Snow is found to be of greater importance to man than is generally supposed. But, although in this country we are enabled to recognise the hand of Providence in the gift, there are latitudes wherein the blessing thus conferred is more deeply felt. In such countries as Canada, Sweden, and Russia, the falling of snow is looked for with glad anticipations, quite equalling those which herald the "harvest-home" of England, or the "vintage" of France. No sooner is the ground covered with snow, than cranky old vehicles that had been jolting over rough roads, and sticking fast in deep ruts of mud, are wheeled aside, and swift sledges take their place. Towns distant from each other find an easy mode of communication; the markets are enlivened, and trade thrives. Snow supplies a kind of railroad, covering the entire face of the country, and sledges glide over it, almost with the speed of the locomotive.
Sleet is snow which, in falling, has met with a warmer current of air than that in which it congealed. It therefore partially melts and forms a kind of wet snow.
Hail is also the frozen moisture of the clouds. It is probably formed by rain drops in their descent to the earth, meeting with an exceedingly cold current of air by which they become suddenly frozen into hard masses.
It is also supposed that the electrical state of the air and of the clouds influences the formation of hail.
"If the clouds be full of rain, they shall empty themselves upon the earth."—Eccles. xi.