Vermont farmer. [volume] (Newport, Orleans County, Vt.) 1870-1877, 1871-07-22
2t55S

some fair weather clouds.
q The Cumulus is in this section the COM
mon cloud waited about by the wind. some
times piled up in the horizon so us to look
like snow capped mountains, or like ocean
pillows dashed with foam. If the clouds
move off and appear high above the noun
tllns fair weather may be expected. but if
the lower edges are smooth and they hang
around our mountains look out for storms, for
they then have to settle but few feet nearer
the earth to become rain clouds In summer
they produce many showers, especially when
the weather is hot. rs evaporation is rapid
they Increase in size and consequently in
weight, and sinking near the earth discharge
their contents with thunder and lightning.
You can usually tell something of the state
ofth atmosphere and probabilities ola storm
by watchinga small cloud of this description.
II 1t increases in size and assumes Il darker
tint. it indicates storm; if on the other hand
1t decreases, 1t indicates fair weather. and if
1t he entirely dissipated no storm may be ex-
pected, but If dissipated rapidly look out for
showers, us the electrical condition of the
atmosphere is such that they may be produc-
ed rs soon us evaporation supplies the requi-
site amount of moisture.
81. The Stratus is horizontal. misty
cloud, frequently observed i'm Il summer even
ing laying across the country, slightly elevat
ed and apparently having no motion: also
along rivers and over ponds where il is
known as fog 1t is usually dssipated by the
sun IN the early morning, but sometimes is
IN sufficient quantity to produce ram, but in
TINS section Is generally Il fair weather cloud
L. The Nimbus. or rain cloud, has Il uni
form gray color, has fringed edges when they
are displayed. but usually covers the entire
SKY and the rapidity of the rain depends on
It's thickness. The nearer the ground the
greater its probable thickness and the more
water contained within it. All know this
cloud IN moment as it always produces
ram. with us 1t is common cloud, but in
many sections of our globe it is never seen, as
extensive tracts of land exist where rain new
c,r falls. Some of this land is rendered pro-
uuctlve by the overflow Of rivers like Egypt.
other by copious dews like Palestine, but by
fur the larger portion of the rninlcss districts
are barren deserts like Peru and Chill or the
great deserts of Africa or Arabia. On the
other hand, within the topics, where the great
cloud belt that continually encircles the earth
swings gradually north and south changing
their seasons from wet to dry, there are pla-
ces where rains and mist fall continually but
as those tracts are among islands or ilpon
the ocean they are of little account.
Inc amount of rain that usually falls i'm
TINS section in rainy day is seldom over one
men, and generally much less: the entire
fall of water including melted snow is ON nm
average about forty inches. We are. how
ever, Ike other countries liable to very great
lrreSulal'ty of storms and on some rare oc-
casions as much us four inches have fallen i'm
twenty-for hours, as on the 81 of October.
1869; with this exception we have not for
twenty years had over two inches in twenty
four hours, and that only seven times during
TINS period. These were all remarkable
rams. AS 1t takes n foot of snow to make an
men OF water, you can see our winter storms
are much less than those of summer.
or remarkable storms | will notice: At
Catskill, n. Y, July Goth, 1919 eighteen
inches ofwatcr fell in seven and n half hours
making flood which swept everything before
1t. Great numbers ofcattlennd many buildings
shared the devastation. Whole forests were
uprooted and floatcd away In California. .Ju-
y, 1862, thirty-two inches fell in twelve hours
Though this was only the case in n small
section OF country, the rain was almost with
out u precedent. Large brick buildings were
carried away so the least trace of them could
not he found, old beds of rivers were filed
up and new formed, and devastation was the
order of the day. These floods, in the tenn
perate zone, are rare visitatons, but not so
IN the toIrid us hardly II single day passes but
what tornado or deluge takes place in some
limited portion of that section Sometimes
:'s much rs tlnrty-five inches of water falls
IN eight or nine hours, us was the case in the
Cuban tornado of 1867. which swept away
almost everything on the island, reducing the
inhabitants to n state of Starvation