In certain parts, the shores of the Mississippi are protected by artificial barriers called Levées. In such places, during a flood, the whole population of the district is engaged in strengthening these barriers, each proprietor being in great alarm lest a crevasse should open and let in thewaters upon his fields. In spite of all exertions this disaster generally happens: the torrent rushes impetuously over the plantations, and lays waste the most luxuriant crops.
The mighty changes effected by the inundations of the Mississippi are little known until the waters begin to subside. Large streams are then found to exist where none had formerly been. These are called by navigatorsshort cuts, and some of them are so considerable as to interfere with the navigation of the Mississippi. Large sand-banks are also completely removed by the impetuous whirl of the waters, and are deposited in other places. Some appear quite new to the navigator, who has to mark their situation and bearings in his log-book. Trees on the margin of the river have either disappeared, or are tottering and bending over the stream preparatory to their fall. The earth is everywhere covered by a deep deposit of muddy loam, which, in drying, splits into deep and narrow chasms, forming a sort of network, from which, in warm weather, noxious exhalations rise, filling the atmosphere with a dense fog. The Squatter, shouldering his rifle, makes his way through the morass in search of hislost stock, to drive the survivors home and save the skins of the drowned. New fences have everywhere to be formed, and new houses erected; to save which from a like disaster, the settler places them on a raised platform, supported by pillars made of the trunks of trees. “The lands must be ploughed anew; and if the season is not too far advanced, a crop of corn and potatoes may yet be raised. But the rich prospects of the planter are blasted. The traveller is impeded in his journey, the creeks and smaller streams having broken up their banks in a degree proportionate to their size. A bank of sand, which seems firm and secure, suddenly gives way beneath the traveller’s horse, and the next moment the animal has sunk in the quicksand, either to the chest in front, or to the crupper behind, leaving its master in a situation not to be envied.”
Mists in the Valley
various forms op clouds—the cirrus, or curl-cloud—the cumulus, or stacken-cloud—the stratus, or fall-cloud—the cirro-cumulus, or sonder-cloud—the cirro-stratus, or wane-cloud—the cumulo-stratus, or twain-cloud—the nimbus, or rain-cloud—arrangement of rain-clouds—appearances of a distant shower—scud—cause of rain—formation of clouds—mists—heights of clouds—appearance of the sky above the clouds.
Many persons are apt to suppose that the clouds are among the most fitful and irregular appearances in the world; fleeting and unstable in their nature, uncertain in their forms, apparently subject to no fixed laws, and obedient neither to times nor seasons. Attentive observers, however, have proved that the beauty and harmony which are everywhere found to prevail in nature when rightly understood, can also be traced, even in the clouds. Although very much still remains to be discovered respecting them, yet it is found that, like all the other natural productions, they admit of being arranged and classified. So obvious was this topersons whose interest it is to observe the weather, that, long before scientific men had studied the subject, country people had noticed the different forms of clouds, and had learned to distinguish them by different names.
The first scientific man who made the clouds the object of his particular study, was Luke Howard, who, from an attentive consideration of their forms and appearances, found that they might all be arranged under three simple or primary forms, namely:—
1. TheCirrus—so called from its resemblance to acurled lock of hair. (Figures, 1, 2; page 77.)
2. TheCumulus, from theheapedappearance presented by the convex masses which form this cloud. (Figure 7.)
3. TheStratus, from its spreading out horizontally in a continuous layer, and increasing from below. (Figure 10.)
These three primary forms are subject to four modifications:—
The first is theCirro-cumulus, consisting of small roundish and well-defined masses, in close horizontal arrangement. (Figure 3.)
Various forms of clouds
The second is theCirro-Stratus, and the masseswhich compose it are small and rounded, but thinned off towards a part, or towards the whole of their circumference. They are sometimes separate, and sometimes in groups. (Figures 4, 5, 6.)
The third is theCumulo-Stratus, which is made up of the cirro-stratus blended with the cumulus. (Figure 8.)
The fourth is theCumulo-Cirro-Stratus, orNimbus. This is the truerain-cloud, or system of clouds from which rain is falling. (Figure 9.)
The termmodificationapplies to the structure or manner in which a given mass of cloud is made up, and not to its precise form or size, which in most clouds varies every instant. Mr. Howard remarks, that it may be at first difficult to distinguish one modification from another, or to trace the narrow limits which sometimes separate the different modifications; but a moderate acquaintance with the subject will soon enable any one to point out the various forms, and to a great extent to judge of the state of the weather by them. In order, therefore, to assist the reader in gaining a certain amount of knowledge on this interesting subject, it may be useful to state more fully the various phenomena of the different forms of clouds already enumerated.
The Cirrus, or curl-cloud
The Cirrus occurs in very great variety, and in some states of the air is constantly changing. It is the first cloud that appears in serene weather, and is always at a great height. The first traces of thecirrus are some fine whitish threads, delicately-pencilled on a clear blue sky; and as they increase in length others frequently appear at the sides, until numerous branches are formed, extending in all directions. Sometimes these lines cross each other and form a sort of delicate net-work. In dry weather the cirrus is sharp, defined, and fibrous in texture, the lines vanishing off in fine points. When the air is damp this cloud may be seen in the intervals of rain, but is not well defined, and the lines are much less fibrous. Such cirri as these often grow into other varieties of cloud, and are frequently followed by rain.
The cirrus may last a few minutes only, or continue for hours. Its duration is shortest when near other clouds. Although it appears to be stationary, it has some connexion with the motions of the atmosphere; for whenever, in fair weather, light variable breezes prevail, cirri are generally present. When they appear in wet weather, they quickly pass into the cirro-stratus.
According to Dalton, these clouds are from three to five miles above the earth’s surface. When viewed from the summits of the highest mountains they appear as distant as from theplains. Another proof of their great height is, their continuing to be tinged by the sun’s rays in the evening twilight with the most vivid colours, while the denser clouds are in the deepest shade.
The cirrus appears to be stationary; but, on comparison with a fixed object, it will sometimes be found to make considerable progress.
“And now the mists from earth are clouds in heaven:Clouds, slowly castellating in a calmSublimer than a storm; while brighter breathesO’er the whole firmament the breadth of blue,Because of that excessive purityOf all those hanging snow-white palaces,A gentle contrast, but with power divine.”
“And now the mists from earth are clouds in heaven:Clouds, slowly castellating in a calmSublimer than a storm; while brighter breathesO’er the whole firmament the breadth of blue,Because of that excessive purityOf all those hanging snow-white palaces,A gentle contrast, but with power divine.”
