8 
THE GUIDE TO NATURE 
not set at all. Even in a latitude of 40 
degrees one can see a faint glow from 
the sun exactly above the north point 
of the horizon at midnight. 
^ ^ ^ 
The Occultation of Beta Scorpii. 
On the early morning of June 28 the 
nearly full moon will pass over the star 
at A’ (Figure 1) and hide it from view. 
As seen from Washington, the star will 
disappear at A (Figure 3) at 1 hour 5 
minutes A. M. and reappear at B at 1 
hour and 47 minutes, thus remaining 
hidden by the moon for 42 minutes. 
These times, however, are subject to 
great variation as the observer changes 
his position on the earth, and hence 
looks at the moon from slightly dif- 
ferent directions. Thus, an observer 
more than 3 degrees below the earth’s 
equator will see the moon pass above 
the star ; one whose latitude is more 
than 59 degrees will see it pass below 
the star. In neither case will the star 
be hidden by the moon. 
The best way to observe this inter- 
esting phenomenon is to turn the tele- 
scope on the star, perhaps 20 minutes 
before the first of the above times, and 
then to consider that the moon moves 
eastward an amount equal to its own 
diameter in about one hour. One can 
thus estimate quite closely when the 
star will disappear. 
This star is really a quadruple sys- 
tem of suns. The large star has a 
very faint companion near it. and a 
bright, fourth magnitude, companion, 
fourteen seconds away. Besides this, it 
was recently discovered to be a spec- 
troscopic binary star, made up of two 
suns far too near together to be seen in 
any telescope. 
A similar occultation of this star by 
the moon was seen and described in 
the year 295 B. C. 
How witching are the freshly opened 
leaves 
All rosy with the flush of new-born life! 
Almost the pleasure one from them re- 
ceives 
As from the flowers with which the 
fields are rife. 
— Emma Peirce. 
January 31. Read the inevitable 
newspapers, hoping for something, 
longing for something ; finding nothing. 
—Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. 
Improving High School Biology. 
(from a personal letter from a biology 
TEACHER.) 
I am one who firmly believes that our 
high school courses in biology should 
be reconstructed from beginning to 
end. Biology is going to be the coming 
high school course without a doubt. No 
subject is in a better position to grip the 
interests of the plastic mind than this 
one which deals with the most vital 
thing in the world — life. And yet what 
a mess of it is made by the average 
teacher. When I think of the possi- 
bilities along this line and how little 
these possibilities have been realized 
by us teachers, I cannot help but think 
that we have committed an unpardon- 
able sin. To see the method of teach- 
ing biology in practice in most of our 
schools is -enough to make an Agassiz 
weep. Nothing but a mere, formal, 
trivial, superficial acquaintance with the 
greatest things in life has been the re- 
sult of all this mock teaching. It is 
time for this to change, and it is going 
to change before very long. 
The Sentinel Trees. 
The sentinel trees are Some conifers tall 
That stand by the curve of the bay : 
A beckoning spot where their long shadows fall, 
In the heat of a mid-summer day. 
So high are their tops that they carry our 
glance 
Quite up to the blue of the sky : 
They could easily rend, as with sharp-pointed 
lance. 
The clouds drifting down from on high. 
W hen lightning and tempest are raging around, 
And slenderer boles all are swayed. 
The sentinels stand sturdy and sound, 
In the wildest of storms unafraid. 
They are right in the path of the sunset flames 
bright. 
As thej' stream from the far, molten West ; 
And when they die down to a violet light, 
They tell us it s now time to rest. 
Our first glance in morning, the last one at 
night. 
Is toward such good neighbors as these : 
And life is more lofty, more steadfast and 
bright. 
Because of our sentinel trees. 
— Emma Peirce. 
Blossoming Willows. 
The willows are caught in a golden net, 
Its meshes entwine them, leaf and bough; 
Those who admired their ranks of green, 
Will rejoice in their efflorescence now. 
— Emma Peirce. 
