GUERNSEY WEATHER LORE. 



BY MR. J. S. HOCAllT. 



Now that the advance of education is driving away our 

 folklore, and that the English language is taking the plac(i 

 of the Guernsey patois^ and thrusting out of sight the 

 quaint old weather proverbs which still linger in our 

 country parishes, it is time to collect the few that are still 

 to be heard, and save them before it is too late. 



A great many of the Guernsey weather sayings appear 

 to be connected with fishermen and their occupation. No 

 doubt in ancient times the fish industry was an important 

 item to the inhabitants, and in following their dangerous 

 vocation, men had constantly to be among the rocks and 

 currents which surround our coast. In those days the 

 aneroid barometer and other sensitive instruments were not 

 in use, but observations on nature supplied them to a great 

 extent with the means of forecasting the weather. Birds, 

 beasts, insects and i)lants furnished them with signs and 

 tokens, and by constantly studying the aspect of the sky 

 and the clouds at different seasons, they were able to follow 

 their occupation with a certain amoimt of confidence. 



The changing of the wind naturally caused them much 

 anxiety, and various means were used in order to ascertain 

 if possible the direction from which it was likely to blow 

 on the following day. When the sky was clear in the 

 evening, the position of the Milky Way, known as le clCmin 

 St. Jacque^ was considered to indicate the direction of the 

 wind next day. The sound of the sea in different places, 

 and the form and position of clouds, also pointed to changes 

 of wind. Various devices, which to us now seem strange, 

 were likewise employed to ascertain the coming changes 

 of the weather, and the old people placed full reliance 

 upon them. 



In this Avay they used the skull of a whiting, ling or 

 cod, after it had been boiled, and all the flesh removed. 

 A piece of silk was tied to the bar which is underneath, 

 in such a way that the skull should balance correctly, and 



