12 



POPULAR SCIENCE NEWS. 



[January, 1888. 



the morning of Jan. 2 it is very near Venus, about 

 2° south; and on Jan. 24 it passes just north of 

 the second-magnitude star Beta Scorpii, at a dis- 

 tance of only 8'. Saturn is moving slowly west- 

 ward in the constellation Cancer, and comes to 

 opposition with the Sun on Jan. 22; that is, is on 

 the meridian at midnight. It lies between Regu- 

 lus (Alpha Leonis) and Castor and Pollux, rather 

 nearer the latter stars. Uranus is nearly stationary 

 among the stars, and is about 4° west and 4° 

 north of Spica. Neptune is south of the Pleiades. 

 There will be a total eclipse of the Moon on Jan. 

 28, which will be visible throughout the United 

 States. Total eclipse begins at about 5A. 30m 

 P.M., Eastern Standard Time, and ends at 7h. dm. 



P.M. 



Constellations. — The following positions of the 

 principal constellations give their place at 10 p m. 

 on Jan. 1, 9 p.m. on Jan. 16, and 8 p.m. on Jan. 

 31. Auriga is near the zenith; the principal .star, 

 Capella, being a little north. Orion is just coming 

 to the meridian on the south, about halfway be- 

 tween zenith and horizon. Below and a little 

 east of Orion is Canis Major, with Sirius, the 

 brightest of the fixed stars. Nearly on the same 

 level, and east of Orion, is Procyon, the principal 

 star of Canis !Minor. Near the eastern horizon is 

 Leo; above this, Cancer (Saturn is now in this 

 constellation), and atove Cancer, and near the 

 zenith, is Gemini. On the north-east is Ursa 

 Major, the two pointers being nearly as high as 

 the Pole Star, and the handle of the dipper point- 

 ing downwards. The greater part of Ursa Minor 

 is under the pole, and the brightest stars of Draco 

 are very close to the northern horizon. Perseus is 

 near the zenith in the north-west; below it is Cas- 

 siopeia, and Cygnus is on the horizon. Andromeda 

 is a little north of west, below Perseus; and Pega- 

 sus is just below Andromeda. Pisces is just west 

 of Pegasus; above Pisces is Aries; and above Aries, 

 and near the zenith, is Taurus, with the,' groups of 

 the Pleiades and Hyades. Cetus is in the south- 

 west, and Eridanus a little west of south. 



M. 



Princeton, Dec. 3, 1887. 



Correeponliente. 



£rie/ communications upon tubjecU of icimiiflc interest 

 will be welcomed from any quarter. The editors do not neces. 

 sarily indorse all views and statements pretented by their cor- 

 respondents. 



PARASITES OF THE HOUSE-FLY. 



New Bbunswick, N.J., Nov. 11, 1887. 

 Editors Popular Science News : 



Last year I sent you a communication upon the 

 supposed parasites of the common house-fly. Your 

 account of M. Megnin's study of the same did not 

 hit the nail on the head, for a further examination 

 convinces me that flies on this side of the ocean 

 are infested with a parasite far different from that 

 described by Megnin. [See Science News for 

 December, 1886.] 



The bright-red color would certainly have been 

 noticed by him. Besides, the extreme abundance 

 of these I have noticed, would have been a special 

 point. One evening in September I observed a 

 fly to light on my study table; and upon catching 

 it, I found, by the aid of the microscope, no fewer 

 than Jifty-six parasites. After removing fifty-three 

 very carefully, keeping nearly all alive on a sheet of 

 paper, I noticed very closely attached to the breast 

 of the fly another kind. It was carefully removed, 

 and placed under the microscope; and behold! 

 there appeared the exact form of that described by 

 Megnin, and illustrated in your valuable journal 

 last year: and its adherence to the fly was appar- 



ently by the same means as he described. Once 

 before, I found fifty-five of the red kind, and again 

 over forty. They are of an oval form, with micro- 

 scopic hair-like legs, with powers of locomotion 

 exceedingly limited ; and the wonder is to me, how 

 they can obtain access to the body of a fly, and 

 remain so tenaciously fixed to him. I also wonder 

 that full accounts have not been written by those 

 able to do the subject full justice. It can hardly 

 be possible that they have escaped notice. 

