Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1890-12-20
COMMUNICATED.
The Winter Solstice

TO morrow, December Il, me sCn Will
ag ,in. af,cr tns lapse Of ak months, have
aco ID It's iarthes. LIMIT Of his decIioa'ion
O, recession south of the equa,or, a.: d b,
shiniae vertically upon the tFcp;c Of Cspr!-
corn. the Ioaarm0sl edge OF he torrid zone,
over coo distant f.om the latitude Of Wseh-
ington clIy.
Tue Inhstitan's q: tbs :s:-of ands of The
southern heUisphe wi' nov be having
thsir .uu,mt = soistacs an6 their icogess day,
and as tbe suo, after ses iHi; 6 10 etsnd still
for dag or tao, cop,@euces 70 !etracS his
faryif! course nc:Sh Waru across ts:s equator
saG 10 tie t5cpio CT Cancer, 90 the upper
edge o. - loTtid z3pe, and 81 tho southern
hssinriLg oi the northern hemisphere, they
vii! be commsucirg their summer seosor,
corresponding TO ouf summer Of Juce, July
aud August. Thsis Gaye thercaforth Will
gradually shorten, ibeir nights will length
en- aad ;heil sempasa uYe will 90 similar 10
onrs sitter the 2ls5 OF last Jnne. Nntie It
Yil be tHs snmmer s0issice 10 thsn, II VIII
bs fna Win;ar soistsca ioT Us, and ;oT us the
longest night cad The eharreet day OF the
year; aud bancsfor;h ouT dGys vii! @radu-
aiI; ieug;baG. eud sur Diah:s a2rteo, and
our cold will iacrease
Itis uol9 chs middle Or Dcon Q! the l2cp
souca polar DAY of six months. a. the Are-
tic circle fevsrseIy lt l. the middle oil the
loog nosth ponr nigh OF ak moniba.
From lhs 2lsJ OF the month Gay after cay
for the nex6 ak n0nth5 the sun's t...dow
viii De lerg ibsniug and his position IN The
heavens VIII reach higher end resrer to the
pole star untii bls norti polar distance Is
s2sip go degrees, which wii! ocour cn the
221 of Marc.
ht cuy Water soa.ice, the Gag wiI De
o;ne nculs aud tor5y-th.ca Ini3ctes IN length
the ni4b, fou;teen hcurs ffti seven min
ut7g. The sua sill rise iew miautas afse:
O'Clock eDd vii! set few minutes before
4 O'Clock.
We srs COW about 5000 900 miles neecer
80 tho SUI thsn We were the fest day OF iast
JulY. Ou the ftst dsg OF January the earth
is said to be In perihslioD. or ct it's nearest
approach to the sun. On the first day Of
JAW IL is fsrtbest removed from him, or In
aDhelon. At 6fst thought it would eeem
naredoxical that we should have cur cold
est weather vhon nearest ths fiery iumlaa-
rV. bur st ou7 winter solstice, whom tbs sun
- tbe fsrlheot to the sontb OF coy other tine
Of ths year bis beams shines upou us OBJ
l;uusIv aud are scattered and, hence can
not have the same effect ss when they shiue
vertically and are concentrated.
But the relative positions Of the sun cod
The earth at the winter soistics ~eEo not a.
ways a. they are So the present lime. About
eleven thousand yesTs ago. the esrth's
aesrest approach to the suo was ct the
line OF the summer sostice, consequently
he Temperature of the hottest midsummer
DAYS tban in our latitude here in the north
ern henigphare instesd OF bs1g ninety end
hundred degrees, must cave cee1 at least
90 degrees higher, and the temperature Of
me w!sleF 'poudlDgly colder; and this
state of things may partially account for the
marIna foeeil remains now found 80 pent-
fully In the mnr deposits of Virginia and
Maryland, and which indicate that the Mes-
oz>ic ses which once eurged wfetb'ully
along where now stand securely the cities
of Baltimore, Washington. Alexandria and
Richmond. and in which disported ssurian
monsters, iemeussly larger than the croco-
ollie or alligator, was far warmer than that
ocean which now rolls along Its present
cosst lire hnndred miles away.
ArdalCsis. We, W. 81. 5.