Rain is likely to commence on the turn of the tide.
In threatening, it is more apt to rain at the turn of the tide,
especially at high water.
=Toad-stools.=
If toad-stools spring up in the night in dry weather, they indicate
rain.
=West Rain.=
When rain comes from the west it will not continue long.
The west rain comes from the world of waters to moisten the home of the
She Wi. (Zuñi Indians.)
=Wind and Rain.=
Marry the rain to the wind and you have a calm.
=Wind.=
With the rain before the wind your topsail halyards you must mind.
PROVERBS RELATING TO RAINBOWS.
Clear.
The rainbow has but a bad character: she ever commands the rain to
cease.
=Color.=
If the green be large and bright in the rainbow, it is a sign of rain.
If red be the strongest color, there will be rain and wind together.
After a long drought the rainbow is a sign of rain. After much wet
weather it indicates fair weather. If it breaks up all at once, there
will follow severe and settled weather. If the bow be in the morning,
rain will follow; if at noon, slight and heavy rain; if at night, fair
weather. The appearance of two or three rainbows indicates fair weather
for the present, but settled and heavy rains in a few days.
=Evening Rainbow.=
If there is a rainbow at eve,
It will rain and leave.
=East and West Rainbow.=
Rainbow in the east indicates that the following day will be clear. A
rainbow in the west is usually followed by more rain the same day.
Rainbow in the Sierras (_i. e._, in the east) in evening indicates no
more rain. (California.)
=Fair Weather.=
The boding shepherd heaves a sigh,
For see, a rainbow spans the sky.
=High Rainbow.=
When rainbow does not touch water, clear weather will follow.
=Indications by Colors.=
The predominance of dark red in the iris shows tempestuous weather;
green, rain; and if blue, that the air is clearing.
=Low Rainbow.=
A rainbow that comes near a camp-fire, or low down on the mountain side,
is a bad sign for crops. If seen at a great distance, it indicates fair
weather.
=Morning and Evening Rainbow.=
Rainbow in morning, shepherds take warning;
Rainbow at night, shepherds’ delight.
A morning rainbow indicates rain; an evening rainbow, fair weather.
A rainbow in the morn, put your hook in the corn;
A rainbow at eve, put your head in the sheave.
=Night and Morning Rainbow.=
Rainbow at night, sailors’ delight;
Rainbow in morning, sailors’ warning.
=Spring Rainbow.=
A rainbow in spring indicates fair weather for next twenty-four to
forty-two hours.
=Sudden Disappearance.=
If a rainbow disappears suddenly, it indicates fair weather.
=West and East Shower.=
Rainbow in morning shows that shower is west of us, and that we will
probably get it. Rainbow in the evening shows that shower is east of us
and is passing off.
PROVERBS RELATING TO REPTILES.
Frogs.
Frogs singing in the evening indicate fair weather for next day.
Frogs croak more noisily, and come abroad in the evening in large
numbers, before rain.
When frogs croak three times, it indicates that winter has broken.
As long as frogs are heard before Saint Marc’s day, that long will they
keep quiet afterward.
Croaking frogs in spring will be three times frozen in.
When frogs warble, they herald rain. (Zuñi Indians.)
Frogs must be frozen up three times in spring after they begin to croak.
The louder the frogs, the more’s the rain.
The color of a frog changing from yellow to reddish indicates rain.
Tree-frogs piping during rain indicates continued rain.
Tree-frogs crawl up to the branches of trees before a change of weather.
=Yellow Frogs.=
Abundance of yellow frogs are accounted a good sign in a hayfield,
probably as indicating fine weather.
=Glow-worms.=
Glow-worms numerous and bright, indicate rain.
=Worms.=
If, after some days of dry weather, fresh earth is seen which has been
thrown up by worms, expect dry weather.
When worms creep out of the ground in great numbers, expect wet weather.
=Snails.=
Snails moving on bushes or grass, are signs of rain.
When black snails cross your path,
Black clouds much moisture hath.
=Leech.=
A leech placed in a jar of water will remain at the bottom until rain is
approaching, when it will rise to the surface, and if thunder is to
follow will frequently crawl out of the water.
Leeches kept in glass jars move about more frequently just before rain.
=Lizards.=
When lizards chirrup, it is a sure indication of rain.
=Snakes.=
Hanging a dead snake on a tree will bring rain in a few hours. (Negro.)
NOTE.—Snakes are out before rain, and are, therefore, more easily
killed.
In Oregon the approach of snakes indicates that a spell of fine weather
will follow.
When snakes are hunting food rain may be expected; after a rain they
cannot be found.
Hang up a snake skin and it will bring rain.
Snakes and snake-trails may be seen near houses, roads, &c., before
rain.
Snakes expose themselves on the approach of rain.
PROVERBS RELATING TO STARS OR METEORS.
Comets.
Comets bring cold weather.
After an unusual fall of meteors, dry weather is expected. All comets
evidence the approach of some calamity, such as drought, famine, war,
floods, &c. (Apache Indians.)
Comets are said to improve the grape crop, and wine produced in years
when comets appear is called comet wine. (French.)
=Falling Stars.=
If there be many falling stars during a clear evening in summer, expect
thunder.
If there are no falling stars on a bright summer night, expect fine
weather.
=Fair Weather.=
When the stars set still the times are to be pleasant. (Zuñi Indians.)
=Flickering.=
When the stars flicker in a dark background, rain or snow follows soon.
=Huddling Stars.=
When the stars begin to huddle,
The earth will soon become a puddle.
=Many Stars.=
When the sky is very full of stars, expect rain.
Many stars in winter indicate frost.
In summer, when many stars twinkle, clear weather is indicated.
=Milky Way.=
The edge of the Milky Way, which is the brightest, indicates the
direction from which the approaching storm will come.
=North Star.=
When the stars above 45° in altitude or the North Star flickers
strangely, or appears closer than usual, expect rain.
=Numerous Stars.=
When stars appear to be numerous, very large, and dull, and do not
twinkle, expect rain.
=Snow.=
Many meteors presage much snow next winter.
=Shooting Stars.=
If meteors shoot toward the north, expect a north wind next day.
Many shooting stars on summer nights indicate hot weather.
=Tempest.=
When a star tows the moon and another chases her astern, tempestuous
weather will follow. The phenomenon is probably styled a big star
chasing the moon. (Nautical.)
=Twinkling.=
Excessive twinkling of stars indicates very heavy dews, rain, and snow.
When the stars twinkle very brightly, expect stormy weather in the near
future.
The Maltese say, “The stars twinkle; we cry ‘wind.’”
=Wind and Rain.=
If the stars appear large and clear, expect rain or wind.
=Thaw.=
If shooting stars fall in the south in winter, there will be a thaw.
PROVERBS RELATING TO SNOW.
Animation.
Snow is generally preceded by a general animation of man and beast which
continues until after the snowfall ends.
=Corn.=
Corn is as comfortable under snow as an old man is under his fur cloak.
(Russian.)
=Christmas.=
If it snows during Christmas night, the crops will do well.
So far as the sun shines on Christmas day,
So far will the snow blow in May. (German.)
=Dry or Wet Snow.=
When the snow falls dry it means to lie,
But flakes light and soft bring rain oft.
=Ditch Snow.=
When now in the ditch the snow doth lie,
’Tis waiting for more by and by.
=Dry or Wet Snow.=
If the snow that falls during the winter is dry and is blown about by
the wind, a dry summer will follow; very damp snow indicates rain in the
spring. (Apache Indians.)
=First Snow.=
There will be as many snow storms during the season as there are days
remaining in the month after the time of the first snow.
When the first snow remains on the ground some time, in places not
exposed to the sun, expect a hard winter.
=Last Snow.=
The number of days the last snow remains on the ground indicates the
number of snow storms which will occur during the following winter.
=Heavy Snows.=
Heavy snows in winter favor the crops of the following summer.
=January Snow.=
If there is no snow before January, there will be the more snow in March
and April.
=Leaves.=
When dry leaves rattle on the trees, expect snow.
=Light and Heavy Snow.=
A heavy fall of snow indicates a good year for crops, and a light fall
the reverse. (Dr. John Menaul.)
=Mountain Snow.=
If much snow be spread on the mountains in winter, the season of
planting will be made blue with verdure. (Indian.)
=March Snow.=
In March much snow
To plants and trees much woe. (German.)
=Mud.=
When snow falls in the mud it remains all winter.
=November.=
A heavy November snow will last until April. (New England.)
If the snow remains on the trees in November, they will bring out but
few buds in the spring. (German.)
=Popping Wood.=
Burning wood in winter pops more before snow.
=Snow fertile.=
Snow is the poor man’s fertilizer, and good crops will follow a winter
of heavy snowfall.
=Snow trees.=
If the first snow sticks to the trees, it foretells a bountiful harvest.
=Snowball.=
Cut a snowball in halves: if it is wet inside, the snow will pass off
with rain; if it is dry inside, the snow will be melted by the sun.
=Snow-flakes.=
If the snow-flakes increase in size, a thaw will follow.
=Snow-moon.=
If a snow-storm begins when the moon is young, the rising of the moon
will clear away the snow.
=Snow-health.=
The more snow the more healthy the season. (John Ayers, Santa Fé.)
=Snow year.=
A snow year, a rich year.
As many days as the snow remains on the trees, just so many days will it
remain on the ground.
It takes three cloudy days to bring a heavy snow. (New England.)
=White Christmas.=
A white Christmas, a lean graveyard.
=Sleet.=
Much sleet in winter will be followed by a good fruit year.
PROVERBS RELATING TO THE SUN.
Aurora.
Aurora borealis denotes cold.
If Aurora with half-open eyes
And a pale sickly cheek salutes the skies,
How shall the vines with tender leaves defend
Her teeming clusters when the storms descend.
(Virgil.)
=Candlemas Day.=
So far as the sun shines in on Candlemas day (2d of February),
So far the snow will blow in before the first of May.
=Cloudy Sunset.=
The sun sets weeping in the lowly west,
Witnessing storms to come woe and unrest.
(Shakespeare.)
When the sun sets unhappily (with a hazy veiled face) then will the
morning be angry with wind, storm, and sand. (Zuñi Indians.)
=Color.=
Since the colors and duration of twilight, especially at evening, depend
upon the amount of condensed vapor which the atmosphere contains, these
appearances should afford some indications of the weather which may be
expected to succeed. The following are some of the rules which are
relied upon by seamen: When after sunset the western sky is of a
whitish-yellow, and this tint extends a great height, it is probable
that it will rain during the night or next day. Gaudy or unusual hues
with hard, definitely outlined clouds, foretell rain and probably wind.
If the sun before setting appears diffuse and of a brilliant white, it
foretells storm. If it sets in a sky slightly purple, the atmosphere
near the zenith being of a bright blue, we may rely upon fine weather.
=Days.=
As the days begin to shorten
The heat begins to scorch them.
=Dark Clouds.=
If the sun sets in dark, heavy clouds, expect rain next day.
If at sunrise there are many dark clouds seen in the west and remain
there, rain will fall on that day.
=Double Setting.=
Sun setting double indicates much rain. Red sun indicates fair weather.
Orange sun usually foul weather. Mock suns in winter are usually
followed by intense cold.
=Dull Color.=
When the sun appears a pale or dull color, expect rain.
=Drawing Water.=
Rays of the sun appearing in a cloud forebode rain. This phenomenon is,
in fact, caused by the image of the sun being reflected in an
intervening cloud, the reflected image radiating in the cloud. It is
noticed by Aristotle.
When the sun draws water, rain follows soon.
Sun drawing water indicates rain. If the sun draws water in the morning,
it will rain before night.
=Easter.=
If sun shines on Easter, it will shine on Whit Sunday.
=Fiery Red.=
In fiery red the sun doth rise,
Then wades through clouds to mount the skies.
=Friday.=
If the sun sets clear Friday evening, it will rain before Monday night.
=Golden Set.=
The weary sun hath made a golden set,
And by the bright track of his fiery car
Gives token of a goodly day to-morrow.
(Richard III.)
=Halo.=
When the sun is in his house (in a halo or circle) it will rain soon.
(Zuñi Indians.)
A solar halo indicates bad weather.
A halo around the sun indicates the approach of a storm, within three
days, from the side which is the more brilliant.
If there be a ring or halo around the sun in bad weather, expect fine
weather soon.
A bright circle around the sun denotes a storm, and cooler weather.
=Haze.=
Haze and western sky purple indicate fair weather.
=Haziness.=
A blur or haziness about the sun indicates a storm.
=Hot Sun.=
If the sun burn more than usual, or there be a halo around the sun in
fine weather, “wet.”
=Looming Twilight.=
Twilight looming indicates rain.
