March 1, 1898.] 



KNOWLEDGE. 



71 



of Cancer at 180° f 30°, in azimuth about 31^ north of 

 east, and altitude 14' at the time of apparition. The 

 fireball was probably a member of a meteoric shower seen 

 at Bristol in 18s7-!l, January 25th to February 1st, at 

 131° + 32°. A fireball seen in 1877, -January 19th, may 

 also have been derived from the same system, for its real 

 path, computed by Prof. Herschel, presents a striking 

 resemblance to that of the recent meteor, as follows : — 



Ueierlit Height „ .. „^| ,. 



at first, at end. ^''*^- Velocity. Position of 



Miles. Miles. Miles. Miles. «»«■»»»• Path. 



82 25 2:« M Vlff + Sff Smith of Enfluiul. 



75 W 230 :« lM«+27>' | ^'0?'!?.^.,^"""' 



Two large and brilliant meteors were observed on the 

 night of Simday, February 20th, 18!)s, at 8h. 54m., and 

 lOh. 20m., and particulars ofthesewill be given next month. 



Jttn.21,lS98 

 Jan. 19, 1877 



THE FACE OF THE SKY FOR MARCH. 



By HERnERT Sadler, f.r.a.s. 



SUNSPOTS may occasionally be observed on the 

 solar disc. 

 Conveniently observable minima of Algol occur 

 at midnight on the 1st, at 8h. 50m. p..m. on the 

 4th, and at lOh. 32m. p.m. on the 24th. 



Mercury is too near the Sun to be observed this month, 

 being in superior conjunction with the Sun on the 16th. 



Venus is too near the Sun for the observer's purposes, 

 and Mars is also practically invisible. 



Jupiter is an evening star, and is excellently situated 

 for observation, being in opposition to the Sun on the 

 25th. On the 1st he rises at about 8h. p.m., with a 

 southern declination at noon of 1° 52', and an apparent 

 equatorial diameter of 43i ". On the 12th he rises at 

 7b. 9m. p.m., with a southern declination of 1° 22', and an 

 apparent diameter of 44". On the 22nd he rises at 

 6h. 24m. P.M., with a southern declination of 0° 51', and 

 an apparent diameter of 44[". On the 31st he rises at 

 5h. 44m. P.M., with a southern declination of 0° 24', and 

 an apparent diameter of 44 j". During the month he 

 describes a retrograde path in Virgo. 



Saturn does not rise till just before midnight on the 1st, 

 so we defer an ephemeris of him till April, and an 

 ephemeris of Uranus is omitted for similar reasons. 



Neptune is an evening star, being in quadrature with the 

 Sim on the 10th. On the 1st he souths at (ih. 37m., 

 with a northern declination of 21° 48', and an apparent 

 diameter of 2V'. On the 31st he souths at 4h. 40m. p.m., 

 with a northern declination of 21° 45'. He is almost 

 stationary in Taurus during the month. 



There are no very well marked showers of shooting stars 

 in March. 



The Moon is full at 9h. 29m. a.m. on the 8th ; enters 

 her last quarter at 7h. 48m. p.m. on the 15th ; is new 

 at 8h. 37m. a.m. on the 22nd ; and enters her first quaiter 

 at 7h. 40m. a.m. on the 30th. Some of the small stars in 

 the Pleiades will be occulted on the evening of the 26th. 



C!)tss Column. 



By C. D. LocooK, b.a. 



Communications for this oolnmn should be addressed to 

 C. D. LococK, Burwash, Sussex, and posted on or before 

 the 10th of each month. 



Solutions of February Problems. 



No. 1. 



(W. Clugston.) 

 1. Kt to B4, and mates next move. 



No. 2. 



(S. Loyd.) 



1. P X B (becoming a Knight), K x Kt. 



2. Kt to QKtG, anything. 



3. P to R8, mate. 



White gets a Knight in order to be able to place it 

 between his RP and the Black Bishop on his next move. 

 No correct solutions have been sent, but the problem was 

 well worth solviuL,', as all Mr. Loyd's are. 



Correct Solutions of No. 1 received from G. G. Beazley, 

 II. Worsley Wood, W. de P. Crousaz, J. MRobert, 

 A. E. Whitehouse, H. W. Elcum, Mrs. C. F. Giddings. 



Capt. Forde.—U 1. Kt to B8, K to B4, dis. ch. 



F. A. Curtis.— 1. B to K6 is met by Kt to K7. In 

 No. 2, after 1. Kt to B4, BxP; 2. Kt to K2, the King 

 moves and escapes mate. 



//. TC. Elcum. — Your solution of No. 2 fails as above. 



.T. n. (York).— See above. In No. 2, if 1. P to Kt8 

 (Queens),. B to Kt2, and the Queen cannot play to KtG. 

 But the Bishop may also safely play to Q4 or K5, though 

 not elsewhere. A note appended to the January puzzles 

 gave warning that a " liberal interpretation " of the laws 

 of the ,1,'ame was required for their solution. As a matter 

 of fact, the law says nothing as to the colour of the piece 

 to be chosen. If, therefore, White selects a Black Rook, 

 lilack has a perfect right to use it for Castling purposes. 

 We are glad to hear that you appreciate the February 

 Number. 



H. Worxh'i/ Wiind and A. E. Whitehouse. — In answer to 

 1. P to Kt8 (becoming a Queen), Black moves his Bishop 

 to Kt2 or Q4 or Ko, and there is no forced mate in two 

 more moves. If he move elsewhere there is. 



F. ir. A. de Tabeck (Rome). — Many thanks for your 

 appreciative card. 



/'. U. Fotheringham. — The massacre suggested is too 

 terrible to think of. Could you not be contented with 

 3. PQR3, and less bloodshed ? 



PROBLEM. 



From the SUmdard. 



Black (2). 





wmi 



,?.. '^m»- ^m Ml 



White (4). 



White mates in three moves. 



We propose this month and next to try the effect on our 

 readers of some very full analysis. For this purpose we 

 have selected a short game of nineteen moves, played on 

 Board No. 1 in the Kent c. Sussex correspondence match 

 last year. Our analysis is compiled from notes made at 

 the time. 



