Evaporation. EVE: 
seasons. They seem to understand that the water 
gives them protection, for their nest would not be out 
of reach were the tree on land. 
Just as at the seashore the wave curls over in an 
arch as it comes in before dissolving in surf and 
spray, so here when a gale is blowing, these lesser 
waves, as they reach the shelving strand, also curl 
over. In the early morning, as the sun begins to 
acquire some strength, the white mists sweep over the 
surface and visibly melt and disappear. One hot 
summer, when the lake was full, and kept so artificially 
by the hatches and dams, I found by observation 
that its level sank nearly half an inch every day. 
This was the more striking because there was at the 
same time an influx more than enough to repair the 
loss from leakage. Now the evaporation of half an 
inch of water over such a width of surface meant the 
ascension into the atmosphere of many thousands of 
gallons; and thus even this insignificant pool might 
form a cloud of some magnitude in a few days. 
What immense vapours may then arise from the 
surface of the ocean ! 
Sometimes a winter’s morning is, I think, almost 
as beautiful as summer, when the ice is thick with the 
sharp frost, and the sun shines in a blue sky free from 
clouds. One such morning, while putting on my 
skates, I happened to look up, and was surprised to 
see a bird of unusual appearance, and large size, soar- 
ing slowly overhead. I immediately recognised an 
