Write:

A long, narrow piece of land between hills and mountains is called a valley.

A hill is land a little higher than the country about it.

A mountain is land that rises to a very great height above the country about it.

LESSON XIII.

RAIN, WIND, AND SNOW.

  Do you see the dropping rain,
  Pitter-patter on the pane? 
  How it runs along the street! 
  And it wets our little feet;
  But it makes the green grass grow,
  And the tiny streamlets flow.

  Listen to the wintry blast
  Moaning, shrieking, howling past,
  Striking with tremendous force
  Rocks and forests in its course;
  But it blows the windmills strong,
  And it sends big ships along.

  Watch the pretty snowflakes fall,
  Some are large and some are small;
  Look, they cover all the ground,
  Miles of dazzling white around;
  But this covering, I am told,
  Keeps the earth from frost and cold.

  Ah! and I must work alway,
  Life’s not meant to spend in play;
  Every moment’s fleeting fast,
  And our day will soon be past;
  If our work is truly done,
  It will last though ages run.

Of what use is rain?  Of what use is snow?  Of what use is wind?

LESSON XIV.

HOW WATER IS CHANGED TO VAPOR.

What happens when a kettle of water is put on a hot stove?

The water gets hot and boils away.

Where does it go?  Is it destroyed?

The water is changed, but it is not destroyed.  Coal burns, but we do not get rid of it altogether.  It is changed into gas and smoke and ashes.

What is the water changed into?

It is changed to vapor.  If we let the kettle remain on the fire long enough, the water it contains will all pass away as vapor.

Where does the vapor go?  The water, though turned into vapor, must be somewhere.

It is floating about in the air of the room, though we cannot see it.  The air holds the vapor, just as a sponge holds water.

Heat expands or swells air.  Warm air, therefore, can contain more vapor than cold air.  On a warm day there may be many times as much moisture in the air as on a cold day.

Moisten your slate with a damp sponge.  Observe the disappearance of the moisture.

Dip your hand in water, and wave it in the air.  The water on your hand disappears.  Where has it gone?

When wet clothes are hung on the line, they soon become dry.  What becomes of the water in the clothes?

If we set a plate of water out in the sunshine, what happens?  Is the water lost?

The streets and roads were wet and muddy, now they are dry.  What has become of the water?  Has it all sunk into the ground?

Sometimes we see leaves and grass sparkle with water-drops, early in the morning, When the sun shines out and warms the air; what happens?