274 Report S.A. A. Advaxcement op Science. 



The old-fashioned Boer or c«Joiiial farmer knows nothing about a 

 barometer, and looks upon it as a sort of toy or jack-in-the-box show. 

 He will tell you that all you have to do is to look at the moon, and it 

 will be either "drinking up water," "throwing out water," or "wind 

 driven," by this meaning a wet, dry or windy period ; this may be all 

 very well in a way, but does not get us much more forward. 



I have found that the best barometer, from a farmer's point of 

 view, to study is the small clockwork di-iven instrument that gives a 

 week's reading, and an accurate record from hour to hour, with no 

 daily setting, &c. ; a few minutes once a week to adjust a new record 

 and wind it up is all the time necessary that a busy farmer has to give 

 up to it, with a glance as to what it is doing whenever he may be 

 passing, and the result I have found to be most profitable and 

 interesting. 



In our country the almost absorbing topic, and one of the \itmost 

 importance to the farmer, is whether it is going to rain or not. 

 Well, the bai-ometer cannot absolutely tell you that, but the observer 

 can get very near the mark ; especially is this the case when a 

 gale is brewing or enfling, as a very low or a very high glass are 

 perfect indications of the rise or fall of a wind gale, and its probable 

 duration, and I tliink all farmers will agree witli me, especially the 

 ostrich farmers, that wind is almost our worst enemy. Amongst 

 almost hundreds of incidents that have happened to me personally, 

 when having acted on the advice of the barometer I have been saved a 

 heavy loss, or a lot of unnecessary work and inconvenience, T would 

 like to quote the following : — 



We were passing through the latter end of one of our numerous 

 <lroughts, and I had about 100 very thin ostriches running in a small 

 ■enclosure near my house, where they were confined almost in the bed 

 of a very dry river ; a thunderstorm hatl been brewing all day, the 

 barometer, which had been holding out very encouraging signs, began 

 to take the too ominous downward decline for wind, and a study of the 

 sky confirmed this, when suddenly, just before dusk, the glass began a 

 <|uick upward movement. I predicted a very heavy storm, and in spite 

 of the laughter and jests of my friends I had all the ostriches taken 

 out of this small enclosure and shedded. Late that night we had a 

 waterspout, and instead of a dry river the whole place was flooded, aiid 

 ■every one of those ostiiches would have been drowned. 



Science and agriculture go hand in hand more and more every 

 ■day, and the successful farmer must study every aid which tlie scientific 

 man can place at liis disposal. The barometer is one of these, and a 

 very instructive and profitable one to study. The business man, as a 

 rule, takes a passing look at his glass on the way to his office, and 

 generally makes a pretty shrewd forecast of tlie weather, but it does 

 not, most likely, affect him very much what happens. It is very differ- 

 <int with the agriculturist, a low or high barometer makes him think, 

 <ind change his daily routine. 



