frequently converted into dust, which, being carried away by the winds,
leaves the land barren. The climate of Buenos Ayres, in South America,
has of late years been subject to such droughts, as to disappoint the
hopes of the husbandman and the breeder of cattle. In the early part of
1832, the drought had reached to such a height as to convert the whole
province into one continued bleak and dreary desert. The clouds of dust
raised by the winds were so dense as completely to obscure the sun at
mid-day, and envelope the inhabitants in almost total darkness. When the
rains at length commenced, in March, the water, in its passage through
the air, intermingled so completely with the dust suspended in it, as to
descend in the form of showers of mud; and, on some occasions, gave to
the whole exterior of the houses the appearance of having been plastered
over with earth. Many flocks of sheep were smothered on these occasions,
in a similar manner as in the snow-storms which occur in the mountainous
districts of Scotland.

Showers of sulphur, or yellow rain, have fallen at different times in
various parts of Europe; and sometimes, when falling by night, they have
appeared luminous, to the great alarm of the observers. Yellow rain has
been accounted for in the following way:--The pollen, or impregnating
seed-dust of the flowers of the fir, birch, juniper, and other trees, is
of a yellow colour, and this pollen, by the action of the wind, is
carried to a considerable distance, and descends with falling rain. This
yellow rain has also been found impregnated with sulphur; and during a
shower of this kind which once fell in Germany, matches were made by
being dipped in it.

Many examples of luminous rain are recorded on good authority. One of
the latest instances is mentioned by Dr. Morel Deville, of Paris, who on
the 1st of November, 1844, at half-past eight o'clock in the evening,
during a heavy fall of rain, noticed, as he was crossing the court of the
College Louis-le-Grand, that the drops, on coming in contact with the
ground, emitted sparks and tufts (_aigrettes_) of light, accompanied by a
rustling and crackling noise; a smell of phosphorus having been
immediately after perceptible. The phenomenon was seen three times. At
the same hour a remarkable brightness was seen in the northern sky.

An officer of the Algerian army states, that during a violent storm on
the 20th September, 1840, the drops of rain that fell on