The Cumulus is a day cloud; it usually has a dense, compact appearance, and moves with the wind. In the latter part of a clear morning a small irregular spot appears suddenly at a moderate elevation. This is the nucleus or commencement of the cloud, the upper part of which soon becomes rounded and well defined, while the lower forms an irregular straight line. The cloud evidently increases in size on the convex surface,one heap succeeding another, until a pile of cloud is raised orstackedinto one large and elevated mass, orstacken-cloud, of stupendous magnitude and beauty, disclosing mountain summits tipped with the brightest silver; the whole floating along with its point to the sky, while the lower surface continues parallel with the horizon.
The Cumulus, or stacken-cloud
When several cumuli are present, they are separated by distances proportioned to their size: the smaller cumuli crowding the sky, while the larger ones are further apart. But the bases always range in the same line; and the increase of each cloud keeps pace with that of its neighbour, the intervening spaces remaining clear.
The cumulus often attains its greatest size early in the afternoon, when the heat of the day is most felt. As the sun declines, this cloud gradually decreases, retaining, however, its characteristic form till towards sunset, when it is, more or less, hastily broken up and disappears, leaving the sky clear as in the early part of the morning. Its tints are often vivid, and pass one into the other in a most pleasing manner, during this last hour of its existence.
This cloud accompanies and foretells fine weather. In changeable weather it sometimes evaporates almost as soon as it is formed; or it appears suddenly, and then soon passes off to some other modification.
In fair weather this cloud has a moderate elevation and extent, and a well-defined rounded surface. Before rain it increases more rapidly thanat other times, and appears lower in the atmosphere, with its surface full of loose fleeces.
The formation of large cumuli to leeward, in a strong wind, indicates the approach of a calm with rain. When they do not disappear or subside about sun-set, but continue to rise, thunder is to be expected in the night.
Independently of the beauty and magnificence which this description of cloud adds to the face of nature, it serves to screen the earth from the direct rays of the sun; by its multiplied reflections to diffuse and, as it were, economise the light; and also to convey immense stores of vapour from the place of its origin to a region in which moisture may be wanted.
As the Cumulus belongs to the day, so does the Stratus to the night. It is the lowest of all the clouds, and actually rests upon the earth, or the surface of water. It is of variable extent and thickness, and is calledStratus,a bedorcovering. It is generally formed by thesinkingof vapour in the atmosphere, and on this account has beencalledFall-cloud. It comprehends all those level, creeping mists, which, in calm evenings, spread like an inundation from the valleys, lakes, and rivers, to the higher ground.[85]But on the return of the sun the beautiful level surface of thiscloud begins to put on the appearance of cumulus, the whole, at the same time, rising from the ground like a magnificent curtain. As the cloud ascends, it is broken up and evaporates or passes off with the morning breeze. The stratus has long been regarded as the harbinger of fine weather; and, indeed, there are few days in the year more serene than those whose morning breaks out through a stratus.
The Stratus, or fall-cloud
The cirrus having continued for some time increasing or stationary, usually passes either to the cirro-cumulus or to the cirro-stratus, at the same time descending to a lower station in the atmosphere.
The Cirro-cumulus is formed from a cirrus, or a number of small separate cirri, passing into roundish masses, in which the extent of the cirrus is no longer to be seen. This change takes place either throughout the whole mass at once, or progressively from one extremity to the other. In either case the same effect is produced on a number of neighbouring cirri at the same time, and inthe same order. It appears, in some instances, to be hastened by the approach of other clouds.
The Cirro-Cumulus, or sonder-cloud
The cirro-cumulus forms a very beautiful sky, exhibiting sometimes numerous distinct beds of small connected clouds floating at different heights. It is frequent in summer, and accompanies warm,dry weather. On a fine summer’s evening the small masses which compose this cloud, are often well defined, and lying quiteasunder, or separate from one another; and on this account the termsonder-cloudhas been applied to this modification. The whole sky is sometimes covered with these small masses. They are occasionally, and more sparingly, seen in the intervals of showers, and in winter.
Bloomfield, in the following beautiful lines, has noticed the appearance of the sonder-cloud:—
“For yet above these wafted clouds are seen(In a remoter sky still more serene)Others, detach’d in ranges through the air,Spotless as snow, and countless as they’re fair;Scatter’d immensely wide from east to west,The beauteous semblance of a flock at rest:These, to the raptur’d mind, aloud proclaimThe mighty Shepherd’s everlasting name.”
“For yet above these wafted clouds are seen(In a remoter sky still more serene)Others, detach’d in ranges through the air,Spotless as snow, and countless as they’re fair;Scatter’d immensely wide from east to west,The beauteous semblance of a flock at rest:These, to the raptur’d mind, aloud proclaimThe mighty Shepherd’s everlasting name.”
This cloud may either evaporate or disappear, or it may pass to the cirrus, or sink lower and become a cirro-stratus. In stormy weather, before thunder, a cirro-cumulus often appears, composed of very dense and compact round bodies, in very close arrangement. When accompanied by thecumulo-stratus, it is a sure indication of a coming storm.
This cloud appears to be formed from the fibres of the cirrus sinking into a horizontal position, at the same time that they approach each other sideways. This cloud is to be distinguished by its flatness and great horizontal extension, in proportion to its height; a character which it always retains, under all its various forms. As this cloud is generally changing its figure, and slowly sinking, it has been called thewane-cloud. A collection of these clouds, when seen in the distance, frequently give the idea of shoals of fish. Sometimes the whole sky is so mottled with them, as to obtain for it the name of themackerel-back sky, from its great resemblance to the back of that fish. Sometimes they assume an arrangement like discs piled obliquely on each other. But in this, as in other instances, the structure must be attended to rather than the form, for this varies much, presenting, at times, the appearance of parallel bars or interwoven streaks, like the grain of polishedwood. It is thick in the middle and thinned off towards the edge.
The Cirro-Stratus, or wane-cloud
These clouds precede wind and rain. The near or distant approach of a storm may often be judged of from their greater or less abundance and duration. They are almost always to be seen in theintervals of storms. Sometimes the cirro-stratus, and the cirro-cumulus, appear together in the sky, and even alternate with each other in the same cloud, presenting many curious changes; and a judgment may be formed of the weather likely to ensue, by observing which prevails at last.
