OPENING AND CLOSING OF LAKE CHAMPLAIN. DISAPPEARANCE OF THE ICE. vegetation is protected by the morning It frequently happens that the ice confogs for some time after its growth has tinues upon the lake for some time after been stopped upon the uplands. The the snows are gone in its neighborhood early part of the autumn is usually pleas- and the spring considerably advanced. ant and agreeable and the cold advances In such seasons the ice often disappears gradually, but as it proceeds the changes very suddenly, instances having been become more considerable and frequent, observed of the lake being entirely covand the great contrast between the tem- ered with ice on one day and the next day perature of the day and night at this sea- no ice was to be seen, it all having disson render much precaution necessary in appeared in a single night. People in the order to guard against its injurious effects neighborhood, being unable to account for upon health. The ground does not usu- its vanishing thus suddenly in any other ally become much frozen till some time way, have very generally supposed it to in November, and about the 25th of that sink. This opinion is advanced in the month the ponds and streams begin to be account of this lake contained in Spafcovered with ice, and the narrow parts of ford's Gazetteer of New York, and the lake Champlain become so much frozen anomaly is very gravely attempted to be as to prevent the navigation from White- accounted for on philosophical principles. hall to St. Johns, and the line boats go in- But the true explanation of this phenomto winter quarters, but the broad portions enon does not require the absurdity of the of the lake continue open till near the first sinking of a lighter body in a heavier. It of February, and the ferry boats from Bur- is a simple result of the law by which lington usually cross till the first of Jan- heat is propagated in fluids. That bodies uary. The following table contains the are expanded, or contracted, according to times of the closing and the opening of the increase or diminution of the heat they the broad lake opposite to Burlington, contain, is a very general law of nature. and when the steamboats commenced and Fresh water observes this law, when its stopped their regular trips through the temperature is above 40°, but below 40° lake from Whitehall to St. Johns, for sev- the law is reversed, and it expands with eral years past: the reduction of temperature. When winter sets in, the waters of the lake are much warmer than the incumbent atmosphere. The surface, therefore, of the water communicates its heat to the atmosphere, and, becoming heavier in consequence, sinks, admitting the warmer water from below to the surface. Now since heat is propagated in fluids almost entirely by the motion of the fluids, this circulation will go on,if the cold continues,till all the water from the surface downward to the bottom is cooled down to the temperature of 40°. It will then cease. The colder water now being lighter than that below, will remain at the surface and soon be brought down to the freezing point and congealed into ice. This accounts for the ice taking soonest where the water is most shallow, and also for the closing of the broad parts of the lake earliest in those winters in which there is most high wind, the process of cooling being facilitated thereby. After the ice is formed over the lake, and during the coldest weather, the great mass of water, after getting a few inches below the ice, is of a temperature 8° above the freezing point. While the cold is severe, the ice will continue to increase in thickness, but the mass of water below the ice will be unaffected by the temperature of the atmosphere above. Now the mean annual temperature of the climate in the neighborhood of lake Champlain FORMATION OF ANCHOR-ICE. SMOKY ATMOSPHERE. DARK DAYS. scent, are successively brought in contact with the stones at the bottom, which, themselves, soon become ice-cold, after which they serve as nuclei upon which the waters are crystilized and retained by attraction, forming anchor ice. does not vary much from 45°, and this is There is one phenomenon, which is of common occurrennce in many of our streams, during the coldest part of winter, and which may not at first appear reconcilable with what has been said above, and that is, the formation of ice upon the stones at the bottom of the streams, usually called anchor ice. Anchor ice is formed at falls and places where the current is so rapid that ice is not formed upon the surface. In the case of running water, and particularly where the water is not deep and the current rapid, over a rough bottom, the temperature of the whole mass is probably reduced nearly or quite to the freezing point before any ice is formed; and then, where the current is so rapid that the ice cannot form at the surface, the ice-cold waters of the surface, in their tumultuous de * A remarkable phenomenon attending this disintegration of the ice by the influence of the sun's rays, and one which we think worthy of investigation, is its separation into parallel icicles, or candles, as they are sometimes called, extending perpendicularly from the upper to the lower surface of the ice, giving the mass, particularly the lower portions, somewhat the appearance of a honey comb. Smoky Atmosphere.