The evening herald. (Klamath Falls, Or.) 1906-1942, 1917-01-27
1.-THE SNOW MAN"
lsy REV. GEORGE II. BENNETT
NJ. T.. Church

Great Is the mystery OF the snow
The first fall Of the big feather!
fakes In winter Is always an event o,
Joy to the children. Well do | re-
member in my childhood days. N,
joyous surprise. when looking out o!
my window in the morning. to see
fluffy snow covering the ground, and
heaped up on the fence and trees, and
piled high on the window sill. The
scene OF silently falling snow is rest.
full to the mind, and to the children
Is a great mystery-and even tn chill
dren of a larger growth.
The cloud which drifts in the blue
heights Of the armament is one of
Natures wonders. The quantity of
water the air can hold in an invisible
gaseous form. depends upon the tenn
peratare. A cubicfoot of air at zero
can hold only one-half Of a grain: a.
sixty degrees It can soak mp five and
oue-half grains: while at eighty de-
srees II can hold about eleven grains.
and still be invisible. A room twen-
" feet square and ten feet high. at
sixty degrees temperature. can hold
in an invisible form about three
pounds OF water. So when the clouds
fill the sky We may know that tons
of water are held suspended in mid
heaven. to descend as rain. or hail. or
snow-as the winds and temperature
may determine. Sometimes no clouds
are In the sky. but the air is warm
and very moist; then q cold wind be-
gins to blow across the sky. 1t con-
denses the invisible moisture. and the
heavens are overcast with clouds.
They did not come from somewhere
blown by the wind. they simply were
formed there before our eyes. The
mist which forms the cloud is COM
posed of minute drops of water.
Three thousand Of the little drops Il
placed side BY side would cover but
an inch. They are held suspended in
the air by the upward rolling vol
umes Of air as the dust We see circu-
lating in a room newly swept. when
bar Of sunlight pours through the
window pane.
II the cloud region becomes still
cooler. the condensation increases and
the tiny drops become larger: and as
they enlarge they begin to fall. and
80 the rain drops are formed. They
vary from one-twentieth to one
eighth Of an inch in diameter. The
heaviest rainfall ever recorded oc-
CURED In India. when forty inches of
water fell in twenty-four hours
Clouds have been classified under
eight different heads, according to
their forms: and they drift in the
sky at attitudes varying from 5000
to $4,000 feet. Clouds are driven by
the winds at rates from twenty to
eighty miles an hour; though they
have been observed to attain a veloc-
ity OF $50 miles in an hour. Who
has not in wonder observed the lofty
cirrus clouds like tongues OF white
flame or feathery plumes draping the
azure vault; the huge piles OF woody
cumulus clouds in the serene sum-
mer sky; and the low hanging black
nimbus clouds with ruddy borders
and fringes OF gold and SUBMITS OF
purest white? The fantastic forms
and changing hues Of cloudland make
many a sunrise glorious and many a
sunset sublime.
But the snow! The snow crystals
are formed when the condensation oc.
ours at the freezing point. Then the
tiny drops Of vapor crystalize and
grow In size by the union of many
other tiny drops. until the fakes of
snow are formed. The laws OF crys.
talisation have stability; and more
than one thousand forms Of snow
crystals have been described. but they
are all some form OF six-sided crys- |.
tai. or OF a six-rayed star. Many OF
Them are gems and marvels OF beauty. |
But what makes the snow white? 1t
Is due to the reflection of light from
the innumerable faces of the crystals,
every one OF which is composed OF the
purest ice
The snow Is suggestive OF excellent
moral lessons. The wise man in
Proverbs said. "As snow In summer,
and as rain in harvest, so honor is
not comely for a fool" Snow is a
misft In summer. And so it appears
hat honor-political honor. as an
'fiice; judicial honor. like a Judge
ship; legislative honor. as a seat In
congress; and social honor. as public
recognition. are all misplaced when