The cirro-stratus most frequently forms the solar and lunar halo. Hence the reason of the prognostics of bad weather commonly drawn from the appearance of halos.
The Cumulo-Stratus, or twain-cloud
This is a blending of two kinds of cloud (hence the name oftwain-cloud,) and it often presents a grand and beautiful appearance, being a collection of large fleecy clouds overhanging a flat stratum or base. When a cumulus increases rapidly a cumulo-stratus frequently forms around its summit, resting thereon as on a mountain, while the former cloud continues to be seen, in some degree, through it. This state of things does not continue long. The cumulo-stratus speedily becomes denser and spreads, while the upper part of the cumulus extends likewise, and passes into it, the base continuing as itwas. A large, lofty, dense cloud is thus formed which may be compared to a mushroom with a very thick, short stem. The cumulo-stratus, when well formed and seen singly, and in profile, is quite as beautiful an object as the cumulus. Mr. Howard has occasionally seen specimens constructed almostas finely as a Corinthian capital; the summit throwing a well-defined shadow upon the parts beneath. It is sometimes built up to a great height. The finest examples occur between the first appearance of the fleecy cumuli and the commencement of rain, while the lower atmosphere is comparatively dry, and during the approach of thunder storms. The appearance of the cumulo-stratus, among ranges of hills, presents some interesting phenomena. It appears like a curtain dropping among them and enveloping their summits; the hills reminding the spectator of the massy Egyptian columns which support the flat-roofed temples of Thebes. But when a whole sky is crowded with these clouds, and the cumulus rises behind them, and is seen through the interstices, the whole, as it passes off in the distant horizon, presents to the fancy mountains covered with snow, intersected with darker ridges, lakes of water, rocks and towers. Shakspeare seems to have referred to this modification in the well-known lines:—
“Sometimes we see a cloud that’s dragonish;A vapour, sometimes, like a bear or lion,A towered citadel, a pendent rock,A forked mountain, a blue promontory,With trees upon ’t that nod unto the world,And mock our eyes with air.—That which is now a horse, even with a thoughtThe rack dislimns, and makes it indistinctAs water is in water.
“Sometimes we see a cloud that’s dragonish;A vapour, sometimes, like a bear or lion,A towered citadel, a pendent rock,A forked mountain, a blue promontory,With trees upon ’t that nod unto the world,And mock our eyes with air.—That which is now a horse, even with a thoughtThe rack dislimns, and makes it indistinctAs water is in water.
Thedistinctcumulo-stratus is formed in the interval between the first appearance of the fleecycumulusand the commencement of rain, while the lower atmosphere is yet dry; also during the approach of thunder storms when it has frequently a reddish appearance. Itsindistinctappearance is chiefly in the longer or shorter intervals of showers of rain, snow, or hail.
Clouds, in any one of the preceding forms, at the same degree of elevation, or two or more of these forms at different elevations, may increase and become so dense as completely to obscure the sky; this, to an inexperienced observer, would seem to indicate the speedy commencement of rain. But Mr. Howard is of opinion that clouds, whilein any of the states above described, never let fall rain.
Before rain the clouds always undergo a change of appearance, sufficiently remarkable to give them a distinct character. This appearance, when the rain happens overhead, is but imperfectly seen; but from the observations of aëronauts, it appears that whenever a fall of rain occurs, and the sky is at the same time entirely overcast with clouds, there will be found to exist another stratum of clouds at a certain elevation above the former. So, also, when the sky is entirely overcast and rain is altogether or generally absent, the aëronaut, upon traversing the canopy immediately above him, is sure to enter upon an upper hemisphere either perfectly cloudless or nearly so. These remarks were, we believe, first made by Mr. M. Mason, and he states that they have been verified during many hundred ascents.
In October, 1837, two ascents were made by Mr. Mason, which well illustrate what has been said. On the 12th, “the sky was completely overspread with clouds, and torrents of rain fell incessantly during the whole of the day. Upon quitting the earth, the balloon was almost immediatelyenveloped in the clouds, through which it continued to work its way upwards for a few seconds. Upon emerging at the other side of this dense canopy, a vacant space, of some thousand feet in breadth, intervened, above which lay another stratum of a similar form and observing a similar character. As the rain, however, still continued to pour from this second layer of clouds, to preserve the correctness of the observation, a third layer should, by right, have existed at a still further elevation; which, accordingly, proved to be the case. On the subsequent occasion of the ascent of the same balloon, (October 17th,) an exactly similar condition of the atmosphere, with respect to clouds, prevailed; unaccompanied, however, with the slightest appearance of rain. No sooner had the balloon passed the layer of clouds immediately above the surface of the earth, than, as was anticipated, not a single cloud was to be found in the firmament beyond; an unbroken expanse of clear blue sky everywhere embracing the frothy plain that completely intercepted all view of the world beneath.”
Mr. Howard had not the advantages of a balloon to assist his observations. He has noticed that during rain and before the arrival of the denserand lower clouds, or through their interstices, there exists, at a greater height, a thin light veil or a hazy appearance. When this has considerably increased, the lower clouds are seen to spread till they unite in all points and form one uniform sheet. The rain then commences, and the lower clouds arriving from the windward, move under this sheet and are successively lost in it. When the latter cease to arrive, or when the sheet breaks, letting through the sun-beams, every one’s experience teaches him to expect that the rain will abate or leave off.
But there often follows an immediate and great addition to the quantity of cloud. At the same time the darkness becomes less, because the arrangement, which now returns, gives free passage to the rays of light; the lower broken clouds rise into cumuli, and the upper sheets put on the various forms of the cumulo-stratus, sometimes passing to the cirro-cumulus.
The various phenomena of the rain-cloud are best seen in a distant shower. If the cumulus be the only cloud at first visible, its upper part is seen to become tufted with cirri. Several adjacent clouds also approach and unite at its side. The cirriincrease, extending upwards and sideways, after which the shower is seen to commence. At other times, the cirro-stratus is first formed above the cumulus, and their sudden union is attended with the production of cirri and rain. In either case the cirri spring up in proportion to the quantity of rain falling, and give the cloud a character by which it is easily known at great distances, and which has long been called by the name ofnimbus.
When one of these arrives hastily with the wind, it brings but little rain, and frequently some hail or driven snow.
