WILDFOWL PRESERVATION. 493 



Fog at sunrise, soon vanishing . . . Fair weather. 



South and west winds in winter . . . Wet, stormy weather. 



Lightning in winter Storm and sleet. 



When wind comes before rain or snow . Moderation of weather. 

 When wind comes after or with rain or snow Foul weather. 

 In bad weather, if rain and clouds suddenly) _ 



pass away, and sun shines bright, withf F( f w ^ her ' worse 



south or south-west wind . . .) 



When the wind follows the course of the sun, though it blow hard, 

 it is steadier, and is more to be trusted, and its rising and falling can 

 be easier foretold than when it backs, i.e., goes from N. to W., to 

 S. to E., though it rarely goes right round the compass. 



It is a common error that the moon influences the weather, and 

 that if fine weather or frost set in with a new moon, or changes at 

 full moon, such change will continue. 



It is also a common error that a hot season follows a cold one, or 

 the reverse. This is entire chance, though it was remarkably the 

 case in 1881-82. The cold of January, 1881, was most intense, and 

 the summer of that year was the hottest ever recorded in the British 

 Isles (92 in the shade, or a greater heat than any recorded at Bombay 

 for many years). 



When people see wildgeese flying overhead they look wise and say, 

 " What cold weather we shall have ! " The birds are merely leaving 

 far-off regions, which they have found too rigorous to obtain food ; 

 but whether such frost will extend to where they are seen is a remote 

 possibility. 



Signs of a hard winter, such as berries in unusual abundance, 

 swallows congregating earlier than wont, and so forth, are one and 

 all absurd. 



How can a tree in the spring of the year one know what sort of 

 winter will occur at the end of that year and the beginning of two, 

 and bring forth, by means of blossom that turns into berries, a 

 supply of food for the starving birds in their distress six months 

 beforehand ? 



WILDFOWL PRESERVATION. 



The Wildfowl Preservation Act as it now stands, 

 that is from March ist to August ist, is a source of 

 constant complaint, and presses hardly on those 

 men who make a living by shooting wildfowl, and 

 such, above all others, have a right to be considered. 



