Dec. 



1884.] 



♦ KNOWLEDGE 



473 



with the telescope in the sky to the right of this middle point for 

 the planet. I may add that you will wholly fail to distmgnish him 

 from a small, dull, fixed star with a 21-inch telescope. — W. 

 Jkbome Harri.son. Both received; to appear in due course. I fear 

 that it will be some time ere we sliall have room for a description 

 of the gelatine plate process. — David lIorsTox. Accepted with 

 thanks. — W. R. Scanlax. The conductor of Knowledge is not at 

 present in England. An answer which applies equally to J. B. 

 HoDGKix and to K. S>nTH. Will the two latter correspon- 

 dents be good enough to read the italicised paragraph which 

 is printed at the end of these "Answers ? " — W. JI. You may take 

 it that the point at which the eye will be placed must be 

 200 miles from either of the stations midway between which 

 at is situated ; and a line from it to either of such stations will 

 be a tangent to the earth. Regarding the earth as a sphere 

 with a mean radius of 3,950 miles, we have a triangle right- 

 angled at the station, with the base 3,056 miles long, and the 

 perpendicular 200 miles long ; so that we have only to square 

 3,956 and 200, and, after adding the squares of these together, 

 extract the square root of their sum, to get the length 

 of their hypothenuee, from which, if we subtract the 

 earth's radius, the remainder will be the height of the eye 

 above the surface of the earth (Euclid I. 47). — A. Fanatics always 

 have, and always will continue to, abuse those those who differ 

 from them. Deadly as alcohol is to individuals, the alcohol-con- 

 suming races have come prominently to the front in life's struggle, 

 and have conquered all the world. There was more in what you 

 complain of than met the eye. You are entirely right as to testi- 

 monials. My private impression is that the person to whom you 

 refer is not responsible for his actions. Certainly, for his own sake, 

 I hope so. I unfortunately cannot read Spanish. — S. O. See note 

 on p. 430. Under any circumstances, such reproduction will not occiu- 

 during the present year.- — G. H. L. The list of constellations fol- 

 lowing the maps on pp. 424 and 425 is a complete one, comprising all 

 those visible in England. Only a portion of these can be seen at 

 once, and those which can be so seen vary with the time of year. 

 During the November and December nights. No. 0, to which you 

 specially refer, is far below our horizon. Scientific astronomers of 

 all nations use the Latin names of the constellations ; but, of course, 

 their popular names vary in different parts of the Continent. As a 

 rule, however, they are simply translations of the Latin originals. — 

 R. Ti'D-sBURY AND SoNs. Delayed through being addressed to the 

 Editor, instead of to the Publishers. — Believer. Look through the 

 list of publications issued by the Messrs. Clowes & Sons in connec- 

 tion with the International Health Exhibition. You will find all 

 you need there. — E. JLwo. See Knowledge, Vol. III. p. 262. 

 Probably " The Universe of Stars " would furnish the information 

 you require. Note the concluding paragraph (in capital letters) 

 which heads the correspondence column. — Matthew C. Oatfield. 

 See paragraph at the bottom of column one, p. 62, of the current 

 volume. — Dr. Williams. Many thanks ; but mere observations are 

 numerous and not of great interest. Some of your resiilts, though, 

 as yon will see, have been embodied in a short article. Your con- 

 trivance for viewing Solar spots is a familiar one. Vide " Elemen- 

 tary Astronomy," published by Cassells, p. 136, and p. 22 of Webb's 

 " Celestial Objects for Common Telescopes," &c. 



In reply to numei-ous letters and cominnnications 

 addressed to the office of Knowledge, its Editor heys to 

 announce that he has concluded his Lecturing Tour, and 

 has, in fact, definitely ceased to lecture altogether. Should 

 he {which is very doubtful) at any future time resume 

 his lectures on Astronomy, due and ample notice will bg 

 jfiven of such resumption in these columns. 



©\\v 2MI)isft Column. 



By Five of Clubs. 



DISCARDING. 



FEW points of whist play are more important (and, it might be 

 added, few are more neglected) than the discard. An 

 original discard is like an original lead in its significance ; a forced 

 discard has a meaning akin to that of a forced lead ; it is as im- 

 portant to distinguish a forced from an original discard as to avoid 



mistaking a lead from weakness for a lead from strength ; and 

 finally, to discard properly at the close of a hand often requires as 

 much skill as the art of rightly placing the lead at that stage of 

 the game. 



