of public moBey. A.nother Observer. 



LETTERS RECEIVED. 



G. R. Wynne— T. Qnilliam— E. W. P.— John Fae— J. Gray— L- 

 Hargrave— A. W. W.— F. H.— F. C. Green— A. W.— B. T.— C. E- 

 Johns— T. C— E. Wilk-ins— W. Pilgrims— J. A. Gee- J. Millard— 

 F. Dakin Rudkin— H. H.— M. G.— T. D. Nicholson— J. H.— H.A. B. 

 —M.— Junius— J. S. Pope— T. D. Lewis— A. H. Smith— W. Had- 

 ingham — W. H. S. Monck — S. Skinner — Williams — Carlton — T. 

 Ward — Russell Spokor— Veritas (utterly decline to do anything 

 of the sort ; by his foul abuse of Spencer and Darwin the man has 

 ileprivcd himself of all right to consideration; what you refer to is 

 :i fact, though your friends may not have heard of it). 



It is reported that an electric exhibition is to be held in 

 Spain this year, and will open on Dec. 21 next. The locality is not 

 ■lentioncd. An electric exhibition is to bo held in Konigsberg, 

 in Prussia, and will open on April 15. 



At a recent meeting of the City Commission of Sewers, the 

 award of the arbitrator appointed by the Board of Trade with 

 reference to the ventilation of the Metropolitan District Railway 

 WU presented. Captain Galton had decided that there should be 

 one opening in Queen Victoria-street, near Bennett's-hill, 50 ft. 

 long by 6 ft. 4 in. wide, and another opposite the steps into Lower 

 Ihames-street, 23 ft. by 3 ft. 10 in., each with balustrades 8 ft. high. 



Philadelphia derives an annual revenne of £2, -100 from tele- 

 graph, telephone, and electric light companies, for the use of its 

 overhead and underground wires. Each company makes a rctura 

 annually of the number of poles, &c., and a payment of £1 per 

 ■innum for each mile of wire used for telegraph or telephone 

 imrposes, and £3 per mile per animm for electric lighting pur- 

 l>o8es is required. There are at present about 10,000 miles of wire 

 in the city. 



A Free Smoke Abatement MfsECM. — The National Smoke 

 .Vbatement Institution is making arrangonieiits for opening a 

 permanent exhibition in a central part of London, in an extensive 

 range of buildings, for the display of apparatus, fuels, and systems 

 ' f heating, combining economy with the prevention of smoke, 

 iihI the best methods of ventilating and lighting. The 

 • vhibition will be free to the public, and -will include examples 

 "f all the most recent inventions and improved apparatus. -A 

 lecture hall, for the reading of papers and instruction classes, mil 

 he provided ; also testing rooms, under the supervision of experts, 

 for the purpose of continuing the series of tests and trials com- 

 menced in connection ^vith the South Kensin^on and Manchester 

 ■Smoke Abatement Exhibitions of 1882. Particulars may be obtained 

 It the offices of the National Smoke Abatement Institution, 41-, 

 Bemers-street, Orford-street, London, W. 



©m saabi'dt Column. 



By " FivB OF Olubs." 



TRCMP-PLAYlKG-CfondnKcJ/ioM p. 139). 



BUT suppose that numerically you and your partner have slightly 

 the advantage over your opponents in trumps — that one of 

 you has four, the other three ; the opponents each having three. 



Trumps lying thus, with, perhaps, the best honours with the 

 enemy, every round in trumps which you or your partner may take 

 out, if there has been no rutiing, increases your relative strength in 

 trumps, and the third leaves one of you with the long trump. But 

 even if you knew from the beginning exactly how the strength in 

 tramps lay, it by no means follows that your relative strength in 

 the hand would be increased by a process thus leaving you with the 

 command in trumps. On the contrary, if neither you nor your 

 partner have a suit which you can establish, while the enemy, well 

 protected in your suits, have— cither of thcni — a long suit, of which 

 between them they can get the entire command, your long trump, 

 though it must make, will profit you httle. It will be forced out, 

 and a winning card in one of your suits (if yon have two long suits) 

 will bring the enemy in again, when their long suit will come in 

 effectively. 



