The voice of freedom. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1839-1848, 1846-07-30
From tie Christian Citizen.
Our School Room.
Worcester, Saturday EOcning, July 19.

Ezekiel. Last Saturday evening we spor
very pleasantly together and | hope 20
will all give the same attention, that you Iii
then, while we proceed a little further in il
vestlgating the cause and effect of variou
common things; but of which it is very in
portant and necessary that we should kno,
something
The heat Of the weather last Saturday eve
ming was greater than we shall perhaps eve
witness again, as long as VIC live; accordin,
to all accounts, the thermometer has no
ranged as high as So in any eUcning sine,
the year 1913, and that was before any of u
were born. There are some phenomena con
nccted with the excessive heat upon that ant
the preceding and succeeding day, to which
We will now devote our attention; and first
can any of you tell me what is wind?
James. Wind-wind is air,-blowing.
Erekicl What do you mean by its "blow
ing?
James. mean that it drivcs-and goes
past us.
Ezekiel. Your idea may be very good
but you do not express itquitc so intclligibly
as you might. In answering all questions we
should endeavor to be clear and cxplicit and
to make such good choice of words, to con-
vey our meaning, that the most entire stran-
ger to our various modes Of cXpression-the
man in the moon for instance-would find no
diilicultyin comprehcnding us, Louisa, what
do you say wind is?
Louisa. Wind is air put in motion.
Ezekiel. That is it exactly and now we
wish to know how the air is put in motion
or in other words how winds arc caused
Nothing takes place without cause BY
what agency does God make this gentle west
wind to fan our checks in these mild summer
evenings; and how are the mighty whirlwinds
and tornadocs produced, that sometimes
sweep over the earth marking their path
with dcsolation and ruin?
John. am sure [ do not know, and |
never thought about the cause of such things
enough to inquire; can you tell us?
Ezekiel. Yes can; but / think some of
our class will be able to answer the question,
and that Will be much better; because tier
knowledge should serve as an incentive to
y0u. We should all feel ambitious to excel
in knowledge; and that, with the exception
Of the ambition to excel in goodness, is the
only kind Of ambition boys and girls or men
cithcl should care to possess But who Will
tell us how air is put in motion
Helen. The air is put in motion and pro-
duccs what VIC call wind by the changes of
its temperature. Heat rarifcs it, or makes
it expand, consequently it rises. Then to
supply the uacua0n, or vacancy, that would
be caused, the surrounding portions
of the air flow in, and by this simple process
a current of air is produced. This, and con-
by cold, is the great and only prin-
ciple which causes the wind to blow, whether
tl,n 10 of
with the vast and almost terrific power which
George. Was it because the heat Of Sat
urday was SO great that it was followed by
such tremendous squall of wind ?
E:1licl. Undoubtedly it was. The OK
ccssivc heat had rarilicd the air, and made
it extremely light, consequently it was easily
displaced by current of cold air, which its
expansion no doubt set in motion in some
part of the world, or country, where the air
was colder or moro dense. And so the strife
IF the elements began, and went on, until
.hc equilibrium Of the currents of rarificd
md condensed, Or cold and warm air was re-
stored by their being mixed and blended so
violently together: then Of course the wind
lied away,
Louisa This is all very plain to me now,
but | never understood any thing about the
;au3cs which make the wind blow. 1t always
seemed to me such matter of course that
he idea never entered my mind to ask the
'cason. But now that / have learned so
nuch | am DESTROYS to know more, upon the !
subject. have been reading book about
,he Sandwich Islands, and the writer speaks ,
If the delightful climate, made more SO by
he prevalence Of the sea-brcezes during the .
lay, and land-brcczes during the night. Can !
you tell me how to account for this phcnom-
mon? 1t appears to me almost miraculous,
t is so wonderful, that when the sun shines !
with all his power these ocean brcezcs should
blow to cool the Inhabitants and the poor
sailors too, in their laborious toll, when re-
olenshing their ships by day, while at night,
when the damp air Of the ocean might be
the breeze dies away and is
succeeded by another from the land.
E%ekieL | am glad you have asked that
question, for in that singular phenomenon
hcsc land and sca-brcczes present, and which |
'ou have rightly called wonderful" we have
me of the grandest evidences of the good
less of Him, who framed all the laws OF Ma
ure, and whose wisdom directs all things for
,ur good. | will try to explain it to you.-
An island in the middle of the sea retains and
cccives more Of the suns rays than the wa
er by which it is surrounded, for besides the
lcat that falls directly upon it, it receives q
treat deal from the reelection of the suns
ays from the water. The earth in consc-
Iuence, becomes warmer than the ocean, and
his rariGcs the contiguous air Qfthe island
5 mountainous, the effect will be seen more
as the sides Of the hills will re-
Give the sun more directly) The heated
lir of course obeys its natural tendency,
Which is to rise. The upward current of air
having commenced, it must he supplied by
he rushing in of air from all sides; this too,
5 heated and ascends, and so the constant
ca-brcezc continues. At night, when the
un has gone down, this rarilying process
eases,and very often the current is reversed
md gldcs down the mountains again to the
,laiils below giving warmth and evcnncss
o temperature that otherwise might be dis
erccable and unpleasant. Good night