TREASURES OF THE SNOW 



H\- JKAX M. THOMPSON. Author of -'Water \\'onders." 



(I'liiifni^raplis hy perm issioii of WHsdii A. P>LiifIcY^. 



Ox a winter's day. when the big. wliite. feathery 

 snow flakes come swirling down from the sk\-, how^ 

 often we pause to brush them impatiently from our 

 sleeves, never stopping to give them even a casual 

 glance. Now. if bv chance a rarely beautiful jewel 

 were to suddenlv fall from space and alight upon 

 our sleeve, I doubt if we would brush it aside so 

 rashlv. This is. perhaps, just what you have done, 

 however, in brushing aside the snow flake so 

 carelessh' : vou have destroyed some perfecth' 

 exquisite snow jewel. 



Not everv snow flake wiiich comes to us from 

 cloud land is perfect in design. Mr. Wilson A. 

 Bentley, widely known as the " original snow flake 

 man."' has devoted over twenty years of study to 

 frost and snow crystals. During this time he has 

 photographed over two thousand perfect snow 

 crystals. It is an amazing fact that nature ne\er 

 duplicates the snow crystal designs, for he has ne\'er 

 discovered two crystals precisely alike. 



Now. if we were to make a compact ball of all 

 these two thousand snow cr\'stals, it would onlv 

 occupy about one cubic inch. Think, then, of the 

 simplv uncounted millions of snow jewels w hich we 

 ruthlessly crush under foot in a short walk. 



B\- some strange law which governs Nature, the 

 rule of si.\ is always carried out in the formation of 

 a snow crystal : they alwa\-s retain the hexagonal in 

 outline, or the six sides. No matter what intricate 

 design they follow, be the\' star-shaped, flowers, pin- 

 wheels, duplicates of cuft" luittons, or leaf-like, there 

 are always six branches. The crystals start in their 

 growth from a tiny nucleus or central dot or prism 

 of ice, the branches shooting out therefrom, alwa\s 

 growing outwards, each section being a perfect 

 design in itself, and all growing simultaneousl}-. 



One fancies at first glance that the open, feathery 

 type of crystal, which is also most showy, to be the 

 most beautiful design, but a closer study of the more 

 solid, compact types of crystal, shows them to be 

 more wonderful, and this latter tvpe also grow in 

 much more leisurely fashion than do the open 

 crystals. The large, feathery crystals are grown in 

 low-lying storm clouds, in the big, warm clouds 

 which assemble quickly in low altitudes, and we 

 speak of this type as a " snow flurry," Frequentlv 

 these showy crystals drop from clouds above which 

 the sun is shining. 



The solid crystal is usually a great traveller, 



frequently coming to us from the distance of eight 

 miles, farther than the most daring aeroplane has 

 \et presumed to \enture. Far on high, in this 

 altitude, w here the great blizzards are born, the atom 

 of a snow crystal starts forth from a mere dot of 

 ice, which, in a lower, warmer altitude would be a 

 drop of rain. The atom starts to descend, but is 

 again and again caught back into space h\ up- 

 rushing clouds, and perhaps buffetted about for 

 many days, meeting man\- ever-changing currents 

 of air. electricity and moisture, putting forth its 

 compact, six-sided prism-like branches as it slowh- 

 develops, a mere pkuthing for the capricious, howling 

 blizzard, until finally the crvstal solidifies, becoming 

 thicker and heavier, and then, owing to its increasing 

 weight, it finally descends to earth. 



The wonderful designs traced upon the surface of 

 snow cr_\-stals are caused hv inclusions of air, the 

 crvstal itself being formed i)\- tin\-. in\-isible mole- 

 cules, or particles of water, which float in the air. 

 A close study of these mysterious tracings is well 

 worth while, and well ma\- Job have considered 

 them and called them to our attention as he has in 

 the following : — 



" Hast thou entered into tlif treasures of the Snow ? 

 Or hast thou seen the treasures of the hail r " 



Study for vourself. the strange markings, the 

 suggestive Egvptian hieroglvphics traced upon a 

 snow crx'stal : what ma\- the\- not sigiiif\'? 



The photographing of a snow crystal is wonderfullv 

 fascinating, we are told, for one never knows just 

 when he will discover the realh' prize gem in all 

 this great collection. But to deal with the snow- 

 flakes, one nuist possess an infinite atuount of 

 patience, a steadv hand and a quick e\e, for the slides 

 require very delicate manipulation, and one must 

 work rapidly, as the crystals are extremely fragile and 

 short-lived, and evaporate very soon when placed 

 upon glass. The most successful niicro-jihotographs 

 of snow crystals ma\' onl\- be had, taken in a 

 temperature of thirtv-two degrees P., or twentv-fi\-e 

 degrees above zero. Of course the work must be 

 done out of doors, and frequently Mr. Bentley has 

 reiuained out in the open during an entire blizzard 

 siiuply to obtain one or two perfect crystals. 

 It is not eas}' to detect, at a glance, a perfect 

 cr\-stal ; frequently the crystals collide in their 

 tra\'els and are shattered ; often they are driven 

 together with such force that they merge together, 



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