- FEBRUARY 1, 1884. ] 
kind are not, however, of a very satisfactory 
nature; and the pond has apparently returned 
to its legitimate use, viz., furnishing a home 
for about a million small fishes. 
In no place in the world is so much attention 
paid to magnetic observations and inyestiga- 
tions as here at Pawlowsk. We see in this cut 
the underground magnetic house, and its size 
can be seen by comparison with the figures in 
the foreground. The building consists of two 
chambers, separated and surrounded by air- 
chambers which are heated ; and the heat is thus 
conveyed through the walls into the observing- 
rooms. These rooms remain at a wonderfully 
constant temperature. The building is quite 
isolated from the remaining portions of the 
observatory. It was here that the observations 
simultaneous with those of the recent inter- 
national polar expeditions were made. 
The whole work of this institution is scien- 
tific in the highest degree, and there is little of 
what we may call popular work done; but this 
is unnecessary, as those who would be influ- 
enced by a more evidently practical result have 
nothing to say in regard to the conduct of the 
service. 
RED SKIES IN CHINA FIVE YEARS 
AGO. 
Tue ‘red sunsets’ which have recently at- 
tracted so much attention in so many quarters 
of the globe, and have called forth considerable 
discussion in various scientific journals, both in 
America and Europe, recall very similar phe- 
nomena I observed five years ago, under circum- 
stances which seem to me worth recording at 
this time. 
During the early part of the winter of 1878- 
79, I had occasion to pass several weeks, en- 
gaged in geological work, along the base and 
among the foot-hills of the first mountain range 
that rises above the plain of northern China, 
and forms the boundary between the provinces 
of Chihliand Shansi. Frequently in the month 
of November my attention had been called to 
the intense coloring of the sky, and brilliant 
red afterglows, slowly fading away, and lasting 
long after the sun had set. On one occasion, 
Dec. 1, I left the small mountain village of 
Cheang-Shui, accompanied by my friend Mr. 
W.N. Pethick of Tientsin, for a long tramp 
among the hills. We travelled up the long 
valley, and ascended to the top of the pass 
commanding an extended view to the westward, 
over the plateau of Shansi. Although late in 
the day, we pushed on to the village of Tang- 
SCIENCE. 
121 
Cheng-Tsun, a mile and a half to two miles be- 
yond, reaching there about sunset. 
On our way back to the pass, I was continu- 
ally looking backward, astonished at the bril- 
liancy of the sky, the orange-red and peculiar’ 
brick-red colors of the horizon, and the length 
of time the vivid coloring remained after the 
going-down of the sun. How long this intense 
afterglow continued I am unable to say ; as, on 
reaching the summit, we retraced our steps 
down what in the Cordillera would be called 
the canon, and the western view was completely 
lost behind an abrupt wall. 
All the phenomena connected with the sun- 
set were quite similar to those recently observed 
in New York, except, as I now recall the scene, 
the colors seemed to surpass them in brilliancy. 
Through the month of December I was fre- 
quently impressed with the deep red glare of 
the skies, and long twilights, although none 
of them appeared to equal in intensity the one 
observed from the top of the plateau. This 
difference I supposed was due to the view 
being somewhat shut off by the high ridge to 
the westward. 
As early as November the prevailing winds 
in northern China blow almost continuously 
from the north-west, across the broad area of 
country covered with loess-deposits. In con- 
sequence, the atmosphere was never wholly free 
from fine loess-dust; a haziness being at all 
times noticeable in the mountains, while fre- 
quently the air was gray from the large amount 
of impalpable dust held in suspension. On 
those days when the dust was most perceptible 
the colorings of the skies were never remark- 
able, and were only fine when the lower atmos- 
phere seemed clear and bright. 
These brilliant afterglows continued at in- 
tervals throughout December and early part of 
the new year; the last one being noticed about 
the middle of January, from a small village 
seventy-five miles east of the mountains, where 
I had put up for the night on my way to Tien- 
tsin. In the following September I again vis- 
ited the mountains and plateau of Shansi, but 
do not recall any thing in connection with the 
sunsets at all comparable to those observed 
the preceding winter. But, on the other hand, 
the atmospheric conditions were also wholly 
changed ; the wind was blowing steadily from 
the east or ocean side; the air was laden 
with moisture, which was frequently precipi- 
tated in heavy rains; and the atmosphere, so 
far as the eye could detect, was free from dust. 
I can but think that the great brilliancy and 
long duration of the afterglow were intimately 
connected with loess-dust in some such way 
