Lake Maxinkuckee, Physical and Biological Survey 151 



pressing. How many fogs one would record in any given length of 

 time would depend much upon the point of observation. Those 

 herein recorded were observed from Long Point, and of these many 

 were seen at a greater or less distance. Fogs are almost or entirely 

 absent during the summer, most common through the autumn and 

 spring months and in early winter. One of the conditions neces- 

 sary for their formation is a calm or very little movement of 

 air, as winds blow forming fogs away. During the year between 

 July 1, 1900, and June 30, 1901, twenty-nine fogs were observed, 

 distributed according to months as follows : July, ; August, 1 ; 

 September, 2 ; October, 8 ; November, 3 ; December, 5 ; January, 1 ; 

 February, ; March, 4 ; April, 1 ; May, 4 ; June, 0. From October, 

 1899, to August, 1906, a period in which there are considerable 

 gaps in observation, there is a total record of 59 fogs. 



The appearance and behavior of the fogs vary somewhat. 

 Usually they are low, heavy blankets of uniform density covering 

 limited areas, the form in which fogs are generally kno\^^l, but 

 sometimes on the lake they assume the form of tall, vertical col- 

 umns which glide over the water in a peculiar, ghostly fashion. 

 Usually the fogs form in the evening or some time during the night, 

 and remain until morning, imperceptibly dissipating in the heat of 

 the morning sun. Sometimes they condense on sticks, grass and 

 other objects, or uniting to form drops, fall to the earth as a sort of 

 rain. On December 3, 1900, a fog was noted rising from the lake, 

 passing gradually into the far-off sky and assuming the form of 

 immense and imposing thunderheads, the passage from fog to cloud 

 being complete. This transition from fog to cloud was subse- 

 quently frequently seen on the upper Cumberland but never on so 

 magnificent a scale. 



Among the most noteworthy fogs observed about the lake may 

 be mentioned the following: 



Some time in December, 1896, when a thin ice extended out a 

 considerable distance fi'om shore, there appeared an extremely 

 dense fog on the lake which, according to Mr. S. S. Chadwick, was 

 the heaviest fog he has ever seen here. A large flock of wild geese 

 was on the lake and were unable to leave on account of the fog. A 

 party went out after the geese and, becoming bewildered in the 

 fog, had great difficulty finding a place to land. 



On October 18, 1900, a heavy fog set in about 8 o'clock and con- 

 tinued until about 10 the next day. A steamer got lost on the 

 lake and did not get in until 2 or 3 o'clock the next morning. 