 Very truly, 



Charles Jacobus. 



— • — 



. DO WORMS FALL DURING SHOWERS? 

 Editors Popular Science News : 



Will you please inform me what you consider 

 the facts with regard to the appearance of earth- 

 worms, or angle-worms, after some rainfalls. Do 

 they come down ? AYe know they may come up. 

 I am aware that some seemingly good authorities 

 are entirely incredulous with regard to their fall- 

 ing, yet my experience teaches me differently. I 

 will give one instance. During a recent rainfall, 

 there stood in my yard a large dry- goods box; upon 

 the top of this were several milk-crocks. One was 

 turned bottom up ; and upon this was one, top up 

 and empty. It was placed there after being washed, 

 to sun and air, just before the shower; it being in 

 frequent use for milk. After the rain, there was 

 in the crock three-quarters of an inch of water and 

 an earth-worm five inches long; the worm in this 

 instance, like the rain, having, as I believe, but 

 one way to get in, and that by falling from the 

 clouds. 



This may be an old query, but a modern expla- 

 nation will greatly oblige a subscriber. 



J. II. H. 

 Hampton, Io., Oct. I, 1887. 



We are unable to explain the occurrence related 

 by our correspondent, but doubt very much if an 

 animal of the size described could fall from the 

 clouds during a shower. Perhaps some of the 

 readers of the News may have observed similar 

 occurrences. — Eds. 



— « — 



QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS. 



Letters of inquiry should enclose a two-cent stamp, 

 as well as the name and address of the writer, which 

 will not be published. 



Questions regarding the treatment of diseases can- 

 not be answered in this column. 



M. S., New York. — I observe, on holding a bottle of 

 vinegar to the light, that it seems to be filled with 

 minute animalculse. What are they, and what is their 

 nature? 



.insjoer. — These little "wrigglers" are known as 

 vinegar eels, and are very often found in vinegar. 

 They are living animals, but are perfectly harmless, 

 and, if any thing, indicate that the vinegar is of good 

 quality. A drop of vinegar containing these eels is a 

 most interesting object under the microscope. 



S. C, Alabama. — What will remove the nicotine 

 and offensive odor from tobacco-pipes V 



Answer. — We do not believe that this can be satis- 

 factorily accomplished. The common clay pipes can be 

 placed in the fire and burnt clean; but this, of course, 

 would destroy meerschaum or other expensive kinds. 

 The best way to have a clean pipe is, to use cheap ones 

 that can be thrown away after they become saturated 

 with the products of the combustion of tobacco. 



SuEscKiBER. — What is the cause of the unpleasant 

 odor of the water in my cistern? It has been thor- 

 oughly cleaned out, and there is no apparent source of 

 contamination. 



Answer. — It would be very hard to say positively 

 what was the cause of the change in the water. We 

 receive a great many inquiries similar to the above, 

 and are forced to conclude that it is due to some cause 

 not generally known. Perhaps some of our readers 

 can syggest a remedy. The only general precautions 

 to be taken are perfect cleanliness, ventilation of the 

 cistern, and exclusion of small animals and insects, 

 which often fall into cisterns sunk in the ground. 



LITERARY NOTES. 



The New Astronomy. By Samuel Pierpont Xjangley, 

 Ph.D., LL.D., director of the Alleglieny Observa- 

 tory. Ticknor & Co., publishers, Boston. Price 

 S5.00. 



In this magnificent work Professor Laugley has 

 given a most interesting account of the celestial bod- 

 ies, their nature and phenomena. It is written in a 

 strictly popular style, and can be understood and en- 

 joyed by those having no previous knowledge of the 

 science. It is profusely Illustrated with beautiful 

 wood engravings, which are for the most part copied 

 from original drawings by the author and others. The 

 " new astronomy" is really only the modern develop- 

 ment of the old, and Professor Langley has done his 

 full share towards the advancement of the science. 

