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Written for Burke’s Weekly. A STAR LESSON. BY AN EX-BOY. “ Night is the time to watch O’er ocean’s dark expanse— To hail the Pleiades, or cateh The full moon’s earliest glance.” »’ % VERY boy or girl, perhaps, knows the Seven Stars. But does every one know that thej r are in the Constellation Taurus ? The ancients seemed to think they could find all sorts of animals in that part of the sky, and among the rest traced out the neck, head and forelegs of a bull. They therefore called a number of the stars in that region Taurus, which is the Latin name for bull. The Seven Stars (or Pleiades, as they are called) are in his neck. Ilis head is turned down towards the horizon. You can easily trace a large V down below the Seven Stars, with the sharp point turn ed towards the south. This cluster is called the Hyades, and forms the face. 1 he bright fiery star in the lower line of the V is the southern eye, and called Aldebaran. This long hard word is said in Arabic to mean “the hind most,” as if this bright star was driving the Pleiades before it. About halfway _£rom Aldebaran to the- nnlnt n£ t-ha v a beautiful litwle double star, yi'lie legs of Taurus are down to the-ssuth, and are not marked by any special stars. There are two fine stars which mark the tips of his tremendous horns. They are almost in a line with the sides of the T towards the north, about twenty degrees from its southern point. The two stars are about ten degrees apart, and point nearly north and south. Jupiter passes between them (not far from the southern one) in his backward motion about Ist De cember, and again in his forward mo tion about 6th April next. If you can find these, you will have a good idea of the outline of this fine Constellation which adorns our fall and winter sky. As it is very important to get as clear a notion as possible of degrees in the sky, let us mark off a few spaces for easy reference. The sides of the Y are about Jive de grees long. The tips of the horns about ten degrees apart. From Aldebaran to the Seven Stars about -fifteen degrees. From the point of the V to the tip of the horn about twenty degrees. The Constellation just above Taurus is called Aries the Ram. If you start from Jupiter (about the middle of De cember), and draw a line to Pleiades, and keep on in the same direction about as far beyond them, you will be near two rather bright stars about five de grees apart, pointing north-east and south-west. These are the eyes of Aries. His body extends eastward BURKE’S WEEKLY FOR BOYS AND GIRLS. nearly to the Seven Stars. This clus ter has no remarkable stars in it; but you ought to know it, as it is in the pathway of the Sun, Moon and Planets. The Moon passes through Aries and Taurus every month. Sometimes it passes over Aldebaran, and again it passes as far north as Seven Stars. We call them Seven Stars, but who can see more than six? That beautiful lit tle cluster has attracted attention in all ages. Children and Astronomers have gazed at them with curiosity, awe and wonder. Turn now to your Bible, and in, the book of Job (chap. 68, ver. xxxi ) read this strange verse: “ Canst thou bind the sweet influ ences of the Pleiades?” Confession of faults makes half amends. (ifhbbl v f t f ; f !||n| ;>'>'% • it? •• ta HHBiy ‘ ife • • H jgip 'jfssßNl The Mammoth Trees cf California. - Sacramento city, in a gently sloping, heavy-timbered val ley, are the largest and tallest trees in the world. It is rightly called “ The Mammoth Tree Grove.” One of these giants of the forest was felled, not by chopping it down, but by boring it off’ with pump-augurs, and it employed five men for twenty-two days constantly at work to effect it. Its height was three hundred and two feet, and its circum ference at the ground was ninety-seven feet. Upon the stump, on the 4th of July, thirty-two persons were engaged in dancing four sets of cotillions at one time. The bark was eighteen inches in thickness, which gave it a diameter of over thirty feet. But monstrous as were the dimensions of this tree, at a short distance from it lies the prostrate and majestic body of a still larger one. This is known as the “Father of the Forest.” It is now half buried in the soil. It mea sured in circumference one hundred and ten feet; it was four hundred and thirty five feet in height; it is tjwo hundred feet to the first branch ; th& centre of it is now hollow, and a person can walk erect through it as though it were a large tunnel. A short distance from these immense trees is a double tree, called the “Siamese Twins,” which, as their name indicates, has one large stem at the ground thus forming a double tree, forty-one feet in diameter. The height is about three hundred feet. Ihe bark of one of these immense trees was taken off in sections, and car ried to London, where it was set up in the Crystal Palace, and attracts much attention. Nothing like it was ever seen before on the other side of the great waters. Here is a picture of it. Some Day, fEAIt ganma's gone away up high ! ” Said Eddy, pointing to the sky; “ The angels took gar ma away; vßut s k e Y come back again some QJ Then, with a face all rad : ant ** With sunny joy and sweet content, In happy mood resumed his play, Whispering of "ganma” and "some day.” Dear trusting child ! oh, would that I, Like thee, could look “away up high,” And smiling thus go on my way, Assured ’twill all be well " some day! ” Anna Cleaves. $2,000 IN PREMIUMS. Thk Proprietors of Burke’s Weekly make ! the following magnificent premium offer for the first Two Thousand Subscribers, sent in after the Ist of August;— 1. For the largest Club, not less than thirty, an Elegant Rosewood Piano, worth 8500 2. For the second largest, not lsss than twenty, a First-class Sewing Ma- chine, worth 70 3. For the third largest, not less than twenty, a Sewing Machine, worth ... 55 4. For the fourth largest, not less than twenty, a Premium worth 50 5. For the fifth largest, not less than twenty, a Premium worth 40 G. For the sixth largest, not less thanAA teen, a Premium worth 35 7. For the seventh largest, not less than fijteen, a Premium worth 30 8. For the eighth largest, not loss than ten, a Premium worth ... 25 9. For the ninth largest, not less than ten, a Premium worth 20 10. For the tenth largest, not lesff than ten, a Premium worth 15 11. For the ten next largest clubs, not less than ten sucscribers each, a Pre mium for each* club worth $lO, ma king i 100 L’ tl j, 1 d ut 'i“ ; ten tiibscribeqs each, a Premium ior each club worth $9, making 90 13. For the ten next largest, not less than ten subscribers each, a Premium for each club worth SB, making 80 14. For the ten next largest, not less than ten subscribers each, a Premium for each club worth $7 50, making 75 15. For the one hundred next largest, of not less than ten subscribers each, a Prize to each club worth $6, making.. 600 16. For the forty-three next largest, of not less than ten subscribers each, a Prize to each club worth $5. making 215 Making 193 Prizes, worth $2,000 For clubs of nine, eight, seven, six and five subscribers each, premiums at the rate of 50 cents for each subscriber. The Clubs must bo formed of neio subscri bers — those not now talcing the paper, and $2 must be sent for each name. Any present subscriber, whose subscription is paid up to Ist of July, 1871, wishing to compete for these premiums, may count his own name as one of a club, provided the full amount of $2 was sent for the subscription, and no premium or per-centage has been allowed for it; or old subscribers rnay count their names in clubs provided the full amount of $2 be forwarded with the name. But, in no instance, will other parties bo allowed to count renewals as new subscriptions. Those who have dis continued the paper may be counted as new subscribers. Subscribers may bo procured anywhere, and at any number of offices. 199