OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS COLUMN

Otago Witness, Issue 3205, 18 August 1915, Page 77

OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS COLUMN

FOR SENIORS AND JUNIORS. (Conducted by Magisteb, to whom all communications must be addressed.) [Magister will be glad to receive Nature Notes, marked papers containing educational articles, diagrams, details of experiments, etc., of 'scholastic interest to teachers and pupils. Correspondents must, use ONLY ONE SIDE of the paper, and whether using a pen name or not, must send both name and address ] THE “ PENINSULA PRESS.” This does not reter to a newspaper published on the Otago Peninsula, nor any other peninsula in New Zealand, but to the Gallipoli Peninsula, the possession of which by ourselves is probably the forcing of the lock which opens the back door to Germany. The “ Peninsula Press ” is foolscap size, printed on one ■ side. The one I have by me just now is number 18, and the first paragraph is a notice to the effect that “the issue will be suspended for a day or two, owing to the rearrangement of our printing establishment anife tne enlarging of our premises.” Under the heading, “ The Attack On Our Front ” wo read: “The action —reported in yesterday’s ‘ Peninsula Press ’ —in the section occupied by the Australian and New Zealand forces, was more serious and more successful than was at first realised. After blowing up ‘ <damn’s Post,’ the Turks effected a lodgment not only in the crater but also in the support trenches. When the firing line was taken with the bayonet, the Turks in the support trenches surrendered. During this hand-to-hand fighting heavy columns of the enemy advanced to make good their local success. As they were visible in the bright moonlight to our gunners they (our gunners) were able to bring a cross fire at accurate and known ranges, the consequence being the Tyrks got demoralised and fired into one another. The enemy’s casualties wore between 1500 and 2000. “ The new redoubt, captured by the French on the extreme left of the enemy’s line, is a valuable acquisition. The Turks fired heavily upon it during the night, but did not come to attack, being held in check by artillery fire.” Under the heading “ Poisonous Gases and Reprisals,” we road that the French have found a way of retaliating when the Gormans .use poisonous gases, a way W'hich in no way contravenes the regulations accepted by all civilised nations except Germany. “This weapon consists of a hand grenade, filled with certain chemicals, which when released produce no deadly effect, but are ■quite powerful enough to paralyse a man for several minutes. Tire smell of the fumes is not unpleasant; it is suggestive of pear-drops, combined with very strong ammonia, and ‘it produces such violent smarting of the eyes and nose that it would be hopeless to try to use a weapon while under its influence. These bombs have not yet been used, and will only be employed if the Germans make any further use of asphyxiating gases.” THREE PATRIOTIC PIECES. In one of our book shops there is a set of three illuminated mottos applicable to the present time —“A Call to Duty,” by Abraham Lincoln; “A People’s Voice,” by Lord Tennyson ; and “Fall In,” by Harold Bcgbic. “Fall In” is sot to music, and makes a recruiting and patriotic song, and the whole three arc good as recitations. But, perhaps, young folk are not familiar with the pieces by Tennyson and Lincoln, so I am quoting them; first take Lincoln’s: “With malice towards none, with Charity for all; with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in ; to bind up this nation’s wounds; to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and_for his widow and orphan: to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace.” A People’s Voice. “Wo arc a people yet. Tho’ ail men else their nobler dreams forget, Confused by brainless mobs and lawless Powers; Thank Him who has led us here, and roughly set His Briton in brown seas and storming showers We have a voice, with which to pay the debt i Of boundless love and reverence and I regc^ I To ihos-j great men who fought, and r kept it oura.

And keep it ours, O God, from brute control; 0 Statesmen, guard us, guard the eye, the soul Of Europe, keep our noble England whole, And save the one true seed of freedom sown Betwixt a people and th.eir ancient throne.” CORRESPONDENCE AND NOTES, A fortnight ago “An cions to Know’ asked why the summer is by the Northern Hemisphere than in the South. I gave my reply last week; but a North-East Valley resident gives a slightly different version, explaining the difference, not by the sun being in aphelion in the northern summer and in perihelion in the winter, but by the accelerating or retarding of the earth’s , rate of progression in its oroit. This is explained in Sullivan’s “Geography Generalised.” This increase and decrease in speed is the cause of the elliptical form of the earth’s orbit, a form which produces results I have explained. Here is Mr Mcllick’s letter, which may bo taken as supplementary to what I said; “The earth travels fastest in its orbit when at perihelion and slowest at aphelion. She is at perihelion approximately in January, and aphelion in July. Consequently when at perihelion she shortens the' northern winter and shortens the southern summer, and wdien at aphelion she lengthens the northern summer and lengthens the southern winter. Thus at pcrihel.on the north is favoured by a shorter winter against the south’s shorter summer, and at aphelion the north is favoured by a longer summer against the south’s longer winter. Hence the sun is eight days longer north of the equator than he is south.” Three days after, the-same correspondent writes that he hastens to withdraw his contention, because he finds his theory based on wrong premises. But he is on safe ground, I think, and what he wrote, as I have said before! supplements what I wrote, and our joint explanation is simply Sullivan’s “Generalised Geography” in detail. In Ins second letter he says: “I find that the summer solstice (northern) and the perihelion point arc almost identical; but it seems an anomaly that whilst the velocity of the earth in its orbit from the vernal equinox (northern) to the. autumnal is .greater than from the autumnal (northern) to the vernal, it takes approximately eight days longer to make the journey. Mr George ,F. Chambers, F.R.A.S., in his book called ‘The Story of the Solar System,’ says upon this subject: ‘Not only is' the earth’s orbit eccentric in form, but its eccentricity varies within narrow limits; but besides th’s the orbit itself as a whole, is subject to a periodical shift of place, from the joint effect of all which changes it comes about that our seasons are now of unequal length, the spring and summer quarters of the year unitedly extending to 186 days, whilst the autumn and winter quarters comprise only 178 days.’ Taken at its best, this, explanation seems vague, and I fear that where Follows of the Astronomical Society treat the subject so cautiously it is hopeless for the ordinary individual to do more than shy at the matter at issue.” On the question as originally put Mr Morris writes: — “Latitude being the same, and declination being the same, there is no difference in the length of sunshine. For instance, a place in latitude N. corresponding to the latitude of Dunedin at the northern summer solstice, would have the same length of day as. Dunedin would have at the southern summer solstice. However, the summer day at, say. Edinburgh, would be longer than at Dunedin, but, observe, in this case latitude is different. Perhaps your correspondent has been told that the summer days arc longer at Homo than they .are out here in Now Zealand ; but the latitudes are different, Edinburgh being much farther north than its Gaelic namesake is south. There is nearly constant daylight at Edinburgh during the northern summer sdlstice; and a few degrees farther north you would reach a latitude where there would bo scarcely an hour’s duration between sunset and sunrise.” 1 might add here that the astronomical notes appearing to-day were intended by Mr Morris to appear at the end of last month as a continuation of his previous notes. Next ■week, all being well, the August notes will appear. Meteorological notes will also, if possible, appear next week.