October, 1879.
THE WEST SHORE.
ant at Penewawa ferry, as the stage
driver testifies, between one and two
o'clock p. m., when he left the hotel and
drove up the canyon. Suddenly the
sky clouded over, and the storm burst
on the hills soon after he passed. The
ocean w ind from the west, laden with
its invisible vapor, met the mountain
winds sweeping down from their cold,
snow-clad summits, into the warmer
basin below, forming circuits of greater
or less extent, cooling air and vapor,
producing mists and cloud masses, roll
big them onward in vast whirls, grow
ing colder and colder, until the air, un
able to hold up its enormous burden of
vapors rushing together like waters in
a funnel, let the mighty mass drop upon
the nearest and coldest hills.
A very intelligent gentleman, who
was traveling in Southern California,
near Arizona, in 1878, describes a water
spout which he witnessed about mid
day in that hot and treeless desert. It
was in early summer. The mercury
stood over 1000 Fahrenheit. Not a
cloud or wisp of vapor visible. The
ground was parched. The air was sul
try and oppressive. The first notice of
change was a cloud-speck moving rap
idly, enlarging, overcasting the sky,
whirling in great volume until it poured
an immense quantity of water from its
inverted, cone-shaped reservoir, scatter
ing and almost drowning a camp of In
dians in its path, and filling the valley
with its torrent. In an hour it was all
gone. The sun shone out again, and
soon the earth became dry and parched
as before.
Its phenomena is explained by the
sea wind and told mountain wind rush
ing towards the same heated basin, like
cold air from various quarters into a
hot room, forming a eiicuit, converging
to a focus, condensing the invisible va
por into cloud mist, ami then into tor
rents of rain.
This lesult i liable to occur in every
heated basin, rimmed by a chain of
high, cold mountains. On broad plains
or prairies like those of the Mississippi
and Missouri valleys, the rushing air
currents take the form of tornadoes.
On the ocean they appear in the vaster
sweep of hurricanes, with winds con
verging to the center of the storm, roll
ing up the mountain waves, amid the
w ildest gleams of lightning ami crash
of thunders, and downpour of torrrnts
of condensed vaxirs. Heat is the one
cause of the ascent of those invisible
vajHirs, and neat is tne one cause ot the
rush of winds from all directions to the
heated centre, cooling and condensing
those vapor-lnden winds, producing
dews, fogs, gentle rains, violent storms,
tornadoes, w ater-souts and hurricanes.
Prof. Hrocklesby remarks that, It
is by no means uncommon for several
walei-spouts to appear at the same
time. In May, 1830, Lieutenant Ogdeu
beheld, on the edge of the (iulf Stream,
no less than seven in the course of half
an hour; varying in their distance from
the ship from two hundred yards to
two miles."
lie adds: "It is a common belief,
that water is drawn up by the action
of the s font into the clouds; but there
is no proof whatever, of a continuous
column within the whirling pillar, and
the fact that the water which some
times falls from a spout upon the deck
of a vessel at sea, is always fresh, sufli
ciently refutes the idea. The torrents
of rain, by which this phenomena is
often accompanied, can be fully ac
counted for by the rapid condensation
of vapor that occurs when the warm
humid air of the sea flows inward to
the vortex of the whirl, and there com
bines with the cold air of the uper re
gions of the atmosphere, which descends
to fill the partial void."
Prof. II. also remarks that : Rain
is firoiluced by the rapid union of two
or more volumes of humid air, differ
ing considtrably in temperature; the
several portions in union being incapa
ble of holding the same amount of
moisture that each can sparally re
tain. This circumstance results from
the law, that the capacity of the air for
moisture decreases at a faster rate than
(he temperature.
"This edict may be thus illustialcd:
si cubic inches of air, at the tern
I h t .it ii r t- of 'J.- Kali., can contain no
more than 1,1 grains of moisture, and
an equal volume, at (J- Fah., only
7 ' grains. Now, if the two volumes
are mingled together, thrir average
teiiiK-raturc will lie y) Fahrenheit,
ami the w eight of moisture they united
ly possess w ill I yj) grains. Hut, at
this triii)craturc, 31 -t grains is all the
moisture that Kxo cubic inche of air
can possibly retain; since the first por
tion, by its union with the second, di
miaitbod its caparity ont-kalf, while
thai of the lajttcr was only doubled.
The excess, therefore, of 77, grains
will be condensed, and descend in the
form of water."
This plain statement of the examples
and the law of the condensation of va
pors in the air, found in Prof. Itrock
lesby's Elements of Meteorology, (A.
Di iH.),) pages 7i-., agree with the
facts which we see in the dews, fogs,
clouds, sluiwets, storms, and water
spouts. His estimates of the iower of the air
to hold invisible vapor, and of the law
of condensation, published in 1849,
agree with the tables published by Dr.
F. Smith, of London, published in 1873,
and re-published In New York in
(876
K X A MI'I.K.
The following example of the effect
of a water sjioul in Los Angeles county,
Southern California, Is given by O. P.
Sites, Kmj. :
In the San Fernanda valley - about
twenty miles long and ten miles wide
the torrent of water from one water
spout, or cloud-burst, as it is often
1 ailed, tore a channel, or ravine, about
twenty or thirty feet deep and one hun
dred feet wide nearly the whole length
of the valley. Dr. lluibank, who had
a sheep ranche covering a iortlnn ol
the valley, could not cross to his near
est Hock for aevtral days, on account of
this torrent. It soon ran dry a liefore,
leaving this longdeap gulch as witness
of Its force in cutting away the valley.
This vast amount of waterfall BOOB
that dry plain la proof of the greater
amount suspended In that heated air,
ami liable to be condensed at any time
by the chilly mountain winds meeting
the v ap.11 laden ocean winds.
Such an example Is also In proof of
the value of grain fields, vineyards, or
chards, shade trees ami limber grove
as slow condenser of moisture, pro
ducing dew, mists, shower and regu
lar annual harvest.
AMOUNT or w.MKN Ntf.P i v a roil
ANt 1 1 Mil TO iiNIKNATIOK.
According to thrc table a column
of air ten feel square, ifrel high,
saturated at Ma Fahrenheit, contain
it gallon. The tame column, 5xw
feet high, intalns it gallons. A col
umn covering an acra, imo feet high,
at JJ, hold, if saturated, i,h" gat
Ion; ami the same minimi, , fett
high, hold 7o gallon. A column
ten frit squjie and 1 fr ft high.