Rainwater

“ Leaching.—The waters which dash against the shore, which the running streams pour into the flood, or with which the tides and currents scour the bottom of their channel ways, have soaked from the soil, or leached out of the disintegrated materials which strew the beach or line the shores, portions of every soluble ingredient known in nature. Thus impregnated, the laughing, dancing waters come down from the mountains, turning wheels, driving machinery, and serving the manifold purposes of man. At last they find their way into the sea, and so make the lye of the earth brine for the ocean. ”

“ The shower, the rain, and the storm pass away, the clouds vanish, and the bright stars again shine clearly upon the glad earth. The rain-drops sink into the ground, and gather in subterranean reservoirs, and run in subterranean channels, and bubble up in springs and fountains; and from the mountain-sides and heads of valleys the silver threads of water begin their long journey to the ocean. ”

“ He found that deep drains began to run after wet weather, not from the water above, but from the water rising from subterranean accumulations below, and that by draining the stagnant moisture from three or four feet of earth next the surface, it was rendered more friable and porous, easier to work, and more easily penetrated by the rain. The rain carried down air which, being full of ammonia and manure, made the earth below warmer, and therefore more genial to the roots of the crops. ”

“ In the heaviest storms, some water will flow over the surface of even the dryest beach-sand; but, in a well drained soil the water of ordinary rains will be at once absorbed, will slowly descend toward the water-table, and will be removed by the drains, so rapidly, even in heavy clays, as to leave the ground fit for cultivation, and in a condition for steady growth, within a short time after the rain ceases. ”

“ If there are no trees, no leaves to break the beating rain, no spongy mold to hold the water when it falls, no matted roots to prevent washing, the big raindrops spatter upon the earth and quickly form rushing streams that wash the ground into gulleys. The bare earth absorbs some water, to [124] be sure, but far less than the humus of the forest. If the rains are continued the rivers are soon filled beyond the capacity of their banks and they spread over the neighboring valleys, carrying devastation with them. ”

“ A part of the rain-water is there held, until it returns by evaporation, to the clouds, while a part slowly percolates downward, finding its way into swamps and springy plains, and finally, after days or weeks of wandering, slowly, but surely, finds its outlet in the stream or pond. ”

“ The rain, which is pure water, except for the little particles of various things floating in the air which it brings down with it, soaks into the ground, forming springs, and helps to swell the ponds and lakes and rivers, and so it gets mineral and other substances in it again, especially salt, which is found in small quantities in all spring-water, and this impure water is carried to the ocean again to be purified ”

“ If the earth's surface were, like iron, impervious to water, the rain-water would come in torrents down the hill-sides, and along the gentle declivities, into the streams, creating freshets and inundations in a few hours. But instead of that, the soft showers fall, often on the open, thirsty soil, and so are gradually absorbed. ”

“ The rain which falls upon the earth travels not by a plain high road to the springs and fountains whither it is bound; but gently, slowly wins its way, drop by drop, till a little stream is formed, and the stream winds its noiseless and hidden track to the fountain. ”

“ Water, in the state of rain, hail, snow, or dew, is generally the only substance which falls from the atmosphere upon the earth. There are, however, many well authenticated instances of various substances being showered down upon the land, to the great alarm of persons who were ignorant that the powerful action of the wind was, perhaps, the chief cause of the strange visitations to which we allude.
We read of showers of sand, mud, sulphur, blood, fishes, frogs, insects, and stones ”

“ Fig. 3.—Temporary Wet-weather Delta.
where the rain water, in its efforts to reach a stream, is forced to run down some steep declivity. Under such circumstances, the carrying power of the water will be very great, and we shall hope to find evidence of its work in transporting the products of rock weathering and other material broken up by the action of frost. A little diligence will soon reward us with the evidence which we seek. A local inequality of the ground, perhaps only a few feet across, is found filled with water—a minute, temporary lake caused by the recent heavy rainfall. ”

“ Stately and slow that river moves down to the bay, into which it empties its load. The rain that falls on hundreds of square miles of territory flows into the streams that feed this trunk. The little spring that is the headwater of the system is but one of many pockets in the hillsides that hold the water that soaks into the ground and give it out by slow degrees. Surface water after a rain flows quickly into the streams. It is the springs that hold back their supply and keep the rivers from running dry in hot weather. ”

“ The heavy rains, sometimes as much as an inch in a few hours, run off with great rapidity through the drainage channels and twenty-four hours later the sides of the mountains and the footslopes appear as if not having known a rain in six months. Here and there in the bottoms of the cañons a pocket in the rock holds a gallon or two of sweet pure water, and out upon the plain pools may linger for a few days on the clay. ”

“ The rain that fills the springs high up among the hills, where a little brook has its source—the rain that feeds the brook as it flows, and other brooks that join it on its way, until it becomes the river that descends in the water-fall. And what is the source of the rain? The sun, whose rays turn the waters of the earth to vapor, and lift them up to the clouds, whence they fall upon the hills. ”

“ The rainfall is the source of all underground water, and with the exception of certain deep-seated artesian wells the source is always the rain which falls in the immediate vicinity, as the physician knows when called to treat disease caused by seepage of the adjacent surroundings into the family well.
Part of the rainfall is quickly drained away by the surface channels, a part is evaporated, and a third, and for our consideration the most important part, is imbibed by the rocks and soil. ”

