204 



Marvels of the Universe 



I'hntn /.;,] 



[ir. A. I. .'Mil,-. 



SNOW CR^■STAL. 



Here the six rays Kave taken on leaf-like expansions. 



MARVELS OF THE SNOW 



BY WILFRED MARK WEBB, F.L.S. 



If inanimate objects lack the special interest 

 which appertains to living things and do not 

 excite quite the same sympathy, they are j'et 

 oftentimes exceedingly beautiful. No art of 

 man could improve the appearance of many 

 groups of crystals, and even if these are not 

 alive, they grow. They may come into exist- 

 ence blowly and graduall}^ from the tiniest 

 beginnings, which arise in some suitable 

 medium or by the introduction of a tiny 

 crystal into a saturated solution, the whole 

 of which \\dll become a solid crystalline mass 

 suddenly before our eyes. 



Water comes into play in this case ; but with 

 a low enough temperature it will itself crystal- 

 lize and give rise to all the beauties which 

 we associate with ice and snow in the winter 

 landscape ; moreover, if we are not content with these, we can bring to our aid the microscope, and in 

 the individual crystals of the snow find such marvellous symmetry and such delicacy and intricacy 

 of design as is difficult to imagine and well-nigh impossible to find in any other products of nature. 

 It will be easy to appreciate that snow-crystals require very delicate handling, and if we want 

 to examine them we must do it under conditions which will ensure that they are not injured and 

 are kept at a temperature and in surroundings which prevent them from melting ; while to see 

 their full beauty it is necessary to collect isolated examples. When photographs have to be taken 

 as records or to demonstrate the wonderful variety of forms which they present, infinite trouble 



and much skill have to be devoted to the task. 

 It is not surprising, as will soon be appreciated, 

 that very few workers have been found who 

 will make the necessary sacrifices. Of these 

 none have been more successful than Mr. Wilson 

 A. Bentley, of Jericho, U.S.A., who has gained 

 a world-wide reputation. He was probably the 

 first to seriously take up the study, and he 

 has now devoted a quarter of a century to it. 

 He modestly attributes much of his success to 

 the favourable position in which he lives ; but 

 when it is remembered that the photo-micro- 

 graphs of the snow-crystals have to be taken at 

 a temperature of 32° Fahr., and that the photo- 

 grapher has to stay out in the open air often 

 during the whole of a snowstorm in order to 

 find one or two perfect crystals, the enthusiasm 

 of Mr. Bentley must be considered the most 

 important factor in the success of his work. 



Two thousand photo-micrographs in all 

 have been collected by him, which means an 



Photo hii] 



[W. A. Juallfji. 



SNOW CR-iSTAL. 



The expansions of tKe six rays are developing into 

 six-sided plates. 



