66 



All the writers seem to consider that these ice structures 

 are not common, and do not seem to appreciate how quickly 

 they are formed, and it therefore seems advisable to put 

 upon record the circumstances which are most favourable 

 for their production. 



I have often seen them in Davos, and also in North Italy, 

 and in the fiae winter of 1881-1882 I many days purposely 

 went early in the morning to the same slopes above Davos 

 Platz to observe these peculiar forms. I cannot now lay 

 my hands on the notes made, but jHnd on November the I3th, 

 1881, that the surface of what I call the talus, from the turf 

 was covered with vertical acicular crystals of ice in bundles, 

 1| to 2 inches long, looking like asbestos. The diameter of 

 each needle was about 5 millimetres. This asbestos-like 

 appearance has struck another observer. I have frequently 

 seen a layer several feet in extent about 3 to 4 inches in 

 depth, and these I used to break up to find them fresh 

 formed the next day. 



The places where they can most regularly be observed 

 are at the sides of the mountain paths, on the slopes facing 

 to the south or east. The grass does not in most cases come 

 down to the path as the action of tlie weather breaks it 

 away at the edge, and thus from the grass there is a steep 

 slope of light loamy earth, and when there is snow melting 

 on the turf above, the water percolates and keeps this earth 

 moist for a long time, and the sun shining full on this dark 

 ground makes it very warm in the day, but each night 

 all is frozen hard. 



The conditions for the formation of these crystals did not 

 exist in the middle of winter, but as soon as the winter snow 

 was partly melted away I knew that I should find them in 

 large quantities, and took the opportunity of examining 

 the same place on three consecutive suitable days, namely, 

 from the 26th to the 28th of February. 



The 25th had been warm with the air temperature 



