286 KANSAS CITY REVIEW OF SCIENCE. 



deal that of the Pontresina — in the neighboring valley ; but when the naountains 

 become covered with snow, generally in November, new conditions come into 

 play, modifying in a remarkable manner winter. Thus, the sky is cloudless, the 

 sun's rays powerful, though unable to melt the snow ; there are no warm currents 

 of air, and the valley being well protected against winds, a uniform calm reigns 

 till spring. It is being superiorly protected against sweeping winds, that gives- 

 Davos the advantage over Engadine ; there are no glaciers in the vicinity as at 

 Pontresina, and it is warmer than the valley of the Inn. At the end of Decem- 

 ber at Davos, when the snow ceases to fall, the atmosphere becomes still, cold, 

 dry, and tonic. In the night, when the stars shine so brightly, the temperature 

 falls several degrees below freezing point ; during the day the sun's rays are so in- 

 tense, that patients can remain several hours outside, but must at once return ta 

 their apartments the moment the sun commences to set. The only drawback 

 against Davos is its drainage, that the local authorities will find it their interest to 

 remedy. An invalid after wintering in the mountains, cannot at once, when 

 spring arrives, descend into the plains ; a residence at an intermediary station 

 will be necessary. It is well to add, that the wintering in the mountains does 

 not suit many cases of well-defined consumption ; the remedy is admirable for in- 

 dividuals suffering from some, accidental affection of the lungs, but in other re- 

 spects possessing a good constitution; it is also excellent for persons with heredi- 

 tary predisposition to phthisis, but with whom the disease has not yet appeared ; 

 for those even in the preliminary stages of the malady. But under no circum- 

 stance ought patients to be sent to this winter station who labor under the fever, 

 and who are of a nervous and excitable temperament. Davos suits chronic 

 bronchitis in children, nervous asthma, anemia, and nervous fatigue generally. 

 As further proof that altitude has not in itself anything curative, the Russians 

 send their pulmonic patients to the Steppes. Arcachon, near Bordeaux, on the 

 borders of the Bay of Biscay, has a well deserved reputation as a winter health 

 resort. Uniformity of temperature even is not a safeguard, for in Ceylon, which 

 possesses a climate remarkably uniform, consumption largely exists. 



At the present moment astronomers are much puzzled at a red spot on the 

 disk of Jupiter, it remains fixed since the three years that it has been observed ; 

 the spot is four times longer than the length of the earth, is of a pale brick red, 

 upon a luminous white ground, terminating in a point east and west. Jupiter 

 possesses a very extensive atmosphere, for the spots, very varied, that are perceived 

 on his disk, disappear a long time before arriving at the border where the revolu- 

 tion of the planet carries them. Spectrum analysis also confirm the presence of 

 an atmosphere. The pressure is so great on the surface of Jupiter, as to resemble 

 what our air would be if liquified. Perhaps when the red spot in question goes 

 away, it may reveal a little of the real aspect of Jupiter. 



M. Faye maintains that comets' tails consist of matter driven from the sub- 

 stance of the comet itself, like smoke. M. Flammarion replies that such is con- 



