LIVING BAROMETERS.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume II, Issue 97, 6 March 1875, Page 9

LIVING BAROMETERS.

The following is from the 'Scientific American' :— "That is a curious instinct which a large number of animals possess, of predicting the weather, and signifying the approaching change by peculiar movements or sounds. Some of their actions in this respect appear to be more governed by reason than by mere instinct, others are clearly due to the moisture in the air or various atmospheric influences ; while some, -which occur under conditions which prevent their being referred to the latter cause, offer an interesting field for the investigations of the naturalists. The presence of the barometer in almost every farmhouse, together with the^eather bulletin or the dictum of "Old Probabilities," good toi The next twenty-four hours, render such homely knowledge as that which governed the labors of the farmers and sailors of the last century abuost superfluous in this advanced age ; but the subject, like all topics which relate to the sagacity of the lower animals, is of itself an interesting one. And, besides, it is not entirely impossible that some farmer to whom the barometer, if he had one, would be incomprehensible, and whose location prevents his obtaining the weather reports, may, by some odd action of his own cattle, of some insect, or of some bird, as described in the touowing lines, be forwarned of a coming storm in time, and save perhaps a crop during the present harvest months. We have said that certain movements on the part of the animals, before a change of weather, appeared to indicate a reasoning faculty. Such seems to be the case with the common garden spider, which, on the approach of windy or rainy weather, will be found to strengthen the supporting guys of his web, lengthening the same when the storm is over. There is a popular superstition in England that it isiinluckyforan angler to meet a single magpie, but two of the birds together is a good omen. The reason is that the birds foretell the coming of cold or stormy weather; and then, instead of their searching for food for their young in pairs, one mil always remain on the nest. Seagulls predict storms by assembling on the land, as they know that the rain will bring earthworms and larva to the surface. This, however, is merely a search for food, and is due to the same instinct which teaches the swallow to fly hi°-h in fine weather, and sHin along the ground when foul is coming. Iney simply follow the flies and knats which remain in the warm strata of the an-. The different tribes of wading birds always migrate before ram, likewise to hunt for food. There is a lar^e variety of actions of which it is hardly possible to give a satisfactory explanation. Coming rain is foretold by the peacock uttering frequent cries, by the Avoodpeoker lamenting, ~by paroquets babbling by pintados perching, and by geese running around uneasily. So also it is said that, when a storm is at hand, swine will carry hay and straw to hiding places, oxen will lick themselves the wrong way of the hair, sheep will bleat and skip about, hogs turned out in the woods will come home grunting and squealing, colts will rub their backs against the ground, cows will gather in crowds, crickets will smg more loudly, flies come into the house, frogs croak and change color to a dingier hue, dogs eat grass, and rooks soar like hawks. _ It is probable that many of these actions are due to actual uneasiness, similar to that which all who are troubled with corns or rheumatism experience before a storm, and are caused both by the variation m barometer pressure and the changes in the electrical condition of the atmosphere.