"COLOURED RAIN."

Star (Christchurch), Issue 7680, 15 April 1903, Page 2

"COLOURED RAIN."

IS IT EROM THE SAHARA OR

MOUNT PELEE?

Falls of "coloured rain" were recently reported from many places in the south and south-west of England and: Wales.

On the Continent, previous similar falls have been regarded with superstitious dread by 'the p.asafcts. Both. in 1901 and 1902 these salmon-coloured rains occurred, and "they reached England after they had paissedover parts of Europe. In the present case, however, they were first noticed in Cornwall, and, travelling eastward, have appeared 1 it* Sussex. This course is naturally attributable 16 the westerly and south-wester-ly g_.es which have hem sweeping over the country. i

Many remembering the predicted arrival of dust clouds from the. volcanic disturbance- in the West Indies, have assumed that the terra -Cott_-hued dust (left after evaporating some of the peouliar. rain which ha. jtist _all-» in England) owes its origii. to th. er-uptiott oi Mount Pelee. " One is scarcely justified ia saying offhan<l that this dust comes from the West Indiesj" *aid Dr William Lockter, at the Sot-th. Kensington College of Selenca the otbe. day. " What would appear niore provable* is th^ -fc is from a cloud of fine s_n_ from, the Saihaf-.- I will not s_v this definitely^ fctf, until I .have exafiiihed thsampleS I have received under the microsdftpe". and by th* _#_-t-o_eope, i canndfc speak with certainty. _he coloured rains of last yea-. 1 and the year /Wore both __■» carted at this- time of the year. When th._y _6r__er dtiat saiflptes Were etamined, they) wet. found ,o tions-st of particles of fine satid, -ogethe-with a iew , __ipu__ti-s, probably gatfhered in -ti_e_. pa_g_ge through the atmosphere. i. " _ ant hot at all s___- thai the ekpl__io_. in tbe Wes. Indies was severe enough to hare thrown the vo-cante dust sufflflienfcly high to have enabled it to _-___i_ in the air until it reached this country. I have ,here a- sp-ctfuni photograph of the Mar-tii-ique dust; and when I obtain one of the p_e*e&t nriaust daos,ocmpr F sYOflfDoEia present rain dust, a comparison should reveal the truth afc once."