Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1883-11-05

I0e business Oh the OUlCG. why uOeS ne
spend his time and the peoples money in
collecting and publishing them? We
should prefer to believe that General
HaZen's predictions are based on the in
dicatiOns alphabetically presented in his
astonishing little book.
The very first item of weather infOrma-
ton is under the heading ''Ass,'' and is as
follows:
''When the ass begins to bray,
BE sure we shall have rain that day"
Proceeding down the alphabet we learn
from Gen. Hazen that clears and cOons
are always restless before RAIN" that
''when cats sneeZe it is a sign of rain, and
when cats are snoring foul weather fol-
lows" that if cat washes her head be-
hind her ear, it is also sign of rain; that
rain is indicated if dog bowls when
somebody leaves the house; that 'when
the spaniel sleeps it indicates RAIN" that
''pigs, uneasy, grunting and budding to-
gether, indicate cOld;" besides many
other equally interesting things. Here
are few of Gen. Hazen's facts about
animals:
"BULL.-If the bull leads the van in going
to pasture, rain must be expected; but If he
Is careless and a lows the cows to precede
him, the weather will be uncertain"
"DoNKEY.-whe the donkey blows his horn
It's time TO house your hay and
corn"
"CATTLE.-When a COW stops and shakes
her foot, it indicates that there is bad weather
behind her."
The Chief Signal Officer has also studied
the habits of birds with great benefit to
science:
"COCKs.-COcks are said to clap their wings
in an unusual manner before rain, and hens
to rub IN the dust and seem very uneasy.
IF the cock mOult before the hen,
We
But if the hen mOult before the cock,
We shall have weather hard as a block"
"PEACOCKs.-When the peacock loudly
bawls,
soon We'll have both rain and
SQUALLS
The compiler of the dictionary seems to
be uncertain just how 30 interpret the
Ominous voices Of owls. He says that
"Owls hOOting indicate rain," but adds:
eff owls boot at night, expect fair wealth
err" Moreover, ''when an owl boots or
screeches, sitting on the top of a house,
or by the side of a window, it is said to
fOretell DEATH" And he proceeds to re-
mark:
The owl, as Virgil justly observes, is more
noisy at the change of weather, and as it Of
ten happens that patients with lingering dis
eases die at the change of weather, the
owl seems. by mistaken association of ideas.
to fOretell the calamity. Both the screech
owl and the howlet seem to be alluded to
among the harmful birds in Spencer's Fairy
Queen"
This is very philosophical. But Gen.
Hazen's suggestions are not always
gloomy; they are often cheerful and some
| times even spOrtive:
''If the sky beyond the clouds is blue,
BE glad, there is picnic for you"
"When there is enough clear sky to patch
Dutchman's brooches, expect fair weather"
Bubbles of air over clam beds, accord
ing to General HaZen, indicate rain. If "A
Sunday sunset is Obscured, there will be
rain before Wednesday. If the skin on
the belly of the catfish is unusually thick,
look out for cold winter. He has dis
covered that fish bite best "when the
moon is in the tail;'' but ''if the moon
runs low, expect warm weather. If eels
are very lively, it is sign of ram.
We might fill columns with quotations
from this surprising volume, which seems
to have been prepared by the joint efforts
of the Chief Signal Officer, Zadkiel, and
Uncle Remus. Here are few more of
General Hazen's prose aXiOms:
"Cuttles, with their many legs swimming
on the top of the water, and striving to be
above the waves, presage a storm"
"A winters fog viii freeze a dog
'When gnats dance in February the hus
bandman becomes beggar."
1.-The rainbow has but bad character; she
ever commands the rain to cease"
1.-The color of a frog changing from yellow
to reddish indicates rain
''When star tows the moon and another
chases her astern, tempestuOus weather will
follow. The phenomenon is probably styled
a big star chasing the moon"
"When snow falls in the mud it remains all
winter
''If the geese on St. Martins Day stand on
ice, they will walk in mud on Christmas"
''St. Patrick's Day the warm side of a stone
turns up, and the broad-back goose begins to
lay"
'Epizootic is a name for epidemic disorders
occurring among animals, of which we have
many and various instances on record. The
state OF the electronOmeter and other meteOrO-
logical instruments should be carefully eX-
amined during the prevalence of such pes
thence
"Human hair red) curls and kinks at the
approach of a storm, and restraightens after
the Storm"
1t will be observed that General HaZen
does not cOnfine himself strictly to the
weather, but throws in many humps of
wisdom suitable to the needs of the fish
erman, the horse doctor, the barber and
the undertaken. His pOetical department
includes selections from Virgil. Shakes
peare, and other faVOrite authors, besides
many bits that are apparently original,
either with himself or with DunwOOdy.
For example:
'When heas do very many grow,
Then twill surely rain or snow.
'When eager bites the thirsty flea,
Clouds and rain you sure shall see."
"A fly on your nose you slap and it goes,
II it comes back again it will bring good
rain"
''OniOn skins very thin,
Mild winter coming in;
Onion skins thick and tough,
Coming winter cold and rough"
''When the stars begin TO huddle,
The earth will soon become a puddle"
Altogether, the appearance of this book
marks an epoch in the government pub
fishing business. In spite of General
Hazen's disclaimer, it throws light on
the mysterious methods of the bureau, as
well as on the long journeys of inspection
which the Chief Signal Officer finds it ne
| cessary to take during the summer season
of the year. He does not travel across
the continent for pleasure merely. He
| goes because he feels il to be his duty to
discover for himself whether the ass is
braying in the Ohio valley, whether the
chipmunk is abundant in the lower lake
region, and whether the COWS are shaking
| their hind feet in the extreme northwest.
| If he finds that such is the case, General
Hazen knows that we are going to have
| rain.