Evening Republican, Volume 17, Number 159, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 5 July 1913 — PREDICTIONS OF RAINY WEATHER [ARTICLE]

PREDICTIONS OF RAINY WEATHER

Horses Neigh, Cattle Low, Peacocks Scream, and Ducks and Geese Are Noisy. ) •' / (By A. V. MEERSCH.) It is well known that animals and fowls give notice of the approach of rainy weather by their peculiar actions. Dogs and cats are less energetic and show an unusual disposition to sleep. Sheep crowd together in a shelter place. Horses neigh, cattle low, peacocks scream, guinea fowls squall, and ducks and geese are more noisy than usual. All this is due to the decreased supply of oxygen in the air and to the depressing effect of damp air on their nerves. It gives them some difficulty in breathing and makes them listless and uneasy. Another sign of rain is seen when a cat rubs her ears and sometimes every part of her coat that she can reach. This is due in part to the dampness opthe air, which penetrates the hair and makes the. skin itch, but is chiefly due, perhaps, to the air being heavily charged with electricity. The hair of the cat becomes heavily charged, too, and she rubs it to make* it smooth, and to brush away the peculiar sensation electricity causes. Perhaps you have noticed that the leaves of the dandelion and clover fold up and go to sleep, so to speak, when the rain is near. As these plants never open their leaves without the stimulating influence of sunshine, the cloudy sky puts them to sleep. Another reason for the change to the expansion of the air vessels of the plants, due to the damp air which causes the leaves to contract and close, just as paper curls when one side of it to moistened.