The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1904-02-21

over her ears. or sits with her tail to
the fire"
The professor, tt will be seen, does
not commit himself one way or the
other. Madame Cat has too many fair
friends.
when cattle go out to pasture and
lie down early in the day, it indicates
early rain.
Dogs making holes in the ground,
eating grass in the morning, or refusing
meat, are said to indicate rain.
'All shepherds agree that before a
storm comes sheep get frisky, leap and
butt or "box" each other.
when horses and cattle stretch out
their necks and sniff the air 1t will
rain.
Hogs crying, or running unquietly
up and down with hay or grass in their
mouths, foreshadows a storm to be at
hand"
And our friends the Apache Indians
have noticed, between nassacres, that.
when oxen or sheep collect together
as if they were seeking shelter a storm
may be expected.
Prophet art thou, bird or devil?"
asked Mr.. Poe of his CARELESS caller.
But the Bulletin says simply,
when birds cease to sing, rain and
thunder will probably occur; birds and
fowls oiling their feathers Indicate
rain; if fowls roll in the dust, rain is
at hand;
Parrots whistling indicate rain.
when prairie chickens drum at night,
the Indians predict deep fall of snow;
when blaekbirds sing much in the
morning, or with voices uncommonly
shrill, rain will follow; pigeons return
home early before rain; robbins sing
loud and long just before it rains; rob-
ms also will perch on the topmost
branches Of trees and whistle when a
storm is approaching"
. As every fisherman knows, Fish
bite readily and swim near the surface
when rain may be expected. It is also
true that air bubbles over clam beds
indicate rain.
Expect stormy weather when ants
travel IN lines and fair weather when
they scatter. Ants are busy, gnats bite,
cFickets are lively, spiders come out OF
their nests, and flies gather in houses
just before rain. When flies congregate
in swarms rain follows soon. Spiders
strengthening their webs indicate rain.
Trees grow dark before storm.
Cottonwood and quaking asp trees.
even clover plants, turn UP their leaves
before it rains"
The few fragments of folk lore IN this
connection include,
He'll certainly rise with a watery head.
A bee was never caught In q shower.
The sun, though his spots are known
to science, is strangely subordinate in
weather folk lore.
When the sun sets bright and clear
An easterly Wind yoH need not fear,
sings one stray poet. The bureau Is
constrained to add. in prose,
IF the sun sets in dark, heavy clouds,
expect rain next day. Red skies in
the evenings precede fine tomorrow. A
solar halo indicates bad weather"
The moon Is a lady, says the Latin
no precedence. Speaking of her, after
the sun, he says:
IF the full moon rises clear, expect
fine weather. A lunar halo indicates
rain, and the larger the halo the sooner,
the rain may be expected. If the full
moon rise pale, expect rain.
At the close of his astronomy the
Naughty! naughty!" to babies that
repeat, Twinkle, Twinkle, Little
Start"
Excessive twinkling OF the stars"
he declares, Indicates heavy dews,
rain or snow, or stormy weather in
the near future"
The weather bureaus publication
ana the patent meQ1clne almanac, eS-
peciaIly the old-fashioned orthodox al
manac with it's pink and white string,
are Japs and Russes in their mutual
hatred. The almanac is printed to tell
us now, on Feb. 81. what the weather
is going to be on June Bird next and on
August the 2Sth. But in Bulletin SO
the weather bureau. through Professor
Garriott, comes out fatty and insists
that
Long range weather forecasts have
always been impossible of achievement
OF the several methods employed for
these forecasts, the first and the only
method that possesses merit is a state
ment based upon average weather con-
ditions that have prevailed at certain
times and seasons in given localities.
The main and fatal weakness in this
system is that average weather condi-
tons are seldom experienced. The
years, the months, exhibit, year after
year, the same general type of weather.
For periods of less than month how
ever, averages possess but little value.
Long range weather forecasts based
upon astronomical events or upon the
appearance of the heavenly bodies,