THE FARMER AT HOME. 



in some few cases, perhaps, though by no means always, the power of 

 antipathies. Hence the pernicious effects of excessive sneezing, more 

 especially blindness, from the great sympathy of the nerves. 



SNOW. A well known substance, formed by the freezing of the 

 vapors in the atmosphere. It differs from hail and hoar frost, in 

 being, as it were, crystalized, which they are riot. This appears on 

 examining a flake of snow by a magnifying glass ; when the whole 

 of it will appear to be composed of fine shining spicula, diverging 

 like rays from a centre. As the flakes fall down through the atmos- 

 phere, they are continually joined by more of these radiated spicula, 

 and thus increase in bulk like the drops of rain or hailstones. Dr. 

 Grew, in a discourse on the nature of snow, observes, that many parts 

 thereof are of a regular figure, for the most part stars of six points, 

 and are as perfect and transparent ice as any we see on a pond. 

 Upon each of these points are other collateral points, set at the same 

 angles as the main points themselves ; among which there are divers 

 other irregular, which are chiefly broken points, and fragments of the 

 regular ones. 



Others, also, by various winds, seemed to hava been thawed, and 

 frozen again into irregular clusters ; so that it seems as if the whole 

 body of snow were an infinite mass of icicles irregularly figured ; that 

 is, a cloud of vapors being gathered into drops, the said drops forth- 

 with descend ; upon which descent, meeting with a freezing air as 

 they pass through a colder region, each drop is immediately frozen 

 into an icicle, shooting itself forth into several points ; but these still 

 continuing their descent, and meeting with some intermitting gales of 

 warmer air, or in their continual waftage to and fro touching upon 

 each other,. some of them are a little thawed, blunted, and again 

 frozen into clusters, or entangled so as to fall down in what we call 

 flakes. The lightness of snow, although it is firm ice, is owing to the 

 excess of its surface in comparison to the matter contained under it ; 

 as gold itself may be extended in surface till it will ride upon the 

 least breath of air. The whiteness of snow is owing to the small 

 particles into which it is divided ; for ice, when pounded, will become 

 equally white. 



According to Beccaria, clouds of snow differ in nothing from 

 clouds of rain, but in the circumstance of cold that freezes them. 

 Both the regular diffusion of the snow, and the regularity of the struc- 

 ture of its parts, show that clouds of snow are acted upon by some 

 uniform cause like electricity ; and he endeavors to show how elec- 

 tricity is capable of forming these figures. He was confirmed in his 

 conjectures by observing, that his apparatus for observing the elec- 

 tricity of the atmosphere never failed to be electrified by snow as well 

 as rain. Professor Winthrop sometimes found his apparatus electri- 

 fied by snow when driven about by the wind, though it had not been 

 affected by it when the snow itself was falling. A more intense 



