Meteorology Today An Introduction to

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Instructor's Manual and Test Bank to accompany Meteorology Today, 10th Edition

Jonathan D. W. Kahl
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Chapter 7
Precipitation
Summary

This chapter examines the processes that produce precipitation and looks at the different types of
precipitation that can fall from clouds.

The chapter begins with a more detailed look at the formation and growth of cloud droplets. “The
Freezing of Tiny Cloud Droplets”, the first of many focus sections, describes the formation and growth of
ice embryos. Cloud droplets or ice crystals are themselves too small and light to be able to reach the
ground as precipitation. Raindrops can form rapidly in warm clouds, however, when water droplets
collide and coalesce. Formation of rain by this process works best in thick clouds which have strong
updrafts. In cold clouds it is possible for ice crystals to grow when surrounded by supercooled water
droplets. Attempts to enhance precipitation by cloud seeding are reviewed. A second focus section
discusses the process by which precipitation is artificially enhanced by cloud seeding.

Precipitation can reach the ground in a variety of forms depending on the type of cloud producing
it and also on the atmospheric conditions between the cloud base and the ground. The myths of the tear-
shaped raindrop and the idea that below-freezing temperatures are required for snowfall are exposed in
separate focus sections. The mechanisms of freezing rain and sleet formation are described. The
“squeakiness” of snow and the hazardous phenomenon of aircraft icing are described in interesting focus
sections. Finally, students learn how rain and snowfall amounts can be measured using simple
instruments or estimated remotely using Doppler radar or satellite-based instruments.
 2

Teaching Suggestions

1. Measure and compare the fall speeds of different size drops (fine mist, drops from an eye
dropper, small and large water balloons).

2. Have the class design a precipitation-enhancement experiment. What method for enhancing
precipitation will be used? What materials will be needed? How will the experiment’s success be
assessed?

3. Discuss what atmospheric conditions would cause a meteorologist to forecast sleet or freezing
rain.

4. Encourage students to discuss the design of an automatic snowfall measurement device.

5. Have students list the various ways in which standard and tipping bucket rain gauges might either
overestimate or underestimate the actual amount of rainfall.

6. When cloud drops grow into raindrops, their volume increases by a factor of 10,000. In
cumulonimbus clouds, this growth takes place in about 30 minutes or less. Challenge students to suggest
other natural phenomena with similar growth rates.

7. Encourage students to photograph snowflakes and post them on the class Facebook page.

8. Before spring or winter break, have students speculate on what clouds might look like from
above. Encourage any students who might be traveling by airplane to photograph clouds from the plane
and share them with the class when they return.

9. Show a surface weather chart and identify areas with different precipitation types.

10. Stage a debate as to which is the best way to measure precipitation: Doppler radar or tipping
bucket rain gauge.

Student Projects

1. Rainfall measurement, the construction of simple and inexpensive rain gauges, and student
projects have been discussed by J.T. Snow and S.B. Harley (ref: "Basic Meteorological Observations for
Schools: Rainfall," Bull. Amer. Meteorol. Soc., 69, 498-507, 1988).

2. Have students explain why rain falls to the ground but clouds do not.

3. Have students measure snow depth with a yardstick in three representative areas. Average the
results. Given the variation in the three measurements, what level of confidence can be placed in the
average?

4. Have students review the document “An Overview of National Weather Service Quantitative
Precipitation Estimates” and summarize the strengths and weaknesses of rain gauge and tipping bucket
rainfall measurements. The document is available at:
 3

http://www.nws.noaa.gov/im/pub/tdl97-4.pdf

5. Have students give several reasons why rain gauges are not effective for snowfall
measurements.

Answers to Question for Review

1. An ordinary cloud droplet is extremely small, having an average diameter of 20 µm or 0.002 cm,
which is about 100 times smaller than a typical raindrop.

2. They evaporate before reaching the ground.

3. Large droplets overtake and collide with smaller drops in their path, merging the cloud droplets
by collision and causing them to stick together (coalescence) and grow larger.

4. The cumulonimbus cloud because it's thicker, giving more opportunity for cloud droplets to
collide and coalesce.

5. Homogeneous freezing: Molecules within the water droplet join together in a rigid pattern to form
an ice structure which then serves as an ice nucleus. Contact freezing: Freezing nuclei immersed within a
liquid drop. Accretion: Ice crystals colliding with supercooled water droplets.

6. Larger droplets. The chances of an ice embryo growing large enough to freeze water before the
embryo is broken up by thermal agitation increase with bigger volumes of water. Consequently, only
larger cloud droplets can freeze by homogeneous freezing at temperatures warmer than -40°C.

7. Because there are many more cloud condensation nuclei than ice nuclei, cold clouds contain
many more liquid droplets than ice particles, even at temperatures as low as -10°C.

8. The main premise is that the saturation vapor pressure just above a water surface is greater than
the saturation vapor pressure above an ice surface. This difference in vapor pressure causes water vapor
molecules to move (diffuse) from the droplet toward the ice crystal. The removal of vapor molecules
reduces the vapor pressure above the droplet. Since the droplet is now out of equilibrium with its
surroundings, it evaporates to replenish the diminished supply of water vapor above it. This process
provides a continuous source of moisture for the ice crystal, which absorbs the water vapor and grows
rapidly. Hence, during the ice-crystal (Bergeron) process, ice crystals grow larger at the expense of the
surrounding water droplets.

9. Cumulonimbus clouds normally contain large convection currents causing heavy showers.
Continuous rain usually falls from a layered cloud that covers a large area and has smaller vertical air
currents.

