Rensselaer Republican, Volume 14, Number 36, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 25 May 1882 — About Water. [ARTICLE]

About Water.

Where does the water come from, and where does it go ? It comes down in the rain from the clouds. But how did it get up to come down f It is a familiar saying, ‘What goes up must come down.’ Also, what comes down must have been taken up in order to come down. How does the rain get up ? Did any of the young readers —and old ones as to that matter —ever see tho rain go up ? If the streams are always running, and the great rains always pouring their millions of barrels of water into the great lakes and oceans, why do not these lakes and oeeans get full and run over? ‘There must be an outlet somewhere, I imagine I hear some one say. The water rises from these vasts sheets of water—as ii does also from the surface of the land, and in a state of vapor goes up to make clouds. Yapor is not seen, and when water goes nj in this form it is very quiet about it. But what makes the water form vapor? Here is the key question, and the answer is, the »un. The sun, that wonderful source of our light and heat, though many millions of miles away from us, is the cause of the water rising from the earth to form clouds. The warm rays of th e sun shining on land and sea silently change the water into vapor, and the vapor being so much lightei tha t the water, rises. As the vapor passe; up it reaches colder regions, and is changed back again to that liquid state, and* when collected in considerable quantities it falls of its own weight as rain. Should the aii be very cold the water becomes solid, and lulls as snow or fine particles of ice. Water, therefore, may pass through three states of liquid iu the lake, vapor or gas when going up, and a solid when falling. The rain may fall upon a mountain top and then form a small stream which flows rapidly down, and, joined by others, make a river which moves ou to the ocean. We have seen why the rivers continue to run, and a. ; answered the question. ‘Where cioes the water go as it passes on ?’ It goes to the clouds and back again to the land. There is probably the same amount of water on nnd around the earth that there was a thousand years ago—not a drop more or less. It is constantly in motion, forever doing its great work. — Farmer ’« Review. ♦ Story Telling. —“ When 1 was a youug man,” said Colonel 8., an eastern man, “we lived in Illinois. The farm had been well-wooded, and the stumps were pretty thick. But we put the corn in among Hiem, and managed te raiss a fair crop. Wie next season I did my share of the plowing. We had a sulky plow, and I sat in the seat and managed the horses, four as handsome bays as ever a man drew rein over. One day I found a stump right in my way. I hated to back out, so I just said a word to the team, and, if you will believe it, they just walked that plow right through that stump as though it had been cream cheese.” Not a soul expressed surprise. But Major S.,a western man, who had been aquiet listener, remarked quietly: “It’s curious, but I had a similar experience myself once. My mother always made our clothes in those days, as well as the cloth they were made of. The old lady was awful proud of her homespun— : said it was the strongest in the state. One day I had just plowed through a white-oak stump in the way you speak of, Colonel, but it was a little too quick for me. It came together before I was out of the way and nipped my trousers. It felt mean, I can tell you, but I put the string on the ponies, and, if you’ll believe it, they just snaked that stump out, roots and all. Something had to give, you know.” t The force of habit was illustrated in the case of the photographer who acted aS the ■taster of ceremonies at a funeral, and as he lifted the lid of the coffin for the mourners to look at the remains, whispered to the corpse, “ Now, look natural! ”