222 NATURAL APPEARANCES 



Numerous natural phenomena are produced by 

 frost. Water from the clouds, freezing slov\ ly, crys- 

 tallizes in little icy darts or stars, forming, by their 

 Assemblage, the beautiful flakes of snow. Its white- 

 Bess is owing to the smallness of the particles into 

 which it is divided; for ice, when pounded, becomes 

 equally white. Snow is very useful by protecting 

 the plants it covers from the severity of the frost. 

 Hailstones are drops of rain, suddenly congealed in- 

 to a hard mass, so as to preserve their figure. They 

 often fall in warmer seasons of the year, as even 

 then the upper regions of the atmosphere are very 

 cold. When dew or mist freezes, as it frequently 

 does on every object on which it falls, it becomes 

 hoar frost, producing figures of incomparable beauty 

 and elegance. p 



As the cold of this inclement season advances, the 

 birds collect in flocks, and, rendered bold by want, 

 approach the habitations of man. The wild quadru- 

 peds, also, are driven from their accustomed haunts ; 

 hares enter the gardens to browse on cultivated ve- 

 getables, and, leaving their tracks in the snow, are 

 frequently hunted down, or caught in snares. 



The domestic cattle now require all the care and 

 protection of the farmer. Sheep are often lost in the 

 sudden storms by which the snow is drifted into hol- 

 lows, so as to bury them a considerable depth be- 

 neath it; yet they have been known to survive many 

 days in this situation. Cows receive their subsistence 

 from the provision of the farm-yard; and early lambs 



