I 



"Men judge by the complexion of the sky 

 The state and inclination of the day." 



Shakespeare (Richard II., iii., 2). 



THERE is no more interesting a 

 branch of Nature Study than the 

 observation of clouds, and the 

 advantage of such a pursuit is that 

 one has not to journey to any par- 

 ticular place, but can remain exactly 

 where one happens to be, and view 

 the masses of vapour in their varied 

 colour and form as they pass majestically 

 overhead. 



From the earliest times man in all lands 

 has interested himself in the appearance 

 of the sky, and, after all, was not this 

 most natural, considering that he was 

 solely dependent on its aspect for any 

 indication of prospects of fine or bad 

 weather ? In those days postal arrange- 

 ments were slow or non-existent, tele- 

 graphs were unheard of, and meteoro- 

 logical offices or bureaus had not been 

 formed. Man was dependent on his own 

 observations and deductions, and the 

 approach of cyclones and anticyclones, 

 small and large swirls of air, which, as 

 we now know, so dominate weather in 

 many parts of the world, could only be 

 foretold by him from the as})ect and se- 

 quence of changes in the sky over his head. 



The sailor, no less than the agricul- 

 turist, had to be a close observer of the 

 sky, for he was obliged to take advantage 

 of, and make the best use of, the oppor- 

 tunities of fair weather to take him to his 

 destined port, for in those days his craft 

 was frail and, comparatively speaking, 

 a veritable pigmy. It was from such 

 people that the interesting old weather- 

 lore originated, and they jmt the results 

 of their observations into rhyme to 

 popularise them, and render them more 



easy to remember. A collection of these 

 will be found in Mr. Richard Inward's 

 excellent volume, entitled " Weather 

 Lore." 



It is important to remember that 

 weather is very different in different parts 

 of the world. The sky signs applicable 

 in one region may forebode quite dis- 

 similar weather conditions in a more 

 distant country, as, for instance, Great 

 Britain and India. 



It is for this reason that the old weather 

 prophet of one region was never con- 

 sidered of much value when he attempted 

 to make forecasts in another and more 

 remote district, and this indicates why 

 in early days much more faith was 

 placed in the man on the spot, the 

 local man, who had lived there most of 

 his life, than in any newcomer, however 

 proficient he may have been in his own 

 neighbourhood. 



There is, however, no doubt that the 

 close study of the forms and behaviour 

 of clouds is one of great utilitarian value, 

 and should ])lay, if it does not already, 

 an important part in the science of 

 weather forecasting. One of the great 

 advantages of cloud observations is that 

 we are able to see for ourselves the 

 actual movements of the air in the up})er 

 reaches of our atmosj)here, at heights 

 which, until quite recently, were not 

 reached by any human a]:)]5aratus. The 

 employment of ballon-sondcs and kites 

 has now brought not only moderate but 

 very great altitudes within reach of 

 meteorological instruments ; but even 

 still we shall have to depend very much 

 on clouds at these elevations, because 