In such a case, it is idle to attempt a forward game merely 

 because yon perhaps find after a few rounds that yon have nume- 

 rical su|ieriority in trumps. You may play, if you see a fit opening, 

 the same sort of game as if you were both weak in trum|)S — espe- 

 cially if each of the adversaries shows a long suit. Your long 

 tninip cannot do more than make one trick in this case ; it cannot 

 bring in a long suit. You may then, without fear of loss, either 

 ruff with one of four trumps when you get the chance, or force your 

 partner, though holding three, and knowing or suspecting that he 

 holds four. Should you succeed in establishing a cross ruff, you 

 gain by this policy, and even if you fail, you lose nothing. Holding 

 on to the hard and fast rule. Pass a doubtful card if numerically 

 strong in trumjis, is unwise in such a case as this — which is of fre- 

 quent occnrrence, be it noticed. Often enough the only chance of 

 saving the game lies in rulling freely while you can. The enemy — 

 if they know what is good for them wHll stop that game fast 

 enougii when they got the chance, showly clearly that it is your 

 best policy, despite the book rule so often quoted. Your chance 

 comes while they are waiting till one- or other has established his 

 suit. This they will only do so long as yonr all-round weakness has 

 not been disclosed ; yon must seize the opportunity, and make your 

 tricks while you can. 



Suppose, for instance, A holds Knave and three small Spades 

 (the trump card being the Ace of Spades, Z the dealer). King and 

 three small Hearts, three small Clubs, and two small Diamonds; 

 while il holds Queen and two small spailes. Knave and two small 

 Hearts, two small Clubs, and four small Diamonds. A leads a small 

 Heart, which Z takes with the Queen, leading Ace of Clubs and 

 following with a small Club. His partner, winning this trick with 

 the King, leads, let us say. Diamond seven, which his partner takes 

 with the Queen, returning the Aeo, to which X drops, a three, 

 showing that he had led the penultimate. Suppose now that Z 

 continues with a small Diamond. Shall A, holding four small 

 tiunips, refrain from trumping ? It is clear that A' Z are protected 

 in Hearts, and each had originally a five-card suit. H has not 

 signalled, and neither of the enemy has led trumps. Tlie chances 

 are, then, that trumps are pretty equally divided, but with the Ace 

 in Z'a hand the odds are in favour of X Z holding the commanding 

 cards. Under these circumstances, the best policy seems to 

 he, not to try to fight against two strong suits with one long 

 trump, and that not certain, but to trump the doubtful Diamond 

 led by Z. This is probably giving up all chance of getting the com- 

 mand in trumps ; but it is taking the best chance of what seems 

 the best hope— a cross-ruff. After taking the trick thus by ruffing, 

 A should lead a small Club, giving np his own suit, of which ho 

 knows that the enemy holds the King card (so that getting in they 

 would probably lead trumps). This B ruffs, and leads a Diamond, 

 which A would ruff, unless Z at once stopped the cross-ruff by 

 putting on his trump Ace, which he would not be apt to do over 

 his partner's snit. The remaining tricks would probably go to XZ, 

 but three having been made by Ali, the game — the score being 

 supposed at "love all" — would be saved; whereas if -4 had re- 

 frained from ruffing, and then forcing U, it must have been lost. 

 (To he continued.) 



IVTERJfATION'AI, SCIENTIFIC SKRIES— NOTICE.— The New Volume in 

 the nliove Serie., enl..'i -d KI.KMENTAKY METEOROLOGY, by ROBERT H. 

 SCOTT, Secrelarr to tlie Met<-orolopi'«l Council, is Now Ready, with Numerom 

 Illustrationa, crown 8vo, cloth, price 59. 



London : KEOAN PAUL, TRENCH, & CO. 



