The Rain Cloud / or, An Account of the Nature, Properties, Dangers and Uses of Rain in Various Parts of the World

Transcribed from the 1846 Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge edition by David Price, email ccx074@pglaf.org
or, An Account of THE NATURE, PROPERTIES, DANGERS, AND USES OF RAIN,
in various parts of the world.
published under the direction of the committee of general literature and education appointed by the society for promoting christian knowledge.
LONDON: Printed for the society for promoting christian knowledge. sold at the depository, great queen street, lincoln’s inn fields, and 4, royal exchange.
1846.
london: r. clay, printer, bread street hill.
CONTENTS.

rains peculiar to each season—spring showers—midsummer rains—rains of autumn and winter—means of supplying the earth with rain—rain-clouds—deceptive appearances of clouds—their light and shade—effects of clouds in mountainous countries—ascent of monte pientio—ascent to the peak of teneriffe—grand effects of clouds in the pyrenees—voyage in a balloon through the clouds.
Every season has its own peculiar rains. What can be more refreshing or invigorating than the showers of spring? When the snows of February have disappeared, and the blustering winds of March have performed their office of drying up the excess of moisture, and preparing the earth for fruitfulness, and when the young buds and blossoms of April are peeping forth beneath the influence of the sun, and the trees and hedges are attired in their new robes of tender green, how soon would
all this beauty languish but for the showers of spring! Several dry days, perhaps, have passed, and the wreaths of dust which are raised by the wind show that the earth wants moisture; but before a drop falls there is a general lull throughout all nature; not a leaf is heard to rustle; the birds are mute and the cattle stand in expectation of the refreshing fall. At last the pools and rivulets are “dimpled” by a few soft drops, the forerunners of the general shower. And this shower, unlike the heavier rains of summer, comes stealing on so gently, that the tinkling sound of its fall is heard among the branches of the bursting trees long before it is felt by those who walk beneath their slight shelter. Rapidly does the landscape brighten under the influence of the welcome shower; and as it becomes more rich and extensive, all nature seems to rise up and rejoice. The birds chirp merrily among the foliage; the flowers raise their drooping heads, and the thirsty ground drinks in with eager haste the mellowing rains. All day long, perhaps, does the rain continue to fall, until the earth is fully moistened and “enriched with vegetable life.” At length, towards evening, the sun peeps out from