JANUARY 



* When biting Boreas, fell and doure, 

 Sharp shivers thro' the leafy bow'r ; 

 When Phoebus gies a short-hVd gloVr, 



Far south the lift, 



Dim-dark'ning thro' the flaky show'r 

 Or whirling drift.' 



BURNS, A Winter Night. 



THE COUNTRY CALENDAR 



JANUARY is the coldest of all the months, and the most wintry in 

 weather, and is remarkable for ' a great barometric fluctuation.' But 

 * indications of spring ' soon multiply. The birds pair. An occa- 

 sional butterfly may appear ; bats and hedgehogs stir abroad now 

 and then. Marsham found the hawthorn in leaf on January 27th, 

 and noticed rooks building on January 7th. The crossbills always 

 and robins often begin to build. Some gardeners begin sowing 

 seeds of annuals, and as the days 'draw out' the sense of spring 

 may be felt at any interval in the frost. As many as twenty-five 

 varieties of flower have been found in Hertfordshire during the 

 month. It is a favourite saying : 



* The blackest month of all the year 

 Is the month of Janiveer.' 



And it is a true prophecy in most years that the cold will grow 

 stronger as the light grows longer. 



Average temperature, . . . 38-6. 



Average rainfall, . . . . 1*89 inches. 

 On January ist, sun rises 8.8 a.m. and sets 3.59 p.m. 



U 



