RAIN. 



from the burfting anthers, and in that way prevent the im- 

 pregnation of the piltillum, but alfo delay the ripening of 

 the feeds or fruit, from the want of a due evaporation of 

 their pcrfpirable matter, as well as from tlie Ids iolar light 

 in cloudy fcafons. On this account it is, lie fuppofes, that 

 in the north of Scotland the oats are laid feldom to ripen 

 till the froll commences, with the dry feafon which accom- 

 panies it. 



Thus, as the eflefts of rain are fo very confiderable on 

 vegetation, it would be highly \ifeful to afcertain the quan- 

 tity or depth of rain that falls annually in different diflrifts, 

 and the difference in the effecls which are produced by it. 

 See Water and Weather. 



The vail quantities of rain which fall in fome diflrifts, 

 from the peculiar nature of their fituations, elpecially where 

 they are of the grazing or paflure kind, as thofe of Chefhire, 

 I,ancafhire, and fome others, are often highly beneficial to 

 their general fertility ; the natural grafs paflurcs of which 

 diflrifts, though frequently of inferior qualities to thofe in 

 many other places, are, in confequence of this circumflance, 

 rendered fupcrior in their abundance of grafs, the flrength 

 of its vegetation, and the richnefs of its quality. The 

 former of the above counties may indeed, without any im- 

 propriety, be reckoned one of the moil produftive grafs- 

 land diflrifts in the kingdom, as is fully evinced by the great 

 abundance and fuperiority of its dairy produfts. The grafs 

 lands in this traft of country moflly retain their full verdure 

 during the moil fultry and parching feafons, except where 

 they are of a fandy or gravelly nature in their under flrata. 

 Where they are near to the fea, however, in this as well as 

 other parts, they are liable to become mofTy, or be covered 

 witli the mofs plant, either in confequence of fo much of the 

 fpray from it falling in the manner of flight rain, or fome 

 other caufe of that kind. 



The quantity of rain falling upon land has much influence 

 upon its temperature, or Rate of heat, and, of courfe, great 

 effeft on vegetation in that vv'av ; and the nature of its mix- 

 ture with it, or the manner in which it is diilributed through 

 its parts, or combined with its different earthy materials, is 

 another means by which it becomes of great importance, as 

 it relates to the fupplying of nourifhment and fupport to 

 vegetables as crops. 



Rain falling in large quantities, on particular forts of re- 

 tentive foils, is a frequent caufe of that kind of injurious 

 wetnefs, which Hands fo much in need of furface-draining to 

 remove it. See SvRFACE-Draining. 



The nature and caufes of fhowers and rain are extremely 

 curious and interefling in feveral different points of view, 

 both to the agriculturiil and the philofcphical inquirer. 



Rains, Preternatural. We have numerous accounts in 

 hiftorians of preternatural rains, fuch as the raining of 

 flones, of dull, of blood, nay, and of living animals, as 

 young' frogs, and the like. We are not to doubt the truth 

 of what thofe who are authors of veracity and credit relate 

 to us of this kind, fo far as to fuppofe that the Falling of 

 Stones (which fee) and dull never happened ; the whole mif- 

 take (if it be fo with regard to the firfl inftance) is the 

 fuppofing them to have fallen from the clouds ; but as to 

 the blood and frogs, it is very certain that they never fall 

 at all, but the opinion has been a mere deception of the 

 eyes. Men are extremely fond of the marvellous in their 

 relations ; but the judicious reader is to examine ilriftly 

 whatever is reported of this kind, and is not to fuffer him- 

 felf to be deceived. 



There are two natural methods by which quantities of 

 ftones and dull may fall in certain places, without their 

 having been generated in the clouds, or fallen as rain. 

 The one is by means of hurricanes : the wind which we fre- 



quently fee tearing off the tiles of houfcs, and carrying them 

 to confiderable diltances, being equally able to take up a 

 quantity of flones, and drop them again at fome other place. 

 But the other, which is much the mofl powerful, and pro- 

 bably the mofl ufual way, is for the eruptions of volcanos, 

 and burning mountains, to tofs up, as the)' frequently do, 

 a vafl quantity of ftones, aflies, and cinders, to an immenfe 

 height in the air ; and thefe being hurried away by the hur- 

 ricanes and impetuous winds, which ufually accompany 

 thofe eruptions, and being in themfelves much lighter than 

 common flones, as being half calcined, may eafily be thu5 

 carried to vafl diilanccs, and their falling in places where 

 the inhabitants know nothing of the occaiion, they cannot 

 but be fuppofed by the vulgar to fall on them from the 

 clouds. It IS well known, tliat in the great eruptions of 

 jEtna and Vefuvius, fliowers of afhes, duft, and Imall cin- 

 ders, have been feen to obfcure the air, and overfpread the 

 furface of the fea for a great way, and cover the decks of 

 ftiips ; and this at fuch a diftance, as it fhould appear fcarce 

 conceivable that they fhould have been carried to ; and pro- 

 bably, if the accounts of all the fhowers of thefe fubftances 

 mentioned by authors be collefted, they will all be found to 

 have fallen within fuch diftances of volcanos ; and if com- 

 pared, as to the time of their falling, will be found to cor- 

 refpond in that alfo with the eruptions of thofe mountains. 

 We have known inflances of the afhes from Vefuvius having 

 been carried thirty, nay forty leagues, and peculiar acci- 

 dents may have carried them yet farther. 



The raining of blood has been ever accounted a more ter- 

 rible fight, and a more fatal omen, than the other preter- 

 natural rains already mentioned. It is very certain that 

 nature forms blood no where but in the vefTels of animals, 

 and therefore fliowers of it from the clouds are by no means 

 to be credited. Thofe who fuppofe that what has been 

 taken for blood, has been aftually feen falling through the 

 air, have had recourfe to flying infefts for its origin, and 

 fuppofe it the eggs or dung of certain butterflies difcharged 

 "rom them as they were high up in the air. But this feems 

 a very wild conjefture, as we know of no butterfly whofe 

 excrements, or eggs, are of fuch a colour, or whofe abode 

 is fo high, or their flocks fo numerous, as to be the occafion 

 of this. 



It is moft probable that thefe bloody waters were never 

 feen falling, but the people feeing the ftanding waters 

 blood-coloured, were afiured, from their not knowing how 

 it fhould elfe happen, that it had rained blood into them. 

 A very memorable inilance of this there was at the Hague 

 in the year 1670. Swammerdam, who relates it, tells us, 

 that one morning the whole town was in an uproar, on find- 

 ing their lakes and ditches full of blood, as they thought, 

 and having been certainly full of water the night before, 

 they agreed it mufl have rained blood in the night ; but a 

 certain phyfician went down to one of the canals, and taking 

 home a quantity of this blood-coloured water, he examined 

 it by the microfcope, and found that the water was water 

 flill, and had not at all changed its colour, but that 

 it was full of prodigious fwarms of fmall red animals, all 

 alive, and very nimble in their motions, whofe colour and 

 prodigious number gave a red tinge to the whole body of 

 the water they lived in, on a lefs accurate infpeftion. The 

 certainty that this was the cafe, did not however perfuade 

 the Hollanders to part with the miracle ; they prudently 

 concluded, that the fudden appearance of fuch a number of 

 animals was as great a prodigy as the raining of blood 

 would have been ; and are afiured at this day, that this 

 portent foretold the fcene of war and devaflation which 

 Lewis XIV. afterwards brought into that country, which 

 had before enjoyed forty years uninterrupted peace. 



The 