“ The proportion borne by the available to the total rainfall varies very much, being affected by the rapidity of the rainfall and the compactness or porosity of the soil, the steepness or flatness of the ground, the nature and quantity of the vegetation upon it, the temperature and moisture of the air, which will affect the rate of evaporation, the existence of artificial drains, and other circumstances. ”

“ Rain-Water.—When rain-water falls upon the surface of the ground, a portion of the moisture runs off into brooks, creeks and rivers, but a much larger part soaks downwards through the earth, and after a few hours or days finds its way through the soil into the subterranean streams and reservoirs which feed our wells. ”

“ The rain began to fall in sheets, and the wind nearly blew me over, but who could run away from such fishing? The surface of the river, deep blue-gray, seemed rising everywhere in little jets to meet the rain. Rapids, eddies, still waters, weedy edges, all looked alike; there were neither waves nor swirls nor glassy slicks, but all were roughly furry under the multitudinous [pg 151] assaults of the fierce rain-drops. The sky was mottled lead-color, the wind blew less strongly, but cold—cold. ”

“ When rain-water falls on the earth it either sinks into the ground until it reaches an impervious layer, where it collects as a subterranean pool, forming a well, or continues to flow underground until it finally emerges at the surface as a spring ”

“ In the second case, the excess of cold by evaporation is withdrawn; the cold water of attraction is removed out of its way; the warm air from the surface, rushing in to supply the place of the water which the drains remove, and the warm summer rains, bearing down with them the temperature which they have acquired from the upper soil, carry a genial heat to its lowest roots. Health, vigorous growth, and early maturity are the natural consequences. ”

“ Seen from a distance the water seems at first sight, when the broad stream fills the vision as a whole, to flow with smooth, even current between meadow and cornfield. But, coming to the brink, that silvery surface now appears exquisitely chased with ever-changing lines. The light airs, wandering to and fro where high banks exclude the direct influence of the breeze, flutter the ripples hither and thither, so that, instead of rolling upon one lee shore, they meet and expend their little force upon each other. ”

“ Every shower of rain washes some dirt—by which we mean sand or gravel or loam or chalk—from the land into the nearest rivulet. The rivulet hurries with it down to the neighbouring river, and the river carries it down to the sea. If the river is going very fast it carries most of its dirt along with it, and we generally find the river muddy after rain. But when the river slackens its pace, as it usually does when it nears the sea and meets the sea's tides, then it lets the dirt fall; and thus at the river's mouth we find mud-banks or sand-banks. ”

“ The river owes its colour in like manner to earth which it is carrying down to the sea level. The flood deposits in valleys matter which has been withdrawn from hill slopes. Rainfall, acts, however, in other ways, and sometimes still more effectively. The soaked slopes of great hills give way, and great landslips occur. In winter the water which has drenched the land freezes, in freezing expands, and then the earth crumbles and is ready to be carried away by fresh rains ”

“ Fresh water may, farther, be divided into atmospheric, which includes hail, rain, and snow-water, and also dew; stagnant, such as that of lakes, ponds, and marshes; and running, which comprehends spring, well, and river-water. ”

“ Many women were carrying water in jars upon their shoulders from shallow wells scooped out of the sand in the bed of the stream, which is not a stream at all, save during the floods of the rainy season. ”

“ Instead of carrying the heat of the air, and of the surface of the ground, to the subsoil, the rain only adds so much to the amount of water to be evaporated, and increases, by so much, the chilling effect of evaporation. ”

“ The rain-water comes down from heaven as water, and nothing but water. Rain-water is the only pure water, after all. How would you save that for the poor people who have none? There; run away and hunt rabbits on the moor: but look, meanwhile, how you would save some of this beautiful and precious water which is roaring away into the sea. ”

“ The temperature of the waters, surface and deep, taken regularly, makes a record for the benefit of those engaged in the propagation of food fishes, which is becoming an important government work. The stage of water taken in connection with the reports of rainfall and temperature of the atmosphere in their influence upon deep beds of snow and ice-locked streams affords ground for warnings, when needed, to persons engaged in any river traffic, or exposed to floods upon the banks. ”

“ If we also visit the spot at a time when the river is swollen by heavy rains or melting snows, the presence of this organic matter will be masked by the turbidity of the water; we shall learn that only in the freshet seasons does the water attain sufficient velocity to carry any visible load of sand and clay. The upper end of the lake will be found to be shallow, muddy, and water lilies will have discovered congenial surroundings. ”

“ It is when the rain collects in brooks and forms rivers that it is most busy in sculpturing the land. Look out some day into the road or the garden where the ground slopes a little, and watch what happens during a shower of rain. First the rain-drops run together in every little hollow of the ground, then the water begins to flow along any ruts or channels it can find, lying here and there in pools, but always making its way gradually down the slope. ”

“ Water arising by land-floods brings along with it much of the most soluble parts of the manure from the higher lands to the lower ones. River-water in its clear state and those springs which are called soft are less beneficial for the purpose of watering lands, as they contain less earthy or saline matter; and water from dissolving snow from its slow solution brings but little earth along with it, as may be seen by the comparative clearness of the water of snow-floods. ”

“ It is distilled in the great laboratory of Nature, and gives nourishment to all the living beings who dwell on the land and in the rivers and lakes; or the rain may sink into the earth and be carried [Pg 96] for miles and miles under ground, running through some porous stratum, such as gravel, until it flows out in the form of a spring, bubbling up amongst flowers and weeds, and forming the source of some river, which receiving the rain and all the springs in the country through which it flows, finds its way back into the ocean at last. ”