=Low and High Dawn.=
A low dawn indicates foul weather. A high dawn indicates wind.
=Murky Clouds.=
When the sun rises with dim, murky clouds, with black beams, clouds in
the west, or appears red or green, expect rain.
=Pale Twilight.=
Pale, yellow twilight, extending high up, indicates threatening weather.
=Pale Set.=
If the sun sets pale, it will rain to-morrow.
=Pale Sunrise.=
If the sun rises pale, a pale red, or even dark blue, there will be rain
during the day.
=Pale Sunset.=
A pale sunset, a golden sunset, or a green sunset, indicates rain.
=Red Clouds.=
If the clouds at sunrise be red, there will be rain the following day.
=Red.=
A red evening indicates fine weather; but if the red extends far
upwards, especially in the morning, it indicates wind or rain.
=Red Morn.=
“A red morn: that ever yet betokened
Wreck to the seamen, tempest to the field,
Sorrow to shepherds, woe unto the birds,
Gust and foul flaws to herdsmen and to herds.”
(Shakespeare: Venus and Adonis.)
=Red Sky.=
A very red sky in the east at sunset indicates stormy winds.
Red skies in the evening precede fine morrows.
In winter if the sun rises with a red sky, expect rain that day; in
summer, expect showers and wind.
If the sun set with very red sky in the east, expect wind; in the
southeast, expect rain.
=Sun Spots.=
Wet seasons occur in years when sun spots are frequent.
=Red Sun.=
A red sun has water in his eye.
=Scorching Sun.=
When the sun in the morning (to 9 a. m.) is breaking through the clouds
and scorching, a thunder-storm follows in the afternoon.
When the sun is scorching (_i. e._, reflected from roofs and water
surfaces), rain follows soon.
=Sea-green Sky.=
When the sky during rain is tinged with sea-green, the rain will
increase; if with deep blue, the rain will be showery.
=Spotted Clouds.=
If the sun rises covered with a dark spotted cloud, expect rain on that
day.
=Spring.=
If the sun appears dead, not bright and clear in the early spring,
expect poor crops and very little rain. This sign usually comes in
April. Dry winds may also be expected. (Apache Indians.)
=Sun-dogs.=
Sun-dogs indicate cold weather in winter or storm in summer.
A sun-dog at night is the sailor’s delight;
A sun-dog in the morning is the sailor’s warning.
=Sunrise.=
If de sun git up berry early and go to bed before he git up, it’s a sign
it rains before soon. (Negro.)
If the sun rises clear, then shadowed by a cloud, and comes out again
clear, it will rain before night.
=Sunshining Shower.=
Sunshining shower won’t last half an hour;
Sunshine and shower rain again to-morrow.
=Ten and Two.=
Between the hours of ten and two,
Will show you what the day will do.
=Yellow Streaks.=
Red or yellow streaks from west to east indicate rain in forty-eight
hours.
=Yellow Sunset.=
A bright yellow sunset indicates wind; a pale yellow, wet; a neutral
gray is a favorable sign in the morning, and unfavorable in the evening.
The sun reveals the secrets of the sky,
And who dares give the source of light the lie.
(Virgil.)
PROVERBS RELATING TO THUNDER AND LIGHTNING.
Birds.
If the birds be silent, expect thunder.
=Cattle.=
If cattle run around and collect together in the meadows, expect
thunder.
=Christmas Thunder.=
Thunder during Christmas week indicates that there will be much snow
during the winter. (Kansas.)
=Death—Plunder.=
Winter thunder is to old folks death; and to young folks plunder.
=Distant Thunder.=
The distant thunder speaks of coming rain.
=Early Thunder.=
Early thunder, early spring.
=Early and Late Thunder.=
Thunder and lightning early in winter or late in fall indicates warm
weather.
=East Thunder.=
If the first thunder is in the east, aha! the bear has stretched his
right arm and comes forth, and the winter is over. (Zuñi Indians.)
=East Wind.=
If an east wind blows against a dark, heavy sky from the northwest, the
wind decreasing in force as the clouds approach, expect thunder and
lightning.
=Evening Thunder.=
If there be thunder in the evening, there will be much rain and showery
weather.
Thunder in the evening indicates much rain.
=Fall Thunder.=
Thunder in the fall indicates a mild, open winter.
=February Thunder.=
Thunder and lightning in February or March, poor sugar (maple) year.
=First Thunder.=
The thunder-storms of the season will come from the direction of the
first thunder-storm.
First thunder in winter or spring indicates rain and very cold weather.
(Dr. John Menual.)
With the first thunder the gods of rain open their petals. (Zuñi.)
=Forked Lightning.=
Forked lightning at night,
The next day clear and bright.
=Frogs and Snakes.=
The first thunder of the year awakes the frogs and snakes from their
winter sleep.
=Heat.=
Lightning brings heat.
=July Thunder.=
Much thunder in July injures wheat and barley.
=Lightning without Thunder.=
If there be lightning without thunder after a clear day, there will be a
continuance of fair weather.
=March Thunder.=
Thunder in March betokens a fruitful year. (German.)
=May Thunder.=
If there is much thunder in May, the months of September and August will
be without it.
=Morning Thunder.=
Morning thunder is followed by a rain the same day.
When it thunders in the morning, it will rain before night.
=North Lightning.=
Lightning in the North will be followed by rain in twenty-four hours.
Lightning in the North in summer is a sign of heat.
=North—south.=
Lightning in the North indicates rain in twenty-four hours. Lightning in
the South low on the horizon indicates dry weather. (Kansas.)
=North Star.=
Lightning under North Star will bring rain in three days.
=NW. Thunder.=
Thunder-storm from NW. is followed by fine, bracing weather; but thunder
and lightning from NE. indicates sultry, unsettled weather. (Observer at
Santa Fé).
=North Thunder.=
Thunder in the north indicates cold weather and rain from the west.
If the first thunder is in the north, aha! the bear has stretched his
left leg in his winter bed.
=North Wind.=
With a north wind it seldom thunders.
=November Thunder.=
Thunder and lightning on the northern lakes in November is an indication
that the lakes will remain open until the middle of December or until
Christmas. (Said to be reliable).
=Red and Pale Lightning.=
When the flashes of lightning appear very pale, it argues the air to be
full of waterish meteors; and if red and fiery, inclining to winds and
tempests.
=September Thunder.=
Thunder-storms in September mean plenty of snow in February and March,
and a large crop of grape wine. (German).
If it thunders much at the beginning of September, much grain will be
raised the following year.
=Spring Lightning.=
Lightning in spring indicates a good fruit year.
=Spring Thunder.=
If there be showery weather, with sunshine and increase of heat in the
spring, a thunder-storm may be expected every day, or at least every
other day.
First thunder in the spring—if in the south it indicates a wet season,
if in the north it indicates a dry season.
=South or Southeast Thunder.=
Thunder from the south or southeast indicates foul weather, from the
north or northwest fair weather.
=Sheet Lightning.=
If there be sheet lightning with a clear sky on spring, summer, and
autumn evenings, expect heavy rains.
=South Thunder.=
If the first thunder is in the south, aha! the bear has stretched his
right leg in his winter bed. (Zuñi Indians.)
=Summer Lightning.=
Lightning in summer indicates good healthy weather.
=West Thunder.=
If the first thunder is in the west, aha! the bear has stretched his
left arm in his winter bed. (Zuñi Indians.)
=Winter Thunder.=
A winter’s thunder
Is a summer’s wonder.
When thunder is heard in winter, it indicates cold weather. Thunder in
the north indicates dry weather.
Thunder in winter means famine in summer.
Winter’s thunder
Bodes summer hunger.
PROVERBS RELATING TO TREES.
Ash and Oak.
Ash before oak,
There’ll be a smoke;
Oak before ash,
There’ll be a smash.
(Meaning heat and wind.)
=Dead Branches.=
Dead branches falling in calm weather indicate rain.
=Leaves.=
Early falling leaves indicate an early fall.
=Logs.=
An easy-splitting log indicates rain.
=Leaves.=
Leaves turned up so as to show the underside indicate rain.
=Maple.=
When the leaves of the sugar-maple tree are turned upside down, expect
rain.
PROVERBS RELATING TO WIND.
Aches and Pains.
As old sinners have all points
O’ the compass in their joints,
Can by their pangs and aches find
All turns and changes of the wind.
=Blast.=
The sharper the blast,
The sooner ’tis past.
=Barometer.=
When the glass is low,
Look out for a blow;
When it rises high,
Let all your kites fly.
=Backing Wind.=
If the wind backs against the sun,
Trust it not, for back it will run.
=Brisk Wind.=
A brisk wind generally precedes rain.
=Changing Wind.=
It is a sign of continued fine weather when the wind changes during the
day so as to follow the sun.
Winds changing from foul to fair during the night are not permanent.
=Candlemas Day.=
When the wind is on Candlemas day
There it will stick till the end of May.
=Clear Sunset.=
When the sun sets in a clear—
An easterly wind you need not fear.
=Chenook Wind.=
A Chenook wind is a warm wind which comes from the mouth of the Columbia
river or Chenook Point. A Walla Walla wind is a cold wind which blows
down the Columbia river. (Indian, North Pacific.)
=Drought and Blast.=
North and south the sign o’ drouth,
East and west the sign o’ blast.
=East Wind.=
In summer, if the wind changes to the east, expect cooler weather.
When the east wind toucheth it, it shall wither. (Ezekiel, chap. xvii,
10.)
And, behold, seven thin ears and blasted with the east wind came up.
(Genesis, xli, 6.)
The east wind brought the locust. (Exodus, x, 13.)
God prepared a vehement east wind. (Jonah, chap. iv, 8.)
The east wind hath broken thee in the midst of the seas. (Eziekel, chap.
xvii, 26.)
An east wind brings no good to man or beast.
=Easter Sunday.=
As the wind blows on Easter Sunday from 8 a. m. to 12 m., the wind will
be from that direction for the next forty days. (Chippewa Indians.)
=Equinox.=
The wind being north-northeast and east three days before the sun
crosses the line, then southeast by way of east, then calm on the 23d,
will bring enough and stormy winds from east and west all the winter.
=East and West Wind.=
When the wind is in the east,
The fish bite the least.
When the wind is in the west,
The fish bite the best.
=Fixed East Wind.=
If the wind becomes fixed in the east for the space of forty-eight
hours, expect steady and continuous rain, with driving winds in the
southwest during summer.
=Gale.=
A gale moderating at sunset will increase before midnight, but if it
moderates after midnight, the weather will improve.
=Fog and Mist.=
Fog and mist raise higher seas than wind.
=Heat.=
If the wind be hushed with sudden heat, expect heavy rain.
=Indiana Winds.=
In Southern Indiana a southwest wind is said to bring rain in thirty-six
hours.
Indian Proverbs Relating to Winds.
Wind from the north, cold and snow.
Wind from the western river of the northland, snow (northwest wind).
Wind from the world of waters, clouds (west wind).
Wind from the southern river of the world of waters, rain (southwest
wind).
Wind from the land of the beautiful red, lovely odors and rain (south
wind).
Wind from the wooded cañons, rain and moist clouds (southeast wind).
Wind from the land of day, it is the breath of health and brings the
days of long life.
Winds from the lands of cold, the rain before which flees the harvest
(northeast wind).
Winds from the lands of cold, the fruit of ice (northeast wind).
Wind from the right hand of the west is the breath of the god of sand
clouds. (Zuñi Indians.)
=Increasing Winds.=
If the wind increases during a rain, fair weather may be expected soon.
=Milk Cream.=
Milk cream makes most freely with a north wind.
Northerly and Southerly Winds.
If the wind is from the northwest or southwest, the storm will be short;
if from the northeast, it will be a hard one; if from the northwest, a
cold one; and from the southwest a warm one. After it has been raining
some time, a blue sky in the southeast indicates that there will be fair
weather soon.
=North Wind.=
If there be within four, five, or six days two or three changes of wind
from the north through without much rain and wind, and thence again
through the west to the north with rain or wind, expect continued
showery weather.
The north wind driveth away rain. (Proverbs, xxv, 23.)
=Northeast Rain.=
As a rule northeast rains indicate cold and damp soil, poor prospects
for small seeds, melons, &c. (Apache Indians.)
=North, East, South, and West Winds.=
When the wind is in the north,
The skilful fisher goes not forth;
When the wind is in the east,
’Tis good for neither man nor beast;
When the wind is in the south,
It blows the flies in the fish’s mouth;
But when the wind is in the west,
There it is the very best.
(Isaak Walton.)
=Northeast Wind.=
If the wind changes to the northeast or north, expect cold weather.
