This earth of ours
Media
Part of The Young Citizen: The Magazine for Young People
- Title
- This earth of ours
- Language
- English
- Year
- 1937
- Subject
- Winds.
- Rainwater.
- Rights
-
- Abstract
- Who has seen the wind? Neither you, nor I, but we know when the wind is passing by, and can tell generally whether it is a gentle wind or a strong wind that means rain.
- Fulltext
- 188 THE YOUN< ELEMENTARY SCIENCE SECTION THIS EARTH OF OURS WIND AND RAIN Who has seen the wind~ Neither you. nor I. but we know when the wind is passing by, and can tell gcmrally whether it is a gentle wind or a· strong wii:id that means rain. We can tell the direction of the winds by means of a weathercock which is the figu~c of a bird sometimes ~uilt on the roofs of houses. The head of the bird always faces the wind. Wh~n we know the direction from which the wind is blowing. we know what weather is coming. The north winds come from a part of the world where there is ice and snow all the year rcund. They are .:old. biting winds. The south winds blow from hot lands where ice and snow are never seen. They bring us twarm weather. The winds from the ocean bring us rain. the winds from the land usually are dry winds. We have other names for gentle winds. 'v/e sometimes c.ill them breezes or zephyrcs. When th:!re arc clouds in the sky. the wind blows them along like so many sheep. As you have learned. these clouds arc made of water that has evaporatE:d from the earth. When these clouds come in contact with a colder part of the ~ir. the vapor changes into water again and falls to us as raindrops. Much of the rain that falls stays in the first ft w feet of the earth's soil. This moisture makes it possible for all the plants to grow, because ({'{,•os,• f11rn fr1 l"'Y'' 1!18) July, 1937 WIND AND RAIN (Continued f1·om page 188) they can suck it up with their roots: and animals, including man, can satisfy their thirst from the well~ and springs and rivers. The ·water · that has seeped through the earth in this way is better to drink than the rain water as it falls from the sky. The earth acts like a filter. and, as the rain water slowly passes through the sand and gravel. all the impurities that have been washed from the air are filtered out. Not all the rain that falls stays in th~ soil for plants and animal to use. Much of it is evaporated right back into air when the sun comes out hot. In moist climates much of the water drains off into the rivers which carry it to the sea. Here it may once more evaporate into th.i air, and start the round again, to fall later as rain.