When you have to discard to the first suit led, that suit being 

 plain, and no indication having been given of trump strength any- 

 where, your course is simple. If the plain suit is your partner's, 

 you discard from your shortest suit, unless in so doing you have 

 to unguard a King or Queen, when — unless you are very strong in 

 trumps — it is better to discard from the suit which needs least 

 protection : though of course you would unguard a King or 

 Queen unhesitatingly, rather than injure a long and strong suit of 

 your own. If the suit (plain) which you first fail in is your adver- 

 sary's, you equally discard from your shortest suit, in general; 

 but to the exceptions just noted maj- be added (i.) the case where 

 you have to leave an Ace single, and (ii.) the case of your shortest 

 suit being a singleton. For when an adversary's suit has been 

 exhausted, your weakest suit is likely to be your partner's best, 

 and it may be a matter of great importance later to give him a 

 lead in it. But if your own suit is strong as well as long, and you 

 are fairly strong in trumps, you may more safely uncover an Ace 

 or discard a singleton, for the close of the hand is more likely to 

 be under your control than under your partner's. You must weigh 

 the chances, and take your chance, just as you have to do when 

 forced to lead from a weak snit without knowledge how your 

 partner stands in it. 



When trump strength has been disclosed, either by the signal or 

 by a lead, before the occasion comes for a discard, or when you 

 have to discard to trumps, the general rule is, discard from your 

 weakest suit if trump strength lies, or appears to lie, with you and 

 your partner, from your longest and best protected suit when 

 trump strength lies or appears to lie with the adversaries. (But so 

 long as there is a chance of bringing in your long suit, you should 

 not discard from it.) While doubt remains as to the position of 

 trump strength, avoid ung'aarding King or Queen, uncovering an 

 Ace, or discarding a singleton ; but when it is certain that your 

 partner has commanding strength in trumps you need be less 

 careful on these points, for there is little fear but that your partner 

 will get tlie lead when he wants it. Albeit, cases sometimes arise 

 where your long suit is worthless, and so much manifestly depends 

 on your giving your partner a lead, or keeping guarded a strong 

 card in his suit, that you must discard (even originally) from your 

 long suit. Suppose for instance the first two rounds have shown 

 that Clubs and Diamonds are the best suits of the enemy, and that 

 then the fall of trumps (led by your partner) shows that you and 

 he will remain with a long trump (a Spade) each, the first lead 

 outside trumps coming from your partner ; then if you hold Ace, 

 or King, or Queen of Hearts and a small one, along with weak 

 Clubs and Diamonds (of which you originally held three and four, 

 respectively), it would be absurd to follow the usual rule and 

 discard your small Heart : for thereby you lose the chance of 

 taking the first round in Hearts and returning your partner the 

 suit, or of helping to clear his stiit in the first round, ruffing Clubs 

 (having discarded in that, your second shortest plain suit) and then 

 returning Hearts. Common sense must guide you in such cases. 



Remember, however, as a general rule for learners, that your 

 original discard indicates your shortest suit if trump strength is 

 not declared against you, your longest suit if it is. Subsequent 

 discards have no such significance. One of the most important 

 points in Whist training, is to learn to notice the original discard of 

 each player as carefully as you should notice his lead. Until you do 

 this you cannot properly be said to play Whist at all. 



In the later rounds of a hand the question of the discard assumes 

 an entirely different aspect, just as does the question of the lead. 

 Y'ou have to consider what snit the enemy threaten to bring in, so 

 that if you have command in that suit you may retain it rehgiously ; 

 and to note what suit, if any, your partner may bring in, so that 

 if you have the command in that suit, in such sort as to be likely 

 to obstruct him, you may give it up by discarding your com- 

 manding cards. 



"How to Play Whist," by " Five of Clubs," is now in the press. 

 It will be published, as a volume of the " Knowledge Library 

 Series," in a few days. It contains chapters on the Lead, Play 

 Second, Third, and Fourth in Hand, Returning Partner's Lead, 

 the General Conduct of the Hand, How to Play Trumps, the Dis- 

 card, Signalling, and the Last Tricks. Forty Illustrative Games 

 follow, each fully annotated (as in Knowledge). This is a new 

 feature, the games in Cavendish being only annotated, and that 

 slightly, from the point of view of one player. Then comes a 

 section called Whist Whittling, containing notes, stories, cuttings, 

 problems, and so forth. And the work closes with the Laws of 

 Whist, Whist Etiquette, a Glossary, and Solutions of Problems. 



