CHAPTER II 
THE GROUND OVER WHICH WE WALK 
Iv is raining to-day, raining in torrents, but although 
it is not a comfortable day on which to go out, I 
must put on my mackintosh and go over the way 
to see some work that the rain is doing. Near to 
my house there is a road which has not been com- 
pleted ; it is roughly made of cinders, which soon get 
reduced to dust, and on wet days it becomes soft 
and spongy. Come along with me so that I may 
give you some idea of the power of running water, 
and the important part it has played in the history 
of the earth. We are going to have a little lesson 
in geology, which you probably know is the science 
which treats of the earth and its contents—tells us 
about rocks and how they are formed, and of all the 
wonderful forces that have been at work in making 
the earth what it is to-day. 
The road, you will notice, rises gradually from 
where we stand towards the south. On the west 
side of the road you see there is quite a steep, un- 
cultivated grassy bank. The heavy rains of the 
last few hours have saturated the surface of the 
bank, and water is pouring down in little runnels, 
and gathering into a pool on the road. The water 
that comes down the bank is muddy, and the muddi- 
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