STILL WATERS 



183 



mination will prove anything but easy. But I 

 must mention just one more complication that 

 should be simple of solution, and yet is not 

 always found so. 



In studying effects on the water we are prone 

 to confuse shadows with reflections. They are 

 two separate things, though in effect they may 

 sometimes be merged into one. That is to say, 

 a tree may cast its reflection in the water and 

 its shadow on the bank ; but if the sun is just 

 right, both the shadow and the reflection may 

 fall in the water, as in the case of an over- 

 hanging bough or the arch of a bridge. The 

 shadow in such cases is usually absorbed by the 

 reflection. Shadows upon water are usually 

 very feeble, and where the water is deep and 

 perfectly clear they are hardly noticeable at 

 all. If the water is shallow or muddy, the 

 shadow is stronger, because it has some back- 

 ground to fall upon ; but even then it is not so 

 strong as when falling upon ground or grass. 

 On deep water the shadow is seen as a thin, 

 smoky form upon the surface, whereas the re- 

 flection is seen receding into the depths. And 

 at certain angles the shadow does not appear at 

 all. If one is standing on the bank of a pool 

 with a small tree beside him and the sun is be- 



