CHAPTER VII. 

 OF WIND AND WATER 



" He commandeth and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up 

 the waves thereof." PSALM cvii. 20. 



" Measure me a measure of wind." 2 ESDRAS. 



the great Deep of blue water lies the 

 greater Deep of blue air. And between 

 these two the Ocean of Air and the Ocean 

 of Water, both dragged earthward by the per- 

 petual pull of gravitation endless intercourse 

 takes place. Each finds its way in small frag- 

 ments into the other. There is always water 

 present in the air. There is always air present 

 in the water. 



Perhaps the latter fact is not so widely recog- 

 nised as the former ; yet it is equally true. Sea- 

 water contains large supplies of dissolved gases, 

 absorbed by the ocean-surface from the atmo- 

 sphere, and passed on into lower depths, for the 

 use of creatures living there. 



But the presence of water in air is known to 



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