The intelligencer. [volume] (Lexington, Mo.) 1887-1891, 1888-04-28
COLD WATER AND CLOUDS.

From "What Makes il Rain" by George +
Merrill, in -. Nicholas for April
Did YOU ever stop To think, when
You looked out 0f the window and saw
dull, gray clouds from which the rain
was 80 steadily pouring, and seemed TO
shut in the work. all around, that, ia
reality, they extended over very
small part OF tn" county; that -riue
where else, Irr!aps oniy twenty or
thirty or hundred miles awal, The
sun was shining and all wA, bright and
beautiful! IiIs j.. really the case
For storms, however long and drcary,
do not extend over many miles; and
though it always IL raining nj sOme
place in jh9 world. vet always aud al
the came time 1t is pleasant sunr W he,e
"'-". Now, le! us -" "hY this il.
Suppose thai on "A wAr," summer
afternoon He were 20 bln9 pitcher
of clear, coGi water, fresh from the
well aud II piarr IL ",i ,he iab!c in the
dining room. EoW, no matter how
carefully vs. nav have dried the pitcher
before brin. gag il in, We riIali discover,
if we watch Ciosely, iiat the outside
soon becomes wei or misiy; and that
the mist grows heavier ana then gathers
into drops and perhaps even runs down
the pitcher 10 the table.
Now, where does this water come
from? Not through the sides of The
pitcher, that is impossible; but from
the air. We can not sec it, pei haps,
but sill il is there, III the state Oi
vapor. How came ii therep Did you
ever notice, after rain, how in short
time tho udGles became dry, and how
the moisture disappeared from the
grass and leaves, as soon as the sun
4hOne ont and the wind blew! Or, did
you ever notice that if yon left a pan OF
water out Of doors the water each day
grew less and less, until all vas gone
and the pan was dryI
All the water that was in the puddIes.
on the grass and leaves Except that
which soaked into the grOund) and in
the pan, was taken up as vsgOr into the
air-has 'evaporated," AS we say. The
same thing happens when water bOiIs,
. only it then evap0rates more rapidly
as we can see the vapor arising a5
steam. If YOU live near river, or III
country where there are brooks.
! perhaps you can see this evaporation
! actually taking place. Get mp early
some morning before the sun rises, aud
| look out toward the river You may
see along line OF mist or toy. like 4 big
white cloud, hanging over the water.
! Now, this mist ia only the water
eyaporating from the river and is just
! now visible as fog because The air is
cool. After the sun has shone, the aiI
becomes warmed aud the iOg disap-
pears, but the evaporation goes on
nevertheless. Indeed, it is going OF
continually, and all over the earth; sC
that If the wafer were not returned tl
us as rain, snow, and dew, all The
oceans, lakes, and rivers would in timt
dry up and disappear. All the trees
grass and plants would then wither
and our beautiful land would becOiut
as dry and parched as the great deser
ot Sahaya.
FOGS, RAIN AND SNOW.
Having now learned how the waite
is drawn into the air, let US see how
and why it comes down again rs rail
or snow or dew.
There is a singular thing about thi
moisture, which IS this, the air will
hold only certain quantity Of it, ant
that quantity depends upon the tem
perature OF the air. But warm ali
always holds more than cold: SO
however warm the air may be, o
however much moisture it may contain
As invisible vapor, we have only IL
cool it enough and the vapor cORde'sSes
aS we say: that Is, it becomes visible
first as log or mist, and then as drop
of water, such as we see OH the pitcher
And the reason we see white 70,
rising at night, after the sun goe
down, is only because the wafer, ,whicl
has been evaporating all day and goin!
up into the air as Invisible vapor
becomes condensed to fog by the cool
ing OF the air when the suns heat i
withdrawn. When the sun rises, tn
/ fog disappears; but the vapor still
ascends, and when it reaches ih
attitudes where the air is always cool
it become condensed again MS toy
only it is then called "clouds." Am
if il Leco,Oes condensed enough, +
form in drops of water, they fall, an'
it "rains';; or. perhaps. it SHOWS, toI
snow is but frozen rain.