The Columbus journal., 1911-01-25

RepHor SNOW SANDWICHES.

REDh0T SNOW SANDWICHES.
Curious Effect eo Mesnt vsssviUs
Prsdsesd By ths Lava's Aaas,a0
Prepssties % Q Nsoee0dvsese q
-0eadly vsjeanie Aslsa
Yesuvius, the most famous volcano
IN the world, with its mighty vonit'
lnes Of lava and dust = guilty Of
many queer hrealrs. Mighty rainstorms
have set in molten The lava dust and
lava cinders that lje On tn sides. and
torrents Of muddy lava have over.
whelmed towns and villages - Il
swept down to the "a. The resulting
eject from this has been % great that
It changed the facs Of the eoast hns
by forming Q new peomontofy.
Lava Is one Of the most curious Of
substances. It h simply rock melted
BY q heat % intense that Il noWS Ike
thin Cruel When Vesuvius = In eEup-
tion thousands Of tons Of Il are squirt.
ed up the pipe" and out Of the crater.
As 1t lows out over the edge Il soon
cools and leaves Q thick. ropy coating.
which spreads over the entire com
tryside.
But It Is only on the top that Il really
cools. A few inches below the sur
face Of the lava Is often red hot VII.
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
It is the most wonderful noncon-
ductor Of heat known. Borings made
through some lava beds have shown
that they are made up Of layers Of lava
and layers Of unmelted snow. Al 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: % II you bored
down through some lava beds you
would find q cool upper surface. a
redhot inside. . cool layer. snow. q
cool layer. a redhot one. q cool one
and then snow again.
In fact q layer Of lava viii let mel
Their heat nor cold through. II You
built q house entirely Of lava on
scorching summer day you would still
have IS degrees inside when there was
snow outside. II you built It in the
winter ice would form in your parior
In July.
This clearly demonstrates what IN
extraordinary nonconductor lava r.
There Is. indeed, on the slopes Of
vesuvius q little lava hut into which
summer visitors put bottles Of wine
to get them chilled.
When q volcano throws its lava out
with such tremendous force that It
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 II. It
bursts into q fine spray and falls a
dust-dust far finer than any other
dust known.
It Is % fine. indeed. that sometimes
years elapse before Il settles. When
the mighty island volcano Of Kraka-
too blew itself nearly into bits in 1853
with q crashing sound Of cannonadlng
that smashed windows hundreds Of
miles away the lava dust was 20 thick
In the air that for hundreds Of miles
round midday was n black a night
Volumes Of Infinitely fine dust sailed
round and round the earth In the up
per atmosphere and made Engiand's
sunsets Of that year unusually splen-
did. It was three years before tho
upper air became quite clear again.
Lava dust has the same properties
a. lava. Shepherds on the slopes Of
Vesuvius sprinkle patches Of snow In
the winter with lava dust % that
they may have It when the scorching
days Of summer arrive.
1t was lava dust turned to mud BY
torrents Of rain such n usually come
with volcanic outbursts, that, nearly
1000 years ago. destroyed the famous
pleasure city Of Herculaneum. and 1t
was showers Of volcanic ashes that
overwhelmed Pompeii. Herculaneum
still lies nearly forty yards from the
open mir.
There are rivers of lava mud that are
blottins 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 q mountain are 30 thickly
populated when there - always dan
ger Of eruptions and Of avalanches Of
lava mud. Well. the reason b 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.
He Got His Answer.
''They who ask unpleasant ques-
tiOns," said q senator, mustn't be sur
prised II they get unpleasant answers.
Yes. the interrogatory politician too Of
ten finds himself In the boots of GObsa
Code.
1.-The aged Gobsa Code was quarrel
ing furiously with his young and beau
tiful wife.
"'Didn't you marry me for my mon
ey? he yelled.
Mrs. GObsa Code tossed her head.
"'Yes, Of course / did, she said,
and II you weren't SO stingy with It
we'd never have q cross word