170 



POPULAE SCTETTCE T^EWS. 



[November, 1889. 



Septembers has been onlj 2.94, with extremes of 

 0.45 in 1877, and 9.88 in iSSS. From the 14th of 

 August to the nth of September (a period of four 

 weeks) onlj .15 inch of rain fell (August 24), after 

 which it was well distributed, — over an inch on the 

 nth and 12th, and over two inches on the i8th and 

 19th, with smaller quantities on three other days. 

 The amount of precipitation since January ist has 

 been remarkable this year, as last, being 44-84 

 inches (46.27 last year), while the average for the 

 same months in twenty-one years has been only 

 34.95, — an excess of nearly 10 inches this year. 



PRESSURE. 



The average pressure the past month was 

 30.028 inches, with extremes of 29.46 on the 21st, and 

 30.27 on the ist and 2d, — a range of .Si inch. The 

 high average pressure for the last sixteen Septembers 

 has been 30.025 inches, with extremes of 29.915 in 

 1876, and 30.110 in 1887, — a range of .195 inch. 

 The sum of the daily variations the past month was 

 2.82 inches, giving an average daily movement of 

 .094 inch. This average the last sixteen Septembers 

 has been .126 inch, with extremes of .074 and .166. 

 The largest daily movements were .35 on the 19th, 

 and .29 on the 22d. The high barometer of August 

 continued past the middle of September, with small 

 variations, one-half the semi-daily observations 

 being noted "stationary," indicating in general a 

 uniform state of weather. There was a slight de- 

 pression on the nth, in connection with over an 

 inch of rain. The principal depression extended 

 from the 19th to the 21st, attended with heavy rain- 

 fall of over two inches. The principal elevations 

 were in the opening and close of the month. 



WINDS. 



The direction of the wind, in 90 observations, 

 gave 2 N., o S., 11 E., 23 W., 18 N. E., 10 N. W., 2 

 S. E., and 24 S. W., — an excess of 4 northerly and 

 26 westerly over the southerly and easterly, and in- 

 dicating the average direction the past month to 

 have been W. 8° 45' N. The eight days from the 

 7th, including 24 observations, were unusual, hav- 

 ing 16 N. E. winds, intermingled with 6 E., i S. E., 

 and I N. — truly an easterly spell. The westerly 

 winds the last twenty Septembers have uniformly 

 prevailed over the easterly, with a single exception, 

 by an average of 25.50 observations; and the north- 

 erly over the southerly, with eight exceptions, by an 

 average of only two, — thus indicating, approxi- 

 mately, the general direction of the wind in Septem- 

 ber to be W. 4° 29' N. The relative progressive 

 distance travelled by the wind the past month was 

 26.31 units, and during the last twenty Septembers, 

 511. 6 such units, an average of 25.58, — showing 

 slightly less opposing winds than usual in Septem- 

 ber. 



In brief, the past month was slightly warmer, far 

 more cloudy and more rainy, with high barometer 

 and more easterly winds, than usual for this month. 



D. W. 



Natick, October 5, 1889. 



;[ Specially Computed for The Popular Science News.l 



ASTRONOMICAL PHENOMENA FOR 



NOVEMBER, 1889. 



During the first of the month Mercury is in very 



favorable position for observation. It reaches its 



greatest western elongation on the morning of 



November i, when it is a little less than 19° west of 



the sun, and it is at the same time about 8° to the 



north. The distance from planet to sun slowly 



diminishes, but on November 10 it is still about 15", 



and during all this time the planet may be seen on 



any clear morning, low down in the eastern horizon, 



just before sunrise. On the morning of November 



I it is about 4° from Spica {Alpha Virginis), nearly 



due north. Venus is also a morning star, rising 

 about two hours before the sun on November i, and 

 about an hour and a half before on November 30. 

 On November i. Mercury is about 5° east of Venus. 

 Mars passes aphelion on the night of November 11. 

 During the month it moves eastward about 16°, and 

 passes from the constellation Leo into Virgo. It 

 rises at about 3 A. M. on November i, and at a little 

 after 2 A. M. on November 30. On the morning of 

 the i6th it will be very close to the third magnitude 

 star i'ia Virginis ; the distance will be so small at 

 the time of nearest approach that it will be difficult, 

 if not impossible, to separate them without a tele- 

 scope. On the morning of November 26 It passes 

 about i" 30' south of Gamma Virginis, third magni- 

 tude. Jupiter is still an evening star, setting about 

 three hours after the sun at the beginning of the 

 month, and about two hours after at the end. It is 

 in the constellation Sagittarius, and moves 4° east 

 ward during the month. It is occulted by the moon 

 on the morning of November 25, but the occultation 

 is not visible in the northern hemisphere. The fol- 

 lowing eclipses of the satellites will be visible in 

 one part or another of the United States. The phe- 

 nomena all take place near the upper right-hand 

 quadrant of the planet as seen in an inverting tele- 

 scope. D. denotes disappearance; R., reappear- 

 ance. Times are eastern standard. 