-From the earliest settlement of this country there have been observed a number of days, both in spring and autumn, on which the atmosphere was heavily loaded with smoke. The smoke has generally been supposed to result wholly from extensive burnings in some unknown part of the country. There is no doubt but that much of the smoke often is produced in this way, but it has appeared to us, that, since smoke is not a product, but a defect, of combustion, it may be possible for it to be produced even where there is no fire. We have been led to this conclusion by observing that the amount of smoke has not always been greatest in those years in which burnings were known to be most extensive; and by observing, moreover, that the atmosphere was usually most loaded with smoke in those autumns and springs which succeeded warm and productive summers. These circumstances have led us to the opinion that the atmosphere may, by its solvent power, raise and support the mi particles of decaying leaves and plants, with no greater heat than is necessary to produce rapid decomposition. When, by the united action of the heat and moisture of autumn and spring, the leaves are separated into minute particles, we suppose these particles may be taken up by the atmosphere, before they are entirely separated into their original elements, or permitted to form new compounds. This process goes on insensibly, until, by some atmospheric change, a condensation takes place, which renders the effluvia visible, with all the appearance and properties of smoke. Dark Days.-It sometimes happens that the atmosphere is so completely filled with smoke as to occasion, especially when accompanied by clouds, a darkness, in the day-time, approaching to that of night. The most remarkable occurrences of this kind, within our own recollection, were in the fall of 1819, and in the spring of 1820. At both of these seasons, the darkness was so great, for a while near the middle of the day, that a book of ordinary print could not be read by the sun's light. The darkness in both cases was occasioned principally by smoke, and without any known extensive burnings; but the summer of 1819, is known to have been remarkable for the abundant growth of vegetation. But the most remarkable DARK DAY. INDIAN SUMMER. METEORS. we should expect. When our ancestors arrived in this country, the whole continent was covered with one uninterrupted, luxuriant mantle of vegetation, and the amount of leaves and other vegetable productions, which were then exposed to spontaneous dissolution upon the surface of the ground, would be much greater than after the forests were cut down and the lands cultivated. Every portion of the country being equally shielded by the forest, the heat, though less intense, on account of the immense evaporation and other concurring causes, would be more darkness of this nature, which has occur- | preceding articles, this is precisely what red since the settlement of this country, was on the memorable 19th of May, 1780, emphatically denominated the dark day. The darkness at that time is known to have covered all the northern parts of the United States and Canada, and to have reached from lake Huron eastward over a considerable portion of the Atlantic ocean. It was occasioned chiefly by a dense smoke, which evidently had a progressive motion from southwest to notheast. In some places it was attended with clouds and in some few with rain. The darkness was not of the same intensity in all places, but was so great through near-uniformly distributed, and the changes ly the whole of this extensive region as to of wind and weather would be less frecause an entire suspension of business quent than after portions of the forests during the greater part of the day, where had been removed, and the atmosphere, the country was settled, and in many pla- over those portions, subjected to sudden ces it was such as to render candles as expansions from the influence of the sun necessary as at midnight. Several hypoth-upon the exposed surface of the ground. eses have been advanced to account for It is very generally believed, that our this remarkable darkness, such as an erup-winds are more variable, our weather tion of a volcano in the interior of the more subject to sudden changes, our ancontinent, the burning of prairies, &c., but by the one advanced in the preceding article, it receives an easy explication. The regions at the southwest are known to be extremely productive, and to have been, at that period, deeply covered with forest sand plants, whose leaves and perishable parts would be sufficient, during their decay, to fill the atmosphere to almost any extent; and nothing more would be necessary for the production of the phenomenon, than a change of atmospheric pressure, which should produce a sudden condensation, and a southwesterly wind. Indian Summer.-It has been said, though we do not vouch for its truth, that it was a maxim with the aborigines of this country, which had been handed down from time immemorial, that there would be 30 smoky days both in the spring and autumn of each year; and their reliance upon the occurrence of that number in autumn was such that they had no fears of winter setting in till the number was completed. This phenomenon occurred between the middle of October and the middle of December, but principally in November; and it being usually attended by an almost perfect calm, and a high temperature during the day, our ancestors, perhaps in allusion to the above maxim, gave it the name of Indian Summer. But it appears that from the commencement of the settlement of the country, the Indian Summers have gradually become more and more irregular and less strikingly marked in their character, til they have almost ceased to be noticed. Now upon the hypothesis advanced in the nual amount of snow less and our mean annual temperature higher than when the settlement of the country was commenced. And causes, which would produce these changes, would, we believe, be sufficient to destroy, in a great measure, the peculiar features of our Indian Summers. The variableness of the winds, occasioned by cutting down large portions of the forests, would of itself be sufficient to scatter and precipitate those brooding oceans of smoke, and prevent the long continuance of those seasons of dark and solemn stillness, which were, in ages that are past, the unerring harbingers of long and dreary winters and deluges of snow. Meteors and Earthquakes.