SIGNS OF T PIE V.EATHER. 



of the air; a.> if the matter or' heal was earned 

 upwards from the earth to the sky. 



SIGNS OF THE CHANGE OF WEATHER FROM THE ANHHAL 

 CREATION. 



So long as the swallows fly aloft after their 

 pre) , we think ourselves sure of a serene sky ; 

 but when they skim along near the ground, or 

 the su> face of the wUer, we judge the rain is not 

 far off, and the observation will seldom fail: in 

 the year 1 775, a draught of three mouths conti- 

 nuance broke up at the summer solstice : the day 

 before the rain came upon us, the swallows flew 

 very near the ground, which they had never done 

 in the fine weather. 



In the mountainous country of Derbyshire, 

 which goes by the name of the Peak, the inhabi- 

 tants observe, that if the sheep wind up the hills 

 in the morning to their pasture, and feed near the 

 tops, the weather, chough cloudy and drizzling, 

 which is very frequently the case in those parts, 

 will clear away by degrees, and terminate ma 

 fine day; but if they feed in the bottoms, the 

 rains will continue and increase. 



Dogs grow sleepy and stupid before rain, and 

 shew that their stomachs are out of order, by re- 

 fusing their food, and eating grass, that sort which 

 is hence called dog's grass ; this they oasJ, up again 

 soon afterwards, and with it the foulness that of- 

 fended their stomachs. VV 7 ater fowl dive and wash 

 themselves more than ordinary ; and even the fish 

 in rivers are affected, because all anglers agree, 

 that they never b'te freely when rain is depend- 

 ing, Vide part 1st, rule 16th. Flies, on the con- 

 trary, are particularly troublesome, and seem to 

 inure hungry than usual ; and toads are seen in 



