THE YOUNG 
ing. fisliiug, cainpiug-out, private theatricals, and 
the other matters the book discusses. Indeed, 
we know of but few other books we would prefer 
placing in the hands of our boys sooner than the 
one under notice, for from the preface to index 
there is not a line that does not contain some 
useful hint or idea that, if followed out, would 
surely lead to moral health and active usefulness. 
If more books of this kind were found on the 
tables in our households than there are, and less 
of the "goody-goody" trash on the one hand 
and of the "scalp-taking, blood-and-thundery" 
kind on the other, we should have fewer boy 
criminals and more solid, sensible, and useful 
men. We are fully in accord with the author, 
who, in his preface, says, "Let the boys make 
their own kites and bows and arrows ; they will 
And a double pleasure in them, and value 
them accordingly, to say nothing of the educa- 
tion involved in the successful construction of 
their homemade playthings. The development 
of a love of harmless fun is itself no valueless 
consideration. The baneful and destroying 
pleasures that offer themselves y/itli an almost 
irresistible fascination to idle and unoccupied 
minds find no place witli liealthy activity and 
hearty interests in boyhood s] torts." 
The Metal-Worker Pattern Book. A 
pr;icti('al treati'^e on the art and science of pat- 
tern-cutting as applied to sheet metal work. 
By A. O. Kittredge. David Williams, publislier, 
83 Eeade street, K .w York. 
Tlie modern tendency to apply sheet metal to 
■many purposes heretofore never dreamed of, has 
rendered it imperative that workers in tliis 
material sliould possess an accurate knowledge 
as to the manner of cutting out patterns and 
shapes for tlie multifarious forms they maybe 
>called upon to execute. 
A number of boolcs have been written with a 
view of enlightening the workman on this sub- 
ject, and aiding him to obtain good result with 
as little expenditure of labor and material as pos- 
sible, and no doubt these books did good service 
in their time ; but tlie art of sheet metal working, 
like all other mechanical arts, kept advancing, 
and new^ methods and new ideas liave developed 
with each step advanced, until the old methods 
and manners of manipulation are become obso- 
lete and valueless. The work before us has been 
prepared to meet present wants and present 
practices, and is thorough, reliable, comprehen- 
sive, and is, withal, written in a plain and sim- 
ple style, and in language that any mechanic 
should understand. The work is divided into 
five general chapters. In the first, definitions 
and technicalities aro considered. The second 
discusses drawing tools and materials, while the 
third takes up geometrical problems and their 
relations to pattern-cutting. The fourth de- 
scribes the art and science of pattern-cutting, and 
the fifth and last consists chiefly of illustrated 
methods of solving the various problems of 
every-day practice. The work is profusely illus- 
trated, well printed, and handsomely and sub- 
SCIENTIST. 189 
stantially bound in cloth. The book is one that 
can be recommended, and will prove invaluable 
to mechanics who work in sheet metal. 
Astronomy for Amateurs— June. 
BY BERLIN H. WEIGHT. 
THE PLANETS.— JUNE, 1883. 
(All Computations are for the Latitude and 
Meridian of New York City.) 
Venus, in her eastward march past the stars, 
passes between the Pleiades and Hyades about 
the middle of the month, and is one and one- 
half degrees south of the Moon on the 2d. She 
will pass very close to the planet Saturn on the 
19th. being, when nearest, only about one-half 
of a degree north of him. They can both be 
brought in the same field of a telescope, and 
thus make interesting objects. Venus' shape 
will be somewhat oval, as about nine-tenths of 
the diameter of her illuminated hemisphere will 
be visil)l(3. She rises as follow^s : 
10th— 3h. 6m. morn. 
20tli— 3ii. 4ui. " 
30tli— 3li. 7m. " 
Saturn is about five degrees north of Alpha 
TauriiAldeharan), and with Venus, the Pleiades 
and Hyades makes a very conspicuous cluster of 
bright and interesting objects. The Moon will 
be in tli<nr midst on the morning of the 4th, 
almost occulting Saturn, passing just below 
him. He rises on the 10th at 3.40 morn.; 20th, 
2.29 morn. 
Mars is west of the Pleiades, rising as fol- 
lows : 
lOth— 2h. 24m. morn. 
20th 21i. 4m. " 
30th— 111. 46m. " 
Tli(^ Mo(m Avill b(^ in conjimction with him on 
the 2d and 30th, passing very close and south of 
him in both instances. He will be 1° 7' north of 
Neptune on tlie 27th. 
Jupiter, being in coiijunction with the Sun on 
the 5th of next month, wall be too near the Sun 
to be well seen this month. 
OCCULTATION. 
The first magnitude star, Alpha Vtrginis 
{Spica\ will be occult(?d by the Moon on the 
15th. The immersion will occur at Ih. 13m. in 
the morning, Washington mean time. 
METEORS. 
The meteors of June are as follows : First, Tlie 
Aquilids, wdiich radiate from a point near Alpha 
Aquila (Altctir), about midway between that 
star and Job's Coffin, east of it. They are slow- 
moving, and extend over a long period, begin- 
ning on the 7th. Second, a group radiating from 
Alpha Cepheus, beginning about the lltli and 
running through the month. Third, The Dra- 
couids n., radiating from the first coil of Draco, 
