at the rate of a mile in forty-four hours; they inhabit the most dense
forests, and it is regarded as a sure indication of rain to observe them
moving towards an exposed situation. Others indicate the weather not
only by exuding fluids, but by the colour of the animal. After rain the
snail has a very dark appearance, but it grows of a bright colour as
the water is expended; whilst just before rain it is of yellowish white
colour, also just before rain streaks appear from the point of the head
to the jointure of the shell. These snails move at the rate of a mile in
fourteen days and sixteen hours. If they are observed ascending a cliff
it is a sure indication of rain: they live in the cavities of the sides
of cliffs. There is also a snail which is brown, tinged with blue on the
edges before rain, but black after rain: a few days before appears an
indentation, which grows deeper as the rain approaches.
The leaves of trees are even good barometers: most of them for a short,
light rain, will turn up so as to receive their fill of water; but for
a long rain they are doubled, so as to conduct the water away. The
Frog and Toad are sure indicators of rain; for, as they do not drink
water but absorb it into their bodies, they are sure to be found out
at the time they expect rain. The Locust and Grasshopper are also good
indicators of a storm; a few hours before rain they are to be found
under the leaves of trees and in the hollow trunks.
The Mole has long been recorded as a prognosticator of change of
weather, before which it becomes very active. The temperature or dryness
of the air governs its motions as to the depth at which it lives or
works. This is partly from its inability to bear cold or thirst, but
chiefly from its being necessitated to follow its natural food, the
earth-worm, which always descends as the cold or drought increases.
In frosty weather both worms and moles are deeper in the ground than
at other times; and both seem to be sensible of an approaching change
to warmer weather before there are any perceptible signs of it in the
atmosphere. When it is observed, therefore, that Moles are casting hills
through openings in the frozen turf or through a thin covering of snow,
a change to open weather may be shortly expected. The cause of this
appears to be--the natural heat of the earth being for a time pent in
by the frozen surface accumulates below it; first incites to action the
animals, thaws the frozen surface, and at length escapes into the air,
which is warm, and softens; and if not counterbalanced by a greater
degree of cold in the atmosphere brings about a change, such as from
frosty to mild weather. The Mole is most active and casts up most earth
immediately before rain, and in the winter before a thaw, because at
those times the worms and insects begin to be in motion, and approach
the surface.
Forster, the indefatigable meteorologist, has assembled some curious
observations on certain animals, who, by some peculiar sensibility to
electrical or other atmospheric influence, often indicate changes of the
weather by their peculiar motions and habits. Thus:--
_Ants._--An universal bustle and activity observed in ant-hills may be
generally regarded as a sign of rain: the Ants frequently appear all in
motion together, and carry their eggs about from place to place. This is
remarked by Virgil, Pliny, and others.
_Asses._--When donkeys bray more than ordinarily, especially should
they shake their ears, as if uneasy, it is said to predict rain, and
particularly showers. Forster noticed that in showery weather a donkey
brayed before every shower, and generally some minutes before the rain
fell, as if some electrical influence, produced by the concentrating
power of the approaching rain-cloud, caused a tickling in the wind-pipe
of the animal just before the shower came on. Whatever this electric
state of the air preceding a shower may be, it seems to be the same
that causes in other animals some peculiar sensations, which makes the
peacock squall, the pintado call "come back," &c. An expressive adage
says:--
"When that the ass begins to bray,
Be sure we shall have rain that day."
Haymakers may derive useful admonitions from the braying of the ass:
thus the proverb:--
"Be sure to cock your hay and corn
When the old donkey blows his horn."
_Bats_ flitting about late in the evening in spring and autumn foretel a
fine day on the morrow; as do Dorbeetles and some other insects. On the
contrary, when Bats return soon to their hiding-places, and send forth
loud cries, bad weather may be expected.
_Beetles_ flying about late in the evening often foretel a fine day on
the morrow.
_Butterflies_, when they appear early, are sometimes forerunners of fine
weather. Moths and Sphinxes also foretel fine weather when they are
common in the evening.
_Cats_, when they "wash their faces," or when they seem sleepy and dull,
foretel rain.
_Chickens_, when they pick up small stones and pebbles, and are more
noisy than usual, afford a sign of rain; as do fowls rubbing in the
dust, and clapping their wings; but this applies to several kinds of
fowls, as well as to the gallinaceous kinds. Cocks, when they crow at
unwonted hours, often foretel rain; when they crow all day, in summer
particularly, a change to rain frequently follows.
_Cranes_ were said of old to foretel rain when they retreated to the
valleys, and returned from their aërial flight. The high flight of
cranes in silence indicates fine weather.
_Dolphins_ as well as _Porpoises_, when they come about a ship, and
sport and gambol on the surface of the water, betoken a storm.
