Dew

“ The ambrosial rain which comes out of the cloud, and the ambrosial dew, are the water in which the fish is washed, and the ambrosial dew is the water or seed of the fish; the fair-haired and silvery moon in the ocean of night is the little gold fish, and the little silver fish which announces the rainy season, the autumn, the deluge. ”

“ Bright dew was on the grass,
⁠And on the ilex dew,
The dreamy milk-white birds
⁠Were all a-glisten too.
The fountain sang and sang
⁠The things one cannot tell,
The dreaming peacocks stirred
⁠And the gleaming dew-drops fell. ”

“ Dew and Frost. At sunrise to-day, by reason of the dew, the whole earth was beautiful. Every harsh outline was softened to comely roundness. Not even an ungainly fence scarred the landscape. Instead of Nature tortured out of shape, the outlook was as a peep into a fairy-land. And all by reason of the glittering dew. What is dew? Says the physical geography at hand: “When at night the earth radiates the heat which it has received during the day, the surface becomes colder than the ground beneath or the air above. Vapor rises from the moist soil below, to be condensed at the cooler surface. ”

“ The flower that hangs in the morning impearled with dew, arrayed with jewels, once shake it so that the beads roll off, and you may sprinkle water over it as you please, yet it can never be made again what it was when the dew fell lightly upon it from heaven. ”

“ Finding the world so, it becomes the essential business of the rambler to determine its effects. Are the birds chilled to silence? Does the field-mouse shiver in his grassy nest? I think not. Often have I wished to detect some marked evidence of the influence of dew, but my sluggish senses have failed me. Up from the glistening expanse of weedy meadows comes the blithe song of the sparrow; out from the misty depths of the river valley floats the triumphant cawing of the crow. The bluebird greets the dawn with prophetic warble, promising the brightness of summer when the dew has gone ”

“ These heavy dews, as the summer declines, keep the grass fresh and green, and maintain the leaves on hedge and tree; yet they do not reach the earth, which remains dry. It is a different dew to the spring dew, or acts in another manner: the spring dews moisten the earth, and from the arable lands as the sun shines forth you may see the vapour rise and drift along the surface, like the smoke of a gun on a damp day. The mottled geometrical giant spiders find their webs thick with this September dew, which seems as if a little unctuous. ”

“ This dew still falls at his command, To keep his chosen plants alive; They shall, though in a thirsty land, Like willows by the waters thrive. But chiefly when his people meet, To hear his word and seek his face; The gentle dew, with influence sweet, Descends and nourishes their grace. But ah! what numbers still are dead, Though under means of grace they lie! The dew still falling round their head, And yet their heart untouched and dry. Dear Savior, hear us when we call, To wrestling prayer an answer give; Pour down thy dew upon us all, That all may feel, and all may live. ”

“ It never rains here, and the dew never falls. No flowers grow here, and no green thing gladdens the eye. The birds that fly over the land carry their provisions with them. Only the crow and the raven tarry with us. ”

“ In this spiritless attitude they spend an hour or two warming their blood and drying the dew from their scanty dress. During the day they bask much in the sun, and towards evening may be again seen on the sunny side of a hedge or tree warming their backs in the last rays. ”

“ Miss Featheredge.—Oh, but you know the dew falls at night.
Farmer Curtis.—Yes; it stays fallen, too, till the sun dries it off next day.
Miss Featheredge.—Oh, now, really! But how clear and limpid the air is—like new wine. ”

“ One of the latter meandered backwards over the wide stretch of pink bell-heather and tasselled cotton grass which told of a catchment bog, where, even in fine weather, the mountain mists dissolved into dew, and the dew gathered itself into dark peaty pools like brown eyes among the tufted lashes of the bents and rushes. ”

“ The heavens are clear, the red glare of the morning sun gleams through the lower branches of the lofty trees, the dew hangs in pearly drops at the top of every leaf. Already has the emerald hue of the foliage been converted into the more glowing tints of our autumnal months. ”

“ In the white cups of the wild vines that drape with tender grace the willows and elders on the banks of the little stream, prismatic drops of dew are shining. The tall grasses wave dreamily, and at their feet peep out pink, yellow, and blue wild flowers, while the air is filled with the melody of birds. ”

