WEATHER PROVERBS 43 * 



any change in their appearances necessarily means changes in the at- 

 mosphere itself — changes that usually precede one or another type of 

 weather. 



A familiar proverb of this class runs as follows: 

 ' ' A red sun has water in his eye. ' ' 



Xow the condition that most favors a red sun is a great quantity of 

 dust — smoke particles are particularly good — in a damp atmosphere. 

 Smoke alone, in sufficient quantity, will produce this effect, but it is in- 

 tensified by the presence of moisture. The blue and other short wave- 

 length colors, as we call them, of sun light are both scattered and 

 absorbed to a greater extent by a given amount of dust or other sub- 

 stances, such as water vapor, than is the red; and this effect, since it is 

 proportional to the square of the volume, becomes more pronounced as 

 the particles coalesce. Hence when the atmosphere is heavily charged 

 with dust particles that have become moisture laden, as they will in a 

 humid atmosphere, and therefore relatively bulky, we see the sun as a 

 fiery red ball. We know, too, that this dust has much to do with rain- 

 fall for, as was first proved many years ago by the physicist Aitken, 

 cloud particles, and, therefore, rain, will not. under ordinary conditions, 

 form in a perfectly dust-free atmosphere, but will readily form about 

 dust motes of any kind in an atmosphere that is sufficiently damp. 



A red sun, therefore, commonly indicates the presence of both of the 

 essential rain elements, that is, dust and moisture; and while the above 

 is not the whole story, either of the meteorological effects due to dust in 

 the air, or of the formation of rain, it is sufficient to show how well 

 founded the proverb under consideration really is. And also this other 

 one that says : 



' ' If red the sun begin his race, 

 Be sure the rain will fall apace. ' ' 



Sky Colors 



"Men judge by the complexion of the sky 

 The state and inclination of the day. ' ' 



— Shakespeare. 



There are many proverbs, ranging from the good and useful to the 

 misleading and absurd, concerning the color of the sky at sunrise and 

 sunset. 



From Shakespeare we have the well-known lines : 

 "A red morn that ever yet betokened 

 Wreck to the seaman, tempest to the field, 

 Sorrow to the shepherds, woe unto the birds, 

 Gusts and foul flaws to herdsmen and to herds. ' ' 



Besides these stately verses there are many proverb jingles that ex- 

 press substantially the same idea. One of them puts it thus : 



' ' Sky red in the morning 

 Is a sailor's sure warning; 



