Los Angeles herald., 1908-03-23


be back again, and hies him away to
the Southern hemisphere, unwilling to
rule Jointly with the Queen of Verdure.
Spring has come. just about fifty sec
onds ahead of time. She gets here a
little early each year, and will con-
tinue to observe that trait, Which has
been called the politeness of kings, un-
til the year 212O. Then she will begin
to arrive little behind time-ffty Sec
onds each year, for $4,000 years.
This constant change in the exact
moment when spring comes and winter
goes Is due to a sort of sidestepping
upon the part of the earth. 1t makes
the crossing of the equinoctial points
move back fifty seconds each year,
making a complete revolution in $4,000
years. 1t happens that the axis OF
the earth does not vigorously continue
parallel to itself, but varies from time
to time, describing an entire cone In
the 26,000 years. The northern extrem-
ity of the earth's axis is now quite
near the pole star, Polaris, and Will
continue to get nearer to that star
until 2120, when it will point to within
half degree of Polaris. Then 1t will
begin to recede, passing on by the
Little Bear. and across the border or
the Swan. If any of us are on earth
$4,000 years from 2120, we will see that
Vega, in Lyra, has become the polar
star. After that. the return journey
will be begun. From this 1t will be seen
that while we pass around the sun
each year, there is also stellar year
for us which takes $4,000 solar years
for it's completion. The constant NOV
ing backward of the time of crossing
the equinoctial points is known as the
procession of the equinoxes. 1t VAS
first noted by Hipparchus OF Alexan-
dri.t 1000 years ago. 1t has since been
explained by Laplace as due to graVl-
tation.
March has a world wide reputation
for its bluster, and equinoctial storms
are things which children remember
hearing long before they were old
enough to know exactly what was
meant. But science has kept tab on
the month and on the day and has
cleared them both from the blackened
reputation which they have borne.
Even though February is not so
wealthy as March in number of days,
she often manages to set pace TOT
bluster which her successor cannot
keep. Science has also proved that
othsf months often outdo this one OF
the evil reputatiom But what ought
we to care If the month is blustery :
Has il not passed into proVerb that
every grain of dust in March is worth
a peck of gold at harvest time? Equi-
noctial storms do happen rather too
frequently for the comfort of those
who sail the seas, but mono OF the
greatest storms of history have hap
pened at the vernal equinox, and but
few of them have occurred around the
one which comes in the autumn.
The average mortal cannot conceive
a.. r,f ! l,ns to- ~ c
into the skies by the process of evapo-
ration, only to be let down again. II
the average rainfall over the earth
could be put at thirty inches, II would
mean that for every square mile OF
the earths surface there annually fails
nearly 00000,000 gallons of water, the
total weight of which would be in the
neighborhood of 2,500,0O0 tons. The
area of the whole earth is placed at
approximately 200000,000 square miles
The annual work of the sun In draw
ing up water and letting it down again
would thus amount to the enormous
task of lifting 500,000,0 900 100000 tons.
And after doing all this the sun mas
time to amuse itself by supplying US
with reasonable amount of heat and
light The amount of rain that may
fall i'm a single day is also beyond con-
ception. In 1S43 there fell In FRANKLIN
county, Pennsylvania, in three hours
sixteen inches of water. That was ap-
proximately hundred pounds or wa
ter to every square foot. 1t was the
biggest rainfall ever recorded In this
country.
Cloudbursts have frequently occurred
i'm this country, and many of them
have been highly destructive. UP IN
the mountains of Virginia, about SIX
teen miles west of Harrisonburg, Oh
what is known as Dickson's Ridge, one
may yet see the effect of a heavy
cloudburst. The whole side Of noun
tain was torn out by the tremendous
force of the descending water. Though
the mountain has slope OF some 81
degrees, the downpour was so Sreat
that it cut channel some thirty reef
deem and a hundred feet wide out Oh
its side, and boulders weighing hun
dreds of tons were carried down tne
stream which flows at the mountain s
base as If they had peen ieatnerS De-
fore a hurricane.
Trees that had stood the storms and
blasts of a century We're cut OF as
nipestems, and even beyond the zone
of greatest downfall, where It was 1ot
severe enough to plow out the noun
tainside, one could see wnere the wa
tar had registered ten-foot mark on
The trees. Several miles away in the
Interstate road from Rockingham coun-
ty. Virginia, to Pendleton county, West
Iy;roInia. and where the stream from
Dickson's Ridge crosses this road, one
NAV still behold thousands OF stones,
MANY of them as big as bushel mea--
sure carried down by the unclaimed
waters. The remoteness of the scene of
the cloudburst from human habitation
makes 1t seldom visited, but those who
do visit it describe it as a most won
derful Illustration of the power of fall
ing water.
The word blizzard is of comparatively
modern origin, so far as the United
States is concerned. In December, 1876,