280 A. LIVERSIDGfi. 



curious phenomenon here. The sirocco was blowing and 

 the hills were wrapt in mist, but the fog assumed a yellow 

 hue, and the sun which at times could not be seen through 

 it, was a bright blue. This was caused and accompanied 

 by a copious fall of red dust. Some which I shook off my 

 hat was quite dry, and on looking at it through a low power 

 lens, all the granules appeared to be spherical, except a 

 very few grains of what looked like quartz. . . . This 

 dust also fell at Naples and Palermo in such quantity that 

 the streets looked red and the people were frightened." 

 Prof. Judd states that under the microscope the dust is 

 seen to be made up of particles of quartz, mica etc., also 

 frustules of freshwater diatoms. Prof. Riicker, "Nature" 

 May 9, estimates the amount from his observation as about 

 7 tons per acre. 



Sir Ed. Fry, F.R.S., wrote to " Nature " from Failand, 

 January 28th 1902, describing a fall of reddish or rust 

 coloured mud or dust, which covered greenhouses, plants, 

 and clothing out to dry; it also fell at Lawrence Weston, 

 about five miles to the N.E., Chewton Priory some fifteen 

 miles S.E., and Barry Island some twenty miles W. by S. 

 and on the other side of the Bristol Channel. The above 

 fall was afterwards found to have spread over a large area, 

 since it occurred in Cornwall. 



On March 6th there appeared a letter in "Nature" from 

 Mr. Clement Reid, stating that the above fall of red dust in 

 South Wales may have been derived from the Red River 

 dust flats, as he had noticed red dust clouds blown from 

 the flats and spreading across St. Ives Bay to St. Ives 

 Head, a distance of over three miles. The wind was not 

 a gale, but merely a strong dry east wind. 



Gold and platinum? in meteoric dusts, — For convenience 

 the results of the search for these metals are summarised 

 here instead of being given under the headings of the 



