1054 General Notes. 
the city papers announcing a “ shower of mud” at Fresno, 
covered everything with a coating of gray, sandy mud, 
diately wrote to the telegraph operator, and received 
and a sample of the mud or dust. An examination s 
a 
were larger and the vegetable fiber more abundant. 
bout the same time L. Figuera, of Modesto, called : 
Mining Bureau, and in answer to inquiries made 
that the snow which fell at Modesto was discolored. 
turn he sent me some of the dust which fell with the 
years ago snow fell at Modesto one inch deep, since 
has fallen. On the occasion of the great snowstorm the 
seven inches, but the weather was so mild that no ¢ 
done to animal or vegetable life. 
The Modesto sand sample was found to be of the s : 
character, but the particles were larger than the others m ent 
and the organic matter was less, as follows: i 
Organic Malter; s sosesc essss er eeeeeeerne ee 
me PS os OSES a gai eis Ca MMe Gh E E pre” see 0.19} 
The papers announced a sand storm at Bakersfield, and 
sand at Virginia city; soon after there was a sand storm 
Mohave desert, and at the same time a similar storm 
violence in Death valley, Inyo county, but all these 0 
the rancisco storm and cannot. be directly c sO 
rapia lifts the sand in clouds which obscure the 
an unnatural gloom to hang over the 
arrer is at times wholly shut out REAGE 
summits of the highest accessible mountains, on 
even on the bare rocks, dust n x 
called “star dust,” “cosmical matter” and other 
which probably owe their origin to the causes 
tioned, 
The subject of atmospheric poison becomes i ap 
is pate gat gic that the dust pr pee ge st Ena 
uantity of organic matter, of which, without ibt, 4 
ae EES May it not 
py, pole vegetable life, and pee 
to this cause ? 
