SOME WEATHER LORE 8i 



will read the wind by the smoke of chimneys or the 

 turn of the leaves of trees. i 



A very cryptic saying concerning a windy sky 

 enlightens us thus far: 



" A mackerel sky 



Is very wet or very dry." 



Another wind prophecy, nearly always true, is 

 that: 



" When it rains with the wind in the east, 

 It rains for twenty-four hours at least." 



Another rhyme concerning the wind's action on 

 the weather runs thus : 



" When the wind is in the south, 

 'Tis in the rain's mouth; 

 When the wind is in the east, 

 'Tis neither good for man or beast." 



A West Country saying is that : " As hedge- 

 hogs do foresee evening storms, so wise men are for 

 fortune still prepared." This they say because the 

 story runs that a hedgehog builds his nest with 

 the opening made to face the mildest quarter there- 

 about an'd the back to the most prevalent wind. 



St. Martin's Summer. 



St. Martin, like St. Luke, has his " Little 

 Summer" beginning on his day, November ii. 

 It is referred to by Shakespeare, in " Henry VL," 

 Part L, Act^L, where Joan of Arc says: 



" This night the siege assuredly I'll raise: 

 Expect St. Martin's summer, halcyon days." 



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