_Dogs_, before rain, grow sleepy and dull, lie drowsily before the fire,
and are not easily aroused. They also often eat grass, which indicates
that their stomachs, like ours, are apt to be disturbed before change
of weather. It is also said to be a sign of change of weather when Dogs
howl and bark much in the night. Dogs also dig in the earth with their
feet before rain, and often make deep holes in the ground.
_Ducks._--The loud and clamorous quacking of Ducks, Geese, and other
water-fowl, is a sign of rain; as also when they wash themselves, and
flutter about in the water more than usual. Virgil has well described
all these habits of aquatic birds.
_Fieldfares_, when they arrive early, and in great numbers, in autumn,
foreshow a hard winter, which has probably set in in the regions from
which they have come.
_Fishes_, when they bite more readily, and gambol near the surface of
streams or pools, foreshow rain.
_Flies_, and various sorts of insects, become more troublesome, and
sting and bite more than usual, before, as well as in the intervals of
rainy weather, particularly in autumn.
_Frogs_, by their clamorous croaking, indicate rainy weather, as does
likewise their coming about in great numbers in the evening; but this
last sign applies more obviously to toads.
_Geese_ washing, or taking wing with a clamorous noise, and flying to
the water, portend rain.
_Gnats_ afford several indications. When they fly in a vortex in the
beams of the setting sun they forebode fair weather; when they frisk
about more widely in the open air at eventide they foreshow heat; and
when they assemble under trees, and bite more than usual, they indicate
rain.
_Hogs_, when they shake the stalks of corn, and spoil them, often
indicate rain. When they run squeaking about, and jerk up their heads,
windy weather is about to commence; hence the Wiltshire proverb, that
"Pigs can see the wind."
_Horses_ foretel the coming of rain by starting more than ordinarily,
and by restlessness on the road.
_Jackdaws_ are unusually clamorous before rain, as are also _Starlings_.
Sometimes before change of weather the daws make a great noise in the
chamber wherein they build.
_Kine_ (cattle) are said to foreshow rain when they lick their
fore-feet, or lie on their right side. Some say oxen licking themselves
against the hair is a sign of wet.
_Kites_, when they soar very high in the air, denote fair weather, as do
also _Larks_.
_Magpies_, in windy weather, often fly in small flocks of three or four
together, uttering a strong harsh cry.
_Mice_ when they squeak much, and gambol in the house, foretel a change
of weather, and often rain.
_Owls._--When an owl hoots or screeches, sitting on the top of a house,
or by the side of a window, it is said to foretel death. "The fact,"
says Forster, "seems to be this: the Owl, as Virgil justly observes,
is more noisy at the change of weather, and as it often happens that
patients with lingering diseases die at the change of weather, so the
Owl seems, by a mistaken association of ideas, to forebode the calamity."
_Peacocks_ squalling by night often foretel a rainy day. Forster adds,
"This prognostic does not often fail; and the indication is made more
certain by the crowing of Cocks all day, the braying of the Donkey, the
low flight of Swallows, the aching of rheumatic persons, and by the
frequent appearance of spiders on the walls of the house."
_Pigeons._--It is a sign of rain when Pigeons return slowly to the
dove-houses before the usual time of day.
_Ravens_, when observed early in the morning, at a great height in the
air, soaring round and round, and uttering a hoarse, croaking sound,
indicate that the day will be fine. On the contrary, this bird affords
us a sign of coming rain by another sort of cry; the difference between
these two voices being more easily learned from nature than described.
The Raven frequenting the shore and dipping himself in the water is also
a sign of rain.
_Redbreasts_, when they, with more than usual familiarity, lodge on our
window-frames, and peck against the glass with their bills, indicate
severe weather, of which they have a presentiment, which brings them
nearer to the habitations of man.
_Rooks_ gathering together, and returning home from their pastures
early, and at unwonted hours, forebode rain. When Rooks whirl round in
the air rapidly, and come down in small flocks, making a roaring noise
with their wings, rough weather invariably follows. On the contrary,
when Rooks are very noisy about their trees, and fly about as if
rejoicing, Virgil assures us they foresee a return of fine weather, and
an end of the showers.
_Spiders_, when seen crawling on the walls more than usual, indicate
rain. "This prognostic," says Forster, "seldom fails, I have noticed it
for many years, particularly in winter, but more or less at all times of
the year. In summer the quantity of webs of the garden spiders denote
fair weather."
_Swallows_, in fine and settled weather, fly higher in the air than they
do just before or during a showery or rainy time. Then, also, Swallows
flying low, and skimming over the surface of a meadow where there is
tolerably long grass, frequently stop, and hang about the blades, as if
they were gathering insects lodged there.