“ The dewdrops on every blade of grass are so much like silver drops that I am obliged to stoop down as I walk to see if they are pearls, and those sprinkled on the ivy-woven beds of primroses underneath the hazels, whitethorns and maples are so like gold beads that I stooped down to feel if they were hard, but they melted from my finger. And where the dew lies on the primrose, the violet and whitethorn leaves they are emerald and beryl, yet nothing more than the dews of the morning on the budding leaves ”

“ We have been accustomed from childhood to hear the expressions, the dew falls; the dews of heaven; and it is probable that nine people out of ten, have never suspected the inaccuracy of the phrases. But dew is merely the perspiration of the earth; it rises instead of falling, and rises during the night. ”

“ THE DEW-LIGHT The Dew-man comes over the mountains wide, Over the deserts of sand, With his bag of clear drops And his brush of feathers. He scatters brightness. The white bunnies beg him for dew. He sprinkles their fur, They shake themselves. All the time he is singing The unknown world is beautiful! He polishes flowers, Humming "Oh, beautiful!" He sings in the soft light That grows out of the dew, Out of the misty dew-light that leans over him He makes his song . ”

“ Armed with these instructions and our thick sticks, Jem and I crept out of the house before the sun was up or a bird awake. The air seemed cold after our warm beds, and the dew was so drenching in the hedge bottoms, and on the wayside weeds of our favourite lane, that we were soaked to the knees before we began to force the hedge. ”

“ The dew that lay upon the morning grass;
There is no rustling in the lofty elm
That canopies my dwelling, and its shade
Scarce cools me. All is silent, save the faint
And interrupted murmur of the bee,
Settling on the sick flowers, and then again
Instantly on the wing. ”

“ Those warm volumes of air forced high up the hillsides in summer nights are driven thither to drop their dew, like kine to their yards to be milked, that the moisture they hold may be condensed, and so dew formed before morning on the tops of the hills. ”

“ If we choose to be more fanciful—and who is not, in a wild garden with a dish of Wild Strawberries?—we shall find ourselves filling Acorn cups with dew to drink to the fairies, and wondering how the thigh of a honey-bee might taste. ”

“ Whether there be dew or none, it seems to matter nothing to the birds. But it is a veritable tell-tale so far as the early stirring mammals are concerned. They can never move so daintily that the dew-drops are not brushed aside, and the long lines of swept herbage stand out in boldest relief as the sunlight sweeps across the field. ”

“ The phenomenon of the dew is simply explained, and well worthy of a short study as it is really a most important factor in nature’s laws. Simply explained, the dew is really an actual deposit of water from the atmosphere upon the surface of the earth, and is formed when the earth is sufficiently cooled during the night by radiation. ”

“ When the dew wets its leaves; unstain'd, and pure
As is the lily, or the mountain snow. ”

“ The physical explanation of the formation of dew consists practically in determining the process or processes by which leaves, blades of grass, stones, and other objects in the open air upon which dew may be observed, become cooled "below the dew-point." ”

“ "YOU are the big drop of dew under the lotus leaf, I am the smaller one on its upper side," said the dewdrop to the lake. ”

“ This tree is always covered by a little cloud hanging over it, which wets the leaves as if by a perpetual dew, so that fine clear water continually trickles down from them into little pails set below to catch it as it falls, and which is in such abundant quantity as amply to supply the inhabitants and their cattle. ”

“ The dews bathe me with their kisses, and the stars wink merrily at me all the night through, and during the day the bees come and sing their songs to me, and the little lambs frisk about me, and the big cattle caress me gently with their rough tongues, and all seem to say 'Bloom on, little daisy, for we love you.' So we frolic here on the meadow all the time—the lambs, the bees, the cattle, the stars, and I—and we are very, very happy. ”

“ And, on the other hand, after a warm season, if the air grows cold, though moister than before, the dew is not so apt to gather on the walls. A tankard of cold water will, in a hot and dry summer's day, collect a dew on its outside; a tankard of hot water will collect none in the moistest weather. ”

