THE OCEAN.
Where is all the water of the river hurrying? It tumbles over the cliffs. It dashes past the rocks.
The source of the river is in the mountains. It is formed by the little rills that are forever fed by the springs. The rills unite as do the branches upon a tree. At last they make the mighty river.
The river soon leaves the mountains. It flows slower, for its bed is not so steep. Now it rests in quiet pools shaded by willows. Now it ripples in soft music over its sandy bed.
Finally the river reaches a broad plain through which it slowly winds. It does not want to go farther. It seems to know that a little beyond the great ocean waits for it. The river will soon be lost in the ocean. Its work will be done.
Rivers are flowing into the ocean from all the land upon our earth. Would you not think that by and by the ocean would fill up and run over its bank? Stop and think a moment. Have we not learned that water particles are leaving the ocean every moment and forming clouds? The water is being lost from the ocean as fast as it comes in. This is the reason it always remains the same. The water which the clouds carry away at last comes back in the rivers.
You can now tell the story of the raindrops. It is a long story from the time they leave the ocean until they get back again.
The ocean contains something which we put in our food. If yOu have tasted ocean water you kno what this is. Place a pinch of salt in a cup of water. The salt dissolves in the water. It makes
the water taste much like that from the ocean.
Let the cup of water stand in a warm place for a few days. The water will go off as vapor. The little water particles will spread through the air, but you cannot see them. Is there anything left in the cup after the water has gone? Yes, there in the bottom is the salt which we dissolved in the water.
The little water particles when they turn to vapor can not carry away the salt. This is why the clouds do not contain salt water Would it not seem strange if the raindrops were salty? We would think the clouds were shedding tears.
About three-fourths of the earth upon which we live is covered by the ocean. If there were a little more water the oceans would cover nearly all the land. The fertile plains would be beneath the water. There would be left only the mountains rising above it.
The islands in the ocean are the tops of moun tains. If there were less water in the ocean many of the islands would be connected with the con tinents.
Who can tell why the ocean is where it is? Water, as we have learned, runs into the lowest place that it can find. We have also learned that the sur face of the earth is uneven. There are hills and valleys and plains.
When the water was formed it ran into the lowest hollows upon the earth, and in this way the oceans were made.