-Upon these subjects Vermont affords nothing peculiar. The common phenomenon of shooting stars is witnessed here as in other parts of the country, and those uncommon displays which have several times occurred about the 13th of November, have been observed from various parts of the state. In addition to these, several of those rare meteors, from which meteorolites or meteoric stones are thrown, have been noticed, but the records of them are few and meagre. These meteors make their appearance so unexpectedly and suddenly, and continue visible for so short a period of time, that it is hardly possible to make observations sufficiently accurate to furnish data for calculating their velocity, distance or magnitude. That most reun-markable meteor which passed over New England in a southerly direction in the morning of the 14th of December, 1807, REMARKABLE METEORS. REMARKABLE METEORS. from the rest of New England, and from New York and Canada, about 10 o'clock in the evening of the 9th of March, 1822. From observations made at Burlington and Windsor, Prof. Dean computed its course to be S. 35° W., its distance from Burlington 59 miles and from Windsor 83 miles, and its height above the earth about 37 miles when it first appeared, and when it disappeared its distance from Burlington was 144 miles and its distance from Windsor 133 miles and its height 29 miles. According to these computations, at the first appearance of the meteor, it was vertical over the unsettled parts of Essex county in the state of New York, and at its disappearance, it was over the western part of Schoharie county in the same state. and from which fell large quantities of meteoric stones in Weston, Connecticut, was seen from Rutland in this state,and the observation there made formed one of the elements in Dr. Bowditch's calculations of its velocity, distance and size. A meteor of the same kind passed over New England and New York in a southwesterly direction a little before 10 o'clock in the evening of the 23d of February, 1819, and was seen from many parts of Vermont. We had the pleasure of witnessing it at Bridgewater in this state. The meteor there made its appearance about 10° south of the zenith, and, descending rapidly towards the southwest, it disappeared when about 25° above the horizon. Indeed, its velocity was such over Windsor and Rutland counties as to give to all, who observed it, though at the distance of 10,20 and even 30 miles from each other, along the line of its course, the impression that its fall was nearly perpendicular; and each observer supposed that it fell within a few hundred yards of himself. Now as this meteor was probably moving nearly parallel to the horizon, the deception must have arisen from the rapid dimination of the visible angle between the meteor and the horizon, occasioned by the great horizontal velocity of the meteor in its departure from the zenith of the observer. These facts should teach us to guard against the illusions of our own senses and to admit with caution the tes-driven furiously over a rough road or timony of others respecting phenomena of this nature. According to the best of our judgment, the meteor was visible three or four seconds, in which time it passed through an are of near 50° of the heavens. Its apparent diameter was about 20', or two thirds that of the moon, and the color of its light was very white and dazzling, like that of iron in a furnace in a state of fusion. It left a long train of light behind it, and just at the time of disappearance a violent scintillation was observed, and the fragments detached continued luminous at considerable distance from the main body of the meteor, but no meteoralites are known to have fallen. Five or six minutes after the disappearance of the meteor, a very distinct report was heard accompanied by a jarring of the earth, like the report of a cannon at the distance of five or six miles. Now, assuming the correctness of the above data, and that the report was given at the time of the scintillation, the distance of the meteor was then between 70 and 80 miles, and its diameter about one third of a mile. Another, and still more remarkable meteor, was seen from this state as well as 3 PT. I. Several other meteors of this kind have been observed, the most remarkable of which was seen from the northern part of the state and from nearly the whole of Lower Canada, about 4 o'clock in the morning of the 28th of May, 1834. It being a time when people generally were in bed and asleep, comparatively few had the opportunity of seeing it. Many, however, were awakened by its light, and still more by its report. Residing then at Hatley in Canada, which is 15 miles north of the north line of Vermont at Derby, we were suddenly awakened by a noise resembling that of a large number of heavy carriages pavement, and by a shaking of the house, which caused a rattling of every door and window. Supposing it to be an earthquake, we sprung out of bed and reached the door two seconds at least before the sound ceased. The atmosphere was calm and the sky was perfectly clear, with the exception of a narrow train of cloud or smoke,extending from southwest to northeast, and at considerable distance to the northward of the zenith. It was nearly motionless, and was apparently at a vastly greater height than clouds usually lie. Indeed