480 NATURE STUDY. 



"O'er me soared the eternal sky, 

 Full of light and deity ; 



Beauty through my senses stole ; 



I yielded myself to the perfect whole." 



WATER DUST, STEAM, FOG, MIST, CLOUDS. 



Steam. Repeat, if need be, the work already outlined 

 for the study in the schoolroom, of water dust and steam, 

 dwelling on the way they are formed, the conditions ne- 

 cessary for formation (water, heat, cold), the depositing of 

 water on objects held in them, and their appearance. Ob- 

 serve and talk about appearance and formation of chil- 

 dren's " breatji " on cold mornings. The best preparations 

 for an understanding of fog and clouds, is to watch care- 

 fully the mass of steam rising from a manufactory or 

 locomotive, noting how it rises in the still air, or is driven 

 by the wind ; how filmy or fleecy it is ; how it partly ob- 

 scures objects behind when it is in thin masses, and hides 

 them when piled together ; how the white masses often roll 

 and tumble over one another, like children or kittens at 

 play ; how beautiful it may be, particularly when the clear 

 blue sky forms a background. The children who have hap- 

 pened to be surrounded by steam when an engine was 

 " blowing off steam " can tell how damp it was, and how 

 " foggy " it looked all around them. Some of them may 

 have seen, or may be led to notice, the way in which the 

 steam may be lit up toward evening by the city lights or 

 by a fire. Older children, at least, may discover how 

 much better steam shows in the morning or evening than 

 during the warmer part of the day, or on a cold day than 

 on a warm day. Why ? The observation at home of what 

 happens on wash-day may aid in an understanding of fog 

 and clouds. 