10. Snowflakes that fall through moist air that is slightly above freezing slowly melt as they descend.
A thin film of water forms on the edge of the flakes, which acts like glue when other snowflakes come in
contact with it. In this way, several flakes join to produce giant snowflakes often measuring several
centimeters or more in diameter. These large, soggy snowflakes are associated with moist air and
temperatures near freezing. However, when snowflakes fall through extremely cold air with a low
 4

moisture content, small, powdery flakes of “dry” snow accumulate on the ground.

11. Droplets.

12. The first ingredient in any seeding project is the presence of clouds, as seeding does not generate
clouds.

13. Overseeding can produce too many ice crystals. When this phenomenon occurs, the cloud
becomes glaciated (all liquid droplets become ice) and the ice particles, being very small, do not fall as
precipitation. Since few liquid droplets exist, the ice crystals cannot grow by the ice-crystal (Bergeron)
process; rather, they evaporate, leaving a clear area in a thin, stratified cloud. Because dry ice can produce
the most ice crystals in a supercooled cloud, it is the substance most suitable for deliberate overseeding.

14. When cirriform clouds lie directly above a lower cloud deck, ice crystals may descend from the
higher cloud and seed the cloud below. As the ice crystals mix into the lower cloud, supercooled droplets
are converted to ice crystals, and the precipitation process is enhanced. Sometimes the ice crystals in the
lower cloud may settle out, leaving a clear area or “hole” in the cloud.

15. The below-cloud air must have a low relative humidity.

16. Advantages: A blanket of snow is a good insulator. A light, fluffy covering of snow protects
sensitive plants and their root systems from damaging low temperatures by retarding the loss of ground
heat. Snow can prevent the ground from freezing downward to great depths. The accumulation of snow in
mountains provides for winter recreation, and the melting snow in spring and summer is of great
economic value in that it supplies streams and reservoirs with much-needed water. Disadvantages: Rapid
melting of the snowpack may flood low-lying areas. Too much snow on the side of a steep hill or
mountain may become an avalanche as the spring thaw approaches. The added weight of snow on the roof
of a building may cause it to collapse, leading to costly repairs and even loss of life. Each winter, heavy
snows clog streets and disrupt transportation.

17. For sleet to form, surface temperatures must be below freezing. Surface temperatures are
typically well above freezing during hailstorms.

18. Sleet is a frozen raindrop. Freezing rain is a supercooled raindrop that freezes upon impact with
the surface.

19. Hail is produced in a cumulonimbus cloud when graupel, large frozen raindrops, or just about any
particles (even insects) act as embryos that grow by accumulating supercooled liquid droplets. Violent,
upsurging air currents within the cloud carry small embryos high above the freezing level. As the
embryos pass through regions of varying liquid water content, a coating of ice forms around them and
they grow larger and larger. When the ice particles are appreciable size, they become too large and heavy
to be supported by the rising air, and they then begin to fall as hail. As they slowly descend, the hailstones
may get caught in a violent updraft only to be carried upward once again to repeat the cycle.

20. Because cumulonimbus clouds (thunderstorms) are more common in summer.

21. Standard rain gauge, tipping bucket rain gauge, weighing-type rain gauge.

22. (a) Doppler radar is like conventional radar in that it can detect areas of precipitation and measure
 5

rainfall intensity.
(b) the Doppler radar uses the principle called Doppler shift to measure the speed at which falling
rain is moving horizontally toward or away from the radar antenna.

Answers to Question for Thought

1. Large ice crystals fall with their flat surfaces parallel to the ground. This produces a large flat
surface area-to-weight ratio and, hence, a large amount of air resistance which reduces the ice crystal's
rate of fall.

2. The turbulent vertical motions and towering extent of a warm cumulus cloud will accelerate the
collision-coalescence process of producing rain. In a cold stratus cloud vertical motions are small, the
liquid water content is low, and the collision-coalescence process is not as effective in initiating
precipitation, especially when the air temperature is quite low.

3. This is an example of the curvature effect. The relative humidity in a cloud is measured with
respect to a flat water surface. When the air is saturated in a cloud (relative humidity equals 100 percent),
it is unsaturated with respect to a curved droplet of pure water. The droplet of pure water is not in
equilibrium so it evaporates.

4. In this example, the most important process would be the ice crystal process because the
collision-coalescence process requires that cloud droplets be of varying size so that drops will fall at
different speeds.

5. One reason appears to be that in clouds that form over land there are larger concentrations of
nuclei than in clouds that form over water. Hence in clouds forming over land there are more, but
smaller, cloud droplets. Because the clouds that form over water usually contain fewer nuclei, they
contain larger droplets and a wider distribution of droplet sizes. This enhances the collision-coalescence
process and makes these clouds more efficient at producing rain.

6. The blizzard occurs about 4 km (13,000 ft) above the surface in the middle of a violent
thunderstorm.

7. This snowfall pattern could be the result of waves forming in the upper troposphere as air flows
from west to east over the mountains. Cirriform clouds form in the rising part of the wave (wave crest)
and seed ice crystals into a lower supercooled cloud layer, enhancing precipitation. The wave crests are
probably located above Denver, and above the region 150 km east of Denver.

8. A large drop has greater surface area than a small drop, thus the frictional drag of the air it’s
falling through may tear it apart into smaller drops.

9. Lead has a deleterious effect on the human body, especially the nervous system and kidneys.

10. "Holes" are occasionally produced in altocumulus clouds when cirriform clouds are above them.
Ice crystals fall from the cirriform clouds and mix with the supercooled cloud droplets of the altocumulus,
converting many water droplets into ice crystals. The ice crystals grow larger by the ice crystal process
and eventually fall from the altocumulus, leaving the appearance of a hole in the cloud. Another
 6

possibility is that an aircraft has penetrated the altocumulus and either engine exhaust or vibrations (or
both) have changed the supercooled cloud droplets into ice.