_Swans_, when they fly against the wind, portend rain, a sign frequently
fulfilled.
_Toads_, when they come from their holes in an unusual number in the
evening, although the ground be still dry, foreshow the coming rain,
which will generally fall more or less during the night.
_Urchins of the Sea_, a sort of fish, when they thrust themselves into
the mud, and try to cover their bodies with sand, foreshow a storm.
_Vultures_, when they scent carrion at a great distance, indicate that
state of the atmosphere which is favourable to the perception of smells,
and this often forebodes rain.
_Willow Wrens_ are frequently seen, in mild and still rainy weather,
flitting about the willows, pines, and other trees, in quest of insects.
_Woodcocks_ appear in autumn earlier, and in greater numbers, previous
to severe winters; as do Snipes and other winter birds.
_Worms_ come forth more abundantly before rain, as do snails, slugs, and
almost all limaceous animals.
Some birds build their nests weather-proof, as ascertained by careful
observation of Mr. M. W. B. Thomas, of Cincinnati, Ohio. Thus, when a
pair of migratory birds have arrived in the spring, they prepare to
build their nest, making a careful reconnaissance of the place, and
observing the character of the season. If it be a windy one, they thatch
the straw and leaves on the inside of the nest, between the twigs and
the lining; if it be very windy, they get pliant twigs, and bind the
nest firmly to the limb of the tree, securing all the small twigs with
their saliva. If they fear the approach of a rainy season, they build
their nests so as to be sheltered from the weather; but if a pleasant
one, they build in a fair open place, without taking any of these extra
precautions.
Of all writers, Dr. Darwin has given us the most correct account of
the "Signs of Rain," in a poetical description of the approach of foul
weather, as follows. This passage has been often quoted, but, perhaps,
never exceeded in the accuracy of its phenomenal observation:--
"The hollow winds begin to blow;
The clouds look black, the glass is low;
The soot falls down, the spaniels sleep;
And spiders from their cobwebs peep.
Last night the sun went pale to bed;
The moon in haloes hid her head;
The boding shepherd heaves a sigh,
For, see, a rainbow spans the sky.
The walls are damp, the ditches smell,
Clos'd is the light red pimpernel.
Hark! how the chairs and tables crack,
Old Betty's joints are on the rack;
Her corns with shooting pains torment her,
And to her bed untimely send her.
Loud quack the ducks, the sea-fowls cry,
The distant hills are looking nigh.
How restless are the snorting swine!
The busy flies disturb the kine.
Low o'er the grass the swallow wings,
The cricket, too, how sharp he sings!
Puss on the hearth, with velvet paws,
Sits wiping o'er her whisker'd jaws.
The smoke from chimneys right ascends;
Then spreading back, to earth it bends.
The wind unsteady veers around,
Or settling in the South is found.
Through the clear stream the fishes rise,
And nimbly catch th' incautious flies.
The glowworms num'rous, clear, and bright,
Illum'd the dewy hill last night.
At dusk, the squalid toad was seen,
Like quadruped, stalk o'er the green.
The whirling wind the dust obeys,
And in the rapid eddy plays.
The frog has chang'd his yellow vest,
And in a russet coat is drest.
The sky is green, the air is still,
The mellow blackbird's voice is shrill.
The dog, so altered is his taste,
Quits mutton-bones on grass to feast.
Behold the rooks, how odd their flight,
They imitate the gliding kite,
And seem precipitate to fall,
As if they felt the piercing ball.
The tender colts on banks do lie,
Nor heed the traveller passing by.
In fiery red the sun doth rise,
Then wades through clouds to mount the skies.
''Twill surely rain, we see 't with sorrow,
No working in the fields to-morrow.'"
The Shepherd of Banbury says:--"The surest and most certain sign of
rain is taken from Bees, which are more incommoded by rain than almost
any other creatures; and, therefore, as soon as the air begins to
grow heavy, and the vapours to condense, they will not fly from their
hives, but either remain in them all day, or else fly but to a small
distance." Yet Bees are not always right in their prognostics, for
Réaumur witnessed a swarm which, after leaving the hive at half-past one
o'clock, were overtaken by a heavy shower at three.
FISH-TALK.
"Man favours wonders;" and this delight is almost endlessly exemplified
in the stories of strange Fishes--of preternatural size and odd forms,
which are to be found in their early history. In our present Talk we do
not aim at re-assembling these olden tales, but propose rather to glance
at recent accessions to our acquaintance with the study of Fish-life,
and a few modern instances of the class of wonders.
Fishes, like all other animals, have a very delicate sense of the
equilibrial position of their bodies. They endeavour to counteract all
change in their position by means of movements partly voluntary and
partly instinctive. These latter appear in a very remarkable manner in
the eye; and they are so constant and evident in fishes while alive,
that their absence is sufficient to indicate the death of the animal.
