204 GUERXSKY WKATIIKIJ LORE. 



The mildness of the winter season in these islands, and 

 the cold weather which often prevails In spring, led to the 

 use of the rhyming proverb : A None a ses perrons^ a 

 Pdqnc a srs t/'sons, meaning that if at Christmas yon sit 

 at vour door (in the sun) at Easter you will have to sit 

 by the fire. A " perron " was a seat outside the soutli 

 door of the farmhouse. The month of March always had 

 a bad reputation : Quand Mars durcrai sej)t cms, Tliivar 

 durerai avtant (if March lasted seven }ears, winter would 

 last just as long). During the month of April young- 

 vegetation is often injured by white frost, or north-easterly 

 cutting winds, and so a bleak April is much dreaded : 

 Avril le dovx, mais quand i s'' y met, il est T piere de tout 

 (April the mild month, but when it sets about it, the 

 worst of all). 



A common Guernsey proverb often heard during the 

 month of May runs : Frai Mai plldiae c/raagc, cand Mai 

 gras chhnequiere (cold May, full barn, warm May, fat church- 

 yard). The latter part of this proverb I consider a fallacy, 

 because a cold bleak May (which we often get in these 

 islands) will cause more sickness and death, especially among 

 aged people, than a mild one. 



Years ago, when wheat was cultivated to a much greater 

 extent than it is now, the early growth of the crop was 

 watched with much anxiety, and if a mild April had 

 forced the young growth it was commonly remarked : Qnaud 

 Tfrornent est hel en herhe, i ny est pas souvent en guerhe 

 (when the wheat is fine in stalk it is not often so in sheaf). 

 But a dry ]\Iay was necessary to check the growth of the 

 corn, and therefore : Poiissiere de Mai, vaut un ecu Vhouisset 

 (May dust is worth a crown a bushel). 



The few rough boisterous days which sometimes occur 

 about the middle of August are commonly regarded as a 

 foretaste or warning of the approach of winter : A mie 

 Aout Vhivar se none. A spell of settled fine weather after 

 the autumnal equinox is termed Ic p'tit eta'i d^la St. Michie 

 (the little summer of Michaelmas) and the dark, gloomy, 

 but calm, days which occur frequently about Christmas 

 time, are called les calmioles de None. The local term for 

 what in English is called " a mackerel sky " is le del 

 caillebotta'i, or a curdled sky. 



A curious saying, without very much meaning, is some- 

 times heard when light showers of rain fall Avhilst the sun 

 is shining : I pllieut et fait soleil, le soleil est au del: i pllieut 

 et fait hiaii temps, la leune est cie nos gens (It rains and 