If there be northeast or east winds in the spring, after a strong
increase of heat, and small clouds appear in the different parts of the
sky, or if the wind changes from east to south at the appearance of
clouds preceded by heat, expect heavy rains.
=Northwest and East Winds.=
When the wind is in the northwest
The weather is at its best;
But if the rain comes out of the east
’Twill rain twenty-four hours at least.
=Northwest and Northeast Winds.=
Northwest wind brings a short storm;
A northeast wind brings a long storm.
=Northwest Winds.=
Northwest wind brings only rain showers.
If there be a change of wind from the northwest or west to the southwest
or south, or else from the northeast or east to the southeast or south,
expect wet weather.
If the northwest or north winds blow with rain or snow during three or
four days in the winter and then the wind passes to the south through
the west, expect continued rain.
In summer if the wind changes to the northwest, expect cooler weather.
If a northwest wind shifts to northeast, remaining there two or three
days without rain, and then shifts to the south, and then back to the
northeast, with very little rain, fair weather may be expected during
the following month. (Observer at Cape Mendocino.)
=New Year’s Eve.=
If New Year’s Eve night wind blow from south,
It betokeneth warmth and drouth;
If west, much milk, and fish in sea;
If north, much cold and storm there’ll be;
If east, the trees will bear much fruit;
If north, flee it man and beast.
=November-December.=
As the wind is in the month of November, so will it be in the month of
December.
=No Wind.=
No weather is ill
If the wind is still.
=Night Winds.=
Winds at night are always bright,
But winds in the morning, sailors take warning.
=Pigs.=
When pigs carry straws to their sty, a wind-storm may be expected.
=Rising Wind.=
First rise after very low
Indicates a strong blow.
Fast rise after a low
Precedes a stormy blow.
=Rain-Wind.=
Wind before a rain, set your topsails fair again.
Rain before the wind, keep your topsails snug as.
=South Wind.=
When ye see the south wind blow, ye say there will be heat; and it
cometh to pass. (Saint Luke, xii, 55.)
A wind in the south
Is in the rain’s mouth.
The rain comes south
When the wind is in the south.
(Scotch.)
Brisk winds from the south for several days in Texas are generally
followed by a “norther.”
If there be dry weather with a light south wind for five or six days, it
having previously blown strongly from the same direction, expect fine
weather. (Texas.)
The southern wind doth blow a trumpet to his purpose, and by his hollow
whistling in the leaves foretells a tempest and a blustering day.
(Shakespeare.)
=Southwest Wind.=
In fall and winter if the wind holds a day or more in the southwest, a
severe storm is coming; in summer, same of northeast wind.
A southwest blow on ye
And blister ye all over.
(Shakespeare.)
Three southwesters, then one heavy rain.
The third day of southwest wind will be a gale, and wind will veer to
northwest between 1 and 2 a. m. (in winter) with increasing force. (From
fisherman on North Carolina coast.)
If the wind shifts around to the south and southwest, expect warm
weather.
=Southeast Wind.=
If the wind blows from the southeast during September 20th and 21st, the
weather from the middle of February to the middle of March will be warm.
=Shifting During Drought.=
In Texas and the southwest when the wind shifts during a drought, expect
rain.
=September Winds.=
If the wind blows from the south on the 21st of September, it indicates
a warm autumn.
=Sun.=
Winds that change against the sun
Are always sure to backward run.
=Storm.=
When a heavy cloud comes up in the southwest and seems to settle back
again, look out for a storm.
Wind-storms usually subside about sunset, but if they do not the storm
will probably continue during the following day.
Always a calm before a storm.
=Squalls.=
Squalls making up on the flood-tide will culminate about high water;
those making on ebb-tide will culminate about low-water. (South Atlantic
coast.)
=West Wind.=
Wind in the west, weather at the best.
Wind in the east, neither good for man or beast.
=West Wind.=
A west wind north about
Never hangs lang out.
(Scotch.)
=West, East, South, and North Wind.=
The west wind always brings wet weather,
The east wind cold and wet together,
The south wind surely brings us rain,
The north wind blows it back again.
(English.)
=Veering Wind.=
A veering wind indicates fair weather, a backing wind foul weather.
=Unsteady Winds.=
The whispering grove betrays the gathering elemental strife.
Unsteadiness of the wind is an indication of changeable weather.
=Whirlwinds.=
When numerous whirlwinds are observed, the rotation being opposite to
that of the sun, look for wind and rain.
=Weather.=
Every wind has its weather.
=White Clouds.=
Heavy, white, rolling clouds in front of a storm denote high wind.
PROVERBS RELATING TO YEARS AND SEASONS.
Almond Blooms.
Mark well the flowering almonds in the wood;
If odorous blooms the bearing branches load,
The glebe will answer to the sylvan reign,
Great heats will follow and large crops of grain;
But if a wood of leaves o’ershades the tree
Such and so barren will the harvest be.
(Virgil.)
=Autumn.=
A pleasant autumn and a mild winter will cause the leaves to fall next
September.
A moist autumn, with a mild winter, is followed by a cold and dry
spring, retarding vegetation. If the summer be rainy the following
winter will be severe.
=Cherry Year.=
A cherry year
A merry year.
=Coat.=
Who doffs his coat on winter’s day
Will gladly put it on in May.
(Scotch.)
=Cold Spring.=
A cold spring kills the roses. (Arabia.)
=Equinox.=
As the wind and weather is at the time of the equinox, so will be the
wind and weather generally during the following three months.
As clear off the line, or equinoctial storm, so will all storms clear
for six months.
=Fair.=
One fair day in the winter does not make the birds merry.
=Fall.=
A wet fall indicates a cold and early winter.
=Famine.=
After a famine in the stall
Comes a famine in the hall.
=Frosty Nights.=
Frosty nights and hot summer days
Set the cornfields all in a blaze.
=Harvest.=
The harvest depends more on the year than on the field. (Denmark.)
=Haw Year.=
A haw year
A braw year.
(Ireland.)
A haw year
A snaw year.
(Scotland.)
=Indian Summer.=
If we don’t get our Indian summer in October or November we will get it
in winter.
=Late Spring.=
A late spring is a great blessing.
A late spring never deceives.
=Long Harvest.=
A long harvest, a little corn.
=Leap Year.=
In leap year the weather always changes on Friday.
=Late Spring.=
A late spring is bad for cattle, and an early spring for corn.
=Nut—Corn.=
A good nut year, a good corn year.
=Oak Tree—Barley.=
When the oak puts on his goslin grey
’Tis time to sow barley, night or day.
=Old Year.=
If the old year goes out like a lion the new year will come in like a
lamb.
=Pear—Dear.=
A pear year
A dear year.
=Plum.=
In the year when plums flourish all else fails. (Devon.)
A plum year
A dumb year.
(Kent.)
=Rainy Winter.=
After a rainy winter follows a fruitful spring.
=Seasons.=
Extreme seasons occur from the 6th to the 10th year of each decade
(especially in alternate decades).
A severe autumn denotes a windy summer;
A windy winter a rainy spring;
A rainy spring a severe summer;
A severe summer a windy autumn;
So that the air in balance is
Seldom debtor unto itself.
(Lord Bacon.)
=Short Harvest.=
Short harvests make short earnings. (Yorkshire.)
=Sloe Tree.=
When the sloe tree is as white as a sheet
Sow your barley, whether it be dry or wet.
=Snow.=
A snow year a rich year.
=Sow Beans.=
Sow beans in the mud,
And they’ll grow like a wood.
=Sow.=
Sow thin, shear thin.
=Spring Rain.=
In spring a tub of rain makes a spoonful of mud;
In autumn a spoonful of rain makes a tub of mud.
Spring is both father and mother to us, and he who does not sow will not
reap. (Gallicia.)
If the spring is cold and wet, the autumn will be hot and dry.
Fog in January makes a wet spring.
If it storms on February 2d, then the spring is not very far; but when
bright and clear, then the spring will be late.
If it snows on February 2d, only as much as to be seen on a black ox,
then summer will come soon.
When in February it is mild,
Brings the spring the frost by night.
If it does not rain on St. Michael’s (29th of September) and Gallus
(October 16th), the farmer will promise a dry spring.
Christmas in mud, Easter in snow.
If at Christmas ice hangs on the willow, clover may be cut at Easter.
=Spring and Autumn Rain.=
Spring rain damps; Autumn rain soaks. (Russia.)
=Summer.=
As much fog as plagues you in March, so many thunder-storms after one
hundred days.
As much fog in March, so much rain in summer.
If it rains on June 27th, it will rain seven weeks.
As the weather on July 10th, so it will be for seven weeks.
When the sun enters “Leo” the greatest heat will then arise.
As the dog days commence so they end.
Midsummer rain
Spoils wine, stock, and grain.
Happy are the fields that receive summer rain.
Summer comes with a bound; winter comes yawning. (Finland.)
Summer in winter and summer’s flood
Never boded an Englishman good.
=The Year.=
Do not abuse the year till it has passed. (Spain.)
=Thunder.=
Thunder in spring
Cold will bring.
=Wet Spring.=
A wet spring—a dry harvest.
=Winter.=
In winter expect not fair weather from one night’s ice.
An early winter is surely winter.
Winter’s back breaks about the middle of February.
He that drops a coat on a winter day
Will gladly put it on in May.
Winter will not come till the swamps are full. (South.)
When the days get longer, comes the winter.
If cold at St. Peter’s day (February 22d), it will last longer.
The night of St. Peter’s shows what weather we will have for the next
forty days.
St. Matthew breaks the ice; if he finds none he’ll make some.
After Matthew’s no fox will run over the ice.
If on St. Michael’s day the winds blow from the north and east, a cold
winter may be expected.
Light rain on St. Michael’s day is followed by a mild winter.
After a warm autumn a long winter.
When beech acorns thrive well and oak trees hang full, a hard winter
will follow with much snow.
Much fog in autumn, much snow in winter.
If October brings much frost and wind, then are January and February
mild.
Clear autumn, windy winter.
As many days from the first snow to the next new moon, so many times
will it thaw during winter.
When birds and badgers are fat in October, a cold winter is expected.
If on All Saints’ day the beech acorn is dry we will stick behind the
stove in winter, but if it is wet and not light the winter will not be
dry, but wet.
If it is at Martin (November 11th) fair, dry, and cold, the cold in
winter will not last long.
If the geese at Martin’s day stand on ice, they will walk in mud on
Christmas.
If the leaves of the trees and grape-vines do not fall before Martin’s
day, a cold winter may be expected.
As November 21st, so the winter.
When in November the water rises, it will show itself the whole winter.
When the winter is not early it will not be late.
December changeable and mild,
The whole winter will remain a child.
Lengthened winter and tardy spring are both good for hay and grain, but
bad for corn and garden.
Winter thunder and summer’s flood
Never boded any good.
Winter finds what summer lays up.
=Winter Thunder.=
Poor man’s death, rich man’s hunger.
=Winter Fire.=
In winter a fire is better than a Muscat rose. (Persia.)
=Year.=
Wet and dry years come in triads.
A dry year never starves itself.
PROVERBS RELATING TO MONTHS, WEEKS, AND DAYS.
Month.
The month that comes in good will go out bad.
January.
If grass grows in January, it will grow badly the whole year.
In January if the sun appear,
March and April pay full dear.
(English.)
A January thaw is a sign for a July freshet.
If the grass grows green in January, it will grow the worse for it all
the year.
In the Shepherd’s Almanac for 1676, among the observations on the month
of January we find the following: “Some say that if on the 12th of
January the sun shines it foreshows much wind. Others predict by Saint
Paul’s day, saying if the sun shine it betokens a good year; if it rain
or snow, indifferent; if misty it predicts great dearth; if it thunder,
great winds and death of people that year.”
A favorable January brings us a good year.
Fair on Saint Paul’s conversion day (25th) is favorable to all fruits.
In January much rain and little snow is bad for mountains, valleys, and
trees.
Saint Paul fair with sunshine,
Brings fertility to rye and wine.
Have rivers much water in January, then the autumn will forsake them.
But are they small in January, then brings the autumn surely much wine.
Is January wet, remains empty the barrel.
If Saint Vincent’s (22d) has sunshine,
One hopes much rye and wine.
If Saint Paul’s (25th) is bright and clear,
One does hope a good year.
If on Saint Paul’s it rains and snows, the grain will be costly.
Much rain in January, no blessing to the fruit.
Fruit that grows in January will generally be costly or dear.
January warm, the Lord have mercy.
January wet no wine you get.
Fog in January brings a wet spring.
Hoar frost and no snow is hurtful to fields, trees, and grain. If grain
grows in January there will be a year of great need.
Dry January, plenty of wine. January 1st.—Morning red, foul weather, and
great need. January 2d.—As the weather is this day so will it be in
September.
