26o 



NATURE 



{jfan. 17, i< 



over ninety days in all, the "glare" was of constant occumme. 

 By the arrival of O.S.S. Mariposa from San Francisco, Decem- 

 ber I to S, I am happily able also to trace a continuous line of these 

 phenomena hence to that point. They were not observed there 

 until about November 2 j. Two of our leading citizens who came 

 down by the A/arifosa assure me that the appearances there were 

 identical with ours, and further that they were of freijuent 

 recurrence during the whole passage. We thus prove a con- 

 tinuous chain of these phenomena from New Zealand to 

 California. 



Permit me to call special attention to the very peculiar corona 

 or halo extending from 20° to 30° from the sun, which has been 

 visible every day with us, and all day, of whitish haze, with 

 pinkish tint, shading off into lilac or purple against the blue. I 

 have seen no notice of this corona observed elsewhere. It is 

 hardly a conspicuous object. 



The long continuance and extending diffusion of this haze or 

 dry fog seems to justify expectation that it may become visible 

 around the globe, and give ample opportunity for investigation. 



Although not seen in San Francisco until November 23, it 

 was brilliant in Santa Barbara on October 14. A rapid upper 

 current seems to have borne it in a belt within the tropics in a 

 very few days, leaving a slow diffusion to extend it to the tem- 

 perate zone. Australia is perhaps an example of this. 



I tru<t this letter may be a useful contribution towards a 

 complete history of the diffusion of this very peculiar element 

 around the globe. A good record of dates of earliest appear- 

 ances might contribute something to our limited knowledge of 

 currents in upper strata of the atmosphere. 



Honolulu, December 14, 1SS3 Sereno E. Bishop 



[We have already referred to Mr. Bishop's letters in the 

 Honolulu journal, but give here the following extract from his 

 article in the Hawaiian Annual : — 



" It now seems probable that the enormous projections of 

 gaseous and other matter from Krakatoa have been borne by the 

 upper currents and diffused throughout a belt of half the earth's 

 circumference, and not improbably, as careful observation may 

 yet establish, even entirely around the globe. This implies an 

 amount of matter discharged tliat seems incredible. We learn, 

 however, that the ocean was thickly and closely covered with 

 floating pumice for hundreds of miles from the crater. A 

 steamer 150 miles distant reports her barometer falling and 

 rising half an inch every two or three minutes ! This almost 

 incredible statement implies a terrific undulation of the atmo- 

 sphere, such as could only be produced by a vast and continuous 

 jet of gas projected upwards beyond the limits of the atmo- 

 sphere, and driving the air in vast waves in every direction. So 

 abnormal and gigantic a force may well have propagated not 

 only its tidal waves as it did across the Pacific, but it may also 

 have transmitted its portentous and lurid vapours to belt the 

 globe with flaming skies."] 



For the last two months these appearances have in this 

 province excited no small wonder and admiration, not unaccom- 

 panied in some cases with awe and dismal forebodings of im- 

 pending calamity. As an example of what has been witnessed 

 in greater or less intensity almost every morning and evening, 

 about an hour before sunrise and after sunset, I may instance 

 what was ob-erved on the evening of the 29th and morning of 

 the 30th ult. The ground from my residence rises towards the 

 south and west, and the city of Fredericton lies towards the 

 north-ea-', "n a flat loo feet lower, and at a distance of half 

 a mile or more. On the evening in question, at an hour 

 after sunset, the red glow in the sky was very conspicuous, and 

 seemed to light up the whole heavens, so that the houses in the 

 city were distinctly seen by the reflection from their sides, and 

 the intf-rvening snow appeared of an orange colour. It was 

 bright enough to suggest the impression of a second sunset. 

 Next m irmng at an hour before sunrise the deep red glow was 

 equally decided. W. Brydo.n'e-Jack 



Frcdeict •n, New Brunswick, January 3 



In respmse to your note in N.vruRE of December 13, 1883 

 (p. 157). I I 'eg to inform you that the recent red sunsets have 

 been e-peciaily observed by me on the following occasions: — 

 Nove liber 30, 1SS3, lasting until 5.30 p.m. ; barometer at 



I .'clock 30'22 inches, at 9 p.m. 30'I0. 

