The Kimball graphic. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1905, 1885-09-11

the a II must suddenly be cooled below
the dew point, and this is done BY for.
cling the air up to an altitude of one or
two miles above the earthls surface.
where it condenses rapidly and dis
charges rain.
'Ihere are several methods of gau-
ging the rainfall. and the instruments
are called pluviameters. The simplest
one, and the one in use, at the Smith
sonian Institute in Washington, is a
cyl n Ter of several inches deep, ex-
posed or a level with the ground. The
The rain which is caught IN this vessel
can be accurately measured as follows:
II the cylinder be ten inches in dame
ter pour its contents into q tube one
inch in diameter, that is graduated for
inches and tenths, and the amount OF
rain in the tube will be to that in the
cylinder as l to 10, or 100 to 1000. In
this way an accurate measurement Of
the rainfall may be made by the ver;est
beginner. In this state we have an
annual average fall of 40 inches of
rain. There have been some remark
aple falls of rain in various parts of
the country, while the average fall is
scarcely ever more than / inch per
lay. At %Fiatbush, Long Island, on
the 22d day OF August, l843, 9 inches
OF am iel in 3 ours; at Catskill, N.
T.. on the Goth of July, 1919, Is inches
OF ain fell in 8 hours; at Wilmington.
Del, on the 18th of July, 1884, 5 inches
OF rain fell in % hours. and at Fair
field, o., on the 18th of August, 1861,
. inches of rain fell in IL hours. In
India 10 inches of rain have fallen in q
single day, while at several places in
the vicinity of Switzerland so inches
have fallen in a day.
There are cases on record where
rain has fallen in heavy showers when
not a cloud was visible anywhere. On
the 25th of April, 1909, at 8 D. M, rain
fell for twenty minutes at Philadelphia
although there was not a cloud to be
seen. On the 9th of August, 1887. a
shower fell at Geneva, Switzerland.
lasting some tine, and not a sign of a
cloud visible. Many such cases are ON
record.
Some storms bring with them the
most wonderful electrical displays.
The ordinary lightning which we see
IN the heavens is caused by two c'ouis
having opposite electricities coming
together or near enough for the two
electricities to rush together. and the
zigzag course it takes in its path is
owing TO the finding of more or less
opposition in the atmosphere. Light
nlng comes in many shapes. For i'm
stance, there is the ball of lightning.
looking for all the world like . ball Of
molten iron, which explodes with q
loud crash. and is commonly called q
thunderbo,t. which is only an intense
charge of electricity, sufficiently pow
erful to overcome all obstacles and
strike the earth in a direct line Of
flight.
Heat lightning is generally seen at
the close of a hot day, and is caused
sometimes by the reflection of light
ming 10 distant that the thunder NAV
not be heard, and sometimes it over
spreads the whole heavens, showing
that the electricity of the clouds es-
capes in flashes so feeble that they pro-
duce no audible sound. Thundcr is
caused by the re-entrance of the air
into the void from which it was ex-
PEELED by the passage of the lightning.
and into which it rushes with avio-
proportlOnate to the intensity of
the electricity. The distance of q cloud
from the observer, from which the
lightning has passed, can readily be
told by counting the seconds between
the flash and the report of the thunder
and computing LOO feet for each sec
ond. which is the distance which sound
travels in a second.
Nearly all transforms are followed
by rainbows and often they are of the
most beautiful colors. These are
caused by the light of the sun. when
at certain attitudes, falling on light
particles Of ra n and changing them in
color as they are large or small, con-
the reflection of the rays of
light to the shape of the sun. There
are also lunar bows formedby the rays
q bright moon on a mist. as at Nj
a.gara Falls, where n can always
be seen on a fine moonlit night.
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