If the grass grows green in January, it will grow the worse for it all
the year.
January fill dyke,
February black and white.
A summerish January indicates a winterish spring.
Always expect a thaw in January.
A January spring is worth nothing.
A wet January, a wet spring.
=February.=
Double faced February.
Violent north winds in February herald a fertile year.
February 2d bright and clear
Gives a good flax year.
On Romanus (28th) bright and clear
Indicates a good year.
If the ground-hog is sunning himself on the 2d he will return for four
weeks to his winter quarters again. St. Dorothea (the 6th) gives the
most snow. When the cat in February lies in the sun, she will again
creep behind the stove in March. When the north wind does not blow in
February, it will surely come in March.
If February gives much snow
A fine summer it doth foreshow.
There is always one fine week in February.
Of all the months of the year, curse a fair February.
Heavy north winds in February forebode a fruitful year. (German.)
If on the 2d of February the goose finds it wet, then the sheep will
have grass on March 25th.
When drops hang on the fence on the 2d of February, icicles will hang
there on the 25th of March.
For every thunder with rain in February there will be a cold spell in
May.
February rain is only good to fill ditches. (French.)
The nights of the 20th and 28th are called in Sweden “steel nights,” on
account of their cutting severity.
February makes a bridge and March breaks it.
February doth cut and shear,
February fill dike.
Be it black or be it white;
But if it be white
It’s the better to like.
=March.=
Winds in March and rains in April promise great blessings in May. As
much dew as shown in March so much fog rises in August.
In beginning or in end
March its gifts will send.
As it rains in March, so it rains in June.
Is’t on Joseph’s day (19th) clear,
So follows a fertile year;
Is’t on Mary’s (25th) bright and clear,
Fertile is said to be the year.
A damp, rotten March gives pain to farmers.
A dry March, wet April, and cool May
Fill barn, cellar, and bring much hay.
Rain in March, poor harvest.
Dust in March brings grass and foliage.
If it does not freeze on the 10th, a fertile year may be expected.
Snow in March is bad for fruit and grape-vine.
March will search, April will try;
May will tell you whether you live or die.
March wet and windy,
Makes the barn full and findy.
March damp and warm,
Will do the farmer much harm.
March dust and March wind bleaches like a summer’s sun. (Scotch.)
A peck of March dust and showers in May,
Make corn green and fields gray.
When March is like April, April will be like March.
If March comes in with adder’s head,
It goes out with peacock tail.
A dusty March, a snowy February, a moist April, and a dry May, presage a
good year. (French.)
A bushel of March dust is worth a king’s ransom.
A windy March and a rainy April make a beautiful May.
A dry March never brings its bread.
March comes in like a lamb and goes out like a lion.
So many frosts in March, so many in May.
March wind and May sun
Make clothes white and maidens dun.
A March wisher
Is not a good fisher.
A windy March and a rainy April make a fine May.
March grass never did good.
March in January, January in March, I fear.
=April.=
Is’t in April fair and mild,
The nill may be so much more wild.
Thunder-storm in April is the end of hoar frost. After a wet April
follows a dry June. Whatever March does not want April brings along.
April and May are the keys of the year.
A cold April the barn will fill.
A dry April not the farmer’s will; rain in April is what he wills.
Snow in April is manure; snow in March devours.
April cold and wet fills barn and barrel.
At St. Gorgen (24th) the meadow turns into hay.
April snow breeds grass.
Moist April clear June.
Wet May, dry July. (German.)
When on St. George (24th) rye has grown so high as to hide a crow
therein, a good harvest may be expected.
When April makes much noise
We will have plenty of rye and hay;
When April blows its horn
Then it stands good with hay, rye, and corn.
A cold and moist April fills the cellar and fattens the cow.
When April blows his horn
’Tis good for both hay and corn.
April showers
Bring May flowers.
April borrows three days from March, and they are ill.
=May.=
A dry May is followed by a wet June. A normal wet and cool May brings a
wet June. An abnormal warm May brings a wet June.
Dry May brings nothing.
Many thunder-storms in May,
And the farmer sings hey! hey!
Rain in the beginning of May is said to be injurious to wine.
Cool and evening dew in May
Brings wine and much hay.
Hoar frost on the 1st of May indicates a good harvest.
The later the black thorn in bloom after May 1, the better the rye and
hay harvest.
If May will be a gardener, he will not fill the granaries.
Look at your corn in May,
And you’ll come sorrowing away;
Look at it again in June,
And you’ll come singing another tune.
A windy May makes a fair year. (Portuguese proverb.)
Water in May is bread all the year. (Spanish proverb.)
A hot May makes a fat churchyard.
A cold May enriches no one.
A May flood
Never did good.
A cold and windy May will fill the barn.
A dry May and a leaking June
Make the farmer whistle a merry tune.
May damp and cool fills the barns and wine-vats.
Mist in May and heat in June
Makes the harvest right soon.
(Scotch.)
Cast not a clout
Till May be out.
Be it early or be it late,
May will bring the corn quake.
A swarm of bees in May is worth a load of hay;
But a swarm in July ain’t worth a fly.
If it rains on Philip’s and Jacob’s day (1st), a fertile year may be
expected to follow.
Cold May brings many things.
A cold May and wind
Makes full barns and a findy.
(Scotch.)
=June.=
Rain on St. John’s day (24th), and we may expect a wet harvest.
Previous to St. John’s day we dare not praise barley.
If it rains on St. Peter’s day (29th) the bakers will have to carry
double flour and single water; if dry, they will carry single flour and
double water.
Peter and Paul will rotten the roots of the rye.
O! St. Vitus (15th), O do not rain, so that we may not want barley.
A cold and wet June spoils mostly the whole year.
June, damp and warm, does not make the farmer poor.
Rain on St. Barnabas day is a good harvest in grapes.
Rain on St. John’s (24th) will damage the nuts.
If north wind blows in June, rye will be splendid at harvest time.
When it is the hottest in June, it will be the coldest in the next
February at corresponding days.
If St. Vitus day (15th of June) be rainy weather,
It will rain for thirty days together.
(Robin’s Almanac, 1697.)
Calm weather in June
Sets corn in tune.
A dripping June
Brings all things in tune.
If on the 8th of June it rain,
It foretells wet harvests, men hath sain.
=July.=
If it rains on the 2d (St. Mary’s), then it will rain the next four
weeks.
As July, so the next January.
July, God send thee calm and fair,
That happy harvests we may see;
With quiet time and healthsome air,
And man to God may thankful be.
What July and August left undone in cooking, September will have undone
in roasting. (German.)
If it rains on July 10th, it will rain for seven weeks.
Dog days bright and clear
Indicate a good year;
But when accompanied by rain,
We hope for better times in vain.
Whatever July and August do not boil, September cannot fry.
Clear on St. Jacob’s day (20th) promises plenty fruit.
If three days previous to St. Jacob’s are clear, then the rye will be
good.
If the 1st of July be rainy weather,
’Twill rain more or less for three weeks together.
=August.=
Thunder-storms after Bartholomew’s day are mostly violent.
When the dew is heavy in August the weather generally remains fair. When
in beginning of August thunder-storms are passing, they will generally
last to end of month.
As August, so the next February.
As Bartholomew day, so the whole autumn.
If the first week in August is unusually warm,
The winter will be white and long.
When the months of July, August, and September are unusually hot,
January will be the coldest month.
On St. Mary’s day (15th) sunshine
Brings much and good wine.
When in August the sun shines warm, moon and stars are bright; it is
good for grapes, because they then ripen well.
Matthew’s day (24th) bright and clear,
Brings good wine in next year.
A wet August never brings dearth. (Italian.)
When it rains in August it rains honey and wine.
If the 24th of August be fair or clear,
Then hope for a prosperous autumn that year.
Dry August, arid, warm,
Doth harvest no harm.
=September.=
As September, so the coming March.
September rain is much liked by the farmer.
Is the autumn warm, bright, and clear,
We may expect a fertile year.
When a cold spell occurs in September and passes without a frost, a
frost will not occur until the same time in October.
Fair on the first of September, fair the entire month.
As the deer goes into the heat, so he will again step out.
As the weather on the 8th, so it will be for the next four weeks.
A wet September; next summer drouth, no crops and famine. (California.)
If Michael brings many acorns, Christmas will cover the fields with
snow.
September rain is good for crops and vines.
Thunder in September indicates a good crop of grain and fruit for next
year.
If the storms in September clear off warm, all the storms of the
following winter will be warm.
=October.=
Much rain in October, much wind in December.
If October brings heavy frosts and winds, then will January and February
be mild.
When it freezes and snows in October, January will bring mild weather;
but if it is thundering and heat-lightning, the winter will resemble
April in temper.
Warm October, cold February.
As the weather in October, so will it be in the next March.
If the first snow falls on moist, soft earth, it indicates a small
harvest; but if upon hard, frozen soil, a good harvest.
A good October and a good blast,
So blow the hog-acorn and the mast.
=November.=
As at Catharine (25th) foul or fair, so will be the next February.
As November, so the following March.
Thunder in November indicates a fertile year to come.
Flowers in bloom late in autumn indicate a bad winter.
November, take flail;
Let ships no more sail.
If there be ice in November that will bear a duck,
There will be nothing thereafter but sleet and muck.
=December.=
If it rains on Sunday before mass it will rain the whole week.
If Christmas finds a bridge, he’ll break it; if he finds none, he’ll
make one.
As Ash Wednesday, so the fasting time.
A warm Christmas, a cold Easter.
A green Christmas, a white Easter.
If windy on Xmas day, trees will bring much fruit.
If the wind blows much on Stephen’s day (26th), the grape will be bad in
next year.
If it snows on Xmas night, we expect a good hop crop next year.
Christmas wet gives empty granary and barrel.
At Christmas meadows green, at Easter covered with frost.
Wet causes more damage than frost before, than after Christmas.
December cold, with snow, brings rye everywhere.
=Days.=
The first three days of any season rule the weather of that season.
The general character of the weather during the last twenty days of
March, June, September, and December will rule the following season.
A bad day has a good night.
As the days lengthen,
So the cold strengthens.
The three days of September (20th, 21st, and 22d) rule the weather for
October, November, and December.
The first three days of January rule the coming three months.
The last twelve days of January rule the weather of the whole year.
When there are three days cold, expect three days colder.
The twelve days commencing December 25th and ending January 5th are said
to be the keys of the weather of the year.
=Wednesday.=
Wednesday clearing, clear till Sunday.
When the sun sets clear on Wednesday, expect clear weather the rest of
the week.
=Thursday.=
The first Thursday in March, the first Thursday in June, the first
Thursday in September, and the first Thursday in December are the
governing days for each season. Whatever point of the compass the wind
is on these days, that will be the prevailing direction of the wind for
that season.
If it storms on the first Thursday, or any subsequent, of a month, count
the remaining days of the month, add to this the number of days
remaining of the moon, and they will give the number of storms for that
season. (Wm. R. Ryan.)
=Friday.=
If the sun sets clear on Friday, it will blow before Sunday night.
If on Friday it rain,
’Twill on Sunday again;
If Friday be clear,
Have a Sunday no fear.
Rain on Good Friday forebodes a fruitful year.
Friday is the best or worst day of the week.
If the sun sets clear on Friday, generally expect rain before Monday.
A wet Good Friday and a wet Easter day,
Makes plenty of grass but very little hay.
As the Friday, so the Sunday.
=Saturday.=
There is never a Saturday without some sunshine.
=Sunday.=
If it rains on Sunday before mass it will rain all the week.
When it storms on the first Sunday of the month it will storm every
Sunday.
First Sunday in month rain, it will rain every Sunday of the month.
Sunday clearing, clear till Wednesday.
The last Sunday of the month indicates the weather of the next month.
If sunset on Sunday is cloudy, it will rain before Wednesday.
=Christmas.=
A light Christmas, a heavy sheaf.
If the sun shines through the apple tree on Christmas day, there will be
an abundant crop the following year.
If on Christmas night the wine ferments heavily in the barrels, a good
wine year is to follow. (German.)
The shepherd would rather see his wife enter the stable on Christmas day
than the sun. (German.)
If ice will bear a man before Christmas, it will not bear a mouse
afterward. (English proverb.)
If Christmas day on Thursday be,
A windy winter you shall see.
Windy weather in each week,
And hard tempests strong and thick.
The summer shall be good and dry,
Corn and beast shall multiply.
(Copied from old MS.)
A green Christmas makes a full graveyard.
A green Christmas indicates a white Easter.
=Candlemas Day.=
If Candlemas day be fair and clear,
There’ll be two winters in that one year.
