14 OF CLOUDS. CHAP. l.4. 



sidence at a time when the general dampness of 

 the air would afford a passage for its electricity 

 to the earth, seems to indicate the agency of 

 that fluid in keeping its particles collected into 

 the hemispherical mass in which it usually ap- 

 pears during the day. 



There are peculiarities in the appearance of 

 the stratus, of the causes of which we are utterly 

 ignorant. The fine mists which creep, as it 

 were, along the vallies, on a summer's evening, 

 are generally white, and, when seen at a distance 

 by moonlight, have a very fanciful appearance. 

 They are strikingly contrasted to the yellow 

 fogs of November. The stratus is found to be 

 electrified positively, and in general to be highly 

 charged. It is proposed to examine the air 

 above, to see whether there be found a negative 

 counter charge.* 



* See Cyclopaedia, article Cloud; also the Supplement to 

 Encyc. Brit, article Cloud, where I have given likewise a 

 plate illustrative of the modifications. 



