Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1897-03-27
GIVING BAROMETERS.
CREATURES OF THE LOWER ORDERS
THAT FORETELL WEATHER.

THAT FORETELL WEATHER.
Animal Instinct or Something Else Which
Tells Euss, Birds and Beasts When
There Is Going to BE Storm-A Frog
That Climbs a Ladder to Give Warning.
The spider is good example of the
living barometer. Close obs ~ ation of
the work Oh its web castle viii soon en-
able one to forecast the weather. When
high wind Or heavy rain threatens,
the spider may be seen taking i'll sail
with great energy-that is, shortening
the rope filaments that sustain the web
structure it the storm is to be unusual
ly severe or of long duration, the ropes
are strengthened as well a; shortened,
the better to resist the onset of the ele-
ments. Not until pleasant weather is
again close at hand will the ropes be
heightened as before. On the contrary,
when you see the spider running out
the slender filaments, it is certain that
calm, fine weather has set in, whose
duration may be measured by their
elongation
Every "a hours the spider makes some
alteration i'll its web to suit the weather.
II these changes are made toward even
ing, just before sunset, a fine clear night
may be safely counted upon. When the
spider sits quiet and dull in the middle
OF its web, rain is not far off If it be
active, however, and continues so dur
ing shower, then it will be of brief
duration, and sunshine will follow.
These various indications may be wit
messed and studied to the best advantage
i'll the open air. But you need not al
ways go outdoors to watch the spider
barometer. There are few houses where
the crafty creature does not find an OBJ
scure corner wherein to swing its sign
board, ''Flies taken in and done for
here. " Watch these places, and when
you see the spiders coming out on the
walls more freely than usual you may
be sure that rain is near.
There are individuals who would not
keep a stock Of spiders about their prem
lses for the express purpose of prophesy-
ing the weather from their movements,
and the enmity felt by the good house
maid for this particular species of ami
NAL is notorious. Those individuals can
study the movements of their own do
mestic animals. Cats and dogs are given
to scratching and other uneasy move
ments Oh the approach of rainy weather,
and their fur looks less bright and CLOS
sy. Horses and cattle stretch their Eecks
and sniff the air. Sheep become frolic-
some or tuln their backs to the wind
and quarrel frequently. Goats bleat i'll
cessantly and leave the hilltops for more
sheltered spots. Pigs run uneasily about,
carrying straw to the sty, and no longer
walloW i'll the mud and mire. Fowls
huddle together i'll the falmyard with
dropping wings and the air is filled
with the clamorous cackle of geese and
ducks. Those who live in the country
and spend much time i'll the open air
have the advantage Of observing the
movements Of wild animals and of feel
ing keenly i'll their own persons the op-
erations of the changing atmospherical
conditit Molos become more active
i'll digging, stoats and weasels become
unusually restless and uneasy, and the
hedgehog fOrtifios his cave against the
coming storm with an unfailing provi-
sion which has earned for him most en-
viable reputation as a weather prophet.
Wild birds make still better objects
of observation, because i'll the "large
air. their actions are easily noted.
Grows and swallows remain near home
when Il tempest is brewing; sea gulls no
longer venture out to sea, but hover
over the fields or fly inland when wind
and rain are near; swallows fly low
and skim the water, and the robin broods
melancholy i'll the bush or seeks the
shelter Of a neighboring roof. These are
only few Of the many creatures of the
fields and the air which enable a man
who has eyes to see to forecast the
weather during the next few hours. The
explanation OF all this is to be found in
the exceeding scnsitiveness of most ami
mails, especially those which are more
or less wild, to atmospherical condi-
tions. They are all constantly making
forecasts after their own manner, and,
as we have limited, they are far more
trustworthy than any devices of man to-
ward this end
Several ingenious attempts have re-
Gently been made to turn this unfailing
number of very unique living barome-
ters have been put upon the market.
The cheapest, and the one which will
probably become the most popular, is
the frog barometer A small green freq
is found III Germany which always
comes out of the water when cold or
wet weather is approaching. These
frogs are caught and kept i'll glass jars
furnished with a tiny ladder and half
filled with water. The frog weather
prophet sits high and dry on the top of
his ladder tur several hours before
storm and climbs down to the bottom
when the weather is to be fair and
clear Other remarkable weather proph-
cts are leoChCS, and we have heard of
old meteorologist who adjusted his ba-
rometer III such a way that the leeches
would ring little bell whenever
storm was approaching and would re-
main silent Nhen the weather was fair
OF setting fair These creatures will
also indicate the weather in the same
way as the green frog referred to. If
kept i'll a jar filled with water, they
Will climb up the sides when it is about
to rain and gather round the top.-Lon-
don Standard.
Why have we memory sufficient to