, 1903-06-25
OF WEATHER
soGs. WINDS AND STORMS OF w
RED PECULlARlTlzS.

In mountainous countries. such as
Scotland, a fog usually forms at the
top Of a hill and works downward.
The cold mountain Top. cooling II warm
current of wet air. renders It's moisture
visible. and this cold fog. being OF low
er temperature than tbc air beiow and
therefore heavier. drops gradually to
the valley. Colorado. however. can
show an exception 10 his general rule.
There in winter the frost on the low
ground is so intense that a fog often
forms in the valleys and works slowly
up the mountain side. This is known
by the Indian name OF ''pogouip.'
Peru has hundreds OF square miles
along its coast OF rainless country In
this tract rain is new known to fall
from one century's end to another. Yet
the region is not entirely barren Of veg
citation. Some parts Of 1t, Indeed. are
comparatively fertile. This is due to
the extraordinary foEs known as "ga
ruas.' They prevail ever! night from
May to October after Il summer that is
sultry and extend up 10 a level Of l,2OO
feet above the sea. Above I.2UU feet
rain falls.
The 'calina'' OF Spain J.. Il fog we
may 10 grateful tlat We rD not have.
1t is a dry, yellow mist Us ich some.
times hides the sun for days at u time
over vast tracts of country and nak"s
the sky look as though covered with
Ieaden gauze.
Another peculiar freak OF weather
we must be thankful to escape Is the
''williwau" This form of storm is
confined to that faroff island TERRA del
Fuego. The coast is indented with
deep tiords crowned with high noun
tains. Down from tleir gorges drops
the "willlwau." y low. hoarse mutter
ing is heard in the distance. sudden
ly. without the least preliminary pun.
II fearful blast Of wind drops upon the
sea. The water is not raised into
waves, but driven into fine dust. For
tunately the shock lasts but ten or
twelve seconds. and calm follows at
once. for no vessel could stand such a
wind for even haIf IA minute. During
the coming and going of II 'williwau"
he barometer may be watched to drop
a tenth Of an inch or more and rise
again at once.
Similar in name if not in nature is
the willy willy" with which Kalgoor-
lie gold diggers are acquainted. to their
cost. Dust devils" some people call
them. Half Il dozen may be seen dane
ing harmlessly along over the desert
when suddenly one will dive into the
city and ill all the shop windows in
!iannan street with dust and sand,
5lindlng every pusserby. The willy
willy is a thief of the worst kind. 1t
will steal the washing from u line or
;he roof ron II shed, In some paris Of
the country wire ropes are anchored
over the roofs Of b..s to save them
from the attacks o? Inese Du. little
-yhirlwiuds.
Most people have heard Of the "fohn"
wind of Switzerland. that warm, dry
gale which comes over the Mountains
nnd In spring will melt two feet Of
now in 81 day. it, cause is most pc
culiar. The 'fohn' comes from the
south. As it strikes the Alps il is wet.
like most gales which have crossed the
sea. but the south face of the noun
tains receives its rain. and as ii crosses
the SUBMITS ii Is dry. The moving air
current is also compressed and there
fore Dramatically heated. As 1t falls
into the northern valleys in Il cataract
of air it gains heat ut the rate of half
u degree for every 100 feet of descen
1t usually blows for two or three days.
causing great sutIcIiLg by its dry heat
and oppression. While it lasts the TEN
perature is about thirty degrees above
the average. The chinook" of Brit.
ish Columbia and the western side Of
the United States is very similar to the
"fohn.''
England has adopted the American
word blizzard" for IA gale with snow.
But the blizzard. however. must yield
to the %ferocious Duran" of the central
steppes of Asia and the "purga' of
northern Siberia. To be caught in gales
such as these means death in Il very
few minutes, however warmly clad, for
the very air becomes uubredthable. so
hlled is it with spikes OF ice drift.
"Khamsin'' is the hot wind from the
desert which blows out of the Sahara
upon Egypt. The word means tifty.
from the idea that it lasts for fifty
days. The "khamsin'' is terribly hot
and dry aud sometimes brings pesti-
lence with il.
Red sno we nave all heard OF. 1t
is caused by u microscopic i%nfusorial
growth and only occurs In nov that
has lain unmelted for II long time. In
Spitzbergen recently green % has
been noted tinted by similar organisms.
Gold dust" snow has often been
seen, but only in spring. At one time
1t vas II mystery how the surface OF
new fallen snow came to be Strewn
with II shining yellow deposit. Now 1t
is known to be due TO the pollen of
pine rees. Pearson's Weekly.
Chicken Poz and smallpox.