27 DECEMBER 1919, Page 13

SUN RINGS.

[To THE EDITOR or THE " SPECTATOR.1 Sin,—I replied lately to a correspondent of yours on this sub. ject, and he suggests that I address you. The rings which often occur here are, I think, always followed by storm, the more severe when the rings are more pronounced. We frequedtly see what are here called " sun-dogs," which are bright patches on each side of the sun and may be twenty diameters from it, showing when the sun is a little above the horizon in spring and fall. Occasionally there is a strong dis- play with many rings and bright spots at intersections. The colour is white or pale yellow, never chromatic. The best con- ditions for them appear to be dead calm, very low temperature, hazy weather with the sun high; great depth of atmosphere or of moisture in the atmosphere, 1 think always about full moon. Perhaps they are due to reflection front falling particles of ice. In very cold 'weather here ice falls thickly and steadily in small particles. Apparently it is too cold for snowflakes to form, and ice, roughly like grains of rice in size and shape, falls instead. When drifted by the wind these ice particles pack so closely that cattle do not sink in them. I have seen cattle walk over a drift in which my horse-rake was embedded without causing