Since rain may be produced and continue to fall from the slightest obscuration of the sky by the nimbus, while a cumulus or a cumulo-stratus, of a very dark and threatening aspect, passes on without discharging any until some change of state takes place; it would seem as if nature had destined the latter as reservoirs, in which water is collected from extensive regions of the air for occasionally irrigating particular spots in dry seasons; and by means of which it is arrested, at times, in its descent in wet ones.
Although the nimbus is one of the least beautiful of clouds, it is, nevertheless, now and then adornedby the splendid colouring of the rainbow, which can only be seen in perfection when the dark surface of this cloud forms for it a background.
The small ragged clouds which are sometimes seen sailing rapidly through the air, are calledscud. They consist of portions of a rain-cloud, probably broken up by the wind, and are dark or light according as the sun shines upon them. They are the usual harbingers of rain, and, as such, are called by various names, such asmessengers,carriers, andwater-waggons.
In attempting to explain the production of clouds and rain, it is necessary to observe that the subject is beset with difficulties—the discussion of which does not belong to this little volume; but the following notice of Dr. Hutton’s theory may not be out of place.
It has been already stated, that the air supplies itself with moisture from the surface of the waters of the earth. This it continues to do at all temperatures, until it is so charged with vapour that it cannot contain any more. The air is then said to besaturated. Now, the quantity of moisture which a given bulk of air can contain, depends entirelyupon the temperature of the air for the time being. The higher the temperature of the air the greater will be the quantity of vapour contained in it; and, although it may be perfectly invisible to the eye, on account of the elasticity which the heat imparts to it, yet it can easily be made visible by subtracting a portion of the heat. If, for example, a glass of cold water be suddenly brought into a warm room, moisture from the air will be condensed upon the outside of the glass in the form of dew. A similar change is supposed to take place when two currents of air having different temperatures, but both saturated with vapour, are mingled together; an excess of vapour is set free, which forms a cloud or falls down as rain. If the currents continue to mingle uniformly, “the clouds soon spread in all directions, so as to occupy the whole horizon; while the additional moisture, incessantly brought by the warmer current, keeps up a constant supply for condensation, and produces a great and continued deposition of moisture in the form of rain. By degrees, the currents completely intermingle, and acquire a uniform temperature; condensation then ceases; the clouds are re-dissolved; and the whole face of nature, after being cooled and refreshedby the necessary rain, is again enlivened by the sunshine, thus rendered still more agreeable by its contrast with the previous gloom.”
If the cloud, produced by the mingling of two differently heated currents of moist air, happen to form in the upper regions of the sky, it may be heavier than its own bulk of air, and will consequently begin to sink. Should the atmosphere near the earth be less dense than the cloud, the latter will continue to descend till it touches the ground, where it forms a mist. If the vapour has been condensed rapidly and abundantly, the watery particles will form rain, hail, or snow, according to the temperature of the air through which they pass. But it may happen that the cloud, in descending, arrives in a warmer region than that in which it was formed: in this case, the condensed moisture may again become vapour, and ascend again to a region where condensation may again take place.
Mr. Daniell’s explanation of the formation of rain differs from the above in some of its particulars, which are not sufficiently elementary to be given here; but it may be instructive to give a few of Mr. Howard’s illustrations respecting theformation of the various clouds. If hot water be exposed to cool air, itsteams—that is, the vapour given off from the surface is condensed in mixing with the air; and the water thus produced appears in visible particles, the heat of the vapour passing into the air. This effect may be seen about sunrise, in summer, on the surface of ponds warmed by the sun of the previous day, and also with water newly pumped from a well. But the small cloud formed in these instances usually disappears almost as soon as formed, the air being too dry to allow it to remain. But in the wide regions of the atmosphere the case is different, on account of the vast supply of vapour, and the ascent and descent of the cloud to regions which allow it to remain tolerably permanent. In the fine evenings of autumn, and occasionally at other seasons, mists appear suddenly in the valleys, gradually filling these low places, and even rising to a certain height, forming a foggy atmosphere for the following day. These collections of visible vapour resting on the earth, and often cut off so as to form a level surface above, so nearly resemble a sheet of water, as to have been occasionally mistaken for an inundation, the occurrence of the previous night. Such is theorigin and appearance of thestratus: it constitutes the fog of the morning, and sometimes, as at the approach of a long frost, occupies the lower atmosphere for several days. But the sun, we will suppose, has broken through and dissipated this obscurity, and cleared the lower air. On looking up to the blue sky, we see some few spots showing the first formation of a cloud there: these little collections increase in number, and become clouds, heaped, as it were, on a level base, and presenting their rounded forms upwards; in which state they are carried along in the breeze, remaining distinct from each other in the sky. This is thecumulus, orheap.
By and by, if the clouds continue to form, and enough vapour is supplied from above, these heaps are seen to grow over their base like a mushroom or cauliflower. Perhaps a flat top is seen forming separately, and this afterwards joins the simple heap of cloud; or the flat forms and the heaps become mixed irregularly among each other, occupying the spaces everywhere, till the sky becomes overcast, and presents the usual appearance of dense clouds. This is thecumulo-stratus, orheaped and flat cloud. It is not productive of rain, and itforms, both in summer and in winter, the common scenery of a full sky.
On examining minutely the higher regions of the air, especially after the sky has been clear for some time, the spectator will probably see the cirrus descending from above in the form ofthreadsorlocksandfeathers, which go on increasing until they fill the sky. They are more commonly seen above the two former kinds, which float upon the clear air below. On continuing to watch the cirri, they will be seen to pass to the intermediate form of cirro-cumulus, consisting of smaller rounded clouds attached to each other, or simply collected together in a flat aggregate, and forming the mottled or dappled sky.
The cumulo-stratus is more dense and continuous in its structure; thick in the middle, and thinned off towards the edges. Over-head it is a mere bed of haze, more or less dense. In the horizon, when seen sideways, it often resembles shoals of fish, as already noticed; but it is liable to put on the most ragged and patchy appearances, making a very ugly sky.
The nimbus, or rain cloud, is seen to the greatest advantage in profile, in the horizon, and at a greatdistance, when it often resembles a lofty tower raised by its greater height to a conspicuous place among the dark threatening clouds, and catching the sun’s last rays upon its broad summit and sides. In its nearer approach, it may always be known by being connected below with an obscurity caused by the rain it lets fall, and which reaches down to the horizon.
