340 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



an acquisition. Between reason and religion lies a domain of com- 

 mon ground upon which both may meet and join hands, but beyond 

 the boundaries of which neither may pass. The moment the intellect 

 attempts to penetrate the domain of the supernatural, all intellectu- 

 ality vanishes, and emotion and imagination till its place. There can 

 be no real conflict between the two, for neither, by any possibility, 

 can pass this neutral ground. Before the mind can receive Christian- 

 ity, Mohammedanism, or any other creed, it must be ready to accept 

 dogmas in the analysis of which human reason is powerless. Among 

 tlie most brilliant intellects are found Protestants, Romanists, Unita- 

 rians, deists, and atheists; judging from the experiences of mankind 

 in ages past, creeds and formulas, orthodoxy and heterodoxy, have 

 no inherent power to advance or retard the intellect. Some claim, 

 indeed, that strong doctrinal bias stifles thought, fosters superstition, 

 and fetters the intellect ; still, religious thought, in some form, is 

 inseparable from the human mind, and it would be very ditiicult to 

 prove that belief is more debasing than non-belief. 



THUNDER-SIIOWEES. 



Br J. W. PHELPS. 



THE thunder-shower of Southeastern Vermont generally comes 

 from the soiithwest. To understand why it should take this 

 course instead of any other, we must examine the topographical char- 

 acter of the country. 



The chain of Green Mountains extends thronghoi;t the State from 

 south to north, inclining some degrees to the east of north. It pre- 

 sents a barrier to the prevailing general current of southwest wind, 

 and in summer condenses the vapor which that wind bears, thus form- 

 ing piles of cumulus cloud over the higher summits, or most wooded 

 districts. The deeper ravines, or river-beds, on the eastern slopes of 

 the mountains, run to the southeast, and open out on the wider valley 

 of the Connecticut River. 



In order to convey a more definite idea of ovir theory, we will 

 choose a certain locality which may serve the j^urpose of a diagram to 

 our demonstration ; and this locality shall be the region of West 

 River, This river takes its rise among the forests near the summit 

 of the Green Mountains, at a height of some 2,000 feet above the level 

 of the sea, and, flowing southeasterly forty or fifty miles, empties into 

 the Connecticut River about ten miles from the southern boundary of 

 the State. 



During a hot summer day the sides of the deep valley of this river 

 reek with intense heat, and cause a flow of moist air upward toward 