11. If it is raining heavily and there is a strong temperature inversion, freezing rain can fall when
surface temperatures are -12oC. The presence of a strong inversion ensures that cloud temperatures will
be much higher than surface temperatures, thus the precipitation is rain rather than snow. Heavy rain
(large drops) means large fall velocities, thus the raindrops become supercooled (but don’t freeze) as they
fall toward the ground.

12. When snow becomes mixed with sleet, it often indicates that warm air aloft has moved into the
region, causing the snowflakes to, at least partially, melt and then refreeze in the colder surface air.
Frequently this is the first indication that warm air is moving into the region. Often, continued influx of
warm air, first aloft, then at the surface, will raise the air temperature to the point that the snowflakes melt
and become raindrops.

13. Possible reasons include: the snow partially melted; blowing and drifting; the water content of the
snow changed over time; measurement error; the snow partially sublimated.

Answers to Critical Thinking Questions

Figure 7.9. No. The difference in saturation vapor pressures over supercooled water and ice reaches
a maximum at around -12oC. Close to 0oC this difference is much smaller.
 7

Multiple Choice Exam Questions

1. Which below best describes the solute effect?

a. keeps water droplets from freezing at temperatures below 32F
b. removal of pollutants from the atmosphere by cloud droplets
c. water droplets dissolve hygroscopic nuclei and condensation can occur at relative
humidities less than 100 percent
d. evaporation of cloud droplets and grow of ice crystals in a cold cloud
ANSWER: C

2. Which statement below best describes the curvature effect?

a. Large cloud droplets fall faster than small droplets.
b. Small droplets evaporate more quickly than large droplets.
c. Small droplets collide and coalesce more easily than larger droplets.
d. It explains the six-sided shape of ice crystals.
ANSWER: B

3. Condensation onto hygroscopic nuclei is possible at relative humidities less than 100 percent due
to the
a. curvature effect.
b. electrical charge on these nuclei.
c. solute effect.
d. crystalline structure of these nuclei.
ANSWER: C

4. Which of the following is NOT an important factor in the production of rain by the collision-
coalescence process?
a. the updrafts in the cloud
b. relative size of the droplets
c. the number of ice crystals in the cloud
d. cloud thickness
e. the electric charge of the droplets
ANSWER: C

5. Which cloud type below will only produce precipitation by the collision-coalescence process?
a. a thick, cold nimbostratus cloud
b. a thick, warm cumulus cloud
c. a thick, cold cumulus cloud
d. a thick, supercooled cumulonimbus cloud with abundant nuclei
e. a supercooled cumulus congestus cloud
ANSWER: B

6. Large raindrops fall ____ than smaller raindrops, and have a ____ terminal velocity than small
raindrops.
a. faster, lesser
 8

b. faster, greater
c. slower, lesser
d. slower, greater
ANSWER: B

7. Which cloud would most likely produce drizzle?

a. stratus
b. cumulus
c. cumulus congestus
d. cirrostratus
e. cumulonimbus
ANSWER: A

8. If you observe large raindrops hitting the ground, you could probably say that the cloud overhead
was ____ and had ____ updrafts.
a. thick, weak
b. thick, strong
c. thin, weak
d. thin, strong
ANSWER: B

9. If rain falls on one side of a street and not on the other side, the rain most likely fell from a
a. nimbostratus cloud.
b. stratus cloud.
c. cumulonimbus cloud.
d. altostratus cloud.
e. altocumulus cloud.
ANSWER: C

10. During the ice crystal process of rain formation,

a. only ice crystals need be present in a cloud.
b. ice crystals grow larger at the expense of the surrounding liquid cloud droplets.
c. the temperature in the cloud must be -40C (-40F) or below.
d. the cloud must be a cumuliform cloud.
ANSWER: B

11. The temperature at which you would expect a cloud to become completely glaciated is
a. 0C (32F).
b. -5C (23F).
c. -18C (0F).
d. -40C (-40F).
ANSWER: D

12. Homogeneous nucleation occurs when

a. water vapor condenses onto hygroscopic nuclei.
 9

b. water vapor condenses onto hydrophobic nuclei.

c. water vapor condenses without nuclei.
d. all the condensation nuclei are exactly the same.
ANSWER: C

13. Which of the following statements is NOT correct?

a. Generally, the smaller the pure water droplet, the lower the temperature at which it will
freeze.
b. Ice nuclei are more plentiful in the atmosphere than condensation nuclei.
c. Much of the rain falling in middle northern latitudes begins as snow.
d. Ice crystals may grow in a cold cloud even though supercooled droplets do not.
ANSWER: B

14. Ice nuclei may be

a. ice crystals.
b. certain clay minerals.
c. bacteria in decaying plant leaf material.
d. all of the above
ANSWER: D

15. Supercooled cloud droplets are

a. ice crystals surrounded by air warmer than 0C (32F).
b. liquid droplets that are cooler than the air around them.
c. liquid droplets observed at temperatures below 0C (32F).
d. water droplets that have had all their latent heat removed.
ANSWER: C

16. At the same sub-freezing temperature, the saturation vapor pressure just above a liquid water
surface is ____ the saturation vapor pressure above an ice surface.
a. greater than
b. the same as
c. less than
ANSWER: A

17. Contact nucleation is

a. the freezing of supercooled droplets by contact with a nucleus.
b. the sticking together of ice crystals to make a snowflake.
c. the joining of many nuclei to form an ice nucleus.
d. the freezing of supercooled droplets when they come into contact with a supercooled
surface.
ANSWER: A