On Candlemas day the bear, badger, or woodchuck comes out to see his
shadow at noon; if he does not see it he remains out; but if he does see
it he goes back to his hole for six weeks, and cold weather continues
six weeks longer.
Have on Candlemas day
One-half your straw and one-half your hay.
Candlemas day if it be fair
The half of the winter’s to come and mair.
Candlemas day, if it be foul,
The half of winter’s past at yule.
On Candlemas day
Throw the candle and stick away.
When Candlemas is come and gone
The coal lies on a red-hot stove.
Just half your wood and half your hay
Should be remaining on Candlemas day.
If Candlemas day be fair and bright,
Winter will have another flight;
But if Candlemas day be clouds and rain,
Winter is gone and will not come again.
On Candlemas day just so far as the sun shines in, just so far will the
snow blow in.
I would rather see my wife on a bier
Than to see Candlemas clear.
=Corpus Christi.=
Corpus Christi day clear
Gives a good year.
If rain on Corpus Christi day, the rye granary will be light.
=Dog Day.=
Rain on first dog day, it will rain for forty days after.
=Easter.=
Rain on Easter gives slim fodder.
If fair weather from Easter to Whitsuntide, the butter will be cheap.
Easter in snow, Christmas in mud;
Christmas in snow, Easter in mud.
=Good Friday.=
Good Friday rain brings a fertile year.
=Hollantide.=
If ducks do slide at Hollantide,
At Christmas day they’ll swim;
If ducks do swim at Hollantide,
At Christmas day they’ll slide.
=Lent.=
Dry Lent, fertile year.
=Martinmas.=
If the wind is in the southwest at Martinmas, it keeps there until
Candlemas. (French.)
=Pentecost.=
Rain at Pentecost forebodes evil.
=Paster Sunday.=
If it rains on Paster Sunday, it will rain every Sunday until Pentecost.
=Palm Sunday.=
If the weather is not clear on Palm Sunday, it means a bad year.
=Shrovetide Day.=
When the sun is shining on Shrovetide day, it is meant well for rye and
peas.
=Saint Andrew’s Day.=
On Saint Andrew’s night a glass of water should be placed on the table.
If the water has run over in the morning, a good year is to follow; if
it does not, expect a poor year for crops. (German.)
=Saint Bartholomew.=
If it rains on Saint Bartholomew’s day (August 24th) it will rain forty
days after.
Saint Bartholomew brings cold and dew. (Italian.)
=Saint John’s Day.=
Before Saint John’s day (24th of June) no early crops are worth
praising. (German.)
Before Saint John’s day we pray for rain; after that we get it anyhow.
=Saint Lawrence Day.=
If on Saint Lawrence day (August 10th) the weather be fine, a good
autumn and good wine may be hoped for. (German.)
=Saint Margaret’s Day.=
Rain on Saint Margaret’s day (22d of July) will destroy all kinds of
nuts. (German.)
=Saint Matthew’s Day.=
If it freezes on Saint Matthew’s day, it will freeze for a month
together.
Matthew’s day (February 25th) breaks the ice; if he finds none, then
he’ll have some.
=Saint Martin’s Day.=
Saint Martin’s day (11th of November) if the wind is in the southwest at
Martinmas, it keeps there till after Candlemas. (Scotch.)
=Saint Paul’s Day.=
If Saint Paul’s day is fair and clear,
It does betide a happy year.
If Saint Paul’s be fair and clear,
It promises a happy year;
But if it chances to snow or rain,
There will be dear all sorts of grain;
Or if the wind does blow aloft,
Great stirs will vex the world full oft;
And if dark clouds do muff the sky,
The fowl and cattle oft will die.
If Saint Paul’s day (25th January) be fair and clear,
It does betide a happy year;
But if it chance to snow or rain,
There will be dear all kinds of grain.
If clouds or mist do dark the sky,
Great store of birds and beasts shall die;
And if the winds do fly aloft,
Then war shall vex the kingdom oft.
(Old English.)
Upon Saint Paul’s day
Put oats and barley in the clay.
=Saint Patrick’s Day.=
Saint Patrick’s day the warm side of a stone turns up, and the
broad-back goose begins to lay.
=Saint Stephen’s Day.=
If it be very windy on Saint Stephen’s day, there will be a poor wine
crop next year. (German.)
=Saint Swithin.=
A rainy Saint Swithin is well described by Gay:
Now on Saint Swithin’s feast the welkin lours,
And every pent house streams with hasty showers;
But when the swinging signs your ears offend
With creaking noise, then rainy floods impend;
Soon shall the kennels swell with rapid streams,
And rush in muddy torrents to the Thames.
=All Saints’ Day.=
If All Saints’ day will bring out the winter, Saint Martin’s day will
bring out Indian summer.
=All Fools’ Day.=
If it thunders on All Fools’ day,
’Twill bring good crops of corn and hay.
=Ascension Day.=
As the weather on Ascension day, so may be the entire autumn.
=Saint Thomas’s Day.=
Look at the weathercock on Saint Thomas day, at 12 o’clock, and see
which way the wind is, for there it will stick for the next quarter.
=Saint Vincent’s.=
If the sun shines on Saint Vincent’s day (22d January), a fine crop of
grapes may be expected. (German.)
=Whit Sunday.=
If Whit Sunday brings rain, we expect many a plague.
=Whitsuntide.=
Whitsuntide rain, blessing for wine.
Rain on Whitsuntide is said to make the wheat mildewed.
Strawberries at Whitsuntide indicate good wine.
Whit Sunday bright and clear
Will bring a fertile year.
Whit Sunday wet, Christmas fat.
GENERAL PROGNOSTICS.
Some of the various signs of coming rain, which will be found in their
respective places, are thus recorded by Swift:
Careful observes may foretell the hour
By sure prognostics when to dread a shower.
While rain depends, the pensive cat gives o’er
Her frolics and pursues her tail no more;
Returning home at night you’ll find the sink
Strike your offended sense with double stink.
If you be wise, then go not far to dine,
You’ll spend in coach-hire more than save in wine.
A coming shower your shooting corns presage,
Old aches will throb your hollow tooth with rage.
Sauntering in coffee-house is Dulman seen;
He damns the climate and complains of spleen.
Meanwhile the South, rising with dabbled wings,
A sable cloud athwart the welkin flings,
That swilled more liquor than it could contain,
And, like a drunkard, gives it up again.
Brisk Susan whips her linen from the rope,
While the first drizzling shower is borne aslope.
Such is that sprinkling which some careless quean
Flirts on you from her mop, but not so clean.
You fly, invoke the gods; then, turning, stop
To rail; she singing still, whirls on her mop.
Not yet the dust had shunned the unequal strife,
But, aided by the wind, fought still for life,
And wafted with its foe by violent gusts,
’Twas doubtful which was rain and which was dust.
Ah! where must needy poet seek for aid
When dust and rain at once his coat invade?
Sole coat; where dust, cemented by the rain,
Erects the nap and leaves a cloudy stain.
Another author observes of a wet Saint Swithin:
Twice twenty days shall clouds their fleeces drain,
And wash the pavements with incessant rain.
Let not such vulgar tales debase thy mind;
Nor Paul nor Swithin rule the clouds and wind.
If you the precept of the Muse despise,
And slight the faithful warnings of the skies,
Others you’ll see, when all the town’s afloat,
Wrapt in the embraces of a kersey coat
Or doubled-bottom frieze; their guarded feet
Defy the muddy dangers of the street,
While, with hat unlooped, the fury dread
Of spouts high streaming, and with cautious tread
Shun every dashing pool, or idly stop
To seek the kind protection of a shop.
But business summons; now with hasty scud
You jostle for the wall; the spattered mud
Hides all thy hose behind; in vain you scour.
Thy wig, alas! uncurled, admits the shower.
So fierce Electos’ snaky tresses fell
When Orpheus charmed the rigorous powers of hell;
Or thus hung Glaucus’ beard, with briny dew
Clotted and straight, when first his amorous view
Surprised the bathing fair. The frightened maid
Now stands a rock, transformed by Circe’s aid.
And now sharp hail falls down in hasty sallies,
And all the tiles with dancing showers rattle,
And the fair Jewess hies to sheltered alleys
To sell her strawberries in brimful pottle,
And farmers praise Saint Swithin come again
To wet the crops with forty days of rain.
=Air Currents.=
Currents of air change their course frequently, in the higher regions of
the air first, and are afterwards continued to the earth’s surface;
whence we can often foresee a change of wind by observing the clouds.
Both the strength of a coming gale and the point from which it will blow
may usually be determined by noticing the velocity and direction of the
clouds floating along in the upper currents.
=Appetite.=
When everything is eaten at the table, it indicates continued clear
weather.
=Aurora.=
The aurora when very bright indicates approaching storm.
=Barometer.=
If it freezes and the barometer falls two or three tenths of an inch,
expect a thaw.
If the weather gets warmer while the barometer is high and the wind
northeasterly, we may look for a sudden shift of wind to the south. On
the other hand, if the weather becomes colder while the wind is
southwesterly and the barometer low, we may look for a sudden squall or
a severe storm from the northwest, with a fall of snow if it be winter
time.
A sudden rise of the barometer is very nearly as dangerous as a sudden
fall, because it shows that the level is unsteady. In an ordinary gale
the wind often blows hardest when the barometer is just beginning to
rise, directly after having been very low.
A rapid rise of barometer indicates unsettled weather. A slow movement
the contrary, as likewise a steady barometer, which, when continued, and
with dryness, foretells very fine weather.
=Bells.=
Bells are heard at greater distances before rain.
=Boots and Shoes.=
Boots and shoes easy to pull on and off indicate dry weather.
=Brick Walls.=
Brick walls become damp before a rain.
=Breeders.=
Fine, warm days are called “weather breeders.”
=Calm.=
A dead calm often precedes a violent gale, and sometimes the calmest and
clearest mornings in certain seasons are followed by a blowing, showery
day. Calms are forerunners of the hurricanes of the West Indies and
other tropical climes.
=Camphor Gum.=
Camphor gum is said to rise in alcohol before rain.
=Clouds.=
If clouds drive up high from the south, expect a thaw.
=Coals.=
Coals covered with thick white ashes indicate snow in winter and rain in
summer.
Coals becoming alternately bright and dim indicate approaching storms.
=Coffee Bubbles.=
When the bubbles of coffee collect in the centre of the cup, expect fair
weather. When they adhere to the cup, forming a ring, expect rain. If
the bubbles separate without assuming any fixed position, expect
changeable weather.
=Corns.=
Corns giving trouble indicate bad weather.
When corns ache rain follows.
=Cream and Milk.=
Cream and milk, when they turn sour in the night, often indicate thereby
that thunder-storms are about, and will probably shortly take place.
=Creeks and Springs.=
In dry weather, when creeks and springs that have gone dry become moist,
or, as we may say, begin to sweat, it indicates approaching rain. Many
springs that have gone dry will give a good flow of water just before
rain. (J. E. Walter, Leavenworth, Kans.)
=Dandelion.=
When the dandelions bloom early in the spring there will be a short
season. When they bloom late expect a dry summer.
=Dreams.=
Dreams of a hurrying and frightful nature and imperfect sleep, are
frequent indications that the weather is changed or about to change.
Many persons experience these nocturnal symptoms on a change of wind,
particularly when it becomes east. In all these cases the effect seems
to be produced immediately on the nervous system, and through it on the
stomach, so that the stomach shall again react on the sensorium. The
symptoms are enhanced by a full stomach and other sources of
indigestion. (Forster.)
=Dust.=
Dust rising in dry weather is a sign of approaching change.
=Ears.=
Ringing in the ear at night indicates a change of wind.
Ears, when there is a tingling noise, or what is called a singing in
them, afford thereby a sign of a change of weather, not simply of rain,
as has been said, but of barometrical pressure in general. The sudden
increase of pressure, like the descent from high mountains, or from
balloons, causes in many persons a temporary deafness and roaring in the
ears. A sudden fall of the barometer affects also the ears, but in a
different manner, like mounting a high hill. (Forster.)
Noises in the ears are frequently precursors of marked atmospheric
changes.
=Eclipse Weather.=
Eclipse weather is a popular term in the south of England for the
weather following an eclipse of the sun or moon, and it is vulgarly
esteemed tempestuous and not to be depended on by the husbandman.
