8 NATURE-STUDY REVIEW 



which I live, about 47>^ degs. north, the sun is continuously 

 low enough to produce a bow almost from the fall to the spring 

 equinox. We can, and do, have bows even at noon. Of course, 

 our climate is such that for most of this period rain does not fall, 

 so mid-day bows are not common. Even with the sun at greater 

 altitudes bows may be seen where the sky is not the background, 

 as in the gorge at Niagara Falls. Incidentally, the bows at the 

 Falls are another source of frequent errors. I have heard travel- 

 ers declare, and have seen artists' sketches showing, that several 

 bows appear simultaneously over different parts of the Falls. 

 They do not refer to the primary and secondary bows, but to 

 distinct primary bows seen over different places. 



Mr. Burroughs also corrected stories from correspondents 

 which stated or inferred that rainbows move. Certainly the 

 bow must always keep the same relative position to the observer 

 and the sun, but in the rainbow mentioned above as occurring 

 near the noon hour there was an interesting and beautiful appear- 

 ance of movement. The bow was low and was broadened by 

 numerous supernumerary bands and a distinct waving or pulsing 

 movement of the color could be seen. It gave a very fair imi- 

 tation of the field of "Old Glory" waving in the breeze. Now, 

 what was the cause of that? The sun was shining through rifts 

 in the clouds forming those peculiar spoke-like streamers and as 

 a result the area in which the bow appeared was not illuminated 

 uniformly. The bow thus was made of alternate lighter and 

 darker patches, and as the clouds rapidly shifted, the bow waved 

 in the manner described. 



Can there be rainbows without rain 5 It is a common sight 

 with us to see a bow, or rather the abutments of a bow, appear 

 in the east, remain there an hour or more, both primary and 

 secondary bows being clearly outlined, and all the time a perfect- 

 ly clear sky with no sign of rain or cloud. To explain: I have 

 the advantage of living on an elevation overlooking Lake Temis- 

 kaming which spreads out from six to twelve miles to the east, 

 and permits an uninterrupted view of hills for twenty or thirty 

 miles, to North, East, and South. Local thunderstorms arise, 

 far away in Quebec province, too far for clouds or lightning to 

 be seen or thunder to be heard. Yet the falling raindrops catch 

 the sun's rays, and, given the proper angle, we see the bow. 



