rain gauge

An instrument or contrivance for measuring the amount of rain which falls on a given surface. They are made of various forms. One simple form consists of a copper funnel five to seven inches in diameter, inserted in the neck of a bottle placed on a stand and protected from the sun's rays, to prevent evaporation. The rain collected in the bottle is measured in a gla jar having one-tenth the area of the funnel, and graduated so that a rainfall of one-tenth of an inch collected by the funnel is measured by one inch on the side of the ve el. The stand should be placed at a suf. ficient distance from any buildings, ., to prevent their affecting the amount falling into the funnel. rain-giver, s. Compar . Religions : A divinity who causes rain. "To the negro of West Africa the Heaven-god is the rain-giver." -Tylor: Prim. Cult . (ed. 1873), ii. 259. rain-god, rain-godde , s. Compar . Religions : In systems of polytheistic Nature-worship the god or godde who causes rain. This may be (1) a special divinity, or (2) the Heaven-god exercising a special function, as, Jupiter Pluvius of the Romans ( Tibul . i. 8, 26.) "In later ages, when drought parched the fields of the med iæval husbandman, he transferred to other patrons the functions of the Rain - god , and with proce ions and litany sought help from St. Peter or St. James."- Tylor: Prim. Cult. (ed. 1873), ii. 261. rain-godde , s. [RAIN-GOD.] rain-line, s. Ship build .: A small rope, or line, sometimes used to form the sheer of a ship, and to set the beams of the deck fair. IMG:content-0182.png:[blocks in formation] Ornith.: Coturnix coromandelica , from South Africa and India. rain-tight, a. So tight as to exclude rain; impervious to rain.