SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



77 



Sun 



Moon 





Rises. 



Sets. 



Position at Noon, 





It. in. 



h.m. 



R.A. 



Dec. 



1895. 



A.M. 



l'.M 



h.m. 





May 1 



... 4-34 • 



. 7.20 . 



. 2-34 • 



. 15 5'N. 



n 11 



... 4.17 . 



• 7-36 • 



• 3-12 • 



. 17° 53' 



11 21 

 11 1 



... 4-2 . 



Souths. 

 P.M. 



• •• 5-59 ■ 



Rises. 

 P.M. 



. 7-5i • 

 Sets. 



A.M. 



. 2.9 



Soutlis. 



P.M. 



• 3-52 . 



. 20° 12' 



„ 8 



... 7.38 . 

 A.M. 



. II 51 

 A.M. 







.. 15 



... 1.29 . 



• 5-57 







,, 22 



... 2.53 . 



. 10.56 







t, 1 



... 4-34 • 



.. 11.4G . 



. 2.18 . 



. 13° T N. 





Sotitlis. 



Sels. 









A.M. 



P.M. 







11 11 



... 12.47 • 

 P.M. 



. 8.26 . 



P.M. 



• 3-43 • 



. 20° 47' 



,, 21 



... I. II 



.. 9-39 . 



. 5-6 • 



. 25 c 3' 



,, 1 



... 2.33 . 



.. 10.46 . 



.50. 



. 24 22' N. 



n 11 



... 2.36 . 



.. 11.7 • 



• 5 52 • 



• 25° 25' 



>i 21 



... 2.47 . 



.. 11. 18 . 



• C.43 . 



• 25 ° I9 ' X, 



n 1 



... 348 • 



.. 12.15 . 



. 6.25 . 



. 24 49' N. 



1! H 



... 3-35 • 



.. 11.59 • 



. 6.51 . 



. 24 23' 



,, 21 



... 3-22 



.. 11.40 . 



. 7.17 • 



. 23 41' 



11 I 



... 3-37 • 



.. n.54 • 



. 6.14 . 



. 23° 28' N. 



.1 21 



... 2.35 . 

 Rises. 



.. 10.51 . 

 Souths. 



. 631 . 



. 23 21' 



11 I 



... 6.18 . 



.. 11.30 . 



. 14.8 . 



. io° 6' S. 



,, 21 



... 4-50 



.. 10 6 



• 14-3 • 



■ 9° 39' 



>. 1 



... 7-50 . 

 Souths. 



.. 1224 . 

 Sets. 



• 15 3 ■ 



. 1 6° 5C/ S. 



„ I 



... 2.15 . 



. 10.16 . 



• 4-52 . 



. 21 6' N. 



Mercury... 



Venus 



Jupiter . 



Saturn 

 Uranus 

 Neptune 



Moon's Phases. 



1st Qr. ... May 5 ... 1. 16 p.m. Full... May 12 ... 8.12 p.m. 

 LastQr..,. ,, 19 ... 4.6 a.m. New... ,, 26 ...12.1 am. 



There will be a brilliant shower of meteors on 

 May 6th, the radiant point being o 338 8 — 2 . 



Mercury will be favourably placed for observa- 

 tion during the latter half of the month, as he sets 

 two hours later than the Sun on the 30th, and his 

 declination is considerably north. 



Venus will still be a brilliant object, setting 

 comparatively late in the evening, and having a 

 high north declination. 



Mars sets about midnight in May, and is now 

 so small on account of his great distance that he is 

 not worth studying. 



Jutiter must be observed early in the evening, 

 as he sets about the same time as Mars. 



Saturn will be well placed for viewing all 

 through the month, except that his altitude is low. 



Uranus is well situated this month, except for 

 his south declination, but Neptune sets too early 

 to be of any use. 



It is announced by " Nature " that Mr. Edward 

 Crossley will present to the Lick Observatory the 

 three-foot reflecting telescope, with its dome, for 

 some time past at his Halifax observatory. 



MOUNTAIN SICKNESS. 



PROFESSOR Roy, MD, IKS., contributes 

 •L to "Science Progress" an exceedingly v.ell- 

 considercd paper upon Mountain Sickness, 

 based upon Mr. W. M. Conway's experiences in 

 the Karakorum Himalayas. The sensation, akin to 

 sea-sickness, develops after exertion at altitudes 

 of 16,000 feet and upwards. It varies in indi- 

 viduals, much as dees the tendency to sea- 

 sickness, becoming more distressing at higher 

 altitudes, violent vomiting occasionally accompany- 

 ing the other discomforts. Mr. Conway's party is 

 said to have climbed higher than any other 

 mountaineers on record, and those with him who 

 suffered most severely were Gurkhas. Natives 

 born and reared at io.oco feet were as much 

 affected as the Europeans of the party. Mr. 

 Conway describes the general effect of high 

 altitude upon their physical condition, as first 

 shown in the diminished pace when they thought they 

 were going as fast as at lower levels. The party 

 stayed for four days at 16,000 feet in hope of becom- 

 ing habituated, but in their case that result was not 

 attained. Further up, when in enclosed places in the 

 mountains, with sun hot, they felt the altitude badly 

 by diminution in power, a desire to keep the arms 

 from hanging at the side and general disinclination 

 to do anything, even the observation of instruments 

 being irksome. The least holding of breath pro- 

 duced giddiness and puffing. It became impossible 

 to sleep upon the left side, as productive of heart 

 palpitations. More comfort was found by night 

 than in daylight, and in cloudy weather than in 

 sunshine. The actual symptoms of mountain sick- 

 ness are indicated by great difficulty in getting 

 enough air into the lungs, causing anxiety, distress 

 and fatigue. The respirations are rapid, short and 

 gasping. Other indications are violent palpitations 

 of the heart with quickened pulse, severe headache, 

 giddiness, singing in the ears, diminished appetite, 

 nausea with or without vomiting, bleeding at the 

 nose and coldness of the extremities and livid 

 features. A marked indication is an increasing 

 indifference to danger, general loss of interest in 

 anything, also tendency to sleep and spitting of 

 blood from bleeding of the lips, gums, air pas- 

 sages and lungs. In severe cases the limbs 

 may beccme paralysed, followed by loss of 

 consciousness and perhaps death. Animals other 

 than man appear to suffer equally. Mr. Con- 

 way took with him a Dudgeon's sphygmograph, 

 with which instrument he obtained records of 

 pulse curves of various members of the party at 

 different altitudes up to his highest climb, viz., 

 23,000 feet. A diagram of these readings accom- 

 panies Dr. Roy's paper, but the irregularities do 

 not seem to be so marked as one would expect when 

 accompanying such violent discomforts. The ex- 

 periences of other climbers, both in the Himalayas 

 and the Andes, coincide as to altitude and general 

 effects with the notes so carefully recorded by Mr. 

 Conway, therefore the symptoms are not by any 

 means geographically local, but the actual effect of 

 altitude upon the animals which venture up to 

 regions in which they are unaccustomed to live. 

 I have, however, seen mules showing indications 

 of mountain sickness at a much lower altitude in 

 the Andes than the 16,000 feet claimed as the 

 minimum height for it to affect man. On the 

 descent, Mr. Conway states that the discomfort 

 extended clown until the party were below 13,000 



fppt 



John T. Carringi 



