New National Fourth Reader Part 25

There are few can _match_ me.

They'd go out of their way to _keep clear of_ the Brier.

Supply letters omitted from the following words: _they'd, gown's, e'en, 'round_. Write the words in full.

LESSON XXV.

ply, _make regular journeys_.

com'merce, _trade between places or peoples_.

might'y, _of great power_.

trav'erse, _pa.s.s over; cross_.

re'al ize, _understand the truth of_.

pro pel', _drive forward_.

prop'erty, _any thing that belongs to a person_.

or'chards, _numbers of fruit-trees_.

im mense', _very large_.

glit'ter ing, _sparkling with light_.

WATER.

It is difficult to realize that nearly three-fourths of the surface of the earth is water; yet it is a fact.

Think of the immense s.p.a.ce covered by oceans, seas, lakes, and rivers, and how useful all this water is to mankind.

Sailing ships and steam-ships traverse the oceans and lakes. Steam-boats ply along the rivers, carrying people and merchandise to and fro, going sometimes as far as three thousand miles from their starting point.

It is by water that men float their rafts of logs or lumber to distant places. Water turns the great wheels of many of our mills, and thus harnessed to mighty machines, does more work than thousands of men and horses.

These machines produce paper, cloth, flour, lumber, and many other useful articles.

When water is heated and turned into steam, it moves powerful engines.

These engines propel our great steam-ships and steam-boats and drive machines of all kinds in mills and factories.

Many of you have seen water, clear and cool, trickling from the rocks in the side of a hill. This water first forms a spring.

From this spring, the water escapes in a tiny stream, called a rivulet or creek, and flows along until it enters a river. Many springs make many rivulets; many rivulets make large rivers.

Rivers sometimes receive such great quant.i.ties of water that they overflow their banks, and destroy much valuable property. This is called a freshet or a flood.

Many people who live near some of our rivers have lost their houses, furniture, and cattle, which were all swept away by these floods.

In the winter of 1883, the Ohio River received so much water from the thousands of rivulets flowing into it, that it overflowed its banks.

The result of this overflow was one of the greatest floods ever known, and many, no doubt, who read this, were there to see its terrible effects.

But where does all this water come from? you may ask.

Let me see if I can explain it to you. The water in all these rivers, lakes, and oceans is constantly rising into the air in what is called moisture or vapor. We can not see this moisture, neither can we see the air.

If the air is cold, moisture does not rise rapidly; but, as the air becomes heated, it takes up more moisture, so that the more heat there is in the air, the more moisture rises.

Heated air is light, and rises higher and higher from the ground, taking the moisture with it, until it reaches a point where it begins to cool.

Then as the air cools, the moisture forms into clouds, and these clouds are, in a certain sense, floating water.

Floating water! How can water float! do you ask?

Well, I will tell you. Cold air is heavier than heated air, and until the clouds become so full of moisture as to return some of it to the earth, in the shape of rain, they float because they are lighter than the air underneath them.

The winds, by the flapping of their mighty wings, drive the clouds over the land to the hills and the mountains and the thirsty fields; and there they pour their blessings on the farms, pastures, orchards, and the dusty roads and way-side gra.s.s, bringing greenness and gladness every-where.

Without water nothing would grow; every thing would dry up and wither.

All animals drink water, for it forms a part of their blood and thus helps to keep them alive. All trees and plants drink it by drawing it through their roots or leaves, for it helps to form their sap.

Sometimes on a summer morning you will see drops of clear sparkling water on flowers and gra.s.s.

To look at them you would think it had rained during the night; but, noticing that the ground is dry, you know that no rain has fallen.

What then are these glittering drops of water? Where do they come from?

I will tell you. These drops are called dew. As night comes on, the gra.s.s and the leaves of flowers and plants become cool.

When the warm air touches them, it becomes chilled, and as the air can not then carry so much moisture as before, it leaves some of its moisture on the flowers and gra.s.s.