•^^ ON SNOW. 



If you think it worthy of infertion in your valuable Journal, 

 it will be confidered as an honorary obligation conferred on, 



Tour's, moll refpedlfully, 

 23d April. ISOk G. A. 



On the "^'^^ frequent changes of the weather that have taken place 



formation of during the laft winter, having induced me to direft my atten- 



Inow}— ^Jqj^ ^^ meteorology; I confefs, that the manner in which phi- 



lofophers account for fome of the phenomena that occur, is not, 



to me, altogether fatisfadlory. 



— fuppofedtobe It is not furprizing, that ele6trici(y (with the immediate 



^j^^f^ J^y agency of which we are fo little acquainted) (hould be re- 



forted to, as the grand agent in all meteorological phenomena. 



Accordingly we find, that fnow, and indeed every variety 



of weather we experience, is confidered to be more or lefs 



efTedled by the ele6lric fluid. 



Snow is generally fuppofed to be the vapours of the atmof- 

 phere, difengaged by the eledric fluid, and frozen. 

 Qneftlons re- But it appears to me, that before we receive fo vague an 



fpeaing the explanation, the following queflions might beatked: — 



What are the vapours of the atraofphere compofed of? 



By what laws, and in what manner does the eleftric fluid 



a£l, either in the formation of fnow, or as a component part 



of it? 



Eledtriclty fup- ^ ^^'' "^^' ^^^^ ^ ^^^ remarks to ftrengthen a fuppofition, 



pofed not effen- that the electric fluid is not engaged in, or in the leaft eflential 



now, to the production or exiflence of fnow. 

 *-but a change By an attentive obfervation of all the circum fiances that have 

 attended the fall of fnow, during the laft winter, I have, in 

 almoft every inftance, found that it is accompanied with, or 

 rather preceded by a change of the wind; and that the wind, 

 previous to the fall of fnow, blew from fome point between 

 the South, and tiie IVefi ; and afterward from fome point be- 

 tween the Eojl, and tlie North-Wcji* 



* If it is obferved, that we fometimes have fnow, without the 

 wind changing to any of the points above-mentioned, or, even 

 '-.vithout a -vifible change to us ; yet it does not militate againll the 

 following remarks; for it has been obferved by aeronauts, that dif- 

 ferent ftiata of air blow from oppufite pints at the fame time — . 

 Therefore, notwithftanding a Ibuth wind may prevail at the furface 

 of the earth, a fuperior ftrutum may blow from the North* 



Such 



pf wind. 



