276 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
October  6,  189b. 
but  at  the  same  time  how  seldom  of  late  years  could  February  really 
be  called  “  fill  dyke  ?  ”  There  is  one  month  that  never  belies  itself. 
March  without  stormy  -winds  is  a  thing  unknown,  and  to  what  other 
month  belong  such  bitter  sleet  showers?  We  have  known  April 
without  April’s  tears,  and  a  sorry  time  it  is  for  vegetation.  May 
has  a  reputation  for  dryness.  If  there  is  a  break  in  the  wreather  it 
occurs  about  the  12th  or  14th,  and  often  during  the  week  ending  21st 
comes  back  a  sample  of  old  winter.  “  A  dripping  June  puts  all  in 
tune.”  Yes,  when  with  the  drip  comes  soft  weather  ;  but  what  when 
sharp  frost  cuts  vegetation  as  late  as  the  14th  ?  July  is  looked 
upon  as  the  wettest  month  of  the  year — from  that  are  we  to  judge 
that  St.  Swithin  is  always  raining  ? 
No,  the  poor  old  saint  has  much  to  answer  for;  but  he  is  not 
responsible  for  the  heavy  thunderstorms  that  so  often  break  up  the 
sunny  weather  of  this  month.  We  have  noticed  for  years  that  our 
hottest  days  are  in  August,  hot  with  the  closeness  of  an  oven ;  hot, 
so  hot  that  even  thunder  rain  barely  cools  the  atmosphere.  When 
September  is  fine  we  think  it  the  most  glorious  month  of  the  whole 
twelve.  The  air  so  soft  and  balmy,  Nature  so  lavish  with  all  her 
ripened  stores,  and  the  year’s  decay  not  so  apparent  as  to  be  painful. 
With  October  come  the  first  white  frosts,  and  we  never  yet  knew 
three  white  frosts  in  succession  that  were  not  followed  by  a  downpour. 
Bad  as  are  the  fogs  of  November,  they  are  not,  even  in  England, 
universal,  and  wre  have  often  seen  bright  cheery  frosts  when  ice  would 
bear  a  duck  before  Martinmas.  In  that  case  the  rest  of  the  winter 
is  free  from  sharp  frost.  Let  the  doubter  just  throw  his  mind  back 
to  past  years,  and  he  will,  if  he  has  any  memory  at  all,  say  we  are 
right.  There  is  often  a  sharp  change  in  the  weather  about  Christmas 
day,  but  for  real  bitterness  give  us  the  early  days  of  January. 
We  consider  here  there  are  several  infallible  weather  signs.  Do 
our  readers  know  that  formation  of  clouds  spoken  of  as  “  The  Ark  ;  ” 
a  shuttle-shaped  cloud  right  across  the  sky  ?  Within  forty-eight  hours 
rain  is  inevitable,  and  with  a  wet  N.E.  wind  we  may  count  on  at 
least  twenty-four  hours  of  rain.  How  often  we  verify  the  truth  of  the 
old  adage — “  Rain  before  seven,  clear  at  eleven  ?  ”  If  there  is  to  be  a 
break  it  is  then;  but  a  rain  that  begins  between  twelve  and  one 
makes  a  very  hopeless  sort  of  day. 
Do  you  ever  notice,  reader,  the  dust  come  whirling  down  the  road 
and  rising  to  the  height  of  a  house?  As  the  wind  drops  the  rain 
falls  to  a  dead  certainty.  How  many  watery  sunsets  have  we  seen 
only  to  be  followed  by  a  more  watery  day  !  Yet  in  a  really  dry 
time  nearly  all  signs  fail  with  the  exception,  perhaps,  of  the  twinges 
in  the  rheumatic  members  of  the  aged.  Touching  the  aged,  who  does 
not  know  how  fondly  they  cling  to  the  idea  of  the  influence  of  the 
moon  on  the  weather  ?  That  is  the  main  reason  why  they  buy  an 
aimanac,  so  that  they  may  know  the  exact  hour  of  the  moon’s 
changes. 
We  have  heard  it  stated  times  out  of  count  that  as  it  was  raining 
at  the  time  of  the  moon’s  change,  or  fine  weather,  as  the  case  might  be, 
so  would  the  weather  be,  more  or  less,  till  the  next  change.  Hopeless 
to  expect  other  till  the  next  quarter,  or  full  moon. 
