Vol. XXII. No. 7.] 



POPULAR SCIEE"CE NEWS. 



107 



cerebrospinal meninijilis. The attempt has been 

 made, in accordance with Pasteur's methods, to 

 inoculate animals with tha meningococcus, and the 

 results have been satisfactoiy, though still further 

 experiments are necessary before the inoculation 

 can be practised safely on human patients. 



Another discovery of interest is a new fever- 

 cure, pkenacetin, or phenic acid, which is said to be 

 far superior to its immediate predecessors, antipyriii 

 and antifebrin. It is prepared from petroleum, and 

 appears in the form of a gray-red, finely crystallized 

 mass, while its lack of taste and smell makes it a 

 pleasant medicine. Professors Kast and Hinsberg 

 in Freiburg first discovered the value of phenacetin 

 as a fever-cure, and upon their recommendation 

 the clinical professor Von Bamberger in Vienna 

 first put it to practical use, and with excellent suc- 

 cess. In doses of one-tenth to one-fifth of a gram 

 for children, and one-half to one gram for adults, 

 it quickly reduces the temperature, and effects the 

 cure of the patient. Tlie chief value of this over 

 other similar medicines is its harmle.ss effect upon 

 the system. It is found effective also in cases of 

 rheumatism and inflammation of the joints, as well 

 as in headache and neuralgia. 



P. F. B. 



Berlin, May 2.5, 1888. 



[Specially reported for tlie Popular Science Newn from tiio 

 Observatory of the College of New Jersey.] 



ASTRONOMICAL PHENOMENA FOR JULY, 



1888. 



There will be two eclipses during the month. 

 The first, on the morning of July 9, a partial 

 eclipse of the Sun, will not be visible in the United 

 States. The region eclipsed lies in the Indian and 

 Antarctic Oceans, between South Africa and Aus- 

 tralia. The second is a total eclipse of the Moon 

 on the night of July 22, and is visible throughout 

 North and South America, and portions of Europe, 

 Africa, and the Pacific Ocean. The phases of the 

 eclipse in Eastern standard time are as follows : — 



Moon enters penumbra .... 9b. 5.5ni. p.m. 



Moon enters shadow 10b. 55m, p.m. 



Total eclipse begins lib. 54m. p.m. 



Middle of eclipse 12h. 45ra. a.m. 23d. 



Total eclipse ends lb. 36m. A.M. 2.3d. 



Moon leaves shadow . ' . . . . 2b. 35m. a.m. 23d. 



Moon leaves penumbra .... 3h. 34m. A.M. 23d. 



The Planets. — Mercury passes inferior conjunc- 

 tion, and becomes a morning star, on July 8. On 

 the morning of July 29 it reaches its greatest west- 

 ern elongation, not quite 20° from the Sun, and may 

 be seen during the early morning twilight low 

 down in the eastern horizon for a few days at the 

 close of the month. Venus passes superior con- 

 junction on July 11, and becomes an evening star, 

 but remains too near the Sun to be seen during the 

 month. Mars is still to be seen in the western sky 

 in the evening, but is growing fainter. It is in 

 quadrature with the Sun on July 22. At the be- 

 ginning of the month it is a little north of Spica 

 {Alpha Virginis), and moves east and south during 

 the month. Jupiter is on the meridian about 9 

 P.M. on July 1, and at about 7 p.m. on July 31. It 

 is nearly stationary during the month, and is about 

 5° west of the second-magnitude star Beta Scorpii. 



The following eclipses of Jupiter's satellites are 

 visible in the United States during the month. 

 The phenomena all take place near the planet, on 

 the upper right-hand quadrant, as seen in an invert- 

 ing telescope. R. denotes reappearance. Times 

 are Eastern standard. 



I. R. July 1, lOh. 24m. P.M. 

 II. 11. July 8, 8h. 34m. P.M. 



I. R. July 9, 12h. 18m. a.m. 

 II. R. July 15, lib. 12ra. P.M. 



I. U. July 17, 8h. 42m. p.m. 



I. II. July 24, 10b. 36m. p.m. 



III. li. July 31, 7b. 58m. P.M. 



be seen only during the early part of the month, soon 

 after sunset. Uranus is in quadrature on July 4. 

 It is in the constellation Virgo, about 9° west and 

 north of Spica. Neptune is a morning star, south 

 of the Pleiades, rising about three hours before the 

 Sun. 



The Constellations. — The positions given hold 

 good for latitudes differing not many degrees from 

 40° north, and for 10 p.m. on July 1, 9 p m. on 

 July 16, and 8 p.m. on July 31. On the southern 

 meridian are Corona Borealis near the zenith, and 

 Scorpius with Jupiter low down near the horizon. 

 Sagittarius is just rising in the south-east. Hercules 

 is east of the zenith. Aquila is about halfway up, 

 a little south of east. Lyra is a little north of east, 

 .somewhat higher than Aquila, and Cygnus is be- 

 low Lyra. Delphinus is near the eastern horizon. 

 Draco lies on both sides of the meridian, between 

 the zenith and pole. Cepheus is to the right of the 

 pole star; Cassiopeia near the horizon, a little east 

 of the meridian. The principal stars of Ursa Minor 

 lie near the meridian above the pole. Ursa Major 

 is to the left, with the pointers at about the same 

 altitude as the pole star. Bootes is just west of the 

 zenith, and Leo is near the western horizon; 

 Virgo, with Mars and Uranus, follows Leo low 

 down in the south-west ; and Libra lies between 

 Virgo and Scorpius. 