In ascending from the lower valleys to the tops of lofty mountains, clouds may be traced through six modifications, the cirrus being seen from the loftiest summits, while the other forms are only skirting the sides of the mountains. Mr. Mason remarks, that clouds occasionally lie so low, that before the balloon seems to have entirely quitted the earth, it has been received between their limits, and entirely enveloped within their watery folds. Clouds, on the contrary, are sometimes at such a height, that the balloon either never comes into contact with them at all, or, if it passes through one layer, the aëronaut continues to behold another occupying a still remoter region of the skies above.
As a general rule, it is stated that the natural region of clouds is a stratum of the atmospherelying between the level of the first thousand feet, and that of one removed about ten thousand feet above it. Of course it is not supposed but that clouds are occasionally found on both sides of the bounds here assigned to them; the mist occupies the lowest valleys, while, on the other hand, long after the aëronaut has attained the height of ten thousand feet, some faint indications of clouds may still be seen partially obscuring the dark blue vault above him. As he continues to ascend, the blue of the sky increases in intensity; and should a layer of clouds shut out all view of the earth, “above and all around him extends a firmament dyed in purple of the intensest hue; and from the apparent regularity of the horizontal plane on which it rests, bearing the resemblance of a large inverted bowl of dark blue porcelain standing upon a rich Mosaic floor or tesselated pavement. Ascending still higher, the colour of the sky, especially about the zenith, is to be compared with the deepest shade of Prussian blue.”
Various forms of hail-stones
on hail—the hail-storms of france—disastrous effects of hail—the hail-storms of south america—their surprising effects—origin and nature of hail—periodical falls of hail—hail clouds—hailstones—their various forms—extraordinary size of hailstones.
As hail seems to be nothing more than frozen rain, it is necessary to collect a few particulars respecting it in this place.
Great Britain is essentially a rain country; but there are some parts of the world which have obtained the unhappy distinction of beinghailcountries:such, for example, as some of the most beautiful provinces of France, which are frequently devastated by hail-storms. One of the most tremendous hail-storms on record is that which occurred in that country in July 1788. This fearful storm was ushered in by a dreadful and almost total darkness which suddenly overspread the whole country. In a single hour the whole face of nature was so entirely changed, that no person who had slept during the tempest could have believed himself in the same part of the world when he awoke. Instead of the smiling bloom of summer, and the rich prospects of a forward autumn, which were just before spread over the face of that fertile and beautiful country, it now presented the dreary aspect of an arctic winter. The soil was changed into a morass; the standing corn beaten into a quagmire; the vines were broken to pieces, and their branches bruised in the same manner; the fruit-trees of every kind were demolished, and the hail lay unmelted in heaps like rocks of solid ice. Even the robust forest trees were incapable of withstanding the fury of the tempest; and a large wood of chesnut trees, in particular, was so much damaged, that it presented, after the storm,little more than bare and naked trunks. The vines were so miserably hacked and battered, that four years were estimated as the shortest period in which they could become again in any degree productive. Of the sixty-six parishes included in the district of Pontoise, forty-three were entirely desolated; while, of the remaining twenty-three, some lost two-thirds, and others above half their harvest.
This storm began in the south, and proceeded in two parallel bands from the south-west to the north-east; the extent of one of them being 175 leagues, and of the other 200; thus traversing nearly the whole length of that great kingdom, and even a portion of the Low countries. The mean breadth of the eastern portion was four leagues, and of the western two: and, what is very remarkable, the interval between the two bands, amounting to five leagues, was deluged with heavy rain. The largest of the hail-stones weighed half a pound each.
The progress of this storm, which was from south to north, was at the rate of 16½ leagues an hour; and the velocity of the two bands was precisely the same. The continuance of the hailwas limited to seven or eight minutes, at each of the principal stations marked.
There are instances, however, on record, in which hail has produced even more tremendous results than those above recorded. In some parts of South America hail-stones are sometimes so large and so hard, and fall with such violence, that large animals are killed by them. Mr. Darwin, encamping at the foot of the Sierra Tapalguen, says:—“One of the men had already found thirteen deer lying dead, and I saw their fresh hides. Another of the party, a few minutes after my arrival, brought in seven more. Now I well know that one man without dogs could hardly have killed seven deer in a week. The men believed they had seen about fifteen dead ostriches, (part of one of which we had for dinner;) and they said that several were running about evidently blind in one eye. Numbers of small birds, as ducks, hawks, and partridges, were killed. I saw one of the latter with a black mark on its back, as if it had been struck with a paving-stone. A fence of thistle-stalks round the hovel was nearly broken down; and my informer, putting his head out to see what was the matter, received a severecut, and now wears a bandage. The storm was said to have been of limited extent: we certainly saw, from our last night’s bivouac, a dense cloud and lightning in this direction. It is marvellous how such strong animals as deer could thus have been killed; but, I have no doubt, from the evidence I have given, that the story is not in the least exaggerated.” Dr. Malcolmson informed Mr. Darwin, that he witnessed, in 1831, in India, a hail-storm, which killed numbers of large birds, and much injured the cattle. These hail-stones were flat; one was ten inches in circumference; and another weighed two ounces. They ploughed up a gravel-walk like musket-balls, and passed through glass windows, making round holes, but not cracking them.
There is much in the origin and formation of hail that cannot well be explained. Volta regarded the formation of small flakes of ice, the kernels of future hail-stones, in the month of July, during the hottest hours of the day, as one of the most difficult phenomena in nature to explain. It is difficult to account for the comparative scarcity of hail-showers in winter; as also, for the great size which hailstones are often known to attain.
It appears from certain resemblances in the descents of rain, snow, and hail, that they have a common origin, their different formations being explained by difference of temperature. Howard has observed a huge nimbus affording hard snowballs and distinct flakes of snow at the same time. Hail and rain are by no means uncommon from the same cloud. The size of a cloud may be such, or clouds may exist in different elevations, which in an upper region produce hail, in a lower region snow, and at a still lower elevation rain. Rain may also form in an upper region of the sky, and descend into a colder stratum of the atmosphere, and be frozen into hail. Hail generally precedes storms of rain.
Change of wind and the action of opposite currents, so necessary for the production of rain, are also frequent during hail-storms. While clouds are agitated with the most rapid motions, rain generally falls in greatest abundance; and if the agitation be very great it generally hails. Before the descent of hail a noise is heard, a particular kind of crackling, which has been compared to the emptying of a bag of walnuts.
The descent of hail in some countries appearsto occur at particular periods. In the central parts of France, Italy, and Spain, it usually hails most abundantly during the warmest hours of the day in spring and summer, and in Europe generally it falls principally during the day; but there are examples recorded of great hail-storms which have taken place during the night. Near the equator, it seldom hails in places situated at a lower level than 350 fathoms, for, although the hail may be formed, the warmth of the regions prevents it from falling in that state.