18. The growth of a precipitation particle by the collision of an ice crystal (or snowflake) with a
supercooled liquid droplet is called
a. accretion.
 10

b. spontaneous nucleation.
c. condensation.
d. deposition.
ANSWER: A

19. Cloud seeding using silver iodide only works in

a. cold clouds composed entirely of ice crystals.
b. warm clouds composed entirely of water droplets.
c. cold clouds composed of ice crystals and supercooled droplets.
d. cumuliform clouds.
ANSWER: C

20. What are the two main substances used in cloud seeding?
a. lead iodide, dry ice
b. silver iodide, lead iodide
c. ice crystals, flood powder
d. dry ice, sea salt
e. silver iodide, dry ice
ANSWER: E

21. After a rainstorm, visibility typically

a. deteriorates.
b. is unaffected.
c. improves.
ANSWER: C

22. Rain which falls from a cloud but evaporates before reaching the ground is referred to as
a. sleet.
b. virga.
c. graupel.
d. dry rain.
ANSWER: B

23. The most common ice crystal shape is

a. graupel.
b. dendrite.
c. rime.
d. virga.
ANSWER: B

24. Fall streaks usually ____ before reaching the ground.

a. evaporate
b. condense
c. sublimate
d. deposit
 11

ANSWER: C

25. Which below best describes why a fluffy covering of snow is able to protect sensitive plants and
their root systems from damaging low temperatures?
a. Snow is a good insulator.
b. Melting snow releases latent heat.
c. Snow is a good emitter of infrared energy.
d. Snow is a good reflector of sunlight.
ANSWER: A

26. Large, heavy snowflakes are associated with

a. dry air and temperatures well below freezing.
b. moist air and temperatures well below freezing.
c. dry air and temperatures near freezing.
d. moist air and temperatures near freezing.
ANSWER: D

27. Fall streaks most often form with

a. nimbostratus clouds.
b. cumulonimbus clouds.
c. stratus clouds.
d. altostratus clouds.
e. cirrus clouds.
ANSWER: E

28. A true blizzard is characterized by

a. low temperatures.
b. strong winds.
c. reduced visibility.
d. blowing snow.
e. all of these
ANSWER: E

29. The largest snowflakes would probably be observed in ____ air whose temperature is ____
freezing.
a. moist, near
b. dry, near
c. moist, well below
d. dry, well below
ANSWER: A

30. In order for falling snowflakes to survive in air with temperatures much above freezing, the air
must be ____ and the wet bulb temperature must be ____.
a. unsaturated, at or below freezing
b. unsaturated, above freezing
 12

c. saturated, at or below freezing

d. saturated, above freezing
ANSWER: A

31. In the winter you read in the newspaper that a large section of the Midwest is without power due
to downed power lines. Which form of precipitation would most likely produce this situation?
a. snow
b. hail
c. freezing rain
d. sleet
e. rain
ANSWER: C

32. Which is NOT a correct association?

a. snow grains - hail
b. ground blizzard - drifting and blowing snow
c. snow squall - intense snow shower
d. sleet - ice pellet
e. freezing rain - glaze
ANSWER: A

33. Which of the following might be mistaken for hail?

a. virga
b. graupel
c. dendrite
d. supercooled droplet
ANSWER: B

34. Which type of precipitation would most likely form when the surface air temperature is slightly
below freezing and the air temperature increases as you move upward away from the ground?
a. freezing rain
b. hail
c. rain
d. snow
e. drizzle
ANSWER: A

35. The primary method used in preventing the growth of large, destructive hailstones is to inject a
thunderstorm with large quantities of
a. silver iodide.
b. ice crystals.
c. dry ice.
d. hydrophobic nuclei.
e. hailstone embryos.
ANSWER: A
 13

36. Precipitation with the greatest size (diameter) is

a. the snow pellet.
b. the snow grain.
c. a hailstone.
d. sleet.
e. a rain drop.
ANSWER: C

37. An amount of precipitation measured to be less than one hundredth of an inch (0.25 mm) is called
a. a trace.
b. drizzle.
c. light rain.
d. mist.
ANSWER: A

38. If a city were to receive 1/2 inch of rain in the morning and then 5 inches of snow that afternoon,
about how much precipitation would the weather service report for that day?
a. 5 1/2 inches
b. 1/2 inch
c. 1 inch
d. 10 inches
ANSWER: C

39. After a snowstorm, the newspaper reports that Buffalo, New York, received 1.50 inches of
precipitation. If we assume an average water equivalent ratio for this snowstorm, then Buffalo received
about ____ inches of snow.
a. 3
b. 1.5
c. 10
d. 9
e. 15
ANSWER: E

40. On average, the water equivalent of 10 inches of snow is about ____ inches of water.
a. 0.5
b. 1
c. 2
d. 2.5
e. 5
ANSWER: B

41. Radar gathers information about precipitation in clouds by measuring the

a. energy emitted by the precipitation particles.
b. absorption characteristics of falling precipitation.
c. amount of energy reflected back to a transmitter.
 14

d. amount of sunlight scattered off the precipitation.

e. amount of solar energy passing through the cloud.
ANSWER: C

42. In a typical advancing winter storm, which of the following sequences of precipitation types is
most likely to occur?
a. rain, freezing rain, snow, sleet
b. rain, sleet, freezing rain, snow
c. freezing rain, rain, sleet, snow
d. rain, freezing rain, sleet, snow
ANSWER: D