=Epidemics.=
Epidemics are disorders of health brought on by atmospherical influence;
and modern discoveries have shown how much most prevailing diseases
partake of an epidemical nature. Scarlet fever, typhus, the plague, and
indeed most diseases of this sort, are now considered epidemical. It
would seem that there is a most immediate connection between the
peculiar state of the air and the kind of disorders which might be
thereby excited. For it may be observed that, even of those disorders
which are not generally admitted to be contagious, one particular kind
will prevail for a long time. Thus, in winter, the different symptoms of
that state of body which we call a cold, appear in some measure to
prevail and vary together, so that it is common to hear people talk of
the fashionable complaint. Coughs, for a while, are the prevailing
symptoms; then sore throats are the most common. It is in spring that
certain kinds of cutaneous eruptions usually appear, and in autumn that
those irregularities in the functions of the digestive viscera called
cholera morbus, &c., happen, and which have been erroneously attributed
to eating much fruit. On the other hand, it cannot be considered that
atmospheric peculiarities alone produce epidemic and other complaints,
which must be regarded as having a compound origin, and as resulting
from the operation of peculiar states of the atmosphere on persons of
particular states of constitution, otherwise all persons would be
affected, which is contrary to experience. There are, probably,
innumerable varieties of temperament, of general habits of life, and of
pre-existing diseases, which in different subjects vary the effects of
the air. And many persons perhaps enjoy a state of health and perfect
action, which may be capable of resisting its evil influence altogether.
It would perhaps be productive of useful results, if physicians of
extensive practice would make accurate meteorological registers during
the prevalence of any epidemic or contagious disorders. (Forster’s
Encyclopædia of Natural Phenomena.)
=Epizootic.=
Epizootic is a name for epidemic disorders occurring among animals, of
which we have many and various instances on record. The state of the
electrometer and other meteorological instruments should be carefully
examined during the prevalence of such pestilence.
=Elder Bush.=
A number of superstitions may be traced back to the former connection of
the elder bush with the goddess. Witches were thought to produce bad
weather by stirring water with branches of elder.
=Electric Lights.=
Last night I saw St. Elmo’s stars,
With their glimmering lanterns all at play
On the tops of the masts and the tips of the spars,
And I knew we should have foul weather that day.
=Fire.=
If the fire burns unusually fierce and bright in winter, there will be
frost and clear weather; if the fire burns dull, expect damp and rain.
Fire always burns brighter and throws out more heat just before a storm,
and is hotter during a storm.
Blacksmiths always select a stormy day in which to perform work
requiring extra heat.
A fire hard to kindle indicates bad weather.
When the fire crackles and crackles lightly, it is said to be treading
snow. (Old woman.)
=Floors.=
Floors saturated with oil become very damp just before rain.
=Fog Smoke.=
When with hanging fog smoke rises vertically, rain follows.
=Gale.=
If, during the absence of wind, the surface of the sea becomes agitated
by a long, rolling swell, a gale may be expected. This is well known to
seamen.
=General.=
But the best sign of all
If soot down the chimney fall.
The dog long asleep so sound,
We know moisture is in the ground.
The guinea at night groans so loud;
It says the rain is in the cloud.
The peacock appears on the scene,
And, with its spots both black and green,
Flies up to roost and screams so shrill,
He is heard o’er all the hill,
Saying that the sun is set;
In the morning we will be wet.
Old master sits and look with sorrow
On the prospect of the morrow.
Other signs just as good
Come from the vermin of the wood.
The owls hollow, the children scare,
Thus he tells when the rain is near.
If you kill the snake and hang it up,
You will find this is good luck;
And this will always bring the rain
To people who are not profane.
The gnats bite and I scratch in vain,
Because they know it is going to rain.
The cat, with her silken paws,
Washing there her whiskered jaws.
When these signs together come,
Nigger, you had better be at home.
(Negro.)
The cow looks up, and from afar can find
The change of heaven, and muffs it in the wind.
The swallow skims the river’s watery face;
The frogs renew the croaks of their loquacious race.
The careful ant her secret cell forsakes,
And drags her eggs along the narrow tracks.
At either horn the rainbow drinks the flood;
Huge flocks of rising rooks forsake their food,
And, crying, seek the shelter of the wood.
Above the rest the sun, who never lies,
Foretells the change of weather in the skies;
For if he rise unwillingly to his race,
Cloud on his brow and spots upon his face;
Or if through mist he shoots his sullen beams,
Frugal of light in loose and struggling streams,
Suspect a drizzling day; * * *
If fiery red his glowing globe descends,
High winds and furious tempests he portends;
But if his checks are swollen with livid blue,
He bodes wet weather by his watery hue;
If dusky spots are varied on his brow,
And streaked with red a troubled color show,
That shallow mixture shall at once declare,
Winds, rain, and storms, and elements at war.
(Virgil.)
DR. JANNER’S REASONS FOR NOT GOING HUNTING.
[From “Weather Folk-Lore,” by Rev. C. Swainson, M. A.]
=Wind.=
The hollow winds begin to blow,
=Clouds—Barometer.=
The clouds look black, the glass is low,
=Soot—Dogs.=
The soot falls down, the spaniels sleep,
=Spiders.=
And spiders from their cobwebs peep.
=Sun.=
Last night the sun went pale to bed,
=Moon.=
The Moon in halos hid her head. The boding shepherd heaves a sigh,
=Rainbow.=
For, see! a rainbow spans the sky,
=Walls—Ditches.=
The walls are damp, the ditches smell,
=Pimpernel.=
Closed is the pink-eyed pimpernel.
=Chairs and Tables.=
Hark! how the chairs and tables crack;
=Joints.=
Old Betty’s joints are on the rack.
=Ducks.=
Loud quack the ducks, the peacocks cry,
=Hills.=
The distant hills are looking nigh.
=Swine.=
How restless are the snorting swine!
=Flies.=
The busy flies disturb the kine,
=Swallow.=
Low o’er the grass the swallow wings;
=Cricket.=
The cricket, too, how sharp he sings;
=Cat.=
Puss on the hearth, with velvet paws,
Sits wiping o’er her whiskered jaws;
=Fish.=
Through the clear streams the fishes rise,
And nimbly catch the incautious flies;
=Glowworm.=
The glow-worms, numerous and bright,
Illumed the gloomy dell last night;
=Toad.=
At dusk the squalid toad was seen
Hopping and crawling o’er the green.
=Dust.=
The whirling dust the wind obeys,
And in the rapid eddy plays;
=Frog.=
The frog has changed his yellow vest,
And in a russet coat is dressed.
=Air.=
Though June, the air is cold and still,
=Blackbird.=
The mellow blackbird’s voice is shrill;
=Dog.=
My dog, so altered in his taste,
Quits mutton-bones on grass to feast;
=Rooks.=
And see yon rooks, how odd their flight,
They imitate the gliding kite,
And seem precipitate to fall
As if they felt the piercing ball.
’Twill surely rain; I see, with sorrow,
Our jaunt must be put off to-morrow.
(Dr. Janner.)
=Wind.=
Ere the rising winds begin to roar,
=Sea.=
The working seas advance to wash the shore;
=Trees.=
Soft whispers run along the leafy woods,
=Mountains.=
And mountains whistle to the murmuring floods.
=Waves.=
E’en then the doubtful billows scarce abstain
From the tossed vessel on the troubled main
=Cormorants.=
When crying cormorants forsake the sea
And, stretching, to the covert wing their way;
=Coots.=
When sportful coots run skimming o’er the strand;
=Herons.=
When watchful herons leave their watery strand,
And mounting upwards, with erected flight,
Gain on the skies and soar above the sight;
=Meteors.=
And oft before tempestuous winds arise
The seeming stars fall headlong from the skies,
And, shooting through the darkness, gild the night
With sweeping glories and long trains of light;
=Chaff.=
And chaff with eddy winds is whirled around,
=Leaves.=
And dancing leaves are lifted from the ground,
=Feathers.=
And floating feathers on the waters play;
=Thunder.=
But when the winged thunder takes his way
From the cold north, and east and west engage,
And at their frontiers meet with equal rage,
The clouds are crushed; a glut of gathered rain
The hollow ditches fills and floats the plain,
And sailors furl their dripping sheets amain.
=Rain.=
Wet weather seldom hurts the most unwise—
So plain the signs, such prophets are the skies;
=Crane.=
The wary crane foresees it first, and sails
Above the storm and leaves the lowly vales;
=Cow.=
The cow looks up, and from afar can find
The change of heaven, and snuffs it in the wind;
=Swallow.=
The swallow skims the river’s watery face;
=Frogs.=
The frogs renew the croaks of their loquacious race;
=Ant.=
The careful ant her secret cell forsakes,
And drags her eggs along the narrow tracks.
Rainbow.
At either horn the rainbow drinks the flood.
=Rooks.=
Huge flocks of rising rooks forsake their food,
And, crying, seek the shelter of the wood.
=Water-fowl.=
Besides the several sorts of watery fowls
That swim the seas or haunt the standing pools,
=Swans.=
The swans that sail along the silvery floods,
And dive with stretching necks to search their food,
Then lave their backs with sprinkling dews in vain,
And stem the stream to meet the promised rain;
=Crow.=
The crow, with clamorous cries, the shower demands,
And single stalks along the desert sands;
=Stars.=
The stars shine smarter, and the moon adorns
=Moon.=
As with inborrowed beams her sharpened horns;
=Gossamer.=
The filmy gossamer now flits no more,
=Halcyons.=
Nor halcyons bask on the short sunny shore;
=Swine.=
Their litter is not tossed by sows unclean,
=Mist.=
But a blue, droughty mist descends upon the plain,
=Owls.=
And owls that mark the setting sun declare
A starlight evening and a morning fair.
=Hawk and Lark.=
Towering aloft, avenging Nisus flies,
While dared below the guilty Scylla lies;
Wherever frightened Scylla flies away
Swift Nisus follows and pursues his prey;
Where injured Nisus takes his airy course,
Then trembling Scylla flies and shuns his course.
This punishment pursues the unhappy maid,
And thus the purple hair is dearly paid.
=Ravens.=
Then thrice the ravens rend the liquid air,
And croaking notes proclaim the settled fair;
Then ’round their airy palaces they fly
To greet the sun; and, seized with secret joy,
When storms are overblown, with food repair
To their forsaken nests and callow care.
Not that I think their breasts with heavenly souls
Inspired, as man who destiny controls;
But, with the changeful temper of the skies,
As rains condense and sunshine rarefies,
So turn the species in their altered minds,
Composed by calms and discomposed by winds.
=Birds.=
From hence proceeds the bird’s harmonious voice,
=Cows and Lambs.=
From hence the cows exult and frisking lambs rejoice.
(Virgil.)
=Goose-bone.=
When the goose-bone exposed to air turns blue, it indicates rain.
When the goose-bone exposed to air retains its color, expect clear
weather.
=Gossamer.=
In crossing the channel from Calais to Dover, I have observed that
captains of vessels have sometimes foreboded fine settled weather from
the settling on the masts and rigging of a certain sort of web which we
take to be the woof of some spider, though we have observed it to alight
on the ships when some way out at sea. (Forster.)
=Guitar Strings.=
Guitar strings shorten before rain.
=Headaches.=
Headaches often indicate a change of weather in persons subject to such
complaints. Indeed, most periodical disorders seem to be connected with
some atmospheric changes. And it is very remarkable that they should so
often have their worst paroxysms and the crisis of their terms about the
time of the conjunction and the opposition of the moon. (Forster.)
=Hills.=
Distant hills appear to be near just before rain.
=Horses.=
Horses sweating in the stable is a sign of rain.
=Human Hair.=
Human hair (red) curls and kinks at the approach of a storm and
restraightens after the storm.
=Indications of Clouds.=
After fine weather the first signs in the sky of a coming change are
usually light streaks, curls, wisps, or mottled patches of white distant
clouds, which increase and are followed by an overcasting or murky vapor
that grows into cloudiness.
=Lamp Wicks.=
Lamp wicks crackle, candles burn dim, soot falls down, smoke descends,
walls and pavements are damp, and disagreeable odors arise from ditches
and gutters before rain.
Excrescence forming about wicks of lamps and candles, which consume
their fuel slowly, indicate rain.
The nightly virgin while her wheel she plies
Foresees the storm impending in the skies
When sparkling lamps their sputtering lights advance,
And in their sockets oily bubbles dance.
Lamps, from the manner in which they burn, forebode weather. Before rain
they burn less bright, the flame snaps and crackles, and a sort of
fungous excrescence grows from the wicks, which Virgil was mindful to
put among his prognostics of rain and wind. From this indicatorial
property of the burning lights arose many superstitions relating to
them, as the blue color of the flame being a sign of ghost and death,
and so on, of which the following explanation is already offered in the
Perennial Calendar:
“Numerous were the omens attached by credulous persons in former days to
the manner in which candles burnt, and particularly to their flames.
