Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1894-09-07
THE HAZE.
SMOKE OF FOREST FIRES SAID TO BE THE
CAUSE OF IT.

the last week or so has been a matter of
great interest to meteorologists, and
many experiments have been going on
in different observatories of the country
to determine its cause and nature. The
weather bureau officials, whose reports
on the weather conditions are daily read
throughout the United States. have
been making observations of this phe-
nomenon, and the opinions of two of the
professors of meteorology were given
to reporter for the United Press, says
a Washington dispatch.
Prof. Henry, a. IIazen SAID "This is
what may be called the Indian summer
dry haze. just what is the cause of it
it is little difficult to determine. SINH
lar conditions have been noticed in the
past, notably on the dark day. in
( 17Sl, which was due to a dense condl-
ton of the atmosphere, probably caused
by smoke. In 1881 there was another
dark day known as yellow day
which extended from New England to
Virginia on the Atlantic coast. In 1871
the smoke was so dense that many per-
sons thought the day of Judgment
had come. In 1881 the gas was lighted
in the streets of Boston at midday.
While it was not so dark here in Wash
ington, still the haze was very dense.
The murky atmosphere that has been
noted west of the Mississippi river is of
a very different character from that to
the eastward, as that is much lighter
1t is probably caused every year by a
settlement Of dust or smoke PARTICLES.
The AIR is generally quiet, and there are
no conditions which would precipitate
the particles causing the haze, or carry
them to other regions. The conditions
east of the Mississippi river are unques-
tonably due to forest fires, just as in
1871 and 1881. The forest fires this
year, however. have been much more
serious than common, owing to the
drought that has existed. The atmos-
phere has been very dry and extends to
enormous heights This smoke is not
so del.se in a;y one place, but when you
get glimpse through a great thickness,
it appears quite so. The theory
advanced that the present haze is caused
by the earth assing through the tail of
a comet is entirely erroneous. The
material in the tail of a comet could not
possibly produce such an effect as that.
This is "A condition purely terrestrial
The stars can be seen through the den.
sest tail of a comet. In fact it has been
believed that the material of the tail OF
comet is something like light, without
substance"
Prof. Cleveland Able of the weather
bureau. who has made a special research
into this smoke phenomenon, said: 81
began today "A collation. of all the data
the weather bureau has relative to the
spread of the haze which now
covers the greater part of The
United States. 1t would be premature
to anticipate what might result from
the study which shall he able to Civ,
to this large mass of data. Early il
July | began to receive reports of fores
fires and large areas Of smoke i'm Mime
sofa, Wisconsin and upper Michigan
Since then reports have come from
lower Michigan, New York and Penn
sylvania. There is every reason to be
leve that all of the smoke haze whicl
now covers the country is the result o
the diffusion of smoke of burning forest
and crops. \ comparatively little fir
will make large quantity of dens
smoke unless it j. widely diflused b,
strong winds, in which case the smok
becomes like the thin haze of the Indian
summer. But it so happens in thi
l present season the United States ha
experienced rather high temperatur
; and light variable winds, so that tn
smoky haze has not been carried ava,
to great distance. 1t has, therefore
at the present time an average densit.
: greater than usual. 1t will doubles
all be cleared away by the action of tn
first general storm that sweeps over tn
country.
- MS sllOhc from lOftSl anu pldll !
fires is ditiused perceptibly to create
distance than many people woul'
imagine possible. About the time o
the great Chicago fire there were als'
extensive forest fires, whose smoke wa
carried rapidly and directly eastward
and within two weeks time was report
ed by numerous vessels in cOntnuou
series from our Atlantic coast NOR
than half way over to Africa. 1t wa
even then spoken of by some naviga
tors as the smoke from the Chicago fir
itself, but it was more correctly from tn
extensive forest fires of Wisconsin ant
. Michigan. While, on the one hand
these fires were especially favored BY
long-contnued dry weather, on tn
other hand, they themselves conduce'
to the prolongation of dry weather Ii
a some parts of the country it has bee
reported that, owing to the variety o
this cloud Of haze, Injurious frosts hav