640 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



upon the habits of the flying-squirrel. The saying itself implies that 

 a drought exists at the time that these animals frequent the ground 

 rather than the trees, coming, of course, thereto, in order to find 

 food. If the saying be true, the summer food of the flying-squirrel 

 must be more plentiful on the ground than in the tops of the tallest 

 trees. What that food is exactly, I am not aware ; nor have I had 

 any opportunity to verify the statement that flying-squirrels frequent 

 the ground during " dry spells." Those that I have seen, near home, 

 are so strictly crepuscular that only the initial movements of their 

 nocturnal journeys are readily traced ; but, whenever I have seen 

 them sally from their retreats, it was to take a tree-top route for sev- 

 eral rods and then to be lost to sight. Take the year through, it is 

 probable that they seldom come to the ground to forage. When they 

 do so, is it an evidence of continued dry weather ? I can neither con- 

 tradict nor affirm ; but are not the probabilities against such being 

 the case ? 



Speaking of the opossum, it is said that, if found in autumn in hol- 

 low trees, the winter will be milder than if occupying a burrow in 

 the ground. 



This seems to be very reasonable, and would pass admirably as a 

 weather-sign, but for one unfortunate circumstance. While you may 

 find one or more in a tree, your neighbor may find as many in the 

 ground. I have known this to be the case more than once. Under 

 these circumstances, meet your neighbor at the line-fence and compare 

 notes. What about the winter ? 



From their greater abundance and never-failing presence, it might 

 be thought that the weather-lore of birds would be much more elabo- 

 rate than that referring to other classes of animals ; but my observations 

 do not confirm this. There are simply a greater number of sayings 

 current, and fully one half are too trivial to repeat. It would seem as 

 if a weather-lore possibly of Indian origin and referring to birds then 

 abundant, but now wholly wanting, was current more than a century 

 ago. These sayings were subsequently applied to other species, nearly 

 or more remotely allied, and whatever meaning they may originally 

 have had has been lost ; but the apparent absurdity of such " prov- 

 erbs," as now used, seems never to have occurred to those who re- 

 peat them. 



That the dusting of chickens, cackling of geese, and the " pot- 

 racking " of Guinea-hens have not given rise to an elaborate series of 

 weather-proverbs is, I think, surprising. The only familiar reference 

 to the chicken heard about home is that the rooster, crowing at night, 

 says, " Christmas — coming— on ! " It does appear that the midnight 

 crowing of cocks is more frequently heard in December than in June ; 

 but, so far as the meaning is concerned, it unfortunately happens that 

 the nocturnal crowing is as often heard in January as in December. 

 Calling attention to this, I was once gravely assured that the cocks 



