New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1903-06-05

rirsf because the air currents In which it APP
pears are heated and tend to rise This motion
is soon lost, however, and other forces then act
upon it. Owing to the smallness Of the PARTICLES
grayitation exerts a scarcely perceptible IN
fuence. Hence, the horizontal movement OF the
general atmosphere diffuses the dust sideways
for long distances. When there is sheet %
smoke over large area IL may extend upwaIu
only few hundred feet Except IN cases %
storms there is practically ascent to the ar
and hence any material that is borne along ny -
will rarely rise any elevation unless projected
with violence.
Dust from volcanoes Is often carried se'erai
miles high In some parts of the world there
are atmospheric currents considerably aUo'e
the earth that travel forty or NIFTY mines "i'
hour In a generally e2sterly dlrec'ioh'
loonists have taken advantage OF lneSe -
peatedly John Wise was thus transported heat
liz thousand miles in the United States Haii
d century ago. Meteorologsts were greatly SUI
prised after the explosion that Destroyer '
volcano of Krakatoa- near Java IN Ao0''
discover evidence of a previously unsuspecteu
current near the equator going IN the oPto'i''
direction. There was reason TO believe that dust
.,,,, that source went westward around the
Garth in a comparatively narrow stream WIN
q velocity OF g hundred miles or more an houi'
Afterward the dust layer very slowly Wloeneu'
but its effects were not discovered in the id'4-
tude of New-York or Paris for several WEEKS
The most obvious result was strange red
5enins OF che sunsets. The color OF the sun as
seen yesterday morning was undoubtedly oue
"a g somewhat similar cause a rudy hue may
rec,,1- from either OF two we'll known phe-
nornena- The most common, perhaps, is the re-
fracttve effect OF slanting path through the
atmosphere, which separates the blue from lie
RED ravs. and leaves the latter visible last and
longest The other cause is the presence OF a
large number of fine particles of solid matter
Dust from the volcanoes on Martinique ana
St Vincent last spring and summer travelled
hundreds of miles in a direction different from
shat Of the surface winds. Just how high 1t
went before travelling laterally it would not De
easy to say perhaps There is reason 10 lhlhh
that the violence of expulsion was not so great
as that which attended the wreck OF hrakatoa-
Yet enormous quantities Of ashes from felee
and Soufrrfere were transported enormous us
.snces. Similar showers in Mexico followed
errptions in Guatemala last year. In all those
cases. Of course there was considerable YER
tical movement before the horizontal journey
began.
Another class of phenomena which has puz-
yl4d MANY people is the occurrence of showers Of
Of volcanic origin If the stuff be yellow, it Is
,,sraIIv mistaken for sulphur, but upon exam
snatton under a microscope it is liable TO turn
out to be the pollen Of pine trees. sometimes
swarrns of bugs or worms have made their ap-
pearance under mysterious circumstances In
many Of these instances the correct eHplaIid-
ton IS that the material has been swept aIoi' ps
gales in one locality. carried TO greater or less
distance, and then liberated. Pollen has been
thus transported two hundred or three hunoreu
miles.
remarkable, but not unprecedented case Va
this sort arose on the other side OF the Ailah'i'
last February Dust from the Desert OF SahaIa
was carried upward and then to long ols -
westward and northward 1t was seen pS elliPs
ping off the coast OF Africa, over the azores an
even in Southern ENGLAND; s 5an niles, Gf tH
must have been transported 1.ooo iiliies- NOM
The part OF the country where smoke now
prevails has not been the scene OF q S 49, Is
high winds for several weeks Hence there 40
no reason TO think that the particles com
the veil have reached any special eleNatIoh y.
travelled very far. A gentle dlstrlpuIlon naT
been in progress for days, ana the pIouu.' -
is extensive enough to make an almost c0ii
The recently discovered relation between Dust
snd fog NAV have some bearing on the present
situation Mr. Aithen and other British lnNeSli-
gators have noticed that the microscopic nesi-
rles or bubbles, of water vapor that cohstItuce
8 fog often or always have particle OF ousl a. a.
the centre Some experts have gone SO laI as ~
express the belief that no fog can FORM IN an
absolutely dustless atmosphere. Possibly that IS
overstating the case. There can be no ooup''
though that the presence Of dust facllltates tne
formation Of fog when the other coilul .,o
which are requisite are present FOG Is hoInIIe
more or less than cloud 1t results from d s!isl
chilling Of air containing moisture IL the ZEN
rerature change We're violent and RAPID: lie
condensation would take the form OF ram %
snow Where II is triling and gradual, cloud
or fog and not precipitation, results Inc oi4l4
practical distinction between log ana SlUud h
on q
other floats at little elevation. All some places
along the coast yesterday the conditions We're
favora BILE 10 fog and this have formed an
unimportant part of the haze; but the chlei
factor was doubtless smoke.
An interesting line OF speculation is provoked
by the fact that minute particles OF meteoTlc or
..cosrnic" dust from outer srace, falls upon the
earth at times. One might be tempted 10 ask
81 something OF that kind had not occurred TINS
week To a question of that sort there is an
effective answer The whole globe, or, at
least one side of il, would have been involved,
and not merely a limited patch, if such thing
had happened.
~--<a- r~rSrrT II