Mr James Straton on the Rain-Gauge. 39 



retaining wall E, and fence, 10 to 12 feet high. During the 

 four preceding days the wind was moderately strong from the 

 NE., with showers, and the bank of snow B, was formed on 

 the road. On the night 16-17, much snow fell, with a 

 high wind, and the bank C was formed above B, up to the 

 level of the stone fence on A, and extending over to within 

 about 4 feet of the fence E, terminating in a thin crest over 

 which the snow was blown by a strong wind. In the bottom 

 of the ravine D, formed by the snow and the opposite wall, 

 the snow was only a few inches deep, and the only difficulty 

 in passing along the ravine arose from the suffocating cloud, 

 formed of minute particles of snow, whirled by the wind in 

 the cavity I), then tossed over the fence E, and spread on the 

 adjoining field. From E to H is a slightly undulated sur- 

 face of nearly half a mile, over which the wind and snow 

 swept pretty freely. The wall H is about 10 feet high, run- 

 ning east and west. The wind being from the north, a bank 

 of snow about two feet high, was formed at G, some three 

 feet from the wall. From the crest of this bank a shower 

 of snow, like the spray from the crest of a wave in a stormy 

 sea, poured up over the wall H, crossed the road I, some 20 

 feet broad, and was spread over the field K. On the road I, 

 the snow was only three or four inches deep, so that loaded 

 carts were passing with ease, whilst the field K was covered 

 to the depth of about two feet. Now, let us suppose for a 

 moment that the cavity B, C, D, over the road, is the receiver 

 of a huge rain gauge, placed on a level with the ground ; we 

 see that it gets filled with snow by a little from the clouds 

 and a large quantity from the adjacent plain. Let the other 

 road H, I, be a similar receiver, raised eight, ten, or twenty feet 

 above the ground ; we see that it gets almost no snow, 

 either from above or below. The wind passes over the wall, 

 forms a whirl in the cavity, and tosses the snow into the next 

 field. I know not, therefore, how to place very large re- 

 ceivers so that they shall do their duty. We shall see what 

 may be done with very small ones. 



When I was studying this part of the subject some ten 

 years ago, I frequently went into the fields during rain to 

 notice the action of the falling drops on the mineral and ve- 



