Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-02-02

| occurred in st. Petersburg. It was at a
| great ball, and the temperature Of the
| salon had gone up to 80 degrees or over.
| Several ladies tainted in consequence, and
| a rush was made to open the windows.
| There was no storm outside, but. as quick
| ly as this was DONE snow began to fall
| inside the room, the moisture of the air
being condensed suddenly by the extreme
| cold from without. That is the story, but
| for my own part l find it hard to believe
1 have heard accounts of impromptu snow
| storms in laundries. a door being opened
into room full of steam, but l have never
| been able to verify the phenomenon.
There are not few scientific men who
contend that the earth is steadily growing
colder. For my own part, 1 do not be-
leve that there has been any perceptible
change in this respect within historic
times. Grapes in Europe and other prod
| ucts of the soil everywhere ripen just as
early now as they did centuries ago. 1t
is alleged that Laplanders have emigrated
to North America because they found the
climate of their native country getting too
cold for them. and so have sought refuge
it was very foolish, because North Dakota
is colder than Lapland by many degrees.
1t is also asserted that the early Morse
men found Greenland country covered
with verdure and called 1t on that account
by it's present name though now it Is COW
cred with ice. AS a matter Of fact. how
ever, in July and August of every year
large carts of Greenland look very green
indeed from the sea.
1T is alleged by other authorities that
our climate is much milder than it used to
be and that we do not have such rigorous
winters as formerly. l do not credit that
notion either People. in looking back
many years. recollect the winters that were
exceptionally severe, rather than those
which represented the average.
Some Great Glaciers.
Jack Frost's most wonderful handiwork
Is found in the great rivers of ice called
glaciers. The most stupendouS OF all the
glaciers of the world is that named after
Humboldt which flows into Smith Sound
from West Greenland, forming formidable
barrier to navigation toward the pole. 1t
is a frozen stream sixty miles wide. Seen
from off the coast its face rises abruptly
to a height of about 800 feet, its depth be-
lew the surface of the water being I'M
known. All along this face ii is continually
shedding gigantic iCeDergS.
Next after the humboldt slacier.l should
say, comes a mighty river of ice belonging
to Uncle sam. 1t is the Muir glacier OF
Alaska close by Mount St Elias. 1t IS
thirty-tivc miles long by six TO ten miles
wide. its surface occupying an area or '''o
square miles. The frozen stream is forced
through a narrow gateway between noun
tains into the Muir Inlet forming a vertical
wall at the waters edge 2no feet high.
Close up to this wall the water is 100 feet
deep and the solid ice extends to the very
be tom. Thus the total height of the wall,
which is continually shedding gigantic ice
Iergs, is $50 feet. The wall is nearly two
miles long and its front has an eXtraordln-
airy coiora ton, varying from deep blue al
p:cst to black.
Absolute zero is l61 degrees below the zero
of the Fahrenheit thermometer. That point
where there is no heat whatever has never
been reached. and very likely never will be.
Prof. DeWar has succeeded in transforming
atmospheric air into a solid at a temperature
of :,4tidegraes below zero. He hopes to liquefy
hI-.i at loo hplHw q boiling
point of that element is HIS below zero.
Carbonic acid gas assumes the condition of
snow at the comparatively high tempera-
ture of H. degrees below zero.
RENE, B.CHE.