If the cock moult before the hen, We shall have weather thick and thin; But if the hen moult before the cock, We shall have weather hard as a block. When the wind's in the south, It blows the bait into the fishes' mouth. As the days lengthen So the colds strengthen. If there be a rainbow in the eve, It will rain and leave; But if there be a rainbow in the morrow, It will neither lend nor borrow. A rainbow in the morning Is the shepherd's warning; But a rainbow at night Is the shepherd's delight. No tempest, good July, Lest corn come off blue by. When the wind's in the east, It's neither good for man nor beast; When the wind's in the south, It's in the rain's mouth. When the sloe-tree is as white as a sheet, Sow your barley, whether it be dry or wet. No weather is ill If the wind be still. A snow year, A rich year. Winter's thunder Is summer's wonder. St. Swithin's day, if thou dost rain, For forty days it will remain; St. Swithin's day, if thou be fair, For forty days 'twill rain na mair. The bat begins with giddy wing His circuit round the shed and tree; And clouds of dancing gnats to sing A summer night's serenity. At New Year's tide, The days are lengthened a cock's stride. If the red sun begins his race, Expect that rain will fall apace. The evening red, the morning gray, Are certain signs of a fair day. If woolly fleeces spread the heavenly way, No rain, be sure, disturbs the summer's day. In the waning of the moon, A cloudy morn—fair afternoon. When clouds appear like rocks and towers, The earth's refresh'd by frequent showers. As the days grow longer The storms grow stronger. Blessed is the corpse that the rain falls on. Blessed is the bride that the sun shines on. He that goes to see his wheat in May, Comes weeping away. _Signs of Foul Weather._ The soot falls down, the spaniels sleep, And spiders from their cobwebs peep. Loud quack the ducks, the sea-fowl cry, The distant hills are looking nigh. Puss on the hearth, with velvet paws, Sits wiping o'er her whisker'd jaws. The smoke from chimneys right ascends, Then spreading, back to earth it bends. The walls are damp, the ditches smell, Clos'd is the pink-ey'd pimpernel. Quite restless are the snorting swine, The busy flies disturb the kine. The wind unsteady veers around, Or settling in the south is found. The glow-worms, numerous and bright, Illumed the dewy hill last night. Through the clear stream the fishes rise And nimbly catch the incautious flies. _First Meerschaum Pipe._