. Annual report of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution. Smithsonian Institution; Smithsonian Institution. Archives; Discoveries in science. REMARKABLE FORMS OF HAILSTONES. 421 cf the drnsy crystals of calcite from Aiidreasberg, can be reconciled tlie violent atmospheric commotion which we suppose to accom- pany the formation of hail. We say in naturd nihil Jit per saJius, and I believe it. The growing- crystalline mass must have been suspended for a loug time in u very cold stratum of aqueous vapor before it reached the earth. [The two subjoined cuts arc copied as closel


. Annual report of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution. Smithsonian Institution; Smithsonian Institution. Archives; Discoveries in science. REMARKABLE FORMS OF HAILSTONES. 421 cf the drnsy crystals of calcite from Aiidreasberg, can be reconciled tlie violent atmospheric commotion which we suppose to accom- pany the formation of hail. We say in naturd nihil Jit per saJius, and I believe it. The growing- crystalline mass must have been suspended for a loug time in u very cold stratum of aqueous vapor before it reached the earth. [The two subjoined cuts arc copied as closely as possible from the original drawings.] I would only add, by way of a hint, to explain what cannot be shovvH by such imperfect drawings, that where the tlat S}>he- roidal forms, resembling specular iron, in the cen- ter of the drawing, exhibit shading, the crystals were not always opaque. The ring surrounding the nu- cleus had a milky appear- ance, owing to small air bubbles, as had the nu- cleus itself in most instan- ces. Many of them, liovr- ever, had a clear nucleus. This could easily be seen next morning, when the stones had all melted down to cakes of about an inch in diameter, occa- sionally taking the shape of a regular hexagon. The milky ring round the central point was clearly distinguishable as a sort of fibrous web com]>ose(l of the finest air cavities traversed by threadlike pores. In some cases tliere Actual rcprosontations (of the size) of t^vo of thp hail- i-c-na Tirivino- nml flu^k-nn i^toiiea which f<ll in Georgia ou the 9th Juno, 1669, drawii at ^^''^^ ." ^^"i^' ''"^^ '•"'- ""' the time by Staatsrath Abich. ClcUS WaS SCmi-Opaque. The shading round the border of the large circle is only intended to mark the smooth spheroidal form of the central mass. The actual crystals v.'ere attached parasiticallj' to its edge, or else inserted in a sort of socket, as I found when the stones thawed down. (See a, Fig. 1.) A


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