Pbinceton, Jxtne 1, 1888. 



[Specially reported for the Popular Science ^ews.] 



METEOROLOGY FOR MAY, 188S, WITH THAT 

 OF THE SPRING. 



TEMPEKATURE. 



Saturn is rapidly approaching the Sun, and can 



The first three days of the month were the cool- 

 est, with an average of 44$°; the 2d being only 

 40^°. The last three, with the 10th, were the four 

 warmest, with an average of 69§°; the 30th was 

 extreme at 71 i°. The lowest point reached was 

 37°, on the 2d, and the highest 80°, on the 10th, 

 29th, and 30th. The entire month was nearly 

 1J° below the average of May in eighteen years, 

 and the coolest, with two exceptions (1882 and 

 188•^). As the last April was also the coolest 

 April in eighteen years, we are not surprised to 

 find the entire spring below the average, and con- 

 sequently the season a full week behind the usual, 

 and three weeks behind that of 1886, while the 

 spring of 1882 was several days still later than the 

 present. My comparison in this estimate is chiefly 

 founded on the dates, noted from year to year, 

 when certain trees and bushes blossom, observed 

 more especially for the last ten years. 



8KT. 



The face of the sky in 93 observations gave 27 

 fair, 14 cloudy, 40 overcast, 11 rainy, and 1 snowy, 

 — a percentage of only 29 fair, the lowest of any 

 month in the year for eighteen years. Only six 

 times in this period has any month fallen below 40 

 per cent, and these chiefly in March and April. 

 This great cloudiness the past month has doubtless 

 tended to increase the lateness of the spring. From 

 the 24th to the 29th was almost constant cloudiness, 

 with cool easterly winds, threatening rain, a nearly 



stationary barometer, — a disagreeable spell, fol- 

 lowed, however, by a few warm days of growing- 

 weather. The average per cent fair for May in 

 eighteen years has been 54 8, with the wide ex- 

 tremesof 29, in 1888, and 78.5, in 1871. The aver- 

 age per cent fair the last eighteen springs has been 

 52.1, while that of the present has been only 47 2. 



PRECIPITATION. 



The amount of rainfall the past month, includ- 

 ing the trace of snow, was 3 95 inches, while the 

 average for the last twenty INIays has been only 

 2 91, with extremes of .55, in 1878, and 4.60, in 

 1882. The rain the past month has generally been 

 in small quantities, but very frequent. The largest 

 amounts fell on the 12th and 15th, both amounting 

 to 2;J inches. The amount since Jan. 1 has been 

 26.80 inches, while the average of this period in 

 twenty years has been only 21.84. The amount 

 the present spring has been 15.37 inches, while the 

 average of the last twenty springs has been only 

 12.15. 



PRESSURE. 



The average pressure the past month was 29.99 

 inches, with extremes of 29.78, on the 1st, and 

 30.20, on the 4th, 8th, and 22d, — a range of .42 

 inch; showing unusually high and uniform pressuie 

 for May. The average pressure for the last fifteen 

 ]Mays has been 29.944 inches, with extremes of 

 29.868, in 1874, and 30 038, in 1887. The sum of 

 the daily variations was 2.66 inches, giving an 

 average daily movement of .086; while this average 

 in the last fifteen Mays has been .123 inch, with 

 extremes of .073 and .170. As the warm season 

 approaches, the barometric changes diminish. The 

 largest daily movements were only .27, on the 

 2d and 12th, .22, on the 1st, and .19, on the 9th, 

 all in near connection with rainfall. The pressure 

 the last spring was 29.996 inches, and the average 

 of the last fifteen springs 29.906. The average 

 daily movement the last spring was .166 inch; the 

 last fifteen springs .178. 



wixns. 

 The direction of the wind in 93 observations 

 gave 15 N., 4 S., 9 E., 13 W., 16 N.E , 11 N.W., 

 6 S.E , and 19 S. W., an excess of 13 northerly and 

 12 westerly over the southerly and easterly, indicat- 

 ing the approximate average direction to have been 

 W. 47° 17' N., or nearly N.W. The westerly 

 winds have uniformly prevailed over the easterly, 

 with one exception (3 E., in 1881), by an average 

 of 22.68 observations, and the northerly over the 

 southerly, with six exceptions, by an average of 

 2 95; indicating the general average direction in 

 nineteen Mays to have been W. 7° 24' N. The 

 relative progressive distance travelled by the wind 

 the past month was 17.69 units, and during the 

 last nineteen Mays 434 6 such units, — an average 

 of 22 35; showing greater opposing winds the past 

 May than usual. The average direction the last 

 spring was W. 38° 44' N., while that of the last 

 nineteen springs has been W. 28 51' N. The 

 average distance travelled the last spring was 135 9 

 units, and the average for the last nineteen springs 

 only 100.2 units, showing less opposition than 

 usual the last spring. 



D. W. 



Natick, June 5, 1888. 



Compressed Air in Paris. — The canalization 

 for the distribution of this power to small factories, 

 etc., has reached a length of fifty kilometers. The 

 engines at the central station have three thousand 

 horse-power, and a pressure of six kilograms is 

 given to the customers. The consumption of coal 

 is fifty tons a day, and ninety-five thousand cubic 

 meters of air are compressed daily. 



