Q. _Why do HORSES and other animals stretch out their necks, and SNUFF up the AIR, just previous to a fall of RAIN?_ A. Because they _smell the odour of plants and hay_, and delight to snuff in their fragrance. Q. _Why does SMOKE FALL when RAIN is at hand?_ A. The air being less _dense_ in wet weather, _cannot buoy up smoke_ so readily, as when _more dry and heavy_. Q. _Why do SWALLOWS FLY LOW when RAIN is at hand?_ A. Because the _insects_ (of which they are in pursuit) _have fled from the cold upper regions of the air_, to the _warm_ air near the earth: and as their _food is low_, the swallows _fly low_. Q. _Why do these INSECTS seek the lower regions of the air in WET weather, more than in FINE weather?_ A. Because they are forced downward, by some current of cold air which _drives them down_. Q. _Why does a DOWNWARD current of COLD AIR bring RAIN?_ A. Because it _condenses the warm vapour_; which then descends in rain. Q. _The proverb says, "A SINGLE MAGPIE in spring, FOUL WEATHER will bring:" why is this the case?_ A. In cold stormy weather, _one magpie alone_ will leave its warm snug nest _in search of food_, while the other stays with the _eggs or young ones_; but in _fine mild_ weather (when their brood will not be injured by cold) _both the magpies will fly out together_. Q. _Why is it UNLUCKY for ANGLERS to see a SINGLE MAGPIE in spring?_ A. Because when _magpies fly abroad singly_, the weather is cold and stormy; but when _both birds fly out together_, the weather is _warm and mild_, which is _favourable for fishing_. Q. _Why do SEA GULLS fly about the SEA in FINE weather?_ A. Because they _live upon fish_, which are found near the _surface of the sea in fine weather_. Q. _Why may we expect STORMY RAINS, when SEA GULLS assemble on the land?_ A. Because the fish (on which they live) leave the _surface_ of the sea in stormy weather, and _go down too deep for the gulls to get at them_; they are obliged, therefore, to feed on the _worms and larvæ_ which are driven out of the _ground_ at such times. Q. _Why does the PETREL always fly to the SEA during a storm?_ A. Because the petrel _lives upon sea insects_, which are always to be found in abundance _about the spray of swelling waves_. (The Petrel is a bird of the duck-kind, which lives in the open sea. They run on the top of the sea, and are called Petrels, or rather Peter-els, from "St. Peter," in allusion to his walking on the sea, to go to Jesus.) Q. _Why do CANDLES and LAMPS SPIRT when RAIN is at hand?_ A. Because the _air is filled with vapour_, and the humidity _penetrates the wick_; where (being formed into _steam_) it expands suddenly, and produces a little explosion. Q. _Why does a DROP of WATER sometimes ROLL along a piece of hot iron without leaving the least trace?_