Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1888-08-02
OF WEATHER SIGNS.


cause 1 heerd one O. them old wood
peckers hollerin' fit to bust hisself while
| was a-gettin' my dinner"
Next morning the daily paper spoke
of settled fine weather, but the rustic
was right-it rained heavily. Here was
man utterly uneducated, who, without
reference to any scientific instrument
could forecast the morrow's weather
with accuracy, when the Meteorological
Office, with all its appliances, was al
fault.
With a little practice, any one living
inland can, from the following signs
correctly prOgnosticate for his own neigh
borhoOd. The man who is out of doors
at sunrise can form pretty accurate
opinion of what the day will be.
If just before sunrise the sky-espe-
cially in the VESTS suffused with red
rain generally follows in the course OF
the day. In the winter, often snow. If
however, it be frosty weather, the down
fall is sometimes delayed.
On the other hand, if the sky be dull
gray, and the sun rises clear, gradually
dispensing the vaperS, it will be fine. II
he retires behind the clouds, and there
are reddish streaks about it, it will rain.
Should the sun, later in the day, shine
through a gray watery haze, it will
probably be rainy night.
The sunset is very unreliable. Often
a beautiful sunset will be followed by a
bad day. After a rainy day, suddenly
at sunset, in the far west, will appear a
magnificent streak of crimson mot cop
per-color)- this generally foretells fine
day.
A tinted halo round the sun at setting
occurs in long continued rainy weather.
\ halo round the moon, especially if
some distance from it, is a sure indica-
ton of downfall at hand.
Rainbows are unreliable, except they
occur in the morning, when rain may be
expected. Sun-dogs and fragments of
prismatic colors during the day, show
continued unsettled weather. A daz-
zling metallic luster on foliage, during
a cloudless day in summer, precedes a
change.
Huge, piled-up masses of white clouds
in blue sky, during winter, indicates
snow or hail. If small, dark clouds float
below the upper ones, moving faster
than they, rain will follow, as it will if,
in the morning, low hanging, pale brown,
smoke-like clouds are floating about.
Red-tinged clouds, high up, at evening,
are followed by wind, occasionally by
by rain.
Mists at evening over low-lying
ground, or near river, precedes fine
and warm days. If "a mist in the morn
ing clears off as the sun gets higher, it
will be fine; but if it settles down again
after lifting a little, rain is at hand. No
dew in the morning is mostly followed
by rain; and heavy dew in the eve
ming by fine day.
Rain follows two or three consecutive
hoar frosts. A shower of hail in the
daytime is usually followed by frost at
night. If, after rain, drops of water
still hang on the branches and tWlgs,
and to window frames, the rain will re-
turn; but if they fall and the WOODWORK
dries, fine weather is at hand.
Stones turn damp before wet; at the
same time it must be observed that the
fact of their doing so does not invaria
bly, indicate rain, for they will do so oc
casionally before heat. Smoke descend
ing very heavily to the ground is sign
of very doubtful weather.
If, on fine day, the dust suddenly
rises in a revolving, spiral column, rain
is near.
The bowling of the wind indicates, to
most houses, but not invariably, that
downfall is near. In some houses, ow
ing to their construction, the wind al
wavs means. Wherever the wind is at
the time of the vernal equinox March
q, and thereabouts) that will be the
prevailing wind throughout the next
three months.
If the stars appear unusually numer-
GUS, and the "miky way" very clearly
defined, with the surrounding sky dark,
or if there be but few stars, and those
very bright and sparkling, in a pale,
steely sky, it will be fine.
Swine, before rain, are usually noisy
and restless. Swallows in fine weather
will fly high, and on the approach of
rain, close to the ground; but the latter
does not apply if the day is cold, in
which case they hawk very low. Com
mon sparrows washing vigorously in a
puddle on the road, or at the edge of
running water, is a sure sign of rain.
The woodpecker, before rain, becomes
uneasy, uttering its cry, "Yoo, yoo-yoo,
yoo," although at other times the most
silent of birds. Rain generally follows
within twenty-four hours, often very
soon. This may be accepted as an in
fallible sign.
Before rain or thunder, flies are unu-
sually troublesome in stinging. Some
times, on a summer day, without warn
ing, all the -pheasants in wood
will start crowing-very often because
they hear thunder too far distant to be
perceptible to the bystander.
Should moles, after dry weather, COM
mence throwing up their mounds and
working briskly, rain will follow. In
frost, this foretells thaw.
Gnats flying in columns in the setting
sun portends fine morrow; but some
times the winter gnat will do so if the
rain only ceases for an hour or two.
Besides the foregoing, there are nu
merous weather signs; but among those
mentioned will always be found one or
more by which coming change can be
predicted.
WOMAN'S WORLD FOR AUGUST.
The Womdn'S World for August is
opened by Carmen Silva" the Queen of
Bohemia. Her Majesty's contribution is
a story "Decebals Daughter" Follow
ing this flight of royal fancy, comes pa
per descriptive of "A Lady of Ancient
Egypt, showing how ladies who are now
adorned and cared for them
selves in the days of Rameses. There
are two papers on "SOme Irish Indus
tries" one on "The Poplin Weavers of
Dublin" by Charlotte OCOnOr- -Eccles,
and "The Knitters of the ROsses," by
Dorothea Roberts. A poem by Elizabeth
Rachel Chapman is followed by bright
of "Children'S Dresses in thiS