The pioneer express., 1911-02-17
WONDERSOF LAVA.
This Molten Rock Is a Most Pc
cuIiar Substance.
REDAor SNOW SANDWICHES.

u6ObuVU 0NVN S6Iv0vv1SusA-- -
Curious Effect on Mount vssuvius
Produced by the lava's Amazing
Properties ~ q Noneondueter Ct
Hsat-Deadly Volcanic Ashes.
vesuvius. the most famous volcano
IN the world. with its mighty vom.t-
.ngs Of lava and dust. is guilty Of
many queer freaks. Mighty transforms
have set in motion the lava dust an:
lava cinders, that lie on its sides. and
torrents Of muddy lava have owe:
whelmed towns and villages as 1:
swept down to the sea. The resulting
effect from this has been so great that
It changed the face Of the coast line
by forming new promontory.
Lava IN one of the most curious Of
substances. 1t is simply rock melted
by heat so intense that 1t flows like
thin cruel. When vesuvius is in erup-
tion thousands of tons of it are squirt
ed up the ''pipe" and out of the crater
AS 1t flows out over the edge 1t soon
cools and leaves a thick. ropy coating.
which spreads over the entire coun.
tryside.
But 1t is only on the top that 1t really
cocls. A few inches below the sur
face of the lava Is often red hot. WIS.,
itors are often invited to light their
cigarettes in the chinks of bed Of
lava that has been lying out in the
open air for twenty years or more.
1t is the most wonderful noncon-
through some lava beds have shown
that they are made up of layers of lava
and layers Of unmelted snow. As sue
cessive torrents Of lava came pouring
down the surface that lay on the
snow cooled at once. and the surface
open to the air also cooled at once
But between the two surfaces there
was blazing heat: so If you bored
down through some lava beds you
would fn6 cool upper surface. g
redhot inside. cool layer. snow. a
cool layer. a redhot one. cool one
and then snow again.
In fact. layer of lava will let nei-
ther heat nor cold through. If you
built house entirely of lava on Il
scorchfng summer day you would still
have 95 degrees inside when there was
snow outside. II you built 1t in the
winter ice would form In your parlor
in July.
This clearly demonstrates what an
extraordinary nOncOnductor lava is.
There is. indeed. on the slopes OF
Vesuvius little lava hut into which
summer visitors put bottles of wine
to get them chilled.
When volcano throws its lava out
with such tremendous force that ii
jets high into the air it very often
falls in the form Of dust. owing to the
explosive power of the high pressure
steam that spurts out with it. Ii
bursts into fine spray and falls as
dust-dust far finer than any othel
dust known
1t is so fine. indeed, that sometimes
years elapse before 1t settles. When
the mighty island volcano of Kraka-
toa blew itself nearly into bits in 1888
with crashing sound Of cannonading
that smashed windows hundreds of
miles away the lava dust was so thick
in the air that for hundreds of miles
round midday was as black as night.
Volumes of infinitely fine dust sailed
round and round the earth in the up.
per atmosphere and made England's
| Of
did. 1t was three years before the
upper air became quite clear again.
Lava dust has the same properties
as lava. Shepherds on the slopes OF
vesuvius sprinkle patches of snow in
] the winter with lava dust so that
they may have 1t when the scorching
| days of summer arrive.
1t was lava dust turned to mud by
torrents of rain such as usually come
with volcanic outbursts. that. nearly
1000 years ago. destroyed the famous
pleasure city of Herculaneum. and it
was showers Of volcanic ashes that
overwhelmed Pompeii. Herulaneum
still lies nearly forty yards from the
open air.
There are rivers of lava mud that are
blotting out towns and villages now.
A curious point has always been
noticed when Vesuvius is in eruption
and that Is the strong odor of washing
day that hangs around the mountain.
One might wonder why the slopes
Of such mountain are 80 thickly
populated when there Ia always dan.
ger Of eruptions and Of avalanches of
lava mud. Well. the reason Is that
volcanic soil is always very fertile
Some of the best wine of Italy comes
from vesuvian vineyards. and people
are ready to take the risks.-London
American.