The softer the sky the milder the weather and the more gentle the wind. It is the dark gloomy blues that bring the wind. But do not mistake the woolly softness of the rolling clouds before a thunderstorm. A sudden and often violent gust follows. Tumbling clouds in any event should make one wary of venturing on water. Summer drownings would not be so numerous if the portent of the squall were heeded. To this data might be added many singular cloud formations that are not observed often. The funnel shaped cloud of the tornado, the green shades of the hurricane cloud, the green sky of cold weather showing out between layers of steel blue, coppery tints that show before heavy storms sometimes, variations of color at sunset each of which has a meaning which practice in deciphering will make clear. But enough has been given to show sky-searchers how many are the tips of coming weather that may be read from a conglomeration of fog particles. Nobody with eyes should be caught unawares by day. The look of the sunset shadows forth much of the coming night. And throughout all this truth holds: the greater the coming storm the longer and clearer are the warnings given to the watchful. THE WINDS The wind is the ring-master of the clouds. It whistles and they obey. Therefore to be windwise is to be weatherwise, almost. One can get a hold on the wind by learning to gauge its strength. Look at the trees or the smoke from your city chimneys and guess how fast it blows at eight o'clock in the morning, or eight at night. The weather report the next day will tell you how nearly you were right. Beginning is easy; anybody can guess a calm. When the leaves are just moving lazily the Weather Bureau calls it a light or gentle breeze, moving from 2 to 5 miles an hour. A fresh breeze, from 6 to 15 miles will stir the twigs at first and finally swing the branches about. From 16 to 25 miles, a brisk wind, will cause white caps on the lakes, tossing the tops of the trees, but breaking only small twigs. Increasing from 26 to 40 miles it becomes a high wind that breaks branches on trees, wrecks signs in the towns, causes high waves at sea and roars like the ocean in heavy squalls through the woods. From 40 to 60 miles an hour makes a gale. Sailing craft are now in danger. The pressure at 50 miles an hour is 13 pounds to the square foot, having risen from three-quarters of an ounce at 3 miles. This pressure becomes 40 pounds per foot when the wind reaches a velocity of 90 miles.