The appearance of hail clouds seems to be distinguished from other stormy clouds by a very remarkable shadowing. Their edges present a multitude of indentations, and their surfaces disclose here and there immense irregular projections. Arago has seen hail-clouds cover with a thick veil the whole extent of a valley, at a time when the neighbouring hills enjoyed a fine sky and an agreeable temperature.
Hailstones of similar forms are produced at similar levels. They are smaller on the tops of mountains than in the neighbouring plains. If the temperature or the wind alter, the figures of the hailstones become immediately changed. Hailstonesof the form of a six-sided pyramid have been known to change, on the wind changing to the north-east, to convex lenses, so transparent and nicely formed, that they magnified objects without distorting them. Some hailstones are globular, others elongated, and others armed with different points.
In the centres of hailstones small flakes of spungy snow are frequently found, and this usually is the only opaque point in them. Sometimes the surface is covered with dust, like fine flour, and is something between hail and snow. This never falls during summer in southerly countries. In the Andes hailstones from five to seven lines in diameter are sometimes formed of layers of different degrees of transparency, so as to permit rings of ice to be separated from them with a very slight blow. In Orkney, hailstones have fallen as finely polished as marbles, of a greyish white colour, not unlike fragments of light-coloured marble. Hailstones are often so hard and elastic, that those which fall on the stones rebound without breaking to the height of several yards; and they have been known to be projected from a cloud almost horizontally, and with such velocityas to pierce glass windows with a clear round hole.
On the 7th May, 1822, some remarkable hailstones fell at Bonn, on the Rhine. Their general size was about an inch and a half in diameter, and their weight 300 grains. When picked up whole, which was not always the case, their general outline was elliptical, with a white, or nearly opaque spot in the centre, about which were arranged concentric layers, increasing in transparency to the outside. Some of them exhibited a beautiful star-like and fibrous arrangement, the result of rows of air bubbles dispersed in different radii. The figures at the head of this chapter show the external and internal appearances of these hailstones.
The smaller figures represent pyramidal hail, common in France, and occasionally in Great Britain.
Brown hailstones have been noticed. Humboldt saw hail fall of the colour of blood.
On the 15th July, 1808, Howard noticed, in Gloucestershire, hailstones from three to nine inches in circumference; appearing like fragments of a vast plate of ice which had been broken in its descent to the earth.
On the 4th June, 1814, Dr. Crookshank noticed, in North America, hailstones of from thirteen to fifteen inches in circumference. They seemed to consist of numerous smaller stones fused together.
On the 24th July, 1818, during a storm in Orkney, Mr. Neill picked up hailstones weighing from four ounces to nearly half a pound.
Rain gauges
method of measuring the quantity of rain that falls—the rain gauge—methods of observing for rain and snow—effects of elevation on the quantity of rain—difference between the top of a tall building and the summit of a mountain—size of drops of rain—velocity of their fall—quantity of rain in different latitudes—extraordinary falls of rain—remarks on the rain of this country—influence of the moon—absence of rain—remarkable drought in south america—its terrible effects and consequences—artificial rains.
The quantity of rain which falls at different parts of the earth’s surface is very variable; andfor the purpose of measuring it instruments calledRain-gaugeshave been contrived. The simplest form is a funnel three or four inches high, and having an area of one hundred square inches. This may be placed in the mouth of a large bottle, and, after each fall of rain, the quantity may be measured by a glass jar divided into inches and parts. This simple gauge being placed on the ground in an open spot, will evidently represent a portion of the ground, and will show the depth of rain which would cover it at and about that spot, supposing the ground to be horizontal, and that the water could neither flow off nor sink into the soil. Thus, by taking notice of the quantity of rain which falls day by day, and year by year, and taking the average of many years, we get the mean annual quantity of rain for the particular spot in question. By an extension of these observations, it is evident that the mean annual fall of rain may be known for a district or a kingdom.
A more convenient form of rain-gauge than the one just noticed, is made by placing the funnel at the top of a brass or copper cylinder, connected with which at the lower point, is a glass tube with a scale, measuring inches and tenths of aninch. The water stands at the same height in the glass tube as it does in the cylinder, and being visible in the tube the height can be immediately read on the scale. The cylinder and the tube are so constructed, that the sum of the areas of their sections is a given part, such as a tenth of the area of the mouth of the funnel; so that each inch of water in the tube is equal to the tenth of an inch of water which enters the mouth of the funnel. A stop-cock is added for drawing off the water from the cylinder after each observation is noted down.
Some rain-gauges are constructed for showing the quantity of rain which falls from each of the four principal quarters. Others are made so as to register, themselves, the quantity of rain fallen. One of this kind, by Mr. Crosley, consists of a funnel through which the rain passes to a vibrating trough; when, after a sufficient quantity has fallen into its higher side, it sinks down and discharges the rain which escapes by a tube. The vibrating action of this trough moves a train of wheel-work and indices, which register upon a dial plate the quantity of rain fallen.
Whatever form of rain-gauge is adopted, itmust be placed in an exposed situation, at a distance from all buildings, and trees, and other objects likely to interfere with the free descent of rain into the funnel. It is usual, in rainy weather, to observe the quantity of water in the gauge every morning; but this does not seem to be often enough, considering how freely water evaporates in an exposed situation. An error may also arise from some of the water adhering to the sides of the vessel, unless an allowance is made for the quantity thus lost by a contrivance such as the following:—Let a sponge be made damp, yet so that no water can be squeezed from it, and with this collect all the water which adheres to the funnel and cylinder, after as much as possible has been drawn off; then, if the sponge be squeezed, and the water from it be received in a vessel which admits of measuring its quantity, an estimate may be made of the depth due to it; and this being added to the depth given by the instrument, would probably show correctly the required depth of rain.
When snow has fallen the rain-gauge may not give a correct quantity, as a portion of it may be blown out, or a greater quantity may have fallenthan the mouth will contain. In such cases, it is recommended to take a cylindrical tube and press it perpendicularly into the snow, and it will bring out with it a cylinder equal to the depth. This, when melted, will give the quantity of water which can be measured as before. The proportion of snow to water is about seventeen to one; and hail to water, about eight to one. These quantities, however, may vary according to the circumstances under which the snow or hail has fallen, and the time they have been upon the ground.
