210 A FARMER'S YEAR 



I do not know many sayings connected With May. One of 

 the few, however, 



Ere May be out 

 Cast not a clout, 



has been peculiarly applicable this year. In a paper on the saws 

 and proverbs of Norfolk, by Mr. Gillett, I find another, that I 

 never heard before, but which doubtless is true enough for the 

 ailing and weakly in our climate : 



March will sarch ye ; 



April will try ; 

 May will tell ye 



Whether ye'll live or die. 



Indeed, to my mind, the cold of the bitter and uncertain month 

 of May is the most trying of all the English year, perhaps because 

 it comes at the end of our long and tedious winter, when the 

 systems of most people are more or less run down. The best- 

 known proverb for this month, however, is, 



If the oak is out before the ash, 

 Then you'll only get a splash ; 

 But if the ash is before the oak, 

 Then you will surely have a soak. 



This year the oak has been much before the ash. 