there was something so peculiar in its appearance as to make it the subject of remark and careful observation till after sunrise, when it gradually vanished, although at this time we had no reason to suspect its connexion with the noise and shaking of the earth, which had awakened us. We, however, soon learned that a remarkable meteor had been seen, and that its course lay along the very line occupied by the remarkable cloud above mentioned. From an intelligent young man, who was fishing at the time on Massuippi lake in Hatley, and who had a full view of the meteor during the whole time it was visible, we learned that it made its NEW ENGLAND EARTHQUAKES. appearance at a point a little north of west at an elevation of about 35°, passed the meridian at a considerable distance north of the zenith and disappeared in the northeast with an altitude of about 25°. He thought its apparent magnitude to be 8 or 10 times that of the moon, and that it was visible about 10 seconds. It was of a fiery red color, brightest when it first appeared, and gradually decreased in brilliancy, all the time throwing off sparks, till it disappeared. About 4 minutes after the vanishing of the meteor, a rumbling or rattling sound, which sensibly agitated the surface of the lake, commenced in the point where the meteor was first seen, and following the course of the meteor died away at the point where the meteor vanished. This meteor was vertical on a north and south line,about 50 miles to the northward of Derby in this state, or nearly over Shipton in Canada, and its altitude must have been at least 30 miles, and still the agitation it produced in the atmosphere was such as to break considerable quantities of glass in the windows at Shipton, Melbourne and some other places. The course of this meteor was mostly over an unsettled country. The most remarkable circumstances attending this meteor were the train of smoke which it left behind, and the long continued noise and shaking of the earth. Since the settlement of New England, there have been recorded a considerable number of earthquakes, and several have been noticed in Vermont. The sound accompanying these is usually described as having a progressive motion; and that, and the shaking of the earth have been supposed to be produced by the rushing of steam through the cavities in the interior of the earth, but the effect known to have been produced by the meteor last described, furnishes strong reasons for suspecting that the cause of many, and perhaps of all the earthquakes which have occurred in New England, has been in the atmosphere above instead of the earth beneath. Had this meteor passed without being seen, the sound and shaking of the earth, which it produced, would have been regarded as a real earthquake, and its origin in the atmosphere would not have been suspected. Aurora Borealis.-This meteor has been very common in Vermont, ever since the first settlement of the state; but in some years it is of more frequent occurrence, and exhibits itself in a more interesting and wonderful manner than in others. Its most common appearance is that of streams of white light shooting up from near the AURORA BOREALIS horizon towards a point not far from the zenith; but at times it assumes forms as various and fantastic as can well be imagined, and exhibits all the colors of the rainbow. It is not uncommon that it takes the form of concentric arches spanning the heavens from west to east, usually at the north, but sometimes passing through the zenith, or even at considerable distance to the south of it. At times the meteor is apparently motionless, but it is not an uncommon thing for it to exhibit a violent undulating motion like the whipping of a flag in a brisk wind. But it is so variable in its appearance, that it is vain to attempt its description. We will, however, mention a few of the remarkable occurrences of this meteor which have fallen under our own observation, and some of the attending circumstances, On the 12th of October, 1819, at about 7 o'clock in the evening, the Aurora Borealis assumed the form of three luminous resplendant arches, completely spanning the heavens from west to east. The lowest arch was in the north a little below the pole star, the second about midway between the pole star and the zenith, and the third 10 or 15° to the southward of the zenith. These belts gradually spread out till they became blended with each other, and the whole concave heavens was lit up with a soft and beautiful glow of white light. It would then concentrate to particular points whose brightness would equal that of an ordinary parhelion, and around them would be exhibited the prismatic colors melting into each other in all their mellow loveliness. The motions of the meteor were rapid, undulatory and from north to south varying a little towards the zenith. The sky was clear and of a deep blue color where it was not overspread by the meteor. It was succeeded in the morning of the 13th by a slight fall of snow with a northwest wind. The aurora exhibited itself in a manner very similar to the above in the evening of the 3d of April, 1820, and several times since. But the most remarkable exhibition of this meteor, which has fallen under our own observation, was in the evening of the 25th of January, 1837. It first attracted our attention at about half past 6 o'clock in the evening. It then consisted of an arch of faint red light extending from the north west and terminating nearly in the east, and crossing the meridian 15 or 20° north of the zenith. This arch soon assumed a bright red hue and gradually moved towards the south. To the northward of it, the sky was nearly black, in which but few stars could be seen. Next |