The rain-gauge should be placed as near the surface of the ground as possible; for it is a perplexing circumstance, that the rain-gauge indicates very different quantities of rain as falling upon the very same spot, according to the different heights at which it is placed. Thus it has been found, that the annual depth of rain at the top of Westminster Abbey was 12.1 inches nearly, while, on the top of a house sixteen feet lower, it was rather more than 18.1 inches, and on the ground, in the garden of the house, it was 22.6 inches. M. Arago has also found from observations made during twelve years, that on the terrace of the Observatory at Paris the annual depth was about2¼ inches less than in the court thirty yards below.
It would naturally be expected from these observations, that less rain falls on high ground than at the level of the sea. Such however is not the case, except on abrupt elevations; where the elevation is made by the natural and gradual slope of the earth’s surface, the quantity of rain is greater on the mountain than in the plain. Thus, on the coast of Lancashire, there is an annual fall of 39 inches; while at Easthwaite, among the mountains in the same county, the annual depth of rain amounts to 86 inches. By comparing the registers at Geneva and the convent of the Great St. Bernard, it appears that at the former place, by a mean of thirty-two years, the annual fall of rain is about 30¾ inches; while at the latter, by a mean of twelve years, it is a little over 60 inches.
In order to explain these remarkable differences, it must not be supposed that the clouds extend down to the ground, so as to cause more rain at the foot of Westminster Abbey than on its roof. There is no doubt that in moist weather the air contains more water near the ground than a few hundred feet above it; and probably, the same causewhich determined a fall from the cloud, would also throw down the moisture floating at a low elevation. Much rain also proceeds from drifting showers, of short duration, and the current moves more slowly along the surface, and allows the drops to fall as fast as they are formed. In hilly countries, on the contrary, clouds and vapours rest on the summits without descending into the plains, and, according to some, the hills attract electricity from the clouds, and thus occasion rain to fall. Mr. Phillips supposes that each drop of rain continues to increase in size from the commencement to the end of its descent, and as it passes successively through the moist strata of the air, obtains its increase from them; while the rain which falls on the mountain may leave these moist strata untouched, so that they may, in fact, not form rain at all.
The drops of rain are of unequal size, as may be seen from the marks made by the first drops of a shower upon any smooth surface. They vary in size from perhaps the twenty-fifth to a quarter of an inch in diameter. It is supposed that in parting from the clouds they fall with increasing speed, until the increasing resistance of the airbecomes equal to their weight, when they continue to fall with an uniform velocity. A thunder-shower pours down much faster than a drizzling rain. A flake of snow, being perhaps nine times more expanded than water, descends thrice as slow. But hailstones are often several inches in length, and fall with a velocity of seventy feet in a second, or at the rate of about fifty miles an hour, and hence the destructive power of these missiles in stripping and tearing off fruit and foliage.
The annual quantity of rain decreases from the equator to the poles, as appears from the following table, which gives the name of the station, its latitude, and the average annual number of inches of rain:—
Coast of Malabar
lat. 11° 30′ N.
135½ inches.
At Grenada, Antilles
12°
126
At Cape François, St. Domingo
19° 46′
120
At Calcutta
22° 23′
81
At Rome
41° 54′
39
In England
50 to 55°
31
At St. Petersburgh
59° 16′
16
At Uleaborg
65° 30′
13½
The number of rainy days, on the contrary, increases from the equator to the poles.
From 12° to 43° N. lat.—the number of rainy days in the year amounts to
78
From 43° to 46°
103
From 46° to 50°
134
From 50° to 60°
161
The greatest depth of rain which falls in the Indian ocean is during the time when the periodical winds, called themonsoons, change their direction. When the winds blow directly in-shore the rains are very abundant, so much so that, after a continuance of twenty-four hours, the surface of the sea has been covered with a stratum of fresh water, good enough for drinking, and ships have actually filled their casks from it. Colonel Sykes observes, that the deluge-like character of a monsoon in the Ghàts of Western India, is attested by the annual amount of 302¼ inches, at Malcolmpait, on the Mahabuleshwar Hills.
A great depth of rain in a short time has occasionally been witnessed in Europe. At Genoa, on the 25th of October, 1822, a depth of thirty inches of rain fell in one day. At Joyeuse, on the 9th of October, 1827, thirty-one inches of rain fell in twenty-two hours. Previous to the great floods of Moray, in 1829, the rain is described asbeing so thick that the very air itself seemed to be descending in one mass of water upon the earth. Nothing could withstand it. The best finished windows were ineffectual against it, and every room exposed to the north-east was deluged. The smaller animals, the birds, and especially game, of all kinds, were destroyed in great numbers by the rain alone, and the mother partridge, with her brood and her mate, were found chilled to death amidst the drenching wet. It was also noticed, that, as soon as the flood touched the foundation of a dry stone wall, the sods on the top of it became as it were alive with mice, all forcing their way out to escape from the inundation which threatened their citadel; and in the stables, where the water was three feet deep, rats and moles were swimming about among the buildings.
Among the Andes it is said to rain perpetually; but in Peru it never rains, moisture being supplied during a part of the year by thick fogs, calledgaruas. In Egypt, and some parts of Arabia, it seldom rains at all, but the dews are heavy, and supply with moisture the few plants of the sandy regions.
There is a great variation in the quantity ofrain that falls in the same latitude, on the different sides of the same continent, and particularly of the same island. The mean fall of rain at Edinburgh, on the eastern coast, is 26 inches; while at Glasgow, on the western coast, in nearly the same latitude, it is 40 inches. At North Shields, on the eastern coast, it is 25 inches; while at Coniston, in Lancashire, in nearly the same latitude, on the western coast, it is 85 inches.
The amount of rain in a district may be changed by destroying or forming forests, and by the inclosure and drainage of land. By thinning off the wood in the neighbourhood of Marseilles, there has been a striking decrease of rain in fifty years.
In Mr. Howard’s observations on the climate of this country, he has found, on an average of years, that it rains every other day; that more rain falls in the night than in the day; that the greatest quantity of rain falls in autumn, and the least in winter; that the quantity which falls in autumn is nearly double that in spring; that most rain falls in October and least in February, and that May comes nearest to the mean: that one year in every five, in this country, may be expected to be extremely dry, and one in ten extremely wet.
According to Dalton, the mean annual amount of rain and dew for England and Wales is 36 inches. The mean all over the globe is stated to be 34 inches.
