Nature Bulletin No. 48   January 12, 1946
Forest Preserve District of Cook County
Clayton F. Smith, President
Roberts Mann, Supt. of Conservation

****:SNOW FLAKES

"Hast thou entered into the treasures of the snow?" So, according to 
Moses, God challenged Job to answer. Have YOU ?

Some day examine the snow crystals that fall upon your coat sleeve. 
Use a magnifying glass. Do not touch or breathe upon them, for then 
they will disappear into a smudge of scattered fragments or a droplet of 
mist. Each one is a gem of delicate, lace-like symmetry, each one 
hexagonal and each one perfect, yet each one of a different intricate 
design. W. A. Bentley, of Jericho, Vermont, made micro-photographs 
of 4800 snow crystals, no two of which are alike.

If they fall from high, very cold clouds, they are tiny and either six-
sided columns or three-sided plates. If they fall from low, 
comparatively warm clouds then they are larger -- perhaps as much as 
one-half inch in diameter -- and several are apt to be combined into one 
big flake. The individual crystal will be either a six-pointed star, or a 
solid hexagon with six identical inlaid designs, or a combination of the 
two.

The scientists mutter in their beards that the richness of design is caused 
by minute air tubes; and that the hexagonal form is due to the fact that a 
molecule of water is composed of 2 parts hydrogen and 1 part oxygen, 
crystallized directly from vapor into solid form. Had they gone through 
a liquid stage, these snow crystals would be lumps of hail or sleet -- not 
doilies knitted in the clouds, stitch by stitch.

What the scientist cannot answer is why, in each crystal, its own 
peculiar pattern is repeated perfectly on each of its six sides. No 
mineral crystals approach the beauty, diversity and perfect symmetry of 
snow. The philosopher sees here a key to the growth, variety and 
pattern of life itself.