Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1904-11-24
Indian Summer.

NO perlod of the year eIcels IN
lovsliness the one sometimes known
as"the fifth season" Beginning about
the middle of October, it is often pro.
longed into December. It's chsrac-
teristics are a calm. soft, hszy stmos-
phere, through which dsy after day
the sun, shorn Of his beams, rises and
sets like a sphere of copper or gold,
according to each beholders degree of
poetic perception. SOun)s at great
distances are distinctly audible. OBJ
jects, unless close by, are discerned
with difficulty. All nature, as if to
prepare itself against the blasts OF
winter, appears somnolent. The morn
ings are cool, with lowland fogs soon
di.sipstsd by the sun, and the atmOs-
phere maintains a stiffness which
scarcely stirs the richly-tintsd but
rapidly fading foliage.
The northern hemisphere enjoys the
finest display. of this supplementary
season, the geographic limits of which
the records of meteorologlsts and ch-
matologists enable us to define Its
characteristics are particularly notice
able in the far northwest. Matthew
Macfe, F. R. G. s, is authority for
the statement that in Vancouver Is
land and other portions of British
America there is a second growth of
verdurs lasting until after Christmas.
This period annually beauties the
zone running through New England
and Canada westward to Lakes Mlchi-
gan and Superior, thence southwest
ward to Kansas and Nebraska, and
including Minnesota, the Dskota''
Moutana, Idaho, Wyoming, Washing
ton, Oregon, and Northern California
northwestward over British America
TO the Arctic Circle. While 1t does
not extend into the lower limits OF
the United States, it is referred to by
two or three Of the historians of Mex
leo.
Formerly the smokiness and the
somewhat greater degree OF warmth
were thought to be caused by noun
tain fires, or the burning Of the veg
etable decidua collected in the au-
tumn for that purpose. The haze and
increased warmth are due to the an
nual formation Of what has been
termed the "aerial Gulf Stream, or
"vapor plane" This high current,
generated in equatorial seas by ascend
ing masses Of vapor-charged air, flows
northward through the upper atmos'
phere, oversweep' the Southern and
Gulf States, and descends toward the
earth or ocean as it approaches New
England and Canada on its journey
toward the polar circle. In the sf-
ternoon and night, when the earth
throws off the heat received during
the day, especially in the autumn
weeks, when the temperature is de-
clining and the capacity Of the air to
retain moisture is on the decrease, the
presence Of this mantle Of vapor ar
rests radiation. The heat. absorbing
power of this blanket Of aqueous va
por" has been clearly demonstrated
by Prof Tyndsll. Covering the re-
naming vegetation aud the harvests
az with shield, it protrscts the grain
ripening period to meet the necessi-
ties of the higher lstitudss.
The earliest explorers Of America
recorded their appreciation Of the
beauties of this season, but did not
assign to it a specific name. Our
pioneer historians. notably Jefferson,
note its features az among the most
fascinating exhibited by our climate,
but do not designate it as Indian
summer, name which now belongs
to it by the common consent Of the
people Of the United States, Canada,
Australia, and portion Of Europe.