Uncle Roberts Geography | Page 8

asked Uncle Robert.
"Why, the sun," replied Donald, looking rather surprised at such a
question.
"But does the sun make it warm in the winter?" asked Uncle Robert.
"The sun is nearer the earth in spring and summer," said Frank
confidently.
"You are mistaken," said Uncle Robert. "The sun is farther from us in
summer than it is in winter."
"But it's almost over our heads in summer," said Frank. "How can it be
farther away?"
"The story of the warmth that the sun gives us is not told by distance,"
said Uncle Robert, "but by the length of the shadows at noon."
"How is that?" asked Donald.
"When is your shadow the longest?" asked Uncle Robert.
"In the evening," said Donald.
"In the morning," said Susie.
"When is your shadow the shortest?"
"At noon!" they all shouted.
"When is it coolest?"

"Morning," they replied together.
"When is it warmest?"
"Noon," said Susie quickly.
"Now you are wrong," said Frank. "It is often warmer at one or two
o'clock."
"Frank is right," said Uncle Robert. "How can we tell just how warm it
is at any time?"
"If we had a thermometer," said Donald, "that would tell, but we
haven't."
"There's one at the post office," said Frank, "but I never saw any one
look at it unless it was very cold or very hot."
"Perhaps we can find one nearer than the post office," said Uncle
Robert. "Susie, would you know one if you saw it?"
Susie shook her head.
"I would," said Donald.
"Well," said Uncle Robert, "please go to my room, and if you find a
thermometer bring it to me."
Donald soon returned, and when Susie saw what he had in his hand she
exclaimed:
"Is that a thermometer? I never saw anything like that at the post
office."
"Well, I should think not," said Donald. "This isn't much like the old
thing they have up there."
"What does it say?" asked Uncle Robert.

"Sixty-eight degrees above zero," said Frank, taking the thermometer in
his hand.
[Illustration: Thermometer.]
"That isn't cold, is it, uncle?" asked Donald.
"That's just right for the house," said Uncle Robert. "How is it out of
doors?"
"Let's take it out and see," said Frank.
Out on the porch they went and eagerly watched the thermometer.
"It's moving--it's going down!" cried Donald.
"I'll hang it on this nail," said Frank.
"When they looked again Donald said:
"It's fifty-six now."
"How much colder is it than it was in the house?" asked Uncle Robert.
"Twelve degrees," said Frank, counting up the column.
"Oh, let's take it in by the stove," said Susie, "and see how far it will go
up."
"What makes you think it will go up by the stove?" asked Uncle
Robert.
"Well," answered Susie, "if it goes down when it is cold I should think
it would go up when it is warm."
Susie took the little instrument, and, going into the kitchen, held it
close to the stove.
"Come," she called, "it is going up already. See!"

"How fast it moves!" said Donald. "Hold it close to the stove, Susie.
Maybe it will go to the very top."
"Let us put it in cold water," said Frank. "It won't hurt the thermometer,
will it?"
"Not at all," was the reply. "Try it."
So they held it in the bucket of cold spring water.
"How fast it goes down now!" said Susie. "I wonder if it will go lower
than it did out on the porch. It's down to forty-eight."
"Why does Jane set the kettle of cold water on the stove?" asked Uncle
Robert, pointing to it.
"To boil the water," answered Susie.
"What makes the water boil?"
"Why, the fire, of course."
"How long will the stove stay hot?"
"As long as there is fire in it."
"Longer than that," said Donald. "It doesn't grow cold the minute the
fire is out."
"What becomes of all the heat?" asked Uncle Robert.
"Oh, it goes all round the room."
"Let's put the thermometer in the hot water," said Susie.
"Oh, see it go up!" said Donald. "It is one hundred and fifteen already."
"What is the difference in degrees between the cold and the hot water?"
asked Uncle Robert.

"Sixty-seven degrees," said Frank.
"What makes the difference in degrees?"
"The difference in the heat," said Frank.
"If the water was boiling and the thermometer large enough," said
Uncle Robert, "it would go to two hundred and twelve."
"That would be ninety-seven degrees higher," said Frank.
"Wouldn't that be a big thermometer!" exclaimed Susie.
"Now put the thermometer on the floor," said Uncle Robert.
"It's seventy-two degrees now," said Donald in a few minutes.
"Let's put it on the broom," said Susie, "and hold it up to the ceiling."
"It's warmer up there," said