43. Freshly fallen snow ____ sound waves.

a. amplifies
b. absorbs
c. none of the above
ANSWER: B

44. The main difference between a cloud drop and a raindrop is its
a. color.
b. size.
c. shape.
d. none of the above
ANSWER: B

45. A typical raindrop is about ____ than a typical cloud droplet.

a. one thousand times smaller
b. one thousand times larger
c. one hundred times smaller
d. one hundred times larger
ANSWER: D

46. Saturation vapor pressure ____ as temperature increases.

a. increases
b. decreases
c. can't answer: it depends on whether the cloud has ice crystals or cloud droplets.
ANSWER: A

47. Large cloud droplets fall faster than small cloud droplets because
a. the ratio of the drop's surface area to its weight is larger.
b. the ratio of the drop's surface area to its weight is smaller.
c. gravity acts more strongly on larger droplets.
d. the speed of the falling drop increases until the air resistance equals the pull of gravity.
ANSWER: B
 15

48. The lightest form of rain is

a. shower.
b. cloudburst.
c. virga.
d. drizzle.
ANSWER: D

49. The difference in saturation vapor pressure between supercooled water and ice reaches a
maximum at about -12C. This means that the ice crystal process will be most effective in producing
precipitation when cloud temperatures are
a. much colder than -12C.
b. around -12C.
c. much warmer than -12C.
ANSWER: B

50. Satellites measure rainfall from space using which instrument?

a. radar
b. tipping-bucket rain gauge
c. ceiliometer
d. all of the above
e. none of the above
ANSWER: A

Essay Exam Questions

1. Is silver iodide used as a cloud seeding agent in warm or cold clouds? Why?

2. Explain why it is possible for an ice crystal to grow in a cold cloud even though the supercooled
water droplets surrounding the ice crystal do not.

3. Would you expect the largest forms of precipitation particles to occur during the warmest or the
coldest time of year? Explain.

4. What is the main difference between a raindrop and a cloud droplet?

5. The first raindrops to reach the ground at the beginning of a rain shower are often very large.
Explain why this is so.

6. Thunderstorm cloud bases are generally higher above the ground in Arizona than in Florida.
Why?

7. Briefly describe the differences between snow, freezing rain, sleet and hail.

8. About how large can raindrops get? Why can't they get any larger?
 16

9. What shape does a large raindrop have? What forces determine this shape?

10. Would you expect the heaviest snowfall to occur on an unusually cold night or a night when the
temperature was just a little below freezing?

11. When precipitation is falling in the form of sleet, what conclusions can you make regarding the
vertical profile of temperature between the ground and the cloud?

12. Explain why it is much more difficult to measure snowfall amount than rainfall amount.

13. Design an automated device for measuring snowfall. How might it work?

14. Given that precipitation can be accurately measured at surface weather stations, explain why it is
desirable to measure rainfall from space.

15. How is precipitation measured using Doppler radar?

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producing a lovely colored light. These glow-worms are somewhat
rare in this country, but are common in England, where our fire-fly is
unknown. The glow-worms of tropical countries are as large as
good-sized caterpillars, and give out a light of corresponding size.
Some of the beetles of tropical countries are much more radiant
than the glow-worms. They have a bright ring around their bodies,
which sheds such a light that it is said that the negroes use them for
lamps. These negroes we are told by travelers make small round
cages of thin wooden slats placed near each other, and closed at the
top and bottom. In these they put several beetles, and thus light up
their rooms free of cost.

THE GREAT LANTERN FLY.

But the most splendidly illuminated insect in the world is the great
lantern fly. Its monstrous head is a blaze of light. When it flies
through the air it is like a streamer of fire. When it alights upon a leaf,
with its beautiful wings outstretched, and its head gleaming with star-
like rays, that light up everything for some little distance, it is a
gorgeous sight indeed.
But, although this insect is so bright-headed it is not so wise as
some others whose heads are not brilliant at all. Perhaps this head is
like some shops we have seen, where pretty much all the furniture is
on the outside.
 OWLS ON A FROLIC.

THE OWLS UPSETTING THE LAMP.

The owls are abroad on a mad carouse,

Waking the echoes far and wide;
They whirl in a crowd through the ruined church,
 Or up to the belfry glide.

The little screech-owl makes a horrid din;

While the great white owl looks wise;
And the horned owl nods his head, and blinks;
As around the lamp he flies.

The lamp is a cup, half filled with oil,

That swings from a broken beam;
And, over the traveler sleeping below,
It throws but a dusky gleam.

The owls have no fear of the burning wick—

’Tis only a cotton loop—
They’re after the oil in the swinging cup,
And down on its brim they swoop.

The weary traveler, sound asleep,

Hears naught of the noise o’erhead,
A rickety chair as a bedstead serves,
His overcoat is his bed.

With the sweep of the wings the lamp upsets,

While the gurgling oil o’erflows
With a drip, and a rush, on the great owl’s tail,
A splash on the traveler’s nose.

He’s up in a trice, and, seizing a broom,

He arms himself for a fight.
But all is still in the ruined church;
For the owls are out—and his light.
 COMMON AND UNCOMMON SPONGES.

