186 



POPULAR SCIETsTCE WEWS. 



[December, 1889. 



preceding and the day following, with averages of 

 38° and 40°. Frost occurred on these days, as also 

 on the 17th — the first of the season in my locality. 

 It was still earlier in other localities in town. The 

 highest point reached was 71°, on the 20th, but the 

 first day of the month was the warmest, averaging 

 ^S-SS*^- The entire first week was warm, with an 

 average of 54.10°; and yet the month was 2.19° 

 below the average of the last nineteen Octobers, and 

 the coldest, with only three exceptions, during this 

 period. The extremes of the 2 P. M. observations 

 came on the 20th and 21st — a fall of 31° in twenty- 

 four hours. 



The face of the sky, in 93 observations, gave 39 

 fair, 16 cloudy, 27 overcast, and 1 1 rainy, — a percent- 

 age of 41.9 fair, being the lowest percentage in the 

 last nineteen Octobers. The average has been 56.3, 

 with extremes of 41.9 in 1889, and 73.1 in 1874. 

 During the last nine days of the month, in 27 obser- 

 vations, only 07ie was noted fair, and that on the 

 evening of the first of the nine. The sun was quite 

 a stranger during this period. Our usually bright 

 October, this j'ear surpassed the average of even the 

 gloomiest months in the year. We- had, however, a 

 few fine October days the first part of the month' 

 — especially the 3d to the 5th, — and also from the 

 i6th to the 20th. 



PRECIPITATION. 



The amount of rainfall the past month was 3.75 

 inches, while the average for the last twenty-one 

 Octobers has been just 4 inches, with extremes of 

 0.75 inch in 1874, and 13.20 inches in 1869. The 

 largest amount the past iTionth was 1.83 inches, on 

 the 13th and 14th; 1.25 fell on the 7th, 0.52 on the 

 27th, and 0.15 on the ist, with a trace of rain in five 

 other instances. The amount since January ist has 

 been 48.59 inches, while the average for twenty-one 

 years of the same months has been only 38.99, 

 showing an excess of 9.60 inches this year. 



PKKSSURE. 



The average pressure the past month was 

 29.984 inches, with extremes of 29.60 on the ist 

 and 2d, and 30.32 on the 24th, — a range of 0.72 inch. 

 The average pressure the last sixteen Octobers has 

 been 29.994 inches, with extremes of 29.826 in 1875, 

 and 30.109 in 1886, — a range of .283 inch. The 

 sum of the daily variations the past month was 4.27 

 inches, giving an average daily movement of .138 

 inch. This average the last sixteen Octobers has 

 been .163 inch, with extremes of .113 and .211. 

 The largest daily movements were .40 on the ist, 

 .30 on the 2d, and .24 on the 25th. Fully one-half 

 of the observations were above 30 inches, showing 

 a generally high pressure, as is usual for October. 

 The barometric waves were unusually numerous, 

 but small. 



WINDS. 



The direction of the wind, in 93 observations, 

 gave 23 N., 3 S., 6 E., 20 W., 11 N. E., 13 N. W., 4 

 .S. E., and 13 S. W., — an excess of 27 northerly and 

 .25 westerly over the southerly and easterly, and in- 

 dicating the average direction the past month to 

 have been W. 47° 12' N., or 2° 12' N. of N. W. 

 The westerly winds in October, for the last twenty 

 years, have uniformly prevailed over the easterly, 

 by an average of 33.10 observations, and the north- 

 erly over the southerly, with four exceptions, by an 

 average of 8.70, — thus indicating the approximate 

 general average direction for October to be W. 14'^ 

 44' N. By comparing this with the direction of the 

 past month, we learn that the wind has been 32° 28' 

 more northerly than usual. The relative progres- 

 sive distance travelled by the wind the last month 

 was 36.79 units, and during the last twenty Octobers 

 .684.5 such units, an average of 34.25, — showing less 



opposing winds than usual. My tables also show- 

 that the October winds have averaged 20 degrees 

 more northerly the last ten years than the ten pre- 

 ceding, the excess of northerly observations being 

 in the proportion of 147 to 27. D. W. 



Natick, Nov. 5, 1889. 



[Specially Computed for The Popular Science News.\ 

 ASTRONOMICAL PHENOMENA FOR 

 DECEMBER, 1889. 

 There will be a total eclipse of the sun on Dec. 

 22. The line of totality begins between the island 

 of Hayti and the north west of South America, runs 

 in a south-easterly direction just touching the main 

 land at two or three points, thence across the South 

 Atlantic Ocean reaching Africa near St. Paul de 

 Loanda, thence north-east to the east coast where it 

 ends in latitude 5° north. The eclipse will not 

 be visable even as partial in the United States ex- 

 cept at Cape Hatteras and in Southern Florida 

 where the sun rises partially eclipsed, and the 

 whole phenomenon is ended a few moments after 

 sunrise. The path of totality resembles very closely 

 that of the eclipse of Aug. 29, 1886. The duration 

 of totality for points of the coast of South America 

 will be only about two minutes, while stations on 

 the west coast of Africa will have a totality of about 

 three. The greatest duration is in mid ocean, 

 where it is more than four minutes ; but there is no 

 island from which to take observations. Several 

 expeditions for observing the eclipse have already 

 started and it is hoped that valuable results may be 

 secured. 



The Planets. — Mercury is in aphelion, and passes 

 superior conjunction on Dec. 7. By the end of the 

 month it is about 15° east of the sun and may possi- 

 bly be seen as an evening star, but the position is 

 not very favorable. Venus is still a morning star 

 but is gradually getting nearer to the. sun. At the 

 end of the month it rises less than an hour before. 

