Intelligence and Miscellaneous Articles. 157 



latter, involving both extremities in one. column, having a spiral 

 motion, and on it moves or continues stationary. The power of 

 electricity in raising bodies, when combined with this peculiar whirl- 

 ing motion, will account for fish, &c. being carried up in its vortex 

 and afterwards discharged to a distance on the earth. The motion 

 of the dust-storm may be described by spinning a tee-totum on a 

 drop of ink ; and the way in which bodies are projected may be in 

 like manner described, by letting fall a drop of ink on the centre 

 of a tee-totum while spinning. In this case the particles of ink are 

 thrown off at tangents ever varying, as the centre moves ; and per- 

 haps it will be found, that when these kind of storms pass through 

 forests, trees uprooted are distributed something in this manner. 



The violent dust-storms are by some supposed to commence at the 

 foot of the hills. I cannot tell if this be the case or not, but should 

 think that they do not necessarily do so, as many often originate in 

 extensive arid plains ; and the rarefaction of air, from great and long- 

 continued heat, may be in some way connected with the exciting 

 cause. 



Some of them come on with great rapidity, as if at the rate of 

 from 40 to 80 miles an hour. They occur at all hours, oftentimes 

 near sunset. 



The sky is clear, and not a breath moving ; presently a low bank 

 of clouds is seen in the horizon, which you are surprised you did 

 not observe before ; a few seconds have passed, and the cloud has 

 half filled the hemisphere : and now there is no time to lose — it is a 

 dust-storm, and helter-skelter everyone rushes to get into the house 

 in order to escape being caught in it. 



The electric fluid continues to stream down the conducting wire 

 unremittingly during the continuance of the storm, the sparks often- 

 times upwards of an inch in length, and emitting a crackling sound ; 

 its intensity varying upon the force of the storm, and, as before 

 said, more intense during the gusts. 



Many dust-storms occur at Lahore and in the Punjaub, generally 

 during the hot and dry months, as many as seven and nine in one 

 month. 



One that occurred last year in the month of August seemed to 

 have come from the direction of Lica, on the Indus, to the west and 

 by south of Lahore, and to have a north-easterly direction. An 

 officer travelling, and at the distance of twenty miles or so from 

 Lica, was suddenly caught in it ; his tent was blown away, and he 

 himself knocked down and nearly suffocated by the sand. He stated 

 to me that he was informed by one resident at Lica, that so great 

 was its force at the latter place, as to crack the walls of a substantial 

 brick dwelling in which the above officer had lately resided, and to 

 uproot some trees about. 



The instant the insulated wire is involved in the electric current 

 marked by the column of dust, down streams the electricity. 



I have sometimes attempted to test the kind of electricity, and 

 find that it is not invariably in the same state ; sometimes appearing 

 + , at other times — , and changing during the storm. 



One day I caused the current to pass through a solution of cya. 



