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 « pool 
with a small tree beside him and the sun is be- 
Shadows vs 
reflections. 
Surface 
appear- 
ances, 