 It is more than five times as far away from the earth 

 as it was in May. Mars is gradually approaching 

 the earth and is getting into better position for 

 observation. It rises on Dec. i at about 2.20 A. M., 

 and on Dec. 21 at about 1.20 A. M. It is in the 

 constellation Virgo and is moving eastward some- 

 what rapidly. Jupiter is still an evening star but 

 sets quite early, before 7 P. M. at the begining of 

 the month, and only about halt an hour after the 

 sun at the end. On account of its nearness to the 

 sun the eclipses of its satellites can not easily be 

 observed. Possibly two may be seen in the west- 

 ern part of the United States, a reappearance of the 

 first on Dec. 7, at 6h., 33m., and a reappearance of 

 the second on Dec. 9, at 5h., 29m., central standard 

 time. Saturn passed quadrature on Nov. 25, and 

 on Dec. i rises at about 11 P. M. and two hours 

 earlier at the end of the month. It is in the con- 

 stellation Leo about 6° east of Regulus (Alpha 

 Leonis), and is nearly stationary during the month, 

 moving slowly eastward until Dec. 15, and then be- 

 ginning to move westward or retrograde, but the 

 whole motion is only about equal to the radius of 

 the moon. Uranus is in the constellation Virgo, 

 and rises between one and two A. M. It is three or 

 four degrees east of Spica (Alpha Virginis) and 

 moves a little toward the east during the month. 

 Neptune is in Taurus about half way between the 

 Pleiades and Hyades and is on the meridian about 

 midnight. 



The Constellations. — The positions given hold 

 good for latitudes differing not much from 40° north, 

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

 and end of the month, respectively. The head of 

 Perseus is nearly in the zenith, the rest ot the con- 

 stellation being mainly to the east. Aries is high up 



on the meridian, south of the zenith; and Cetus is 

 lower down. Taurus is to the left of Aries, high up 

 on the south-east. Below Taurus is Orion, and be- 

 fore Orion is Canis Major, just rising in the southeast. 

 Canis Minor has just risen in the east. Below Per- 

 seus (in the zenith) are first Auriga, then Gemini, 

 then Cancer; the last just above the horizon, a little 

 north of east. Leo is just rising. Ursa Minor is 

 mainly below the pole star. Draco is partly below 

 and partly to the left. Cassiopeia has just passed 

 the meridian between the zenith and the pole, and 

 Cepheus is below Cassiopeia. Cygnus and Lyra 

 are low down in the north-west. Andromeda is 

 high up, just west of the zenith; and Pegasus is be- 

 low it. Aquarius is just setting in the south-west, 

 and Pisces lies between it and Aries. 



M. 

 Lake Forest, III., Nov. i, 1889. 



What Exhausts the Soil. — A report issued 

 from the Wisconsin Institute says: "We do not 

 exhaust land by selling the fat of animals, but we 

 exhaust when we sell their muscle, their bones, 

 their hair, their skin, and horns. We exhaust land 

 when we sell milk, cheese or eggs, but not when we 

 sell butter. If we sell $200 worth of wheat, we sell 

 $48 worth of plant food from the soil. If we sell a 

 horse worth $200, we sell $7 worth of fertility, 

 while if we sell $200 worth of butter, we sell less 

 than $1 worth of plant food. These figures are 

 well worthy of the attention of the agriculturist in 

 determining what he shall grow for market." 



LITERARY NOTES. 



Electricity in Our Homes and Workshops, by Sydney 

 F. Walker, C. E. D. Van Nostrand Com"pany, 

 New York. Price, $1.50. 



This is a most excellent work, describing in a pop- 

 ular manner the various applications of electricity in 

 practical life, including batteries, electric-bells, sig- 

 nalling apparatus, telegraphs, and telephones. The 

 obscure subject of electrical units and measurements 

 is treated in an especially clear and simple manner, 

 and rendered easy of comprehension by anyone. 



The Tnrenior's Manual : How to Make a Patent Pay. 



J. F. Davison & Co., Publishers, 120 Broadway, 



New York. Price, $1.00. 



This work consists mainly of new matter, which 

 now appears for the first time in print. It gives 

 information of great value to inventors and 

 patentees, and should be in the hands of all 

 who are in any way interested in the subject of 

 patent rights. 



Messrs. A. Lovell & Co., of New York, have pub- 

 lished a most excellent Ccmnion Se}ise Arithmetic, 

 which is worthy the attention of teachers and school 

 committees. Part I. (30 cents) and Part II. (40 

 cents) are now ready. 



The list of contributors to the North American 

 Review for November presents an unusual array of 

 prominent names in both church and state, and 

 there is a correspondingly high degree of merit in 

 the subjects treated of. It opens with a discussion 

 of the divorce question. Subscription price, $5.00 

 per year, or, with the Science News, $5.25. 



Messrs. Jonn Wiley & Sons, New York, have 

 published an excellent Food Chart (price, $1.25), 

 mounted on rollers like a map. It shows the rela- 

 tive value, digestibility, and composition of the 

 various food substances, besides much other valu- 

 able information suitable for students of physiology. 



Pamphlets, etc., received: Report of the Iowa 

 Weather Service for 1SS8, by Dr. Gustavus Hin- 

 richs. Director, Iowa City; Meteorites, and What 

 They Teach Us, by H. Hensoldt, Ph. D. ; The Cli- 

 matic Treatment of Bronchial Asthma, by Frederick 

 I. Knight, M. D., Boston; Essays on Evolution, 

 from the New Ideal Publishing Co., Boston, and 

 Educational Leaflets of the New York College for 

 the Training of Teachers. 



