Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1885-05-01
supsRsT,TloNs
Ram. ~ t,e Pet Signs and Omens That An
More or LeSs Believed in.

NKOT0 "a
Scat-whack!
There was a sudden howl. asif q fog
horn had been seiz.& with a night
mare. and a something that bore a de-
cided resemblance to a cats tail dis
appeared over the back fence OF a st:
Paul street residence like a streak OF,
| yellow lightning.
II don't like to see a cat lying in the
sun in February said the old gentle
man. MS he slammed down the window
and resumed his chair by the fire place.
"Whv?" asked an incredufous Wis.,
itor.
1T forebodes a stormy March," was
the response. Why. that's a proverh
I've heard since I was a child, and I've
never known it to fail. But here in
| the CITY. and particularly here in st.
! Paul street. they laugh at a fellow
when he hauls out his country saws.
That shows their ignorance, for good
ness knows a farmer knows more about
the weatherin a week than they 90 in tho
city for a month. There's another true
saving that when the north wind does.
notblow in February it will have its re-
venee in March. And for every thunder
and rain in this month there will be a
cold spell in May. The old proverb
says that when the snow flies in the
bitches it is waiting for more, and when
it falls in the mud it remains all winter.
Look out for rain when the flakes
grow larger as they fall. Of curse
YOU remember the time-honored re-
mark about the white Christmas and.
the lean graveyard. You people
pay any attention to those signs. but
the farmers, the truckers, the milk
men-people whom you brush past
every day on the streets or in the mar
,kets-believe in them because their
fathers taught them to do So"
II suppose every month has its W
;signs?" asked the %incredulous visitor,
,,as he gazed incredulously at a nickel
plated horseshoe suspended over the
Imantel.
Every one of them,'' was the reply.
''and a few of the most ancient and
least known 1 will recite for your
!benefit. 1t is said that if grass grows
lin January it will grow badly during
the rest of the year. The original saw
for March says that if the month comes
in with an adder's head it goes out with
a peacock's tail. 1t was believed, too,
that a 'bushel of March dust was worth
a kings ransom though this was a
rather poetical adaptation. OF April it
is sad that a cold, moist April fills the
cellar and fattens the cow" A dry
May brings nothing.
"a swarm of bees in May
Is worth a load of hay;
A swarm of bees in June
Is worth a SilvcrspOon;
But n swarm of bees in July
Is not worth a fly.
"A pretty rhyme, is it not?" he in
terruptcd, with a laugh. "a dripping
June sets all things in tune. When it
rains in August it rains honey and
wine. If the first day of September be
fair the month will be a good one. A
warm October brings a cold February.
Ice in November forebodes plenty of
sleet and bad weather during the win
ter, and q warm Christmas indicates a
cold Easter. The first three days of
any season rule its weather. When it
clears on Sunday it will be clear until
Wednesday, and if it rains on the first
dog-day there will be a flood for forty
days thereafter. In spring a tub of
rain makes a spoonful of mud, but in
autumn a teaspoonful of rain makes a
tub of mud. We heard a Handicapped
two weeks ago. That was a prophecy
of a poor year for maple sugar, but a
good year for fruit.
'.Do you know how to f%oretell rain
with certainty" he asked, land with
out going out doors? Just watch the
,~cockroaches. When they fly get out
your umbrellas. Crickets chirp lively
and spiders come out of their nests also
before rain. I'll tell you a curious old
saw about frost. The first frost, so
runs the saw, comes exactly six weeks
after we hear the first katydid. There
will be as many frosts in June as there
are fogs in February. forgot to tell
you also that rats and mice make much
noise before a rain, and horses snuff:
the air %noticeably. Most of the signs
of which l have spoken have their
origin in experience and observation,
and there is in them much Of TRUTH
Baltimore Herald.