BUZZARD'S REST. 29 



among our nursery rhymes, where 3 indeed, it- is best 

 fitted to remain : 



" When drowsy dogs start from their sleep, 

 And bark at empty space, 

 'Tis not a dream that prompts them to, 

 But showers come on apace." 



Here we have essentially the same inference as in that 

 of the rhyme about cows, but it is not to be explained 

 away so readily. Such acts, as described, cannot be at- 

 tributed to annoyance by flies, for they, too, often emerge 

 from dark quarters, where they have been unmolested ; 

 but the all-important fact must not be overlooked that 

 such acts are not confined to summer. If they were, 

 the electrical theory might be advanced with some con- 

 fidence. From what I have noticed in such dogs as I 

 have owned, the habit of dreaming, which in the rhyme 

 is denied to be the explanation, is probably the key 

 to the mystery. Again, statistics show that the corre- 

 spondence between such habits and sudden showers is 

 only what we should expect in the way of coincidences. 

 Dogs certainly are not to be considered as reliable ba- 

 rometers. 



The same may be said of the domestic cat. Its move- 

 ments have all been carefully noted, and the yawning, 

 stretching, scratching, and waving of the tail appear to 

 have been accredited with some special meteorological 

 significance. Careful observation has not confirmed any 

 of these impressions. Table-legs are scratched time and 

 again by Tom or Tabby, and no rain falls for twenty- 

 four or forty -eight hours. They stretch themselves 

 after a nap, lick their sides and wash their faces, with 