Of  the  ideas  regarding  the  moon’s  connection  with  the  weather, 
we  might  quote  many  current  fancies.  It  is  a  bad  sign  if  the  moon 
changes  on  a  Saturday  or  Sunday ;  a  full  moon  clears  away  the 
clouds  ;  that  to  see  an  old  moon  in  the  arms  of  the  new  portends 
rain ;  two  full  moons  in  a  month  cause  flood ;  when  the  new  moon 
lays  on  her  back  bad  weather  is  certain ;  and  a  halo  round  the  moon 
is  a  sign  of  storm  and  rain. 
We  have  met  with  a  couplet  which  puts  the  matter,  or  rather  the 
truth  of  the  matter,  into  a  nutshell — 
The  moon  and  the  weather  may  change  together, 
But  change  of  the  moon  does  not  change  the  weather. 
The  closing  of  certain  flowers  is  said  to  foretell  rain,  such  as  the 
Pimpernel  and  the  Marigold,  but  they  will  close  on  the  approach  of 
moisture  in  the  air,  which  does  not  of  necessity  fall  in  rain.  Swallows, 
too,  fly  low  late  in  autumn  because  the  air  may  be  heavy  and  the 
insects  on  which  they  live  cannot  seek  the  higher  reaches. 
Jhere  is  another  point  on  which  we  should  like  to  comment. 
When  the  hedgerows  are  particularly  (full  of  [heps  and  haws  the 
statement  is  often  made  that  the  winter  will  be  a  severe  one,  ah*. 
Providence  is  assuring  the  necessary  food  for  birds.  This  does  not  to  our 
mind  appear  sound  logic.  We  consider  the  superabundance  of  berries 
to  arise  from  the  fact  that  the  previous  autumn  was  a  good  season  for 
the  ripening  of  wood.  Soft  under-ripened  wood  will  never  produce 
good  crops.  A  Nut  year  and  a  Wheat  year  go  together,  and  it  is 
most  certain  that  the  little  Apples,  to  become  big  ones,  need  christening 
at  or  about  July  15th.  We  have  seen  no  big  Apples  this  year. 
A  moderately  dry  back  end  is  of  incalculable  value  to  the  farmer. 
He  gets  his  Wheat  well  home,  he  gets  his  Wheat  well  in  ;  his  sheep 
pastures  keep  sweet  and  wholesome  and  nutritious,  and  his  Turnips 
don’t  get  on  too  fast  as  to  be  woolly  when  needed  for  food.  Then  for 
those  who  have  a  second  harvest  in  October,  think  of  the  difference 
to  workers  and  herses  when  the  “taties”  come  up  clean  and  dry  and 
sound.  Mangolds,  too,  in  a  fine  season  can  be  allowed  to  stand  a  bit 
longer — at  least  till  the  throng  of  the  work  is  over. 
We  are  rejoicing  in  a  glorious  hunter’s  moon,  and  we  are  not 
looking  out  for  signs  of  broken  weather.  May  it  be  far  away. 
WORK  ON  THE  HOME  FARM. 
Another  dry  week  has  given  the  drought  a  much  more  serious  aspect. 
Ploughing  is  impossible  with  the  land  in  its  present  baked  condition,  and 
here  we  are  in  October  without  an  acre  of  lea  prepared  for  Wheat  sowing. 
The  prospect  for  next  season's  Wheat  crop  is  anything  but  good,  for  in 
any  case  the  drilling  must  be  late,  and  the  seed  bed  is  hardly  likely  to  be 
an  ideal  one. 
The  Wheat  area  will  be  much  diminished  by  this  difficulty,  for  with  a 
prospect  of  scarce  winter  keep  for  stock  many  farmers  will  prefer  to 
graze  their  seeds  two  or  three  months  longer,  and  then  put  in  a  crop  of 
Oats. 
A  neighbour  expressed  his  determination  to  plough  one  field  at  any 
cost  of  labour  and  ploughshares,  but  he  had  to  give  it  up  as  impracticable. 