When they burned blue, it was accounted ill luck, or else that some
ghostly apparition was announced. Now when the brain and nervous system
are in a certain state peculiarly favorable to spectral illusions, the
imagination may easily color the flame of a candle, without its really
changing its tint; just as, in fevers, people see spots of color on the
wall, or imagine insects on the bedclothes. For the same morbid
condition of the animal system which may cause persons to see the
spectral prognostic, would in this case cause them to behold the
subsequent phantom, and thus the omen and its awful consequence would be
viewed together to the support of superstition. Besides this, the
particular mode of burning observed in the wicks of lamps and candles is
really found to be caused by atmospherical peculiarities, and is a sure
sign of rain.” (Forster’s Encyclopædia of Natural Phenomena.)
=Light.=
Refractions of light of any remarkable kind frequently forebode rain,
sometimes storms; at sea the knowledge of this is very useful. Circles
around the sun and moon, mock suns, and other phenomena of this kind,
together with the unusual elevation of distant coasts, masts of ships,
&c., particularly when the refracted images are inverted, are known to
be frequent foreboders of stormy weather.
=Long Island.=
When Long Island comes up the harbor, expect a storm. (Connecticut.)
=Lumen Lambens.=
Lumen Lambens is an electric light seen about plants of a summer
evening, of which the particular indications as to the coming weather
have not been yet accurately discovered.
=Matting.=
The matting on the floor is shrinking, dry weather may be expected. When
matting expands, expect wet weather.
=Marigold.=
When the marigold remains closed after 7 p. m., expect rain.
=Night Clearing.=
After a wet day the whole sky often clears at night. This is not a
certain sign of fair weather. The clouds may, and often do, form just as
heavily after sunrise next morning.
=Oak Trees.=
When oak trees bend in January, good crops may be expected.
=Ocean.=
There are various prognostics deducible from the appearance of the
ocean. When the surface of the sea is rough without any wind blowing at
the time, expect a gale before long; for the wind already blowing in
some distant part of the ocean is the cause of the swell imparted to the
sea.
=Pavements.=
If pavements appear rusty or if stoves or iron or steel rust during the
night, rain may be expected soon.
=Pipes.=
Pipes for smoking tobacco become indicative of the state of the air.
When the scent is longer retained than usual, and seems denser and more
powerful, it often forebodes rain and wind.
=Rain.=
The greater distinctness of distant objects indicates rain. The air
grows clear and distant objects are seen more clearly just before rain.
=Rigging Rope.=
The rigging rope on vessels and clothes lines grows slack before rain.
=Rheumatic.=
Rheumatic pains indicate bad weather.
=Rocks.=
Rocks sweat before rain.
=Ropes.=
Ropes difficult to untwist indicate bad weather.
=Salt.=
Saline impregnations deliquesce before rain. Salts become damp before
rain.
=Shifts of Wind.=
The most dangerous shifts of wind or the heaviest northerly gales happen
soon after the barometer first rises from a very low point, or, if the
wind veers gradually, at some time afterwards.
=Smoke.=
Smoke frequently indicates the state of the air. A person being
accustomed to take his pipe early in the morning will have occasion to
observe that when the smoke hangs a long while in the air, and scents
the place around where he has been smoking, a good hunting day always
follows. (Forster.)
Smoke falling to the ground indicates rain.
Smoke ascending indicates clear weather.
When smoke rises from the bottom lands and goes to the mountain, expect
an early winter. (Apache Indians.)
When the sun presses the smoke out of chimneys, foul weather follows.
When the smoke in clear weather rises vertically from the chimney, the
weather will remain clear.
=Snow.=
If snow falls in flakes which increase in size, expect a thaw.
=Soap.=
Soap covered with moisture indicates bad weather.
=Soot.=
When in cold weather the soot falls from the chimney, the weather will
change.
Falling soot indicates bad weather.
Soot burning on back of chimney indicates storms.
When the soot on pots over the fire sparkles, rain follows.
=Sound.=
Sound travelling far and wide
A stormy day will betide.
When on calm days the sound is carried far, rain follows.
=Sounds.=
Distant sounds heard with distinctness during the day indicate rain.
=Stones.=
Quarries of stone and slate indicate rain by a moist exudation from the
stones. This seems analogous to the dampness on stones, stone steps, and
ornaments, both of stone and of metal, before rain and in damp weather.
Stones sweating in the afternoon, the springs running flusher (commonly
called earth sweat), such are atmospheric indications of rain.
=Stringed Instruments.=
Stringed instruments giving forth clear, ringing sounds indicate fair
weather.
=Storm.=
It moderates to storm.
=Stomach.=
This organ in persons of weak and irritable constitutions is often
deranged at the change of the weather, and its digestive powers are more
under atmospherical influence than people are commonly aware of. Before
storms it is particularly liable to uneasy sensations.
=Sweating Stones.=
A sweating stone indicates rain.
=Sweating Wall.=
A sweating wall indicates rain.
=Tables and Chairs.=
The cracking of tables and chairs indicates rain or frost.
=Thunder.=
Abundance depends upon sour milk; meaning that thunder-storms aid crops.
Thunder-storms almost always occur when the weather is hot for the
season; they are generally caused by a cold wind coming over a place
where the air is much heated. They do not cool the air; it is the wind
that brings them which makes the weather cooler. If a thunder-storm
comes up from the east, the weather will not be cooler after it. This
will not happen till another storm comes up from the west.
Thunder-storms are more violent the greater the difference of
temperature between the two currents of wind which produce them.
=Toothache.=
Toothache is often a forerunner of some change of weather, like other
pains, and particularly that species which depends on inflammation of a
diseased socket or gum. In certain kinds of weather, and particularly
before rain or showers, decayed teeth and diseased gums are very uneasy,
and the pain often ceases when the rain begins to fall. The periods of
that sort of toothache which depends on the exposure of the nerve in the
cavity of the tooth seem to exist independently of any particular
weather, and occur most frequently during the night, when the patient
first gets warm in bed. The progress of this sort of toothache is often
as follows: The pain after awhile becomes continuous instead of being
periodical, and by degrees subsides, but the socket then and ultimately
the gum become diseased, and are thence liable to be affected by the
state of the weather above described. (Forster’s Encyclopædia of Natural
Phenomena.)
=Tortoises.=
Tortoises creep deep into the ground so as to completely conceal
themselves from view when a severe winter is to follow. When a mild
winter is to follow they go down just far enough to protect the opening
of their shells.
=Trees.=
Trees snapping and cracking in the fall indicates cold weather.
=Vernal Equinox.=
If the wind is northeast at vernal equinox, it will be a good season for
wheat and a poor one for corn; but if south or southwest, it will be
good for corn and bad for wheat.
=Walls.=
When in cold weather the walls begin to show dampness, the weather
changes.
=Water Bubbles.=
When water bubbles from the ground, expect rain on the following day.
=Wells.=
Water rising in wells and springs indicates approaching rain.
=Wet and Dry.=
Dust in the wheat and dab in the oats—that is, sow wheat in dry weather
and sow oats at any time, even in wind.
=Wheat and Corn.=
If the spring is dry, sow wheat; if it is wet, plant corn.
=Wind.=
The whirling wind the dust obeys,
And in the rapid eddy plays.
=Winter Storms.=
In winter, after the prevalence of easterly winds, if the barometer
begins to fall and the thermometer to rise, a gale which commences to
blow from the southeast will veer to southwest, while the barometer
falls constantly. As soon as the wind passes the southwest point the
barometer begins to rise, a heavy shower of rain falls, and a strong
west-northwest or northwest wind may follow, after which the sky clears
and the weather becomes colder.
=Winter Storm.=
If in winter the barometer rises very high, and a thick fog sets in, it
is a sure sign that the southwest and northeast winds are “fighting each
other.” Neither of them can make head against the other, and there is a
calm, but there is a great danger of such a state or things being
followed by a bad gale.
=Winter.=
Six weeks from the time snow is seen on Mount Mansfield, winter comes to
stay.
=Wood Fire.=
Wood-fire coals frequently snuffing during the winter months foretell
snow.
269 WEST ELEVENTH STREET,
_New York City, October 16, 1882_.
Sergeant NEWLIN, _U. S. S. Office_,
_Cleveland, Ohio_:
DEAR SIR: I send with this two selections, taken as stated. Although,
perhaps, not quite what you seek, there may be enough in them to
warrant your perusing. As to their fitness for the purposes you demand
I leave to you.
Trusting they may not be unacceptable, I am, very respectfully,
Your obedient servant,
CHAS. WARD RAYMOND.
The following poems are, perhaps, more curious than interesting. They
afford, however, some idea of the superstitious dread with which the
advent of Christmas day must have been regarded in these early times,
not merely by the vulgar, but by all classes of our forefathers, for the
Francis Moores and Raphaels of the fifteenth century found even kings
willing believers in their extravagant predictions. From the allusions
in each verse of the first poem to the risks that those who steal
subject themselves to, one would almost suppose thieving to have been
the fashionable vice of the age, practiced alike by both rich and poor,
and that there was great need of such injunctions against it.
Both of these poems are from the same Harleian MS. in the British Museum
(No. 2252, fols. 153–4). Christmas with the poets. London. David Bogue,
86 Fleet street. 1855.
I.
Lordlings, all of you I warn:
If the day that Christ was born
Fall upon a Sunday,
The winter shall be good I say,
But great winds aloft shall be;
The summer shall be fair and dry.
By kind skill and without loss,
Through all lands there shall be peace,
Good time for all things to be done,
But he that stealeth shall be found soon;
What child that day born may be,
A great lord he shall live to be.
If Christmas day on Monday be,
A great winter that year you’ll see.
And full of winds, both loud and shrill,
But in the summer, truth to tell,
Stern winds shall there be and strong,
Full of tempests lasting long;
While battles they shall multiply,
And great plenty of beasts shall die.
They that be born that day I mean,
They shall be strong each one and keen.
He shall be found that stealeth ought,
Though thou be sick thou dieth not.
If Christmas day on Tuesday be,
That year shall many women die,
And that winter grow great marvels;
Ships shall be in great perils.
That year shall kings and lords be slain,
And many other people near them;
A dry summer that year shall be,
As all that are born therein may see;
They shall be strong and covetous.
If thou steal aught, thou losest thy life,
For thou shalt die through sword or knife
But if thou fall sick ’tis certain
Thou shalt turn to life again.
If Christmas day, the truth to say,
Fall upon a Wednesday,
There shall be a hard winter and strong,
With many hideous winds among.
The summer merry and good shall be,
And that year wheat in great plenty;
Young folks shall die that year, also,
And ships at sea shall have great woe.
Whatever child that day born is,
He shall be doughty and gay, I wis,
And wise and crafty also of deed,
And find many in clothes and bread.
If Christmas day on Thursday be
A windy winter you shall see;
Windy weather in each week,
And hard tempests strong and thick.
The summer shall be good and dry,
Corn and beasts shall multiply;
That year is good lands for to till;
Kings and princes shall die by skill.
If a child that day born should be,
It shall happen right well for thee;
Of deeds he shall be good and stable,
Wise of speech and reasonable.
Whoso that day goes thieving about,
He shall be punished without doubt;
And if sickness that day betide
It shall quickly from thee glide.
If Christmas day on Friday be,
The first of winter hard shall be;
With frost and snow, and with great flood,
But the end thereof it shall be good.
Again, the summer shall be good also;
Folk in their eyes shall have great woe;
Women with child, beasts, and corn,
Shall multiply and be lost none.
The child that is born on that day,
Shall live long and lecherous be alway.
Who stealeth ought shall be found out;
If thou be sick it lasteth not.
If Christmas day on Saturday fall,
That winter’s to be dreaded by all;
It shall be so full of great tempest,
That it shall slay both man and beast;
Great store shall fail of fruit and corn,
And old folk die many a one.
What woman that day of child doth travail,
She shall give birth in great peril;
And children born that day by faith,
In half a year shall meet with death.
The summer shall be wet and ill;
Thou shalt suffer if aught thou steal;
Thou diest of sickness do thee take.
II.
If Christmas day on the Sunday be,
A troublous winter ye shall see,
Mingled with waters strong;
Good there shall be without fable,
For the summer shall be reasonable,
With storms at times among.
Wines that year shall all be good,
The harvest shall be wet with flood,
Pestilence shall fall on many a country;
Ere that sickness shall have past,
And while great tempests last,
Many young people dead shall be.
Princes that year with iron shall die,
There shall be changing of many lords high,
Amongst knights great debate,
Many tidings shall come to men,
Many wives shall be weeping then,
Both of poor and great estate.
The faith shall then be hurt truly,
For divers points of heresy
That shall then appear,
Through the tempting of the fiend;
And divers matters unkind,
Shall bring great danger near.
Cattle shall thrive one and the other,
Save oxen, they shall kill each other;
And some beasts they shall die;
Both fruit and corn will not be good,
Apples will be scarce for food,
And ships shall suffer on the sea.