The equilibrium of the fish, its horizontal position, with the back
upwards, depends solely on the action of the fins, and principally
that of the vertical fins. The swimming-bladder may enable a fish
to increase or diminish its specific gravity. By compressing the air
contained in it, the fish descends in the water; it rises by releasing
the muscles which produced the compression. By compressing more or
less the posterior or anterior portion of the bladder, the animal, at
pleasure, can make the anterior or posterior half of its body lighter;
it can also assume an oblique position, which permits an ascending or
descending movement in the water.
There is a small fish found in the rivers of the Burmese Empire, which,
on being taken out of the water, has the power of blowing itself up to
the shape of a small round ball, but its original shape is resumed as
soon as it is returned to the river.
Mr. St. John, in his "Tour in Eastern Lanarkshire," gives some curious
instances of fish changing colour, which takes place with surprising
rapidity. Put a living black burn Trout into a white basin of water,
and it becomes, within half an hour, of a light colour. Keep the fish
living in a white jar for some days, and it becomes absolutely white;
but put it into a dark-coloured or black vessel, and although on first
being placed there the white-coloured fish shows most conspicuously on
the black ground, in a quarter of an hour it becomes as dark-coloured
as the bottom of the jar, and consequently difficult to be seen. No
doubt this facility of adapting its colour to the bottom of the water
in which it lives, is of the greatest service to the fish in protecting
it from its numerous enemies. All anglers must have observed, that in
every stream the Trout are very much of the same colour as the gravel or
sand on which they live: whether this change of colour is a voluntary or
involuntary act on the part of the fish, the scientific must determine.
Anglers of our time have proved that Tench croak like frogs; Herrings
cry like mice; Gurnards grunt like hogs; and some say the Gurnard makes
a noise like a cuckoo, from which he takes one of his country names. The
Maigre, a large sea-fish, when swimming in shoals, utters a grunting or
piercing noise, that may be heard from a depth of twenty fathoms.
M. Dufossé asserts that facts prove that nature has not refused to all
fishes the power of expressing their instinctive sensations by sounds,
but has not conferred on them the unity of mechanism in the formation
of sonorous vibrations as in other classes of vertebrated animals.
Some fishes, he says, are able to emit musical tones, engendered by a
mechanism in which the muscular vibration is the principal motive power;
others possess the faculty of making blowing sounds, like those of
certain reptiles; and others can produce the creaking noise resembling
that of many insects. These phenomena M. Dufossé has named "Fish-noise."
The River Plate swarms with fish, and is the _habitat_ of one possessed
of a very sonorous voice, like that found in the River Borneo--the
account of which is quoted by Dr. Buist from the Journal of the
Samarang; and there is similar testimony of a loud piscatory chorus
being heard on board H.M.S. Eagle, anchored, in 1845-6, about three
miles from Monte Video, during the night.
That fishes hear has been doubted, although John Hunter was of this
opinion, and has been followed by many observers. When standing beside
a person angling, how often is the request made not to make a noise,
as that would _alarm_ the fish. On the other hand, the Chinese drive
the fish up to that part of the river where their nets are ready to
capture them by loud yells and shouts, and the sound of gongs; but old
Æsop writes of a fisherman who caught no fish because he alarmed them
by playing on his flute while fishing. In Germany the Shad is taken
by means of nets, to which bows of wood, hung with a number of little
bells, are attached in such a manner as to chime in harmony when the
nets are moved. The Shad, when once attracted by the sound, will not
attempt to escape while the bells continue to ring. Ælian says the
Shad is allured by castanets. Macdiarmid, who declares that fishes
hear as well as see, relates that an old Codfish, the patriarch of the
celebrated fish-pond at Logan, "answered to his name; and not only
drew near, but turned up his snout most beseechingly when he heard the
monosyllable 'Tom;' and that he evidently could distinguish the voice of
the fisherman who superintended the pond, and fed the fish, from that
of any other fisherman." In the "Kaleidoscope" mention is made of three
Trout in a pond near the powder-mills at Faversham, who were so tame
as to come at the call of the person accustomed to feed them. Izaak
Walton tells of a Carp coming to a certain part of a pond to be fed "at
the ringing of a bell, or the beating of a drum;" and Sir John Hawkins
was assured by a clergyman, a friend of his, that at the Abbey of St.
Bernard, near Antwerp, he saw a Carp come to the edge of the water to be
fed, at the whistle of the person who fed it. The Carp at Fontainebleau,
inhabiting the lake adjoining the Imperial Palace, are of great size,
and manifest a curious instinct. A Correspondent of the "Athenæum"
remarks:--