The Rain Cloud Part 6

We do not here refer to the manna which fell in such abundance about the Hebrew camp, for that was a miracle specially wrought by the Almighty for the preservation of his chosen people; but, it may be noticed here, that in Arabia, a substance, called "manna," is found in great abundance on the leaves of many trees and herbs, and may be gathered and removed by the wind to a distance. A shower of this kind occurred in 1824. In 1828, a substance was exhibited at the French Academy, which fell in the plains of Persia. It was eaten, and afforded nourishment to cattle, and many other animals; and, on examination, proved to be a vegetable,-the _Lichen esculentus_,-which had been conveyed thither by the winds.

In the Minutes of the proceedings of the Royal Society, 26th June, 1661, we find the following curious narration:-

"Col. Tuke brought, in writing, the following _brief account of the supposed rain of wheat_, which was registered:-

"On the 30th of May, 1661, Mr. Henry Puckering, son to Sir Henry Puckering, of Warwick, brought some papers of seeds, resembling wheat, to the king, with a letter written by Mr. William Halyburton, dated the 27th May, from Warwick; out of which letter I have made this extract:

"'Instead of news I send you some papers of wonders. On Sat.u.r.day last, it was rumoured in this town, that it rained wheat at Tuchbrooke, a village about two miles from Warwick. Whereupon some of the inhabitants of this town went thither; where they saw great quant.i.ties on the way, in the fields, and on the leads of the church, castle, and priory, and upon the hearths of the chimneys in the chambers. And Arthur Mason, coming out of Shrops.h.i.+re, reports, that it hath rained the like in many places of that county. G.o.d make us thankful for this miraculous blessing, &.'"

"I brought some papers of these seeds, with this letter, to the Society of Gresham College; who would not enter into any consideration of it, till they were better informed of the matter of fact. Hereupon, I entreated Mr. Henry Puckering to write to the bailiff of the town of Warwick, to the ministers and physicians, to send us an account of the matter of fact, and their opinions of it.

In the bailiff's letter, dated the 3rd of June, I find this report verified; affirming that himself, with the inhabitants of the town, were in a great astonishment at this wonder. But, before the next day of our meeting, I sent for some ivy-berries, and brought them to Gresham College with some of these seeds resembling wheat; and taking off the outward pulp of the ivy-berries, we found in each of the berries four seeds; which were generally concluded by the Society to be the same with those that were supposed and believed by the common people to have been wheat that had been rained; and, that they were brought to those places, where they were found, by starlings; who, of all the birds that we know, do a.s.semble in the greatest numbers; and do, at this time of the year, feed upon these berries; and digesting the outward pulp, they render these seeds by casting, as hawks do feathers and bones."

The remarkable showers already noticed, have excited much interest and inquiry among learned men, and many superst.i.tious fears among the ignorant; but, there is another description of shower which affords a singular instance of popular observation, being greatly in advance of scientific knowledge. We allude to the showers of stones, called "aerolites," (from two Greek words, signifying the _atmosphere_, and a _stone_); they are also called _Meteorolites_, or _Meteoric stones_.

Writers in all ages have mentioned instances of stony bodies having been seen to fall from the sky. The Chinese and j.a.panese carefully note down the most striking and remarkable phenomena of nature, believing them to have some connexion with public affairs; and the chronicles of these people are said to contain many notices of the fall of stony bodies from the sky. Until within the last fifty years, however, these accounts have been treated in Europe as idle superst.i.tions; scientific men denying even the probability of such an occurrence. The first scientific man who was bold enough to support the popular opinion, that stones actually do fall from the sky, was Chladni, a German philosopher, who published a pamphlet on the subject in 1794. This did not excite much attention, until, two years afterwards, a stone weighing fifty-six pounds was exhibited in London, which was said to have fallen in Yorks.h.i.+re in the December of the preceding year; but, although the fact was attested by several respectable persons, the possibility of such an occurrence was still doubted. It was remarked, however, by Sir Joseph Banks, that this stone was very similar in appearance to one which had been sent to him from Italy, with an account of its having fallen from the clouds. In the year 1799, a number of stones were received by the Royal Society, from Benares, in the East Indies, which were also said to have fallen from the atmosphere, with a minute account of the circ.u.mstances attending the fall, which will be presently noticed; and, as these stones appeared to be precisely similar to the Yorks.h.i.+re stone already noticed, attention was fairly drawn to the subject. In 1802, Mr. Howard published an a.n.a.lysis of a variety of these stones collected from different places; and his researches led to the important conclusion, that they are all composed of the same substances, and in nearly the same proportions. In 1803, a notice was received at Paris, of a shower of stones at L'Aigle in Normandy; and the Inst.i.tute of France deputed M. Biot, a well-known and excellent natural philosopher, to examine, on the spot, all the circ.u.mstances attending this remarkable event. His account will be noticed presently; but it may here be stated, that the stones he collected, on being a.n.a.lysed, gave results similar to those obtained by Mr. Howard.

The circ.u.mstances attending the fall of stones at Krakhut, a village about fourteen miles from the city of Benares, are briefly as follow:-On the 19th December, 1798, a very luminous meteor was observed in the heavens, about eight o'clock in the evening, in the form of a large ball of fire; it was accompanied by a loud noise, resembling that of thunder, which was immediately followed by the sound of the fall of heavy bodies.

On examining the ground, it was observed to have been newly torn up in many places; and in these were found stones of a peculiar appearance, most of which had buried themselves to the depth of six inches. At the time the meteor appeared, the sky was perfectly serene, not the smallest vestige of a cloud had been seen since the 11th of the month; nor were any observed for many days after. It was seen in the western part of the hemisphere, and was visible only a short time. The light from it was so great, as to cast a strong shadow from the bars of a window upon a dark carpet. Mr. Davis, the judge and magistrate of the district, affirmed, that in brilliancy it equalled the brightest moonlight. Both he and Mr.

Erskine were induced to send persons in whom they could confide to the spot where this shower of stones is reported to have taken place, and thus obtained additional evidence of the phenomena, together with several of the stones which had penetrated about six inches into fields recently watered. Mr. Maclane, a gentleman who resided near Krakhut, presented Mr. Howard with a portion of a stone which had been brought to him the morning after its fall by the person who was on duty at his house, and through the roof of whose hut it had pa.s.sed, and buried itself several inches in the floor, which was of consolidated earth. Before it was broken it must have weighed upwards of two pounds.

M. Biot's summary of the evidence collected by him respecting the great shower of stones which fell at Aigle, in Normandy, is as follows:-

"On Tuesday, 26th April, 1803, about one o'clock, P.M., the weather being serene, there was observed from Caen, Pont d'Audemer, and the environs of Alencon, Falaise, and Verneuil, a fiery globe, of a very brilliant splendour, and which moved in the atmosphere with great rapidity. Some moments after, there was heard at Aigle, and in the environs of that town, in the extent of more than thirty leagues in every direction, a violent explosion, which lasted five or six minutes. At first there were three or four reports like those of a cannon, followed by a kind of discharge which resembled the firing of musketry; after which, there was heard a dreadful rumbling, like the beating of a drum. The air was calm and the sky serene, except a few clouds, such as are frequently observed. This noise proceeded from a small cloud which had a rectangular form; the largest side being in a direction from east to west. It appeared motionless all the time that the phenomenon lasted; but the vapours of which it was composed, were projected momentarily from different sides, by the effect of successive explosions. This cloud was about half a league to the north-north-west of the town of Aigle. It was at a great elevation in the atmosphere; for, the inhabitants of two hamlets, a league distant from each other, saw it at