The Brandon news. (Brandon, Miss.) 1892-1961, 1908-02-13


best kind of hay, worth at the lowest
calculation not less than $685." he con-
tinued, and, now a thorough convert,
agreed with him.
After dinner, as we sat upon the
farmhouse porch, enjoying comfort
able smoke and the delicious freshness
Of the purified atmosphere, | led my
farmer host into further consideration
of signs and their portents. He admit
ted that the subject was one of much
interest to him, and one which he had
studied with view to it's practical
utility. He said:
Many, / may say most, of the signs
which We farmers are accustomed to
observe have been handed down by our
fathers, who, in their turn, received
them from their fathers, and so on back
for generations. Some are the result
Of my own observation, at least I've
not heard them mentioned by others;
especially the actions of the dog. Nor
are dogs the only animals that mani
fest uneasiness on the approach of a
act pretty much in the same way. Cats,
instead of lying lazily around the
house, will walk aimlessly about and
get into the most outlandish places to
try and take a nap. Why, I've known
our old cat to jump up on to the
bureau and even on the mantle shelf
over the fire, where ordinarily she'd
never think of going; then, too, she'll
go to the door every little while and
sniff, just as you saw the dog do this
morning. Hens, too, are sure prognos-
ticators of storm If there's a storm
a-brewing you'll see 'em keep huddled
together in a bunch, instead of scat
tering all over the farm, as they'll do
in a spell Of fair weather. Turkeys
the same way. In pleasant weather,
when there's no storm in the works.
they'll go off on long tramps, some
times miles away from home; but
when you see 'em hang around the
barnyard and stay in huddle, you may
safely calculate t II rain fore tn days
over. When the rain is close at hand
you'll see all kinds O. fowls standing
around oiling their wings and feath-
ers.'
This remark caused me to laugh.
why, didn't you ever see hen oil
herself?"
| confessed negatively and intimated
that | had not come to consideration
of the subject with view to burlesqu-
ing it.
BLESS your heart, my dear mani"
was the earnest rejoinder. I'D no in
tention of making light of the topic.
OF course, you've seen a cat washing
her face as they call it? Well, have
you never seen a hen going through
pretty much the same kind of motions?
| thought SO. Now, the hen wasn't
washing her face, but she was, as l
remarked before, ojling herself against
the coming of rainstcrm. The next
time you have a chicken sent home
from the market, just take notice of a
little nipple, like pimple, on the back
of the chicken, right on top of what is
called the ''pope'S nose" That pimple
is nothing more nor less than can of
oil, over which the fowl rubs it's bill,
getting it all covered; then she rubS
her bill over her feathers making them
waterproof. Hens, turkeys and wild
birds as we'll always give themselves
an oil dressing just before a rain.
Ducks, geese and other water fowl per-
form the same operation before going
into the water, so that they are worth
less as sign birds
pigs, too, will remain near to their
sty if it's going to rain, while at other
times they will wander far away. When
spiders spin freely and their webs are
to be seen on almost every bush and
shrub, you may rest assured that there
will be no rain for the next "a hours.
Living creatures furnish the most
trustworthy weather signs, although
accurate forecasts may be r,ade from
inanimate things. Take the common
plantain. for instance: when it's leaves
open out broad and fat there will be
fair weather. On the other hand, when
its leaves curl up at the edges, into the
shape of a sugar scoop, it is always
safe to calculate upon, having rain with
in IL hours. The same may be said of
many floral plants, though some of
them reverse the order, like the cow
slip, which closes UP for fair and opens
for stormy weather. There are also
signs to be observed among the ele-
ments that are tolerably trustworthy.
No doubt you have heard the old dog
gerel, handed down through genera.
tions:
f" Evening red and morning gray,
Will set the traveller on his way.
But evening gray and morning red,
Will bring down rain upon his head
also,
Rainbow in the morning gives sail
orS warning;
Rainbow at night gives sailors delight
Likewise,
If smoke in the evening doth down
ward incline,
The sin on the morrow Inc1Ouded will