 The work is equally creditable both to author and 

 publishers, and we are pleased to recommend it to 

 the attention of our readers. 



The Art of Projecting. By Professor A. E. Dolbear of 



Tufts College. Lee & Shepard, publishers, Boston. 



Price $2.00. 



The use of the parte himiere and magic lantern as 

 a means of illustrating physical and natural phe- 

 nomena to large audiences or classes of students, is 

 continually being extended, and in mauy cases has 

 become almost a necessity. This second edition of 

 Professor Dolbear's work treats the subject very fully, 

 describing all the different forms of apparatus, and the 

 various sources of illumination. Teachers of science 

 will find it a most valuable aid in their demonstra- 

 tions to their classes. An appendix gives a short 

 account of the phenomena of vortex rings, with direc- 

 tions for their production. 



The same firm also publish Pre-Olacial Man and the 

 Aryan Race, by Lorenzo Burge. Price 81.50. It is a 

 most remarkable combination of theology, geology, 

 ethnology, and mythology, and, as a scientific ro- 

 mance, is quite entertaining; but its value as a sober 

 work of science is very small. 



Studies in Civil Government. By William A. Mowry, 

 Ph.D. Introductory price, 94 cents. Silver, Rogers, 

 & Co., Boston, publishers. 



This book was prepared by a teacher. It evidently 

 grew out of his own experience. It is a simple, 

 straightforward text-book, treating first of the local 

 government and then of the state and the nation. The 

 town and city governments are rlearly portrayed, 

 naming the officers, stating their manner of election, 

 and giving a brief resume of their duties. The Con- 

 stitution of the United States is carefully considered 

 in detail, and explained in a manner at once interest- 

 ing and within the comprehension of the ordinary 

 scholar in the high school or the upper-grade grammar 

 school. It is full of useful information, is niethodi- 

 ^Uy arranged, and is written in a clear, interesting, 

 and animated style. 



• 



600 Medical Don'ts. By Ferdinand C. Valentine, M.D. 



G. W. Dillingham, publisher, New York. 



The purpose of this book is not only to give practi- 

 cal information on medical and hygienic matters to 

 laymen, but also to establish a better relationship 

 between them and the professional physicians. The 

 six hundred maxims which compose the book com- 

 prise many valuable hints. The peculiar style in 

 which they are written will assist in impressing them 

 upon the memory, and there are only a few which are 

 not well worth remembering. 



Messrs. P. Blakiston, Son, & Co , Philadelphia, 

 publish a small but complete monograph on The 

 Urine (price 50 cents), by J. W. Holland, M.D. It is 

 arranged in note-book form, and gives full directions 

 for the chemical and microscopical examination of tlie 

 fluid. The microscopical appearance of the different 

 deposits are shown in engravings, and physicians 

 will find it a most useful aia to a correct diagnosis of 

 a large class of diseases. 



A Handbook of Volapiik is announced by Charles E. 

 Sprague of 1271 Broadway, New York. Price Sil.OO. 

 Those who have read the interesting account of the 

 new language in our November number, will be glad 

 to learn that a text-book can now be obtained in this 

 country at a low price. 



The Index Rerum, published by Joel A. Miner, Ann 

 Arbor, Mich., at $1.25, is adapted for an index to 

 newspaper and other clippings, and also as a physi- 

 cian's account-book. Larger sizes of the Index, espe- 

 cially adapted to legal and medical subjects, are also 

 published, which will be found superior to a scrap- 

 book, and much cheaper than the expensive cabinet- 

 files. 



Pamphlets, etc., received: The Classification of Vesi- 

 cal Calculi, by A. Vanderveer, M.D., Albany, N.Y.; 

 The Undeveloped South and its Resources, by George B. 

 Cowlam, Louisville, Ky.; Monthly Bulletins of the 

 Iowa State Board of Health and the Connecticut Agri- 

 cultural Experiment-Station. 



