The Nature of Snow, &c. 321 
form what we call flakes of fnow; hence we underftand 
why fnow, though it feems to be foft, is really hard, be- 
caufe it is a real ice, whofe infeparable property is to be 
hard, its foftnefs being only apparent. The firft touch 
of the finger upon any of its (harp edges or points in- 
ftantly thaw r s them, otherwife they would pierce the fin¬ 
gers like fo many lancets ; and hence alfo why fnow, 
though a real ice, and fo denfe and hard a body is not- 
withftanding very light, which is the extream thinnefs 
of each icicle in refpedt of its breadth: hence it alfo ap¬ 
pears, why fnow is white, becaufe it confifts of parts, 
each of which fingly is tranfparent, but mixed together, 
appear white, as the parts of froth, glafs, ice, and other 
tranfparent bodies, whether foft or hard. 
A B C D E F, fig. 564. reprefents a few of an infinite 
variety of curious figures that are to be cbferved in fnow j 
in which it was obfervable, that if they were of any 
regular figures, they were always branched out with fix 
principal branches, of equal length and fhape. As thefe 
Items were for the moft part of the fame make in one 
flake, fo were they in differently figured flakes, very dif¬ 
ferent 5 but this was conftantly cbferved, that what¬ 
ever figure one of the branches were of, the reft were ex¬ 
actly the fame* 
Y 
Artificial 
