ANIMAL WEATHER-LORE. 635 



ANIMAL WEATHER-LOEE. 



Br CHARLES C. ABBOTT, M. D. 



HAPPILY there still remain a few of those great, cavernous, open 

 fireplaces, flanked by high-backed settles, ^'hereon the young 

 people love to lounge, while their elders, resting from the day's labors, 

 talk drowsily of old times, recount the adventures of their youth, and 

 repeat the tales of their grandfathers. As one of such young people, 

 I have passed many long winter evenings, listening eagerly to what 

 the septuagenarians might relate, and occasionally venturing a ques- 

 tion or two, that more light might be thrown upon obscure portions 

 of remarks made at the time. Then, particularly, are we likely to 

 hear much of that very curious animal weather-lore that, for the past 

 two centuries, has been handed clown from father to son. Time and 

 again, as the weather chanced to be discussed, I have heard some un- 

 couth rhyme repeated, usually prefaced with the remark, "You know 

 the old saying." 



That all animals are more or less affected by coming atmospheric 

 changes is unquestionable. This simple fact has been recognized the 

 world over, but, unlike many other simple facts, has not resulted in 

 leading to any important discoveries. It has, however, given rise to 

 the innumerable sayings to which I have referred. 



Inasmuch as the animal weather-lore current in England and 

 Sweden dates far prior to the settlement of this country by the 

 Swedes and English, it would seem probable that such sayings as now 

 are or recently were current in South and Central New Jersey are 

 merely adaptations of English and Swedish weather-lore to our fauna, 

 just as the European names of the commoner birds found there were 

 applied to those American species most closely resembling them ; and 

 so, any rhyme or brief saying referring to them would be applied to 

 the analogous bird found here. This is eminently reasonable, for, if 

 the given habit, voice, or other peculiarity of a European bird did, or 

 was supposed to, indicate a given meteorological condition, the same 

 rule should hold good in America. As a matter of fact, however, I 

 can find no similarity between the English and Swedish and the 

 American weather-lore, except such as applies to domestic animals ; 

 nor do I find any common English sayings in use. 



That which I have heard, and have recorded from time to time, ap- 

 pears to have originated where now, or where it lately was, in use. 

 To a great extent, I believe it to be original with the descendants of 

 the immigrants that settled Central Xew Jersey and the country gen- 

 erally about Philadelphia ; but a portion of it, very possibly, was de- 

 rived from the Indians. 



At present, a portion of this weather-lore is repeated as nursery 



