ISO THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY 



Hampshire hills averaged 3°-5° lower than at the Weather Bureau 

 station in Boston, and that the nocturnal minima in the clearer air and 

 at the higher altitude of my hillside were also several degrees lower 

 than the disagreeably high minima of the city. The very regular oc- 

 currence of marked up-slope and down-slope ("mountain and valley") 

 winds on all fine days; the increasing wind velocity towards noon and 

 in the early afternoon, with calm mornings and evenings (" diurnal 

 variation in wind velocity "), on these same days; the wonderful growth 

 of cumulus clouds on the surrounding mountains and in relation to 

 them; the development of cloud banners, cloud caps and cloud cas- 

 cades; the efi^ect of the general topography upon the local wind direc- 

 tion; the development of low-lying valley fogs at night, their gradual 

 rise as fracto-stratus clouds and their dissipation under the morning 

 sun; the marked difference, in relation to exposure to the cool noc- 

 turnal downhill breeze and to valley fogs, which neighboring house- 

 sites exemplified; the apparent development of small local thunder- 

 storms over the near-by mountains, while the larger thunderstorms 

 came across these same mountains unaffected by the topography — these 

 were a few of the many things which my very casual observations em- 

 phasized. Apart from these special subjects the general sequence of the 

 larger weather changes resulting from cyclonic and anticyclonic con- 

 trols was, of course, noted. So distinctly worth while has this simple 

 and far from burdensome undertaking proved that I heartily recom- 

 mend others to try it, but let it be repeated that real interest will come 

 only if all previous meteorological knowledge of the region is, so far 

 as possible, banished from the mind. And let me warn every one that 

 he musi beware lest his meteorological explanations run counter to the 

 general traditions of the community. The location of most of the 

 abandoned farmhouses in the region where I spent the summer, on the 

 hillsides or even hill-tops, seemed to me to be most naturally explained 

 on the theory that they were placed there in order that they might be 

 above the cold and frost and fogs of the valley bottoms. One of ray 

 neighbors, who firmly believed that these houses were placed on the 

 hill-slopes so that their original owners might have early warning of 

 the approach of Indians, has upbraided me with shattering all the old 

 and romantic traditions of the place. Let me suggest, further, that a 

 very simple study of the value, as prognostics, of many weather prov- 

 erbs will prove an interesting occupation. Weather proverbs are good, 

 and bad, and indifferent. Most of them are bad, that is, do not work at 

 all. A large number are indifferent, that is, work both ways. Com- 

 paratively few are really good. It is well worth while to select a few 

 of the best known proverbs and keep careful written record of the times 

 that each one " hits," and also of the times that each one " misses" 