There seems to be some real connexion between the changes of the moon and the weather. Mr. Daniell says, “No observation is more general; and on no occasion, perhaps, is the almanac so frequently consulted as in forming conjectures upon the state of the weather. The common remark, however, goes no further than that changes from wet to dry, and from dry to wet, generally happen at the changes of the moon. When to this result of universal experience we add the philosophical reasons for the existence of tides in the aërial ocean, we cannot doubt that such a connexion exists. The subject, however, is involved in much obscurity.” At Viviers, it was observed that the number of rainy days was greatest at the first quarter, and least at the last. Mr. Howard has observed that, in this country, when the moon has south declination, there falls but a moderate quantity of rain, and that the quantity increases till she has attained the greatest northern declination. He thinks there is “evidence of a greattidal wave,or swell in the atmosphere, caused by the moon’s attraction, preceding her in her approach to us, and following slowly as she departs from these latitudes.”
Most dry climates are subject to periodical droughts. In Australia, they return after every ten or twelve years, and are then followed by excessive rains, which gradually become less and less till another drought is the consequence.
When Mr. Darwin was in South America, he passed through a district which had long been suffering from dry weather. The first rain that had fallen during that year was on the 17th of May, when it rained lightly for about five hours. “With this shower,” he says, “the farmers, who plant corn near the sea-coast, where the atmosphere is more humid, would break up the ground; with a second, put the seed in; and, if a third should fall, they would reap in the spring a good harvest. It was interesting to watch the effect of this trifling amount of moisture. Twelve hours afterwards the ground appeared as dry as ever; yet, after an interval of ten days, all the hills were faintly tinged with green patches; the grass being sparingly scattered in hair-like fibres a full inch inlength. Before this shower every part of the surface was bare as on a high road.”
A fortnight after this shower had fallen, Mr. Darwin took an excursion to a part of the country to which the shower had not extended. “We had, therefore,” he says, “in the first part of our journey a most faint tinge of green, which soon faded away. Even where brightest, it was scarcely sufficient to remind one of the fresh turf and budding flowers during the spring of other countries. While travelling through these deserts, one feels like a prisoner, shut up in a gloomy courtyard, longing to see something green, and to smell a moist atmosphere.”
The effects of a great drought in the Pampas are thus described. “The period included between the years 1827 and 1830 is called the ‘gran seco’ or the great drought. During this time so little rain fell, that the vegetation, even to the thistles, failed; the brooks were dried up, and the whole country assumed the appearance of a dusty high road. This was especially the case in the northern part of the province of Buenos Ayres, and the southern part of St. Fe. Very great numbers of birds, wild animals, cattle, and horses,perished from the want of food and water. A man told me that the deer used to come into his courtyard to the well which he had been obliged to dig to supply his own family with water; and that the partridges had hardly strength to fly away when pursued. The lowest estimation of the loss of cattle in the province of Buenos Ayres alone, was taken at one million head. A proprietor at San Pedro had previously to these years 20,000 cattle; at the end not one remained. San Pedro is situated in the midst of the finest country, and even now again abounds with animals; yet, during the latter part of the ‘gran seco’ live cattle were brought in vessels for the consumption of the inhabitants. The animals roamed from theirestancias, and wandering far to the southward, were mingled together in such multitudes that a government commission was sent from Buenos Ayres to settle the disputes of the owners. Sir Woodbine Parish informed me of another and very curious source of dispute; the ground being so long dry, such quantities of dust were blown about, that in this open country the landmarks became obliterated, and people could not tell the limits of their estates.
“I was informed by an eye-witness, that the cattle in herds of thousands rushed into the river Parana, and being exhausted by hunger they were unable to crawl up the muddy banks, and thus were drowned. The arm which runs by San Pedro was so full of putrid carcasses, that the master of a vessel told me, that the smell rendered it quite impossible to pass that way. Without doubt, several hundred thousand animals thus perished in the river. Their bodies, when putrid, floated down the stream, and many in all probability were deposited in the estuary of the Plata. All the small rivers became highly saline, and this caused the death of vast numbers in particular spots, for when an animal drinks of such water it does not recover. I noticed, but probably it was the effect of a gradual increase, rather than of any one period, that the smaller streams in the Pampas were paved with bones. Subsequently to this unusual drought, a very rainy season commenced, which caused great floods. Hence it is almost certain, that some thousands of these skeletons were buried by the deposits of the very next year. What would be the opinion of a geologist viewing such an enormous collection of bones, of all kindsof animals and of all ages, thus embedded in one thick earthy mass? Would he not attribute it to a flood having crept over the surface of the land, rather than to the common order of things?”
Captain Owen mentions a curious effect of a drought on the elephants at Benguela on the western coast of Africa:—“A number of these animals had some time since entered the town in a body to possess themselves of the wells, not being able to procure any water in the country. The inhabitants mustered, when a desperate conflict ensued, which terminated in the ultimate discomfiture of the invaders, but not until they had killed one man, and wounded several others.” The town is said to have a population of nearly three thousand. Dr. Malcolmson states, that during a great drought in India the wild animals entered the tents of some troops at Ellore, and that a hare drank out of a vessel held by the adjutant of the regiment.
In connexion with droughts may be mentioned a plan[133]proposed by Mr. Espy of the United States of America, for remedying them by meansofartificial rains. That gentleman says, that if a large body of heated air be made to ascend in a column, a large cloud will be generated, and that such cloud will contain in itself a self-sustaining power, which may move from the place over which it was formed, and cause the air over which it passes to rise up into it and thus form more cloud and rain, until the rain may become general.
It is proposed to form this ascending column of air by kindling large fires which, Mr. Espy says, are known to produce rain. Humboldt speaks of a mysterious connexion between volcanoes and rain, and says that when a volcano bursts out in South America in a dry season, it sometimes changes it to a rainy one. The Indians of Paraguay, when their crops are threatened by drought, set fire to the vast plains with the intention of producing rain. In Louisiana, heavy rains have been known from time immemorial to succeed the conflagration of the prairies; and the inhabitants of Nova Scotia bear testimony to a similar result from the burning of their forests. Great battles are said to produce rain, and it is even stated that the spread of manufactures in a particular district deteriorates the climate of such district, the ascendingcurrent occasioned by the tall chimney of every manufactory tending to produce rain. In Manchester, for example, it is said to rain six days out of seven.
Decorative picture of person by pool
Decorative picture of pastoral scene with rainbow