That year on Monday, without fearing
All things well thou mayst begin,
They shall be profitable;
Children that on this day are born,
I’ faith shall mighty be and strong,
Of wit full reasonable.
=East Wind.=
A change of wind, particularly a change from any other quarter to east,
makes most people feel uncomfortable, and produces headaches in persons
who are subject to them. Similar changes have the most violent effects
when they happen about the new or full moon. It is difficult to
ascertain in what degree the directions and changes of wind are under
the influence of electricity, but there are many circumstances which
would incline one to believe that these changes are dependent on some
similar principle to that which causes atmospheric diseases in the human
body, for certain winds, as well as certain changes of wind, are known
to produce epidemics in many countries where violent atmospherical
complaints prevail; and in every country of the world I believe the east
wind is almost proverbially unhealthy. Casual changes to east produce
headache and nervous complaints, and a long-continued wind from that
quarter produces an unwholesome season. Another curious thing is, that
with east winds good astronomical observations cannot be made, the
luminous objects seeming to dance or wave about in the field of the
telescope. (Atmospheric Phenomena—Forster.)
=Shooting Stars a Prognostic of Bad Weather.=
The connection between shooting stars and bad weather, mentioned by many
ancient writers, will appear probable if we consider certain facts
established in the domain of modern science. Of all the various theories
advanced to explain this startling phenomenon (termed meteor, fire-ball,
shooting-star, moon-stone, sun-stone), that seems to be the most
probable which considers them planetary bodies of very small size,
circulating in an orbit round the sun, as our earth, and getting into
that of the latter, entangled by her attraction, which occasionally
brings down some of them upon her surface. Numerous planetary bodies,
called Ceres, Pallas, &c., exist between Mars and Jupiter, and similar
bodies of smaller dimensions may exist between the earth and its
neighbors in the solar system.
Periodicy is a great fact in cosmical arrangements, and this phenomenon
of shooting stars, &c., is strikingly periodical. Induced, apparently,
by certain popular weather maxims among the French, M. C. St. Claire
Deville has investigated the subject, and his conclusions are positive
as to the “perturbations of the earth’s temperature,” coincident with
the phenomenon as noticed from time immemorial in about the first
fortnight of February, May, August, and November. M. Deville even
ventures upon general conclusions from the fact. He says: “Do not all
these considerations almost necessarily lead us to infer the influence
of these critical periods, by their sudden variations of temperature,
not only on the health of the vegetable creation, but that of the human
race? Should we not examine the registers of hospitals, to see if
certain diseases are not more frequent on certain days of certain years?
Can we not even go back to the past and see, in the history and
chronicles of past ages, if there are some traces of periodicy in
certain great perturbations in the health of nations like the two
invasions of cholera, which perhaps by chance occurred in 1832 and in
1849, about the center of the two critical periods, and which came from
the north like the aurora borealis, since it seems, also, that it is
these great atmospheric waves that propagate the perturbations of
temperature?” In confirmation of this view we may notice the cattle
plague, and the cholera still hovering over us and likely to recommence
its ravages.
Professor Erman, of Berlin, writing to Arago, in 1840, said that “the
two swarms or currents of asteroids (planetary bodies) which the earth
meets on the ecliptic, respectively, about the 10th of August and the
13th of November, annually intervene between the earth and the sun, the
first in the days between the 5th and 11th of February, the second from
the 10th to 15th of May. Each of these conjunctions annually causes at
those dates a very remarkable extinction of the heating ray of the sun,
and thereby lowers the temperature at all points of the surface of the
globe.”
With respect to the November display of the phenomenon, it appears that
its maximum was in 1799 and in 1833. Since then it has almost entirely
ceased, but according to the prediction of Olbers it will resume the
ascendant in 1867. Humboldt and others have reported on these displays,
but that of the night of the 12th and 13th of November, 1833, in the
United States, as described by Olmstead, needs only to be mentioned for
our present purpose. No less than 300,000 masses, forming parts of the
solar system, passed through that part of our terrestrial atmosphere
which was visible at Boston, Mass.
“It was supposed that they were only stopped in the atmosphere and
prevented from reaching the earth by transferring their motion to
columns of air, large volumes of which they would suddenly and violently
displace.
“It was remarked that the state of the weather and the condition of the
seasons following this meteoric shower were just such as might have been
anticipated from these disturbing circumstances of the atmospheric
equilibrium.”
M. C. Gravier believes that meteors show the direction of the coming
wind; that their slow motion foretells a calm to ensue, or to continue
if it exists; in fact, he says they are our weather-cocks and
anemometers in the upper regions of the sky. He predicts that the rest
of the present year (1866) will be more dry than wet, and the
temperature above the average.
Our object in this article is merely to draw attention to the critical
periods. It is obvious that if the passage of these meteors take place
by day we cannot see them, so that their non-appearance is no reason why
we should not be on our guard. From a list of storms obligingly given us
by the meteorologic office as having in past years occurred at or about
some of the periods we have named, and from our own investigations, we
believe that the subject is worthy of attention, suggestive of caution
at those critical periods, and altogether deserving a more lengthy
consideration than we can give it in our limited space on this occasion.
During the great Barbadoes hurricane, August 10, 1831, fiery meteors
fell perpendicularly from a vast height. The correspondence of the date,
August 10th, is striking, and all are familiar with the great “November
Atmospheric Wave,” and its storms, especially the great Crimean
hurricane of disastrous memory (November 14, 1855). (Manual of
Weathercasts, by Andrew Steinmetz.)
The following interesting report relative to weather prognostics of the
Zuñi Indians was furnished by Mr. G. H. Cushing, assistant ethnologist
of the Smithsonian Institution:
ZUÑI, NEW MEXICO,
_September 29, 1882_.
D. D. GRAHAM, Esq.,
_Acting subagent of the Zuñi Pueblo Indians_:
DEAR SIR: I have the honor to submit herewith a few hastily-prepared
statements from my notes relative to the weather prognostics, proverbs,
&c., of the Zuñi Indians:
With these Indians the study of weather, both from practical and
superstitious standpoints, has been the result of necessity, the growth
of generations. It is therefore no matter of surprise that the
accompanying questions penetrate a rich domain with them of research.
Indeed, nothing short of a moderately lengthy treatise would do the
subject, which is withal popularly a most interesting one, justice.
Zuñi worship, like that of the ancient Greeks, relates principally to
this life.
To this life water is considered the greatest of necessities and
blessings. Hence, rain, the clouds, springs, and all beings, things, and
phenomena related to them, are regarded as sacred. A better
understanding of this may be gleaned from the fact that in Zuñi
mythology the sky and the celestial bodies, many terrestrial objects,
and all phenomena of either, are regarded not less than all organized
beings as animate and conscious existences, the whole, including man,
being denominated _á hâ i_, or, The Beings. The greater number of the
latter are included under two great classes:
1. Kia-pin = á-hâ-i; and
2. Kiä-shëm = á-hâ-i; the former signifying—
1. Beings (belonging) _to_ water, and the latter,
2. Beings of the water.
These _beings_, as above explained, include all _phenomena_ or _objects_
connected with water, are supposed to control greatly the weather, &c.;
hence the sayings relative to them and their influence are legion.
I have selected only a few of the principal of these, illustrative
merely of the questions which I find in General Hazen’s blank,
regretting that lack of time does not permit of a more exhaustive
treatment of his subject.
In order that a few examples of the original Zuñi may be given with the
English renditions, I have answered the questions on a separate piece of
paper, indicating them by their number, as given in General Hazen’s
blank.
=1. The Sun.=
“Yä to k’ia kiá kwap, i lo na kia ná, thli to nì ä hi ha.” (When the sun
is in his house (i. e., in a halo or circle) cloud it will, rain will
come soon.)
“Yä to k’ia kwa k’ets a nam hortil k wa tâp, i tchi tin gä mu k’ia ni
ha, thli te kwa ni k’ia ná.” (When the sun sets unhappily (with a
haze-veiled face) then will the morning be angry with wind, storm, and
sand.)
=2. The Moon.=
The moon, being a deity of the lives of men, does not belong to the
“_k’iä she ma hâi_;” hence the proverbs relative to her, the legion,
have little connection with weather prognostics. Two, however, are very
often repeated: Yä o non kia kwop, í lo na kia ná, thli to kiaw i a ni
ha; meaning, the moon, if in house be, cloud it will, rain soon will
come. Yä o non an no pon i shi la a kiap (the moon, her face, if red
be), kiä shë ma an te peie á (of water speaks she). The changes in the
moon indicate rather changes in the affairs of men than in weather.
=3. The Stars.=
With the exception of six of the stars, viz: of the north, of the west,
of the south, of the morning, of the evening, of the zenith, and of the
lower regions (or horizon), the smaller celestial bodies relate also
more to the affairs of men than to the weather. These six are spoken of
as are the sun and moon. There is, however, one proverb which differs
from those of the latter: Morgä tchu we in sha na í mup, a li hortel té
k’ia na. The stars sit still if they do (the times) to be pleasant are.
(When the stars sit still the times are to be pleasant).
=4. The Rainbow.=
A mi to lan u ha í ton illi; thli to i peyu á. (The rainbow has but a
bad character: she ever commands the rains to cease.)
=5. The Fogs.=
Shi wai a horthl yëil la ke’a á pei ni up, té tsï ti i há. (When the
mist rolls down from the mountains, cold will it be.)
=6. The Dew.=
“When the dew is seen shining on the leaves, So ho! the mist rolled down
from the mountains last night, &c.” (See proverbs relating to fog.)
=7. The Clouds.=
“When the clouds rise in terraces of white, soon will the country of the
corn-priests be pierced with the arrows of rain.”
“When the clouds rise in balls of blue mist from the horizon, snow will
soon whiten the country of the corn-priests.”
=8. The Frost.=
With the coming of the frost grows the corn old.
=9. The Snow.=
“If much snow be spread on the mountains in winter, the season of
planting will be made blue with verdure.”
=10. The Rain.=
“With the north rain leaves the harvest.”
The west rain, it comes from the world of waters to moisten the home of
the Shi wi (Zuñi).
The south rain brings with it the beautiful odors of the hand of
everlasting summer and brightens the leaves of growing things.
“With the rain of the northeast comes the ice fruit (hail).”
=11. The Thunder.=
“The distant thunder speaks of coming rain.”
With the first thunder the Beloved (gods of rain) open their portals.
It first thunders in the north: Aha! the bear has stretched his left leg
in his winter bed.
It first thunders in the west: Aha! the bear has stretched his left arm
in his winter bed.
It first thunders in the south: Aha! the bear has stretched his right
leg in his winter bed.
It first thunders in the east: Aha! the bear has stretched his right
arm, and comes forth, and then winter is over.
=12. The Winds.=
Wind from the north, cold and snow.
Wind from the western rim of the northland, snow.
Wind from the world of waters, clouds.
Wind from the southern rim of the world of waters, rain.
Wind from the land of the beautiful red, lovely odors, and rain.
Wind from the wooded cañons, rain and mist-clouds.
Wind from the land of day it is the breath of health, and brings the
days of long life.
Winds from the lands of cold, the rain before which flees the harvest.
Winds from the lands of cold, the fruit of ice.
Winds from the right hand of the west is the breath of the god of
sand-clouds.
=13. Zoothistic Prognostics.=
I am compelled to leave this department, from want of detailed notes,
almost untouched, although there is scarcely an action of the animals
without its interpretation, either relative to weather or to the affairs
of men.
=14. Bats.=
Bats who speak flying, tell of rain for to-morrow.
=15. Birds.=
When chimney swallows circle and call, they speak of rain.
When the bluebirds twitter and sing, they call to one another of rain.
When the summer birds take their flight, goes the summer with them.
=16. Frogs.=
When the frogs warble, they herald the rain.
=17. Butterfly.=
When the butterfly comes, comes also the summer.
When the flowers dry up, the birds of summer flee. See also proverbs
relative to summer birds (15).
When the world is damp, spring the seeds of the beloved (mushrooms and
other apparently spontaneous growths).
18. “When the locks of the Navajos grow damp in the scalp-house, surely
it will rain.”
The seasons in Zuñi are only three—spring, summer, and winter. They are
supposed to result from the change of weather and the will of the sun;
hence are themselves prognosticated.
The months are lunar, and there are no days of the Christian week, save
Sunday, when the Indians cannot trade, and which for this reason they
know of.
Relative to proverbs of the months and seasons, I can only say there are
many, but, as in the case with other matters above alluded to, they are
rather relative to the affairs of life (mostly sacred obligations and
observances) than to weather and agricultural operations.
Very respectfully,
G. H. CUSHING,
_Assistant Ethnologist_.