April 1, 1891.] 



KNO^VLEDGE 



79 



northern decimation of 16° 18'. His theoretical bright- 

 ness is now about equal to what it was on the 1st, but, 

 owing to his being considerably farther fi-om the sun, he 

 will probably appear brighter. About /^ of the disc is 

 now in sunlight. On the 17th he sets at 9h. 3m. p.m., 2h. 

 6m. after the sun, with an apparent diameter of 7^", and 

 a northern declination of 19° 2.S'. He is at his greatest 

 eastern elongation (19° 50') at 7h. p.m. on the 18th. On 

 the 21st he sets at 9h. 10m. p.m., 2h. 7m. after the sun, 

 with an apparent diameter of 8-4", and a northern decli- 

 nation of 20° 40'. He has now decreased very perceptibly 

 in brightness, about three-tenths of the disc being illumi- 

 nated. On the 27th he sets at 9h. Im. p.m., Ih. 46m. 

 after the sun, with an apparent diameter of 9f", and a 

 northern declination of 21° 5'. He now does not exceed a 

 .5th magnitude star in brightness, about ^[^ of the disc 

 being illuminated. During the month Mercury passes 

 through Pisces on to the borders of Aries and Taurus, 

 being foimd at the end of the month near the group t,, r, 

 63 and 65 Arietis, but without approaching any conspi- 

 uous star very nearly. 



Venus is a morning star throughout the month, but is 

 too near the sim to be well seen. On the first sh? rises at 

 4h. 27m. A.M., Ih. 11m. before the sun, with an apparent 

 diameter of 16-0", and a southern declination of 11° 36', 

 She is near .Jupiter on the mornings of the 7th and 8th. 

 On the 30th she rises at 3h. 39m. a.m., 57m. before the 

 sun, with an apparent diameter of 13J", and a southern 

 declination of 0° 2'. About seven-tenths of the disc is 

 illuminated on the 1st of April, and nearly eight-tenths on 

 the 30th, when the theoretical brightness of the planet is 

 only one-third of what it was at the beginning of January. 

 On the morning of the 15th Venus will be very near the 

 4th magnitude star <^ Aquarii. During the month she 

 moves from Capricornus through the greater part of 

 Aquarius. 



Both Mars and .Jupiter are in\'isible for the purposes of 

 the amateur observer. Saturn is well placed for observa- 

 tion, rising on the 1st at 3h. 17m. p.m., and setting at 5h. 

 3m. A.M., with a northern declination of 9° 10^-', and an 

 apparent equatorial diameter of 19^'' (the major axis of 

 the ring system being 441", and the minor 3f"). On the 

 80th he rises at Ih. 24m. p.m., and sets at 3h. 14m. a.m., 

 with a northern declination of 9° 37', and an apparent 

 equatorial diameter of 18,V" (the major axis of the ring 

 system being 42^", and the minor 4-0"). Shortly before 

 8 P.M. on the 3rd Titan is 17" south of the planet ; and on 

 the evening of the 5tli lapetus will be about 45" « a little 

 // Saturn. Early on the evening of the 17th Titan will 

 be seen about 20" south of Saturn, and on the 22nd and 

 23rd lapetus is near its western elongation, and at its 

 brightest. Shortly before Saturn sets on the 30th a 

 9'5 magnitude star will be seen about 70" north of the 

 planet. During April Saturn describes a short retrograde 

 path in Leo, but he does not approach any naked-eye 

 star. Uranus is an evening star, rising on the 1st at 8h. 

 5m. P.M., with an apparent diameter of 3f", and a southern 

 declination of 11° 0'. On the 30th he rises at 6h. 4m. 

 P.M., with a southern declination of 10° 33'. He describes 

 a short retrograde path to the E.N.E. of 86 Virginia. 

 He is in opposition on the 19th, when he is about l,623i 

 millions of miles distant from the earth. A map of his 

 path up to the beginning of September will be found in 

 the F.wilixh Mcrliaiiii- for February 6th, 1891. Neptune 

 is, for all practical purposes, invisible. 



Shooting stars are fairly plentiful in April, the most 

 marked shower being that of the Lyrids, with a radiant 

 point in 181i. Om. K.A. and -|-33' decl. The radiant 

 point rises on the nights of the 19th and 20tb, when the 



maximum occurs, at 6h. 27m. p.m., and souths at 4h. 

 8m. A.M. 



The moon enters her last quarter at 6h. 30m. a.m. on 

 the 2nd ; is new at 8h. 57m. p.m. on the 8th ; enters her 

 first quarter at Ih. 40m. a.m. on the 16th ; and is full at 

 5h. 5m. A.M. on the 23rd. She is in perigee at lOh. a.m. 

 on the 7th (distance from the earth 223,850 miles), and in 

 apogee at llh. 30m. a.m. on the 19th (distance from the 

 earth 251,920 miles). The greatest western libration is at 

 4h. 64m. a.m. on the 13th, and the greatest eastern at 

 5h. 44m. P.M. on the 27th. 



2Mt)ist Column. 



Bv W. MoNT.\Gu Gattee, B.A.Oxon. 



The Management of Trumps. 



WE believe it was the late .James Clay who once 

 facetiously remarked that there were twenty 

 thousand young men going about in rags in 

 America because they would not lead triunps 

 from five to an honour. There are, neverthe- 

 less, many cases in which it is desirable to play a waiting 

 game, even though favoured by fortune with great strength 

 in trumps. A curious instance of the success of Fabian 

 tactics is furnished by Hand No. 16 (Knowledge for 

 December last), in which the original leader persistently 

 avoids leading trumps, although holding six to two honours. 

 Such cases are for the most part peculiar, and scarcely 

 admit of generalisation ; but perhaps it may safely be laid 

 down that, when the leader's score is 4. he should almost 

 always hesitate to open trumps unless he holds winning 

 cards in the plain suits. A typical case is that in which 

 the hand contains, besides the trumps, numirical strewitli 

 only in one of the plain suits, so that two or even three 

 rounds will probably be required in order to establish it. 

 The advantage, under such circumstances, of opening the 

 plain suit in the first instance, is well illustrated by the 

 following hand, for which we are indebted to Mr F. S. 

 Hughes : — 



Hand No. 19. 



Z's Hand. 



Score— AB, 2; YZ, 4. 



Z turns up the six of hearts. 



Note. — A and B are partners against Y and Z. A has 

 the first lead ; Z is the dealer. 'The card of the leader to 

 each trick is indicated by an arrow. 

 Trick 1. 



yVias— AB, 1 ; YZ, 0. 



z 



Tricks— XB, 1 ; YZ. I. 



