PROPHECY OF THE WEATHER. 271 
icebergs than we have heretofore done, and that one or more of our idle navy 
vessels be authorized to follow them, keeping as near them as safety will permit, 
and study them day by day and trace them up until the largest ’berg disappears 
under the heat of southern latitudes. 
Then there is another, though fortunately a smaller class, who make some 
pretensions to scientific wisdom who have notions that the weather of our planet 
must be more or less affected by the relative position of our earth and her sister 
planets in the universe. For this year, these prophets have predicted all sorts of 
commotions in the elements because some four of the principal planets of our 
system come together nearer to the sun than for some eighteen hundred years or 
more. Indeed they are already out with their extravagant claims that (up to 
July) we have already had the fulfillment of the prophecy. 
Now, the weather of this year has not been remarkable for its peculiarity 
thus far. We have hadsome severe storms, but what season do we not have them ? 
They occur more or less frequently every year. This year, thus far, (July,) has 
not been greatly different from the average year. But when this class of prophets. 
have prophesied, like Jonah, they want their prophecies fulfilled even though it 
bring great distress upon the nations. They do not like the mortification of be- 
ing false prophets, or to see their scientific pretensions laughed at by the world. 
Probably the most remarkable sensation as a weather prophet at present, is 
Mr. Henry G. Vennor, of Montreal. The name of this gentleman has been 
very conspicuous in the papers the past season as a weather prophet. Many 
people have faith in him and verily believe that he is reliable, and are willing to 
swear by him and contend that he predicted this and that storm, or spell of hot 
or cold weather. 
When men claim to be prophets we want them to come out with plain and 
unequivocal statements. We want no ‘‘if” or ‘‘and,” or general statements of 
uncertain sound, but the plain statement in black and white, just what will and 
will not occur. 
According to the St. Louis Republican, in a letter dated Montreal, May 18, 
1880, he says: ‘‘I believe that June will be an intensely hot month, and proba- 
bly the first of June will be fall-like, with frost again. July. will be a terrible 
‘month for storms, with terms of intense heat, but another fall-like relapse with 
frosts, will, in all likehood, occur a few days before the twentieth. I fear the 
storms of thunder and hail will be of unusual severity during July. I must 
claim the verification of my prediction relative to a cold wave, with frosts, over 
a large portion of the United States between the roth and 15th of May. The 
relapse toward the close of the present month (May) will be more severe than 
‘that just past.” 
This is probably a fair sample of Mr. Vennor’s predictions. We see that 
they are very general and non-committal as to exact dates and localities. 
Mr. Vennor’s first statement in this short article is that ‘‘ June will be an in- 
tensely hot month” Where will it be hot—in Canada, or North or South of Ma- 
