VOL. VIII.] PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS. 55 



Again, among these not only regular, but entire parts of snow, looking still 

 more warily, we shall perceive that there are divers others, indeed irregular, yet 

 chiefly the broken points, parcels and fragments of the regular ones. Lastly, 

 that besides the broken parts, there are some others which seem to have lost 

 their regularity, not so much in being broken, as by various winds, first gently 

 thawed, and then frozen into little irregular clumps again. 



From hence the true notion and external nature of snow seems to appear, 

 viz. that not only some few parts of snow, but originally the whole body of it, 

 or of a snowy cloud, is an infinite mass of icicles regularly figured ; that is, a 

 cloud of vapours being gathered into drops, the said drops forthwith descend; 

 on which descent, meeting with a soft freezing wind, or at least passing through 

 a colder region of air, each drop is immediately frozen into an icicle, shooting 

 itself forth into several points on each hand outward from its centre: but still 

 continuing their descent, and meeting with some sprinkling and intermixed 

 gales of warmer air, or in their continual motion and waftage to and fro, touch- 

 ing upon each other, some are a little thawed, blunted, frosted, clumpered, 

 others broken, but the most clung in several parcels together^ which we call 

 flakes of snow. 



It being known what snow is, we perceive why, though it seems to be soft, 

 yet it is truly hard ; because true ice ; seeming only to be soft ; because on the 

 first touch of the finger on any of its sharp edges or points, they instantly thaw ; 

 otherwise they would pierce our fingers like so many lancets. Why again, though 

 snow be true ice, and so a hard and dense body, yet very light ; because of the 

 extreme thinness of each icicle in comparison of its breadth. Also how it is white, 

 not because hard; for there are many soft bodies white; but because consisting 

 of parts all of them singly transparent, but being mixed together appear white ; 

 as the parts of froth, glass, ice, and other transparent bodies, whether soft or hard. 



Thus much for the external nature of snow; let us next a little inquire into 

 its essential nature. Now if we would make a judgment of this, I think we 

 may best do it by considering what the general figure of snow is, and compa- 

 ring the same with such regular figures as we see in divers other bodies. As 

 for the figure of snow, it is generally one, viz. that which is above described : 

 rarely of different ones, which may be reduced chiefly to two generals, circulars 

 and hexagonals, either simple or compounded together. More rarely, either 

 to be seen of more than 6 points; but if so, then not of 8 or 10, but 12. Or in 

 single shoots, as so many short slender cylinders, like those of nitre. Or by one 

 of these shoots, as the axle tree, and touching upon the center of a pair of pointed 

 icicles, joined together as the two wheels. Or the same hexagonal figure, and 

 of the same usual breadth ; but continued in thickness or profundity, like the 



