282 THE SEASON WHY. 



"And I said, Oh, that I had wings like a dove ! for then would I fly away, and be 

 at rest." PSALM. LV. 



1121. Wliy if birds cease to sing, may wet, and proldbly 

 thunder, be expected. 



Because birds are depressed by an unfavourable change in the 

 atmosphere, and lose those joyful spirits which give rise to their 

 songs. 



1122. Why if cattle run around in meadows, may thunder 

 be expected t 



Because the electrical state of the atmosphere has the effect of 

 making them feel uneasy and irritable, and they chase each other 

 about to get rid of the irritability. 



1123. Why if birds of passage arrive early, may severe 

 weather be expected ? 



Because it shows that the indications of unfavourable weather 

 have set in, in the latitudes from which the birds come, and that 

 they have taken an early flight to escape it. 



1124. Why if the webs of the gossamer spider fly about in 

 the autumn, may east winds be anticipated ? 



Because an east wind is a dry and dense wind, and suitable to the 

 flight of the gossamer spider ; the spider feeling instinctively the 

 dry ness of the air, throws out its web, and finds it more than 

 usually buoyant upon the dense air. 



The observation of the changing phenomena which attend the various states 

 of the weather is a very interesting study, though no general rules can be 

 laid down that can be relied upon, because there are modifying circum- 

 stances which influence the weather in various localities and climates. 

 To observe weather indications accurately, no phenomenon should be taken 

 alone, but several should be regarded together. The character and the duration 

 of the weather of the preceding days, the direction of the wind, the forms of the 

 clouds, the indications of the barometer, the rise or fall of the thermometer, and 

 the instinctive forewarnings of birds, beasts, insects, and flowers, should all be 

 taken into accouut. Although no direct material advantages attend such a 

 study, it induces a habit of observation, and developes the inductive faculty of 

 the mind, which, when applied to more significant things, may trace important 

 effects to their greater causes. 



