124 



POPULAR SCIEITCE N'EWS. 



[August, 1888. 



hour by hour, was nearly 89°; though taken as 

 usual, at 7, 2, and 9, it was only 84^. The 21st 

 was a very uniformly cool day, with a range of 

 only 2°, and average of 64f . The 22d rose rapidly, 

 and the 24th sunk as rapidly to 62°, leaving the 

 hot day near midway between two comparatively 

 cool ones, — sudden changes, not easily accounted 

 for. During the twenty-four years of my record 

 now nearly completed, I find the thermometer has 

 reached 90°, and upwards to 96°, fifty-eight times; 

 only once to 96°, in 1865; twice, 95°; five times, 

 94°; seven times, 93°; twelve times, 92°; ten 

 times, 91°; and twenty-one times, 90°. In five 

 years it did not reach 90°. In one year (1866) 

 it reached 90° to 94° ten times, four of which were 

 consecutive. 



SKY. 



The face of the sky in 90 observations gave 

 48 fair, 23 cloudy, 15 overcast, and 4 rainy, — 

 a percentage of 53.3 fair. The average per cent 

 fair the la,st eighteen Junes has been 59.4, with 

 extremes of 40.1, in 1872, and 75.5, in 1871. Only 

 four Junes in the eighteen years have been more 

 cloudy than the present. 



PRECIPITATION. 



The amount of rainfall the past month was only 

 1.71 inches, while the average for the last twenty 

 Junes has been 2.75 inches, with extremes of 0, in 

 1873, and 5.10, in 1875. There was no rain till 

 the 14th, when .73 inch fell, after which light rains 

 followed, keeping vegetation in a thriving con- 

 dition. The amount since Jan. 1 has been 28 51 

 inches, half the year; while the average for this 

 period in twenty years has been only 24.62. 



PRESSURE. 



The average barometer the past month was 

 29 907 inches, with extremes of 29.68, on the 1st, 

 and 30.15 on the 13th, — a range of .47 inch. 

 The average for the last fifteen Junes has been 

 29 932, with extremes of 29.845, in 1882, and 

 30.056, in 1884. The sum of the daily variations 

 the past month was 3.71 inches, giving an average 

 daily movement of .127 inch; while this average 

 the last fifteen Junes has been .118, with extremes 

 of .0.58 and .218. The largest daily movements 

 were .34, on the 30th, and .30, on the 11th. Six 

 continuous mornings, from the 21st to the 26th, 

 were stationary. 



WINDS. 



The direction of the wind in 90 observations 

 gave 7 N., S., 9 E., 22 W., 7 N.E., 19 N.W., 

 2 S.E., and 24 S.W., — an excess of 7 northerly 

 and 47 westerly over the southerly and easterly, 

 indicating the approximate average direction to 

 have been W. 8° 28' N. The westerly winds have 

 uniformly prevailed over the easterly by an aver- 

 age of just 31 observations, and the southerly over 

 the northerly, with four exceptions (including the 

 present month), by an average of 11.58, indicating 

 the general average direction in nineteen Junes 

 to have been W. 20° 29' S.; showing that the 

 winds the present June have been nearly 29° more 

 northerly than usual. The relative progressive 

 distance travelled by the wind the past month was 

 47.52 units, and during the last nineteen Junes 

 628.8 such units, — an average of 33.10; showing 

 less opposing winds the present June than usual. 



In review, I may observe that the temperature 

 of the first half of the year has been a trifle more 

 than 1 degree (1.04°) below the average; but 

 as this loss occurred chiefly in January (5 65°), 

 when vegetation is stationary, the surplus of June 

 (1.89°) has nearly overcome the deficiencies of 

 April and May (3.07°), so that the season is now 

 within three or four days of its usual forwardness. 



D. W. 

 Katick, July 6, 1888. 



[Specially ri-'poned for tlie Popular Science Atwn from the 

 Observatory of the College of New Jersey.] 



ASTRONOMICAL PHENOMENA FOR 



AUGUST, 1888. 



The Sun will be eclipsed on Aug. 7. It is only 

 a partial eclipse, and is invisible in the United 

 States. It is visible in the Arctic Ocean, Norway, 

 and Sweden, portions of Denmark and Greenland, 

 and the extreme northerly parts of North America 

 and Asia. 



The Planets. — Mercury is just moving away 

 from western elongation, and may possibly be seen 

 as a morning star during the first few days of the 

 month. It comes to superior conjunction with the 

 Sun on Aug. 23. Venus has now become an even- 

 ing star, but remains quite close to the Sun during 

 the month, being only about 14° distant on Aug. 

 31, — hardly far enough away to be easily seen. 

 Mars is an evening star in the western sky, having 

 passed quadrature in July. By the end of the 

 month it sets about three hours after the Sun. It 

 moves eastward about 20° during the month, 

 through the eastern part of Virgo and into Libra. 

 Jupiter is also in the western sky in the evening; at 

 the beginning of the month it sets a little before 

 midnight, and at the end of the month at about 

 10 o'clock. It is in quadrature with the Sun on 

 the morning of Aug. 20, and moves slowly east- 

 ward and southward during the month. The fol- 

 lowing eclipses of his 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 inverting telescope. 

 D denotes disappearance, R reappearance. Times 

 are Eastern standard. 



III. R. Aug. 7. lOh. 7m. P.M. I 

 m. R. Aug. 7, llh. i)8m. P.M. 

