The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-05-23
NOT GENERALLY KNOWN
Odd Facts With Which Few People
 Are Acquainted.
Philadelphia Inquirer


 Are Acquainted.
 Philadelphia Inquirer
 After a clear. still night. every grass blade hangs thick with dewdrops, while the roads and gravel paths remain per fectly dry. Did it ever occur to you to dew is mos: readily deposited upon cold surfaces by the air which contains 1t. The slender blades of leaves and grass give up the warmth they have gained during the day more easily than do stones and earth. and 50 they gather more mois- ture from the atmosphere.
 When we have choice in the matter, most of us prefer to live near the sea. the coast Is never so cold in winter. nor so hot in Summer. as one far inland. But why this Is the case Is not so often con- sidered. It Is the direct work of the sea. A large body of water is very slow to gather heat; and when it has at last got warmed thoroughly is equally slow in giving it's warmth up.
 heated with week of the sun. the tenn perature of the sea takes many weeks to rise. and Is at its highest point at a time when the soil is already cooling off, During the winter the sea slowly gives up its summer heat, and so warns the air above 1t and the land near it. In summer the process is reversed. Then, too a person choosing residence usually prefers sandy or light soil to heavy clay. Much more healthy he con- siders It. He is perfectly right. The at mosphere over sandy soil is drier. and. therefore. warmer, than that over clay, because the sand naturally retains less water. A sandy country Is much less lia- ble on this accouptI to autumn and spring frosts than one which has heavy. com The rainiest district in Great Britain Is a part of the lake district where as much as 100 inches of rain fall in year. Co- | fmbra, a town in the mountains of Por | tugal, has more than double this down. pour annually. There are always special reasons why some places are wetter than others: The lake district is wet because the hills catch the warm west winds | which come fresh off the Atlantic, chill them, and so force the air to part with | its moisture. Cold air cannot carry any | thing like the same amount Of moisture | which warmer air is capable of holding | in suspension
 | It is for similar reason that rain in summer falls from a much greater height | above tho earth than do winter showers. In summer the atmosphere is warm enough to hold rainclouds 5000 to 40oO feet high. In winter 200 feet is usually | big drops are, we all know well, likely to be sharp but short though the reason | of this fact may not be obvious. It Is be- cause big drops are those which come | from a lofty cloud. The small drops which form them have had time to join | together on the way down. When clouds are at small height; they are almost l always small. and so the rain they bring | lasts but a short time.
 | It used to puzzle all thinking people | why ponds and rivers do not freeze be- yond a certain depth. This depends on a most curious fact-nameiy, that water is l at it's heaviest when it reaches 40 degrees Fahrenheit-that is, 8 degrees above freez- | ing point. On a frosty night, as each | top layer of water falls to 40 degrees, It sinks to the bottom. Therefore the whole | pond has to drop to 40 degrees before | any of it can freeze.
 At last it is all cooled to this <point, | and then ice begins to form. But ice is a very bad conductor of heat Therefore it shuts of the freezing air from the biz | body of comparatively warm water un- derneath. The thicker 1t gets. the more ! that is why even the Arctic Ocean never freezes beyond few feet in thickness. Another frost problem Is the cracking in which rocks and clods are reduced to | powder by frost Water. when it freezes. expands with irresistible force. ConSe- quently anything containing water IS rent asunder when that water turns into ice. | In this way rocks are rapidly worn down. l Chalk holds more water than most other | forms of soil. and that is why the roads | in chalky counties are usually in such a shocking condition when a thaw follows | frost.
 I The worst place in the world for foss l is over the banks of Newfoundland The l for fogs. and the same thing is noticed l in all northern seas where the water. is | shallow over sandbanks.
 These fogs are formed because the wa ter which covers the banks has become | colder than the surrounding sea. Conse- | quently the atmospheric Napor is prccip- | itated and made visible in such locali- | ties.
 Fogs are at their worst over the New l foundland banks because there the warm Gulf Stream makes the difference in temperature between the deep sea ana ths | shallow more pronounced In similar l fashion, fogs are more frequent in au- | tumn than at any other time Of the year, because at that season the ground is still | comparatiVely warm, while the air above | is cold The air nearest the soil becomes warmed and rises into the cold atmos- phere above, when It's moisture is con | densed.
 Why water should sometimes fall as soft snow crystals and at others as hard Jumps of icy hail is a question of in | terest. The difference is entirely one ot time. Snow crystals are formed very l slowly. the frozen atoms of water group ing themselves with mathematical pre- cision around different centers Hail which generally falls in warmer weather | is rain frozen suddenly by sharp droI of temperature in the upper air. Wind nearly. always accompanies hall. while ths l larger and more perfect snoWfakeS arc | always formed in calm air. Dairymen hate thunder. IL turns their | milk sour in few hours. The reason Is
 that electricity changes the sugar in milk to tactic acid. The caseine, or cheesy | part of the milk. being insoluble in pres ence of an acid, Is then precipitated into curds. and so the milk sours. Milk, il
 may be mentioned. is unfit for food foi | some time before it actually sours
 A red sunset Is hailed with delight by
 people who are going to take a holiday the next day But the reason why d 1 red sunset should indicate fine weather the next day is probably considered by few It is very simple Watery vapor ir the air affects the refraction, of the light
 and where there Is a large amount pres
 ent it always cuts off the red rays
 When, therefore, the red rays are free! eel ! not approach the rain point. and there fore the chances are strong that the weather will he fine during the nex
 twenty-four hours.
 ali exnect a gale The barometer falls be cause at that time it is under the trousf of a big atmospnerio wave Therefore