Turnips  are  suffering  terribly,  and  rain  would  be  too  late  now  for 
most  of  them  ;  even  the  latest  sown  are  ripening  off,  as  if  it  were 
December.  Occupiers  of  heavily  stocked  farms  are  very  anxious  as  to 
the  future,  and  naturally  so. 
When  a  trouble  is  foreseen  it  can  generally  be  successfully  met,  and 
by  keeping  off  roots  as  long  as  possible  and  using  a  maximum  proportion 
of  dry  food  the  winter  may  be  tided  over  without  much  sacrifice.  The 
very  fine  and  well  got  hay  crop  must  prove  its  value  soon,  and  we  are 
surprised  to  see  good  new  hay  selling  at  such  low  prices. 
There  is  still  plenty  of  work  for  the  horses  in  the  fallows,  and 
excellent  work  is  being  done.  The  farmer  who  has  much  left  to  do  in 
cleaning  his  land  next  spring  can  only  have  himself  to  blame. 
Potatoes  have  ripened  off  very  quickly  and  are  ready  to  lift,  but 
hands  are  very  scarce.  The  managers  of  our  village  school  now  divide 
the  school  holidays  between  the  corn  and  Potato  harvests.  The  latter 
commences  next  week,  and  for  a  fortnight  or  so  the  elder  children  will  be 
busily  engaged  in  assisting  the  farmer  to  store  his  crops,  whilst  earning 
enough  money  to  find  themselves  in  winter  boots. 
METEOROLOGICAL  OBSERVATIONS. 
Camden  Square,  London. 
Lat.  51°  32’  40"  N.;  Long.  0°  8’  0"  W.;  Altitude  111  feet. 
Date. 
9  A.M. 
In  the  Day. 
Rain. 
1898. 
September 
and 
October. 
Barometer 
at  32°,  and 
Sea  Level 
Hygrometer 
Direc¬ 
tion  of 
Wind. 
Temp, 
of  soil 
at 
1  foot 
Shade  Tem. 
perature. 
Radiation 
Tempera¬ 
ture. 
Dry. 
Wet. 
Max. 
Min. 
In 
Sun 
On 
Grass 
inchs. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
inchs. 
Sunday  .... 
25 
3O'OS0 
55-4 
49-0 
N. 
58-0 
62-1 
47-5 
91-8 
41-9 
— 
Monday  .... 
26 
30-087 
53-3 
47-6 
E. 
56-4 
64T 
38-2 
95-4 
34-1 
— 
Tuesday  .... 
27 
29-826 
50-7 
47-3 
E. 
55-7 
64-4 
38-9 
85-2 
33-1 
— 
Wednesday 
28 
29-957 
50-9 
47-1 
W. 
55-4 
64-7 
42-1 
104-7 
35-9 
— 
Thursday  . . 
29 
29-984 
46-4 
45-0 
N. 
54-7 
65-9 
36-8 
100-7 
32-4 
0-203 
Friday . 
30 
29-687 
52-8 
51-5 
E. 
55-2 
57-6 
48-7 
73-6 
46-8 
— 
Saturday. . . . 
1 
30-280 
53-7 
50-5 
N. 
54T 
66-3 
44-9 
97T 
37-9 
— 
29-986 
51-9 
48-3 
55.6 
63-6 
42-4 
92-6 
37-4 
0-203 
REMARKS. 
25th.— Cloudy  early  ;  bright  sun  from  11  a.m. 
26th. — Sunny  generally,  but  cloud  at  times. 
27th.— Frequently  sunny  in  morning ;  cloudy  afternoon,  with  solar  halo  and  a 
slight  shower  at  4.45  p.M 
28th.— Brilliant  early,  and  almost  throughout. 
29th.— Fog  early  ;  bright  sun  from  9  a.m.  to  noon;  generally  overcast  after,  and 
rain  from  7.30  to  9  P.M. 
30th.—  Rain  from  2  a.m.  to  3.30  a.m.  ;  overcast  day  ;  bright  evening  and  night. 
1st.— Bright  sun  almost  all  day  ;  cloudless  humid  evening. 
A  week  of  average  temperature  and  small  rainfall,  completing  the  driest: 
September  in  forty  years. — G.  J.  Symons. 
