712 



SCIENCE. 



[Vol. 11., No. 43. 



to each almanac R. A., and tlie two reductions which 

 must be added to eacli almanac Dec, in order to re- 

 duce to the system of the Jahrbuch. 



The catalogue of each almanac, after the application 

 of the systematic reductions from this table, is then 

 compared with the Fundamental catalogue. For the 

 Nautical almanac, the mean difference in declination 

 is 0".395; in K. A. (from 134 stars), 0s.0332. Of the 

 168 stars common to both almanacs, there are 27 

 whose E. A. differs more than 0^.067, and 8 whose 

 declinations differ by more than 1". These differ- 

 ences are, in the main, errors of the Nautical alma- 

 nac, and are largely due to the erroneous proijer 

 motions adopted in the Greenwich catalogues. 



For the Connaissance ties temps, the table shows 

 large. systematic ei-rors. After these have been elimi- 

 nated, the comparison shows for 229 stars, common to 

 the Connaissance des temjis and the Berliner jahrbuch, 

 a mean difference of 0".373 in declination, and a 

 mean difference of 0^0282 (from 162 stars) in R. A. 

 The errors here, again, are largely due to erroneous 

 proper motions. 



The correspondence of the reduced positions of the 

 American epkemeris with those of the Jahrbuch varies 

 according as one or another basis of comparison is 

 chosen. A complete comparison can only be made 

 for those stars for which ephemerides are given, since 

 the newer stars have their positions derived from sev- 

 eral sources, not comparable among themselves. 



The declinations of the A7nerican ephemeris and 

 those of the Jahrbuch agree excellently for those 

 stars which have been investigated by Boss. The 

 mean difference (162 stars) is 0".177. The other 111 

 stars do not agree so well, there being 12 differences 

 between 0".5 and 1". The stars north of 64° depend 

 upon Gould's K. A. ; and, of the 36 stars common to 

 both almanacs, 15 differ by more than O'^.IS. Of the 

 remaining 126 stars whose ephemerides are given, 

 8 have differences as great as 0".067. The mean 

 difference for 100 stars between 4-40° and —20° is 

 0».0127. For the 111 stars without ephemerides, 

 there are seven cases where the difference is more 

 than 0^067. 



For the stars south of —32°, the Nautical almanac 

 will give the best positions, on account of its data 

 being derived from the most recent catalogues. 



A comparison of the system of the Jahrbuch, 1861- 

 82, with the new system, and a general table for the 

 reduction of the data of any almanac to the Berliner 

 jahrbuch system, concludes this very important pa- 

 per. 



It is to be hoped that in the immediate future all 

 star positions may be reduced to the system of the 

 Jahrbuch, and its admirable list of stars will be amply 

 suiBcient for observers in the northern hemisphere. 

 For the determination of time and longitude, the 

 stars of the other almanacs will serve a useful pur- 

 pose, especially as they may easily be made homo- 

 geneous with the Berlin list by tables given by Dr. 

 Auwers in this paper. 



Edward S. Holden. 



Washbur 



observatory, University of Wisconsin, 

 Madison, .July 24, 1883. 



LETTERS TO THE EDITOR. 

 EugUsh ch. 



In Science, ii. 452, yon assert that the English 

 ' ch (in chair) is not a simple consonant, but a com- 

 pound,' consisting of ' ( followed by sli. as is .ippar- 

 ent in pronouncing with 'due lingering emphasis' 

 the words. ' e\en such a man, so woc-begone,' etc. 

 Now, the same length and emphasis may be produced 

 by a prolongation or continuous repetition of the 

 vowel-sound of the word ' siicb,' and, it seems to me, 

 would be so in the case of anybody who was unac- 

 quainted with the tsli theory. But even if not, the 

 change from a simple ch to a compound tsh would not 

 be the only instance in the language, where under 

 special circumstances, sucli as a prolongation or drawl, 

 a sound is liable to an essential change; and it must be 

 peculiarly so where the sound can be properly made 

 only by an instantaneous movement. Ch seems to 

 be caused by such a movement, just as a smack of 

 the lips is, which is certainly a decidedly different 

 sound from the one made in the same way, except 

 more gently and slowly, — a p made with inward- 

 drawn breath. The relation between the smack and 

 that p seems to be the same as the relation between 

 the English ch and t, and the difference in each case 

 to depend on the mode of contact and of its interrup- 

 tion, not on any combination or succession of sounds. 



Again: it appears quite possible to pronounce the 

 word ' chair ' perfectly with the teeth kept slightly 

 open by the finger or a pencil, and held, therefore, in 

 such a position that it is impossible to pronounce the 

 word ' share ' correctly, showing that sh is not prop- 

 erly a part of the ch. 



Moreover, if ch is the same as tsh, or the German 

 tseh, the Germans would at the outset have no dif- 

 ficulty in pronouncing the English ch in a way not 

 noticeably different by its hissing sound from ours. 



It has been said, that after pronouncing the word 

 ' check ' to a phonograph, on turning the machine 

 backwards, the sounds re-appear as keshl ; but is that 

 not wholly due to an incorrect, prejudiced pronun- 

 ciation of the first word, as if written tshelc? L. B. 



Nov. 9, 18S3. 



[Argument is out of place in reference to what is a 

 matter of mere obser^'ation. The suggested experi- 

 ment by ' lingering emphasis ' ought to satisfy any 

 ear as to the reality of the stopped or shut commence- 

 ment of the sound of ch in chair, and of its hissing 

 termination. L. B. evidently associates some mean 

 ing different from the ordinary one with the terms 

 ' simple ' and ' compound.' Ch is compound because 

 its shut commencement and its hissing termination 

 are elementary effects, each of which is susceptible 

 of separate utterance. — Editor.] 



Report of the Assos meeting. 



Henry W. Haynes, Esq., calls my attention to an 

 error in tlie remarks on Assos made by me at the 

 meeting of the Archaeological institute, Oct. 31, and 

 Iirlnted by you in your recent report (Science, no. 41). 



For 'to fight against Ramses III. — the Rhamp- 

 sinitos of Gi'eek story,' read, ' to fight against Ram- 

 ses II. — the Sesostris of Greek story.' 



May I beg you to make this correction public. 



Joseph Thachek Clarke. 



Boston, Nov. 19,1883. 



Analysis of the -wild potato. 

 In the spring we received from Mr. .T. G. Lemmon, 

 Oakland, Gal., some tubers said to be of Solanum tu- 

 berosum, var. boreale, and collected in Arizona. Of 



