Year: 1878




What the Cause Of 1t Is--The Devasta-
:: ton Of Forests Likely to Affect
! Length.


philadelphia Times.]


Although every season of the year
has its charms for him who con>
templates nature with the mind of q
sage and the piety of a believer in a
experimenting Providence. yet
there are periods when subjects for
admiration and thought are moro
numerous and striking than ut
others. The flowers Of spring, the
golden harvest Of summer, tho
ripening fruits of autumn, and even
the tintless snow of winter, by their
beauty, and adaptation to the wants
Of animated nature afford much
that calls for patient investigation
and reVolentiel gratitude. But
none Of them spreads before us u
greater number of charms or q
richer display Of beauty than that
part of autumn which is called
Indian summer Tho. forests. ere
they lay aside their leafy covering,
vie with the rainbow in the beauty
OF their dyes, while the deep azure
Of the sky. the mellow sunl light and
the balmy air lend their aid to make
this loveliest part of the year.
But while enjoying the mildness
and serenity of Indian summer the
question arises, to what is it owing
and why are these varied colors in
an American landscape, and this
equatorial warmth tempered by
Arctic breezes unknown in Europe
and other portions of the Eastern
Continent It has been observed
that Indian summer never com"
mences until severe frosts have
caused the leaves either to fall from
the tress or become lifeless and
vegetation in general to cease.
The decaying verdure not only
grows dry and warm, and thus im-
parts an additional amount of heat
to the atmosphere, but likewise
ditfuses .innumerable particles
through the air, which acquire a
hign temperature. These, by par
TALLY decomposing the rays Of
light. cause tie sky to assume q
deeper blue and distant objects to
appear as viewed through inter-
vening smoke. AS is we'll known,
the red rays are the lenst refrangi.
ble, or are caused to vary loss from
q direct course when IL ray of white
light is decomposed by passing
through medium. Hence the
reason why red light or a red
signal can be seen at a greater
distance than any other. Railway
operatives avail themselves of this
by using red signal as sign Of
danger, not, rs many suppose, be-
cause it is the color of blood.
Owing to the red ray being the
stronger and reaching the eye when
the other rays do not, during
Indian summer the sun towards
evening presents red appearance
and seems like globe Of fire de-
scendiDg in the Western sky. The
greater moisture Of many portions
of Europe prevents the same effect
from being produced by decaying
vegetation there that occurs in
America, and it is. therefore, not
surprising that. foreigners are
enraptuled by the beauty and
loveliness Of our Indian summer.


As our country is denuded more
and more of it's forests the Indian
summer becomes shorter and less
distinctive, since the leaves of the
trees, by reason of their exposed
position, are more highly heated
than those vegetable productions
which are near the surface of the
earth. Indian summer, though q
source of pleasure and delight to
many is far otherwise to those
afflicted with disease of the lungs,
as the amount of finely divided
matter diffused through the atmos-
phere aggrevates the disease. The
name Indian summer is said to have
been given by those Europeans who
first made the Western wilderness
their homes, because the hostile
Indians usually took advantage Of
this mild wo.tner to make their
attacks on the settlements. IF SO,
what is now welcomed with pleasure
they behe Id with dread.


Alex, H. Stephens now weighs
ninety-two pounds, a Democratic