202 POPULAR WEATHER PROGNOSTICS. 



to have become a necessity for all classes. " John 

 Wodehouse, philomath," is not so wise as a man should 

 be with such a title. He tells us that cabbages are to 

 be sown in the wane of the moon, and radishes at the 

 increase ; that gillyflowers are to be planted " in an old 

 moon/' and parsley sown at the full. 



Turning to France, we find the almanac the same strange 

 mixture of the useful with the absurd. M. Nisard, in his 

 work on the colporteur literature of France, gives an in- 

 teresting account of one of the oldest, which is in vogue 

 to this day in the remoter districts of the French empire. 

 1 The Shepherds' Kalendar'* is profusely adorned with 

 woodcuts alarmingly contemptuous of drawing and 

 perspective. The frontispiece gives us the shepherd's 

 portrait, his bagpipes under his arm, while the shep- 

 herds, each with bagpipe or flageolet beside him, are 

 sitting round in various attitudes of attention and won- 

 der, with a dog in the foreground, apparently as much 

 surprised as any of them. The shepherd, prefacing his 

 discourse with the remark that " shepherds who lie in 

 the fields at night see many signs," now commences a 

 marvellous meteorological lecture, in which the sun, 

 moon, and planets play a very subordinate part com- 

 pared with comets, flaming stars, and fiery dragons. 

 This lecture is profusely illustrated with woodcuts. A 

 comet, very hairy and very fiery, with a tail resembling 

 a broomstick ; stars with bats' wings, about to pounce 

 on the astonished shepherds' heads ; and an unmistak- 

 able dragon, with staring eyes and a most voluminous 

 tail, breathing out volumes of smoke. The shepherd 

 does not say much about them, probably deeming their 

 portraits quite sufficient ; he tells us, however, that all 

 manner of mischief is to be expected from their appear- 

 ance.f 



* ' Le Grand Compost, et Calendrier des Bergers, compost par 

 le Berger de la Grande Montagne ; fort utile et profitable k gens 

 de tous 6 tats.' 



t Those desirous of knowing more about such productions should 



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