 11. R.Aug. 9, 8h. 23m, P.M. I 



Saturn is in conjunction with the Sun on Aug. 1, 

 and becomes a morning star. It cannot be seen 

 unliltoward the end of the month, when it may be 

 found in the morning twilight. Uranus is in Virgo, 

 about 7° north and west of Spica. It sets early in 

 the evening. Neptune is south of the Pleiades, and 

 rises a little before midnight at the end of the 

 month. 



The Constellations. — The positions given hold 

 good for latitudes differing not many degrees from 

 40° north, and for 10, 9, and 8 p.m. for the begin- 

 ning, middle, and end of the month respectively. 



Lyra is in the zenith, Aquila is coming to the 

 meridian at about 60 altitude, and Sagittarius is 

 low down on the south meridian. East of Sagit- 

 tarius is Capricornus, at about the same altitude, 

 with Piscis Australis just rising below it. Aqua- 

 rius follows Capricornus, and Pisces is just rising in 

 the east. Above Pisces are Pegasus and Cygnus, 

 the latter near the zenith, doing from the eastern 

 horizon toward the pole star, we find first Androm- 

 eda, and next Cassiopeia. Perseus is on the 

 horizon below Cassiopeia, and Cepheus is above; 

 the head of Draco is just west of the meridian, 

 and a little north of the zenith; Ursa Minor is 

 mainly to the left and above the pole, while Ursa 

 Major is to the left below; Hercules is to the west 

 of the zenith high up; and below it are Corona 

 Borealis and Bootes, with Virgo just on the west 

 horizon. Libra and Scorpius, with Mars and Jupi- 

 ter, follow Virgo, and are both low down in the 

 western sky. Ophiuchus is above Scorpius. 



M. 



Peincbton, N.J., July 2, 1888. 



I. R. Aug. 9, 8h. 64m. p.m. 



I. R, Aug, 16, lOh, 49m, p,M, 



II, R, Aug, 16, llh, Im.p.M, 



Sulphuretted Hydrogen Water can be kept 

 for at least two months and a half, according to 

 A, Schnerder, if it is preserved in a black glass- 

 stoppered bottle, the stopper of which should be 

 profusely greased with vaseline. 



LITERART NOTES. 



The Social Influence of Christianity, with Special Refer- 

 ence to Contemporary Problems. By David J. Hill, 

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 lishers, Boston. 



The leading views regarding the nature of society, 

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 historically studie<l. After this more general treat- 

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 to tlie contemporary problems of Labor, Wealth, 

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 near being a complete outline of sociology from a 

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Three Introductory Lectures on the Science of Thought. 



By F. Max Midler. The Open Court Publishiug 



Company, Chicago, 111. Price 75 cents. 



The book contains three essays: 1, The Simplicity 

 of Language; 2, The Identity of Language and 

 Thought ; and 3, The Simplicity of Thought. 



The Appendix consists of Max Miiller's Correspond- 

 ence on "Thought without Words" with Mr. George 

 Romanes, the Duke of Argyll, etc. 



Max Miiller's essays must not only be read, they 

 must be studied; and we should bo very grateful that 

 the eminent philologist uses such simple language. 

 In spite of all the simplicity of Max Miiller's style, it 

 takes much careful study to fathom the depth of his 

 thoughts. 



Tlie study of language is of interest to the lawyer as 

 well as the clergyman, the scientist as well as the 

 teacher; and no education is complete without it. 



Civics for Tounq Americans ; or. First Lessons in Govern- 

 ment. By "William M. Gifiin, A.M. A. Lovell & 

 Co., New York. Price 50 cents. 

 This most excellent and iiitere.sting description of 

 our form of government is adapted for the use of 

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 the different forms of government existing, and the 

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Chemical Problems. By .1. P. Grabfield and P. S. 



Burns. D. C. Heath & Co., publishers, Boston. 



This work contains numerous carefully prepared 

 problems illustrating the different principles of chemi- 

 cal science. Each division is preceded by a brief 

 description and explanation of the problems, and the 

 principles involved in their solution. Teachers will 

 find it a great help in conducting their classes. It also 

 includes the annual examiuafion-papers of the Mas- 

 sachusetts Institute of Technology, 



Strang's Exercises in Enfflish, published by the same 

 firm, is a collection of exercises for criticism and cor- 

 rection. Teachers of grammar, rhetoric, and syntax 

 will find it a most useful work. 



Part III, of the magnificent Old and New Astronomy, 

 by Professor Richar<l Proctor, is issued by Longmans, 

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Dr. Ephraiin Cutter of Broadway and 55tli Street, 

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 Morphologies of the fluids of the body, food, drinks, 

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Pamphlets, etc, received: The Human Soul: its 

 Origin and Analysis, by W, J, Parker, M.D., Nash- 

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 Cromwell ( E, & F. N. Spon, publishers. New York) ; 

 Osteology of Porzana Carolina and Tlie Sternum in the 

 Solitary Sandpiper, by R. W. Shufeldt, M.D.; Cocaine 

 Dosnqe, Addiction, and Toxmmia, by J. B. Mattison, 

 M.D.', Brooklyn, N.Y,; The Treatment of the Hair in 

 relation to the Prevalence of Baldness; Crop Report for 

 ,Tuly of the Georgia Agricultural Commissioner; Anal- 

 yses of Commercial Fertilizers at the Massachusetts 

 Agricultural College; Catalogues of the Faculty of 

 Medicine of the McGill University, the Albany Medical 

 College, and the University of Nebraska; also the Annual 

 and Quarterly Reports of the United States Bureau of 

 Statistics. 



