636 KANSAS CITY REVIEW OF SCIENCE. 
PARHELION IN KANSAS CITY. 
BY WM. H. R. LYKINS. 
A phenomenon of rare occurrence in this latitude was observed in this city 
on the morning of the 7th of January. Just before sunrise a well defined image 
of the sun, apparently about fifteen minutes high, appeared shining at the inter- 
section of two broad bands of light crossing each other at right angles. As the 
sun rose the image brightened until the brilliant spectacle was presented of two 
suns shining together in the eastern horizon. Gradually the true sun seemed to 
eclipse its double, and when the obscuration was complete the splendid pageant 
had vanished. Had the sun been higher in the heavens we should doubtless 
have had a fine display of parhelia, or mock suns, in which the sun is surrounded 
by circles and arcs of circles, and two, three, five or seven images are seen where 
the bands touch the corone. 
Parhelia are very common in high latitudes and have been described by all 
Arctic travelers. ‘They have also been mentioned by Aristotle, Pliny and other 
ancient writers. Pliny, not to be outdone, says that stars have been seen sur- 
rounding the sun at mid-day. Parasalenz, or images of the moon, are also seen 
under similar circumstances as the parhelia, and are doubtless produced by the 
same causes. 
BOOM IN@UICGES, 
Burr’s Liprary INDEX. Quarto, pp. 320. Half Russia. J. B. Burr Publish- 
ing Co., Hartford, Conn. $3.50. 
When attending college, some twenty-five years since, we deemed Todd’s 
Index Rerum an invaluable aid in recording and classifying items of various 
kinds picked up in our reading. Since that day we have adopted several plans 
of our own for preserving for subsequent reference such matters of historical, 
political and editorial value as we considered might be found useful in our 
work. Many an hour of tedious searching has been saved by this, and many a 
tedious hour has been spent by us in searching for some article or passage which 
would have been found in five minutes if we had taken the pains at the proper 
time to enter its page and volume in our Index. 
The Burr Publishing Company has brought out a ‘‘ Library Index” which 
is far superior to anything of the kind we have ever seen, and which will be found 
of the greatest value to ministers, teachers, editors, authors and all others who 
cannot store up in their memories all that they read and who are compelled fre- 
quently to look up facts for comparison and generalization in their respective 
vocations. We have been accustomed in our editorial work to keep memoranda 
of valuable and important articles found in our exchanges in a blank book with 
