Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1905-05-13

ponding to your request, venture the
opinion that the muskrat is quite like
his bped brother of the human spec
ies--he works under stress of neces-
sity. If his house is thinner than US
, ual just now, it is due to the fact that
October and November were phenom-
enally mild the muskrat was out en-
ioying the sunshine. Possibly he had
heard some of the talk that the eli
mate is changing and the winters are
growing milder since the old pioneer
days. He concluded that the good
time had come-sure. and what's the
use building thick houses any more:
From this point of view we may re-
gard thin muskrat houses as signs OF
mild autumns, and not as sure ndi-
cations that the coming winters will
be of the same sort. When zero
pinches the musky rodent may wish
he had matched up betimes in better
shape. Really, now, l don't believe
the animal, however strong his instinct
may be, knows any more about the
ker, or other long range weather fakir.
Very respectfully,
j. Il. SAGE.
The above is reprinted here as u gen.
tie reminder of the open winter" we
had in Iowa and Minnesota. But al.
this will not make Il bit of difference
next fall. The muskrat will be quot
ed again just the same.
Two things the Hicks school OF
weather prophets never do. The first
is to make more than one or two lucky
guesses for the year. and the other is
to locate any kind of weather for any
particular place. Here's Il bit of per-
sonal experience illustrating the danger
of the latter kind of work Somo years
ago the writer, returning home on Sat
urday was very anxious for goo
weather to enjoy a bicycle ride. One
Friday, being at Colo and State Gem
ten, fifteen to twenty miles west OF
Marshalltown, it rained all day, Just
poured as it were. The T.-R. came
out that night and suggested tina.
the equinoctial storm had set in" Sat
urday following 1t "drizzled" all the
forenoon, so that any bicycle riding at
Grinnell, twenty-five miles south,
seemed out the question But on ar
irving at Grinnell that night. bicycle
party met the writer at the depot,
wheels blown up and all ready for the
nice trip we had that evening. The
roads were fine, for it had not raine
in Grinnell for the past six days
A few years ago, a travelling man
told this tale Of woe. His territory was
three months in New England Bus
tharn III had
MT rained in the state of Mas
sachusetts for one hundred days" Hay
was $50 a ton. Pastures were dried up
and in some towns drinking water was
selling at 81 per barrel. These were
facts as Connecticut and Massachu-
setts papers corroborated. Then he
came in three days to Iowa 70
make his western trip. Shall 1T be told
to Iowa readers what kind of weather
we had three years ago? That is the
time referred to. We We're simply
drowned out" AS he told 1t, no
water in New England and all water
in Iowa" 1t should be added that at
this time the large range OF planetary
weather prophets had made chart OF
all of the positions of the stars and
moon and had it down fine. But
somehow the dry moon in Massa-
chusetts was an awful wet one TN
Iowa. AS Mr. Sage once remarked, "The
best men in our signal service, men of
twenty-five years experience. do not
attempt to forecast the weather over
twenty four hours in advance, with
any degree of certainty" When It
comes to localizing weather conditions
the difficulty is much greater. An old
friend of the writer is willing at any
time "to bet S. that it will rain in Iowa
next Fourth of july" or that it won't
rain in Iowa next Fourth of July" But
he reserves the privilege of mentioning
where in Iowa" this reservation to be
in force till the 9Th of July.
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