106 



NATURE FOR ITS OWN SAKE 



already given. That is, to repeat it, looking 

 up we see the shadows of countless cloud-par- 

 ticles ; looking down we see light reflected from 

 countless snow-surfaces. 



But the intensity of the white is not wholly 

 explained by the difference between reflected 

 and shadowed light. There is another reason 

 for its whiteness, and perhaps it is not uninter- 

 esting to know that if the new, fine snow is ex- 

 amined under a magnifying glass each separate 

 flake will be found to disperse as well as to 

 reflect light, and everyone of them will show 

 prismatic edges casting the rainbow colors. 

 These colors are the component parts of light 

 light disintegrated, in fact. The tiny prisms 

 scatter the light into colors, but the mass of 

 them taken together reunite the colors into 

 light. It has long been known in painting that 

 small stipplings of red, yellow, and blue, placed 

 close together, will throw out more light than 

 a pure white ground. Light recomposed from 

 colors is stronger than light reflected. It is 

 this principle, practically demonstrated by nat- 

 ure, that lends something of peculiar brilliancy 

 to the newly fallen snow. And how brilliant, 

 how dazzling is that newly fallen snow onlj 

 those know who have seen it in very cold conn- 