 January 2, 1SS4, lasting until 7.30 p.m. : barometer at I p.m. 

 30-4S, at 9 p.m. 30-43. 



January 3, 18S4 ; Barometer at I p.m. 3030, at 9 p.m. 



3023. 

 On several other occasions the same phenomenon has been 

 observed in a less degree. Ad. Wentz'l, Jun. 



Krasnicza Wola, Grodzisk, near Warsaw, January 1 1 



The "red glow" has again been very brilliant here on the 

 evenings of January 9 and 10, as well as on the morning of 

 January 10. On the following morning, January 11, th« sky 

 being likewise very clear, I confidently expected another display, 

 but to my astonishment no trace of red did appear, the sun 

 rising after an ordinary twilight of pale yellow. During the 

 night a strong south wind had set in, which prevailed through 

 the whole day, with extraordinary transparency of the air. In 

 the evening clouds arose in the west, at first showing the red 

 marginal colouring of ordinary sunsets, but later on there came 

 again, distinctly higher than even the cirri, a very brilliant aud 

 lasting red luminosity. 



It would be interesting to know whether at other places too 

 the phenomena in question had been, as it were, suspended on 

 the morning of January 11, in spite of a cle.ir sky, or whether 

 such a suspension had occurred on other days under similar 

 meteorological circumstances. D. Wetterhan 



Freiburg, Badenia, Jauuar)' 12 



The last two days and nights here have been very fine with 

 sunrises and sunsets as already described. This evening especially 

 the colours were most brilliant, and did not fade away until at 

 least an hour after sunset. It may interest those who are trying 

 to account for this extraordinary appearance of the sky to know 

 that here it has been followed by excessive rain and very bad 

 weather. During December we had 9'57 against an average for 

 the last twenty-two years of 4-46 inches. The greatest December 

 raiufall registered at our Scutari Cemetery was 1036 in 1S62, 

 the least being one inch in 186S. A printer's error makes me 

 speak, in my letter of December 21, of a crescent moon 

 "eighteen " days instead of i'8 day old. W. E. J. 



Constantinople, January 1 1 



Dust Atmosphere of China 



In the remarkable work on China by V. Richtofen, he give,, 

 (vol. i. p. 97) the following description of the dust atmosphere 

 of the Loes country, China, whicli, it seems to me, bears upon 

 the question of the influence of dust on the appearance of the 

 sun and sky, the question now under discussion. 



" All these, and other similar operating causes, give rise to 

 that dust atmosphere (Staubatmospharc) so characteristic of Cen- 

 tral Asia, and still more particularly of the Loes District. Even 

 during nearly complete calms the air is often for many days 

 yellow and opaque. The view is completely hemmed in, and 

 the sun appears merely as a dull bluish disk. More markedly is 

 this character presented by these peculiar dust-storms so well 

 known to travellers visiting Tien-tsin and Peking, and even 

 more so to those who travel in the interior of the north-western 

 provinces of China. The wind then blows from Central Asia ; 

 when it acquires motion, everything becomes coated with a fine, 

 yellowish dust coating. 



"In Shensi, where the atmosphere is but rarely clear and 

 transparent, the whole landscape has a yellow tint ; streets, 

 houses, trees and crops, even the traveller one meets on the 

 road, and the air itself, one and all are yellow-coloured." 



He also cites Johnson's "Journey to Ilchi, the Capital of 

 Kotan " {R. Geo^r. Soc. x.xxvii. 1S67, p. 5), as bearing on this 

 same character of those dry, dusty atmospheres. 



Dublin, January 7 ' J. P. O'REILLY 



Electric Shadows 

 On reading Prof. Thompson's communication to Nature of 

 the 13th ult. (p. 156), giving the result of Prof. Righi's researches on 

 the production of electric shadows in air at the ordinary pressure, 

 I at once endeavoured to repeat the experiments with such 

 simple means as were at hand. Two sticks of sealing-wax stuck 

 to a small iron stand sufficed to support a long, big headed pin 

 and the screen or object for casting the shadows. Instead of a 

 plate of ebonite I used a cake of resin of six inches diameter, 

 which selves ordinarily for the production of Lichtenberg's 