I. R. November 5, loh. 57m. P. M. 



I. R. November 7, 5h. 26m. P. M. 



II. R. November 7, 6h. 39m. P. M. 



IV. R. November 10, 6h. 36m. P. M. 



I. R. November 14, 7h. 20m. P. M. 



11. R. November 14, gh. 17m. P. M. 



III. D. November 16, 4h. 41m. P. M 



III. R. November 16, 7h. 47m. P. M. 



III. D. November 23, 8h. 41m. P. M. 



I. R. November 30, 5h. 38m. P. M. 



Saturn rises about i A. M. on November i, and at 

 about II P. M. on November 30. It is moving 

 slowly eastward, and is in quadrature with the sun 

 on November 25. It is 5° or 6° east of Regulus 

 {Alpha Leonis), and is slowly increasing in distance 

 from the star. Uranus is in the constellation 

 Virgo, and is a morning star. It is in conjunction 

 with Mercury at about 5 A. M. on November 3, the 

 latter being not quite 2° to the north. Venus, also, 

 is in conjunction with Uranus on November 9, but 

 at the time of nearest approach the sun is above the 

 horizon in the United States. By the end of the 

 month, Uranus rises a little more than three hours 

 before the sun. Neptune is in opposition with the 

 sun on November 25 at i A. M. It is in the con- 

 stellation Taurus, about half-way between the 

 Pleiades and Hyades, but is too faint to be seen 

 without a telescope. It is occulted by the moon on 

 November 8, but the occultation is not visible in the 

 northern hemisphere. 



The Constellations. — The positions given hold 

 good for latitudes ditfering not much from 40° north, 

 and for 10, 9, and 8 P. M. for the beginning, middle, 

 and end of the month, respectively. Andromeda 

 is in the zenith. Pisces is to the south, high up. 

 Cetus is just coming to the meridian, low down. 

 Aries is in the southeast, at about 60° altitude. 

 Taurus follows Aries, a little south of east, at about 

 40° attitude. Orion has just risen in the east. 

 Perseus is high up, a little north of east. Auriga is 

 below Perseus, and Gemini is on the horizon, a 

 little north of east. Ursa Major Is below the pole 

 star, and Cassiopeia is above, toward the zenith. 

 To the left of the pole star are, Cepheus above and 

 Ursa Minor below. Cygnus is about half-way up, a 

 little north of west, and Lyra is below it. Hercules 

 is setting on the northwest horizon. Aquila is low 

 down near the northwest horizon. Pegasus is 

 southwest of the zenith, high up, and Aquarius and 

 Capricornus are below it, the latter being just above 



the southwest horizon. Piscis Australia is low 

 down, a little west of south. M. 



Lake Forest, III., October i, 1889. 

 *•+ 



The Redemann-Tilford Steel Process is 

 understood to consist of a bath, with glycerine as 

 the basis. This bath changes the whole structure 

 of the metal submitted to it, and is said to increase 

 its ductile and tensile strength far beyond any 

 record that has yet been established by either pri- 

 vate or government test. If, as is stated, the very 

 finest and strongest grade of steel, much better than 

 any now in use, can be made by this process at little 

 more than the cost of crude Bassemer steel, the dis- 

 covery will be of great value. In making experi- 

 ments, every character of tool and steel goods has 

 been worked with, and the process is reported to 

 have been successfully used upon all. 



QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS. 



Letters of inquiry should enclose a two-cent 

 stamp, as well as the name and address of the wri- 

 ter, which will not be published. 



Questions regarding the treatment of diseases 

 cannot be answered in this column. 



E. A. \V. — Is water collected from a slated roof 

 injurious for drinking purposes? 



Answer. — Slate is one of the best possible surfaces 

 to collect rain-water from, provided it is free from 

 dust and dirt. (2) Pure Persian or Dalmation In- 

 sect Powder is generally considered harmless to 

 human beings. 



S. B. M., Ohio. — Old rubber does not possess the 

 slightest fertilizing power, and is of very little value 

 for any purpose. 



W. F. B., Rhode Island. — If a hen is fed upon food 

 entirely free from sulphur, and continues to lay eggs 

 containing that element, where does it come from.'' 



Answer. — Certain experiments seem to show that 

 the hen has the power, to some extent, of supplying 

 missing elements in her food from her own body. Of 

 course this could only be kept up for a short time, 

 and the hen would finally either die or cease to 

 produce perfect eggs. 



W. H. B., Mass. — How does blotting paper dift'er 

 from other kinds.' 



Answer. — Ordinary papers contain a kind of glue 

 known as size, which compacts the fibres together, 

 and renders the paper hard and partially water- 

 proof In blotting paper the size^is omitted, and it 

 is therefore of a soft, woolly nature, and readily 

 absorbs by capillary attraction any liquid brought in 

 contact with it. 



K. N. C, New York. — What is the explosive sub- 

 stance used in percussion caps and metallic cart- 

 ridges .' 



Answer. — It is a salt of mercury, known as mercu- 

 ric fulminate, C2 Hg N2 O2, but is usually mixed 

 with nitrate or chlorate of potash, for the purpose of 

 modifying its action. Like most nitrogen com- 

 pounds, it is very unstable, and a sharp blow is 

 sufficient to cause it to decompose with a strong 

 detonation, which is particularly well adapted to 

 cause the explosion of the gunpowder in contact 

 with it, as well as nitro-glycerine and gun-cotton, 

 which are not easily exploded by any other means. 



I. H. T., Chicago. — Has platinum ever been found 

 in this country.' 



Answer. — It occurs in connection with gold in 

 California, but only in small quantity. The largest 

 portion of our supply is still obtained from the Rus- 

 sian mines. It is said that all silver contains a very 

 small quantity of platinum. 



J. R. T. , Texas. — I have an abundant supply of 

 water forty feet below the surface of the ground. 

 Can I raise it with an ordinary pimip.' and if not, 

 how can it be made available? 



Answer. — An ordinary pump can only raise water 

 about twenty-nine feet, under theoretically perfect 

 conditions, as the weight of the atmosphere bal- 

 ances a column of that height. Practically, the 

 distance is much less, and the best way to raise the 

 water would be to place the pump at the bottom of 

 the well, so that the water will be forced up by 

 direct pressure and not by suction. If this is im- 

 practicable, you can use an ordinary pump with a. 