“ And my old love comes to meet me in the dawning and the dew.
⁠Now the hedged meads renew
⁠Rustic odour, smiling hue,
And the clean air shines and tinkles as the world goes wheeling through;
⁠And my heart springs up anew,
⁠Bright and confident and true,
And my old love comes to meet me in the dawning and the dew. ”

“ Pliny holds an opinion, that many have their birth, or being, from a dew that in the spring falls upon the leaves of trees; and that some kinds of them are from a dew left upon herbs or flowers; and others from a dew left upon coleworts or cabbages: all which kinds of dews being thickened and condensed, are by the sun's generative heat, most of them, hatched, and in three days made living creatures, and these of several shapes and colours; some being hard and tough, some smooth and soft; some are horned in their head, some in their tail, some have none ”

“ Get up, sweet slug-a-bed, and see
The dew bespangling herb and tree. ”

“ His horses neigh to you, his cows walk up to you, his pigs run to you, rather disappointed, for you have not his stick to rub their backs with. Rise in the early morning, when the dew is sparkling on the lawn, and his spaniel greets you, runs round and round you with a bark of joyous welcome ”

“ They inhale the breeze, and drink the dew; they do not eat of the five cereals. Happy in their rest, dignified in their movements, they mingle freely with birds, beasts, fishes, and crustaceans. They have no chariots, nor boats, nor weapons of any kind. ”

“ When the day do dry the dews.
Soon shall grass, a-vrosted bright,
Glisten white instead o’ green,
An’ the wind shall smite the cows,
Where the boughs be now their screen.
Things do change as years do vlee ”

“ The dew is the vapour of the air. Sometimes it can readily be seen falling in a fine mist resembling rain. It is the humidity of the air deposited upon all surfaces of the earth with which it comes in contact. When the temperature falls below the dew point, or 32°, the dew then becomes converted into frost, and we have a deposit of hoar frost, instead of the dew. It has been remarked that horizontal and flat surfaces exposed to the dew receive a greater deposit than sheltered or oblique surfaces.
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9. A dew-laden strawberry leaf with dew jewels set in each serration about the edges
10. ”

“ A cool night in spring or autumn, after a hot day, we usually receive a more copious fall of dew, which gradually increases as the night becomes cooler. Should clouds gather, the precipitation of the dew at once ceases. ”

“ The freshness of the dews that lay upon every thing about me, with the cool breath of the morning, which inspired the birds with so many delightful instincts, created in me the same kind of animal pleasure, and made my heart overflow with such secret emotions of joy and satisfaction as are not to be described or accounted for. ”

“ It also lives in the greatest harmony with its own species, subsisting principally on nuts, roots, and vegetables; it is cleanly in its habits, being observed to perform its ablutions while the dew is on the ground. ”

“ The great white pear-tree dropped with dew from leaves
And blossom, under heavens of happy blue. ”

“ It is further to be noted that they do not hang in the tops of trees but on the bark of the boughs and trunks. And they grow on the sap of the tree and the infusion of dew until they have feathers and strength and break off from the bark. ”

“ If the place you use for your snails is not supplied with dew naturally, as often is the case in sunny situations, and there is no available shady recess, such as is found under rocks or hills whose feet are laved by a lake or a stream, then you must supply dew artificially. ”

“ And shining with the argent light of dews,
Shall for a season be our place of rest.
Beneath us, like an oriole's pendent nest,
From which the laughing birds have taken wing,
By thee abandoned, hangs thy vacant swing. ”

“ The dews of heaven descend upon all the flowers of the field, some open their petals, welcome the refreshment and are blessed thereby; while others close their buds, refusing the blessing, and as a result, wither and die. ”

“ A few weeks later this green plain which now is nourished by copious daily dews will be a wild waste parched by the sun. The luxuriant growth of grass which today reaches to our stirrups will be withered and every water-course run dry. ”

“ Will ever after handsome be."
Encyclopedia of Superstitions.
A heavy dew on this morning presages a good "butter-year." You will find fateful initials printed in dew on a handkerchief that has been left out all the night of April thirtieth. ”