A FINE SPONGE.
They are all wonderful enough, no matter how common they may
be. It takes thousands and thousands of minute creatures, to make a
sponge, and these creatures are so little understood that about all
we know of them is that they must belong to the very lowest order of
animal life, and that they do build sponges. That is not much to
know, but it is not long since the sponge was first known to be an
animal production at all, and our scientific men may yet find out
something more definite about these curious little architects.
Perhaps they may have lately found out something, and I have not
heard of it. This would be the least wonderful thing about sponges.
The ordinary form of the sponge is familiar to nearly everybody
who has ever been washed, and this picture gives a good idea of a
fine large one, as it is found growing at the bottom of the sea. I say
growing, because it seems to be growing there, like a vegetable. But
it does not grow, in the ordinary sense of the word, any more than a
wasp’s nest grows.
But there are sponges with which we are not at all familiar, and
which are curious, apart from the manner of their construction. Such
a one is the sponge called the “Cup of Neptune.”
This is several feet high, and is formed like a great goblet. It would
make a very good cup for Neptune, if he drank brandy or rum, for it
would soak up all that he poured into it, and he could not get a drop,
unless he squeezed his cup pretty hard—and even then the liquor
might all run out of the bottom.
As a rule, civilized and well educated people are more easily
surprised and astonished at uncommon and wonderful works of
nature than uncivilized or ignorant people, for the latter do not know
enough to be astonished. They see nothing strange in the
development of a plant from its seed—nothing grand in a high
mountain, nor anything very beautiful in a flower. They look at these
things as a child looks at his hand. The hand is a very curiously
constructed instrument, full of intricate mechanism, but the child
does not know or think of that. It is not until he grows older and his
mind is cultured that he appreciates the wonderful construction and
the varied action of his hand.
So it is with savages. They do not comprehend that many strange
works of nature are worthy of admiration, and they take it for granted
that things are as they are because they ought to be, just as they
think of their own bodies, if they think of them at all.
 THE CUP OF NEPTUNE.
But this great goblet-like sponge is strange enough to astonish
even a savage.
 MAGHAR’S LEAP.

It chanced upon a time, a very great many years ago, while fairies
and magicians still dwelt upon earth, that a youth and maiden—
brother and sister—were walking in a forest, talking about their
recent misfortunes, and laying plans for their future. The youth was
clad in armor, according to the warlike fashion of those times. But he
had under his arm a book, which was not in accordance with the
fashion of those times. The maiden wore a dress of some coarse
woolen stuff; and, in her hands she held a sheet of parchment, and a
pen.
Suddenly there broke into their quiet talk the sound of clashing
arms, and the mad plunging of horses. Sybil, the maiden, stopped
terrified.
“Oh!” she cried, “it is the noise of battle! Too well I know those
sounds. Let us go quickly back!”
“Let us go forward a little way,” said Maghar, the youth, “to yon
opening in the woods. Or, stop here, if you fear, and I will go alone
and look out.”
“No,” said Sybil, “if you go I will follow.”
Together they looked out upon the open plain. Two hostile armies
had met unexpectedly, and a fierce conflict had commenced.
“Alas!” said Sybil, shuddering. “There are the savage infidels that
laid waste our home!”
“Yes,” said Maghar, excitedly, “and here, on this side, are our
countrymen, and neighbors! I must bear a hand in this fight!”
“And leave me alone!” cried Sybil. “I have only you left! Your single
arm will not count for much in a battle!”
“It would be a shame to me,” said Maghar, “to sneak off, like a
coward, and leave our friends and Christian soldiers, when their
forces are few, and every warrior counts. Have I not my armor? I
shall find shield and spear on the battle-field on some poor fellow
who has already fallen in the fray. Do not fear, sister! Go back to
Christern’s cottage. There you will be safe; and I will return in a few
hours.”
So saying, he led Sybil back into the forest to the path leading to
Christern’s cottage; gave the book into her hands; and, kissing her
good-bye, he ran out of the woods as fast as the weight of his armor
would allow.

SYBIL’S WATCH.

But Sybil did not return to the cottage. She was too anxious about
her brother; and, going to the entrance of the wood, she crouched
among the trees, where she was hidden from view, and watched the
progress of the fight. She was ready to fly if the tide of battle brought
the armies too near. But they seemed to be gradually moving away
from her. She soon singled out her brother. He had secured a spear
and shield, and mounted a riderless horse. In a few minutes he was
lost in the throng, and she saw him no more.
Her mind was filled with sad forebodings. This Infidel army had
invaded the country, and laid it waste; had killed her parents, and
overthrown, and utterly ruined the beautiful castle that had been her
home. A few things had been saved by old Christern, a much loved
servant of the family, and these constituted the property of Maghar
and Sybil. Old Christern’s cottage, in the depths of the forest, was
the refuge of the orphans. There they had lived for several weeks,
and no way of retrieving their fortunes seemed open to them.
Maghar was a fine scholar. His father had had him taught to read his
own language and Latin, and to write a very beautiful hand. That was
the extent of his knowledge; and it was a great deal at a time when
very few of the richest people knew their letters.
And now, in their poverty, there seemed to be very little use for his
learning. Nobody cared anything about it. He might copy manuscript
for some learned man, and get a living this way, for printing and
paper had not then been invented; and all books were written on
parchment. But Maghar had a contempt for a clerk, as he called a
copyist, and did not fancy this method of supporting his sister and
himself. Nevertheless, the two were that day on their way to the
abode of a great and learned man to see if he wished anything of
this kind done; and if he would buy their only book—a Latin volume,
written on parchment, and beautifully illuminated and bound in
wooden covers.
Sybil went over these things in her mind as she watched the
battle, trying, in vain, to distinguish the form of her brother. She soon
saw to her dismay, that the Infidel forces had turned the flank of the
Christian army, and that the ranks of the latter were broken, and they
were retreating, closely followed by their enemies. She stood up
now, and strained her eyes to watch them until they had all
disappeared over the crest of a hill. Then she sadly returned to
Christern’s cottage to tell the old man of this new and terrible
misfortune.
 Days passed away, and Maghar did not return. Christern learned
that the Christian army was broken, and the soldiers scattered.
Some had returned to their homes. The wounded were cared for
among their friends. The dead were buried. But Maghar was with
none of these. No one could tell anything about him, except that he
had fought bravely.
Then Sybil determined to seek out the great and learned man to
whom Maghar had intended to offer his services as copyist. She was
somewhat afraid of him, for he was known to be a powerful
magician. But he could, no doubt, tell her the fate of Maghar, and
she would try to overcome her fears.
She took off the coarse peasant’s dress she had been wearing,
and arrayed herself in her best robe of fine white cashmere, which
was one of the things that Christern had managed to save. She
loosened her beautiful hair, which fell nearly to her feet. This last she
did to show the deep sorrow she was in. She also took with her the
Latin volume, as a present, to propitiate the powerful magician.
The great man lived in the simplest manner in a rocky cavern.
Sybil found him outside his dwelling, seated on a mossy stone,
sorting some plants that lay in his lap. He did not look up as she
approached, and she had a good opportunity to study his
countenance, which was so sweet and gentle that her fear of him
vanished; and she came forward quite boldly, greeted him, and
presented her book.
But the magician waved the volume aside. “I know why you seek
me, sister of Maghar,” he said, kindly.
“Oh, can you tell me aught of my brother?” cried Sybil.
“I know not where he is. The oracles would not enlighten me
without your presence. Come into my dwelling, and we will consult
them.”
So saying he conducted her into his cave through a low, dark
passage way. Great was Sybil’s astonishment when she found
herself in a vast room, with a lofty ceiling. Around the circular walls
was a continuous row of lamps, kept constantly burning. Their light
was reflected from myriads of stalactites that hung from the roof,
glowing with all the colors of the rainbow, making the rough, rocky
chamber as brilliant and gorgeous as a fairy palace. In the centre of
the room stood a brazier, filled with burning coals, and near it, a
large iron harp, with silver strings, and a sort of cupboard, made of
iron. A few rough couches were scattered around. And this was all
the furniture the room contained.
The magician invited Sybil to take a seat. He then proceeded to
place on his head a crown, woven of vines of magical virtues. He
took from the cupboard some singular-looking vessels, and mixed in
them various powders and liquids. Then, pouring all their contents
into a copper pot, he placed it on the coals, seated himself on a
stone near it, drew his harp in front of him, and motioned to Sybil to
stand before it. He looked so pleasantly upon her she did not feel
afraid, but her heart beat fast, not knowing what fearful thing she
might see.
She saw nothing whatever but the harp, and the old man; for, as
soon as the clouds of fragrant white smoke that poured out from the
brazier, had completely enveloped the two, the magician swept his
fingers over his harp, and began to sing. Then Sybil forgot
everything else, for his chant was of Maghar.
 SYBIL AND THE MAGICIAN.
He sang of the great deeds Maghar had done in the battle, and
how he had made himself famous. He was the last prisoner taken by
the Infidels; and was now confined in a castle several leagues
distant. The Infidel army was there encamped. They would like to
slay Maghar outright, but were afraid of the vengeance of the
Christian armies near them if they murdered a man held in such
esteem. He was at present undisturbed, but the probability was that,
after a time, they would decide to starve him to death, and give out
word that he had died from sickness. His sister had thus a little time
in which to work to save him.
Here the song ended, and the weeping girl begged the great
magician to save her brother. This he said was not in his power. She
must find a good fairy, and make it her friend. The small creature
could get into the castle, see her brother, and, together, they could
devise a way of escape. He might, perhaps, be able to help them
then. He told her what roads to follow to reach the castle; and,
assuring her that such a good girl would surely find a good fairy to
assist her in her trouble, he dismissed her with his blessing.
That very day Christern and Sybil set out for the castle. They
reached the place after three days’ journey. They told no one what
their errand was in that part of the country; and there were so many
homeless people in the land that their appearance excited no
surprise. Christern soon found employment among the wood-cutters,
and fitted up a deserted hut as a temporary dwelling.
But though they could, every day, look upon the walls of the castle
in which Maghar was confined, they seemed no nearer to him than
before. He was in the hands of the cruel infidels, and where were
there any fairies? There were plenty in that part of the country, the
wood-cutters said, which, at first, was encouraging. But, on inquiry, it
turned out that not one of them had ever seen a fairy, or knew
anybody who ever had seen one. Sybil was in despair as the days
went by, and she blamed her friend, the magician, that he had given
her no help, after all.
She often walked through the woods, near nightfall, to meet
Christern. One evening, as the two were returning together to their
hut, they saw a large wild boar approaching, followed by several
young ones. As this creature is very savage when it has its young to
defend, Christern and Sybil thought it wise to step aside among the
trees, and leave the path to the boar and its interesting family. After
these had passed they continued their way, but had not gone far
when they saw a young boar lying in the path. Christern stooped
over to examine it.
 THE BOAR FAMILY.

“It got in with that litter,” said he, “and did not belong to it, so the
old boar has gored it badly. But it is not dead. I’ll take it home, make
a sty for it, and, if it lives, I’ll fatten it, and kill it when it is fit for
eating.”
The wounded animal lifted an appealing glance to Sybil. Its eyes
wore an almost human expression of suffering, and a most
beseeching plea for help. The girl’s heart was touched.
“It is not badly hurt,” she said. “Its flesh is torn, but if I wash its
wounds, and bind them up, and find a nice place in the woods,
where I can make it comfortable, and feed it, it will get well. It is a
free, wild creature, and must not be shut up in a close sty. Think of
my dear brother shut up when he wants to be free!”
Christern thought Sybil’s plan a foolish one, but this last argument
silenced him. He had not a word to say in reply. So the girl washed
off the blood from the boar’s wounds with her fine cambric
handkerchief, which she then tore into strips to bind them up. She
found, in a secluded place, a soft cushion of moss on which she laid
him, and partly covered him with leaves to keep him warm. She then
brought from the hut some of her own scanty supper, and gave it to
the little boar.
After this she visited her patient two or three times a day, nursing
and feeding him. But, on the afternoon of the fourth day, he had
disappeared, and Sybil returned to the hut feeling quite lonely at the
loss of the little creature that had been so glad to see her.
The next night, as Christern was returning late from his work,
trudging slowly through the forest, with his lantern swinging in his
hand, and his wallet slung over his back on the end of his walking
stick, something brushed close by the old man’s ear with a buzzing
of tiny wings.
“That dragon-fly is out late,” said the old man to himself.
Very soon the wings brushed by him again with a louder whizzing.
“It is a bat!” said the old man, shaking his head. “Shoo! shoo!” But
the third time the whirring wings flew almost into his face.
“Good evening, old Christern!” said a tiny voice, such as might
come from a humming-bird, if it could speak.
The startled old man stopped and flashed the light of his lantern
around among the trees. And there, with wee wings outspread, was
a fairy skimming through the air! Christern had never seen a fairy,
but he knew this was one as soon as he saw him. And a jolly,
rollicking fellow he was!
 CHRISTERN AND THE FAIRY.

“You don’t know me, old fellow?” said the fairy.

Christern shook his head.
“Wanted to shut me up in a sty, and fatten me, eh? I wouldn’t be
much of a mouthful now, would I? Don’t you wish you could get me?”
And the saucy fellow soared high up among the trees.
Christern nearly dropped his lantern in his astonishment. “You
don’t ever mean to tell me that boars are fairies?” he said, at last.
“I mean to say nothing of the kind!” cried the fairy, indignantly.
“Your horrid, beastly boars are no relations of ours, even! I’ll tell you
how it was,” he said, coming nearer Christern, and speaking in a
confidential tone. “Our fairies all have wings, and can fly, but there
are other kinds without wings. Some of these are good, but some are
bad, and they are full of spite against us because we are better off
than they. I offended a tribe of these not long ago, and they had
influence with a wicked old witch who changed me into a little boar. I
was to remain in that shape for a week. She would have made the
time longer, if she could. But they all thought I would be killed in that
time. And so I should have been but for your Sybil. And there was
another thing worse than death. If I was deprived of my liberty during
that week, I could never again regain my natural shape. So, if you
had put me in your sty, I would have been eaten up one of these
days as a boar. From this awful fate your Sybil saved me. So I am
doubly indebted to her, and I want to do something for her.”
“Oh, you are the good fairy, who is to save our Maghar!” cried the
old man, joyfully.
Thereupon he related the whole sad story, and the fairy told him
he would consult with his tribe that night; and, if he and Sybil would
come to that spot on the following night he would let them know what
could be done.
Sybil’s delight was unbounded. She now felt sure that her brother
would be saved. But, nevertheless she accompanied Christern to the
place of meeting, half fearing that the frisky fairy would play her
some trick. But he was there, before them, and had dressed himself
in his best suit of green in honor of the occasion.
As soon as they appeared he began chattering as fast as ever he
could.
“We fairies have hit upon a splendid plan,” he said. “But there is no
time to lose. Sybil, I have seen your brother, but he did not see me. I
was at the castle this morning before cock-crow. I flew in through a
loop-hole. Nobody saw me. It took me a long time to find out in what
room your brother was kept, but, at last, I made it out. I intended to
stay until I did. He is in a room, high up in the north tower. He has
been pretty well, but now his jailers have begun the plan of starving
him; and he will soon be too weak to save himself as we propose,
which is the only way open to him. It requires steady nerves, and
great courage. But do not weep, for we will save him, only it must be
done speedily. Do you, Christern, be ready to go with me to the
castle at break of day. Pretend you are a beggar. There are so many
of these you will pass unsuspected. I will point out to you a small
postern door at the back of the castle, stay about that; and I will hide
near it. I could slip inside easily enough, and tell Maghar what to do,
but he does not know me, and would not trust me. So you must get
inside the castle some way and see him. And, not only that, but you
must get out again. And this is our plan for doing this. We fairies
have three magical cocks. At a signal from me these cocks will
appear on the crest of the hill at the back of the castle, and will sing
a song. This will so astonish the sentinels that they will be thrown off
their guard. I will then slip in through a loop-hole, unlock the postern
door, and let you in. We will tell Maghar how he can escape. Then
the cocks will appear again, and while the attention of the guards is
distracted, we will get out of the castle. Remember now to be here at
daybreak.”
And the fairy disappeared, much to Sybil’s regret, who had a
hundred questions to ask him about her brother’s appearance, and
treatment. He had not even told her what his plan was for her
brother’s escape. But he did not come back, and she was obliged to
be satisfied with the information she had.
The programme was carried out in every particular. Christern
acted his part of beggar so well that he managed to get near the
postern door, unsuspected, with the fairy snugly tucked into a fold of
his ragged dress. On arriving at the place the fairy concealed himself
in some vines. At the appointed signal three magnificent cocks
appeared abreast on the top of the hill.
 THREE MAGICAL COCKS.

The like of these cocks had never been seen in that country, and
they immediately attracted the attention of everybody. But when they
opened their mouths, and began to sing the words of a war song, the
sentinels forgot everything, and deserted their posts to get as near
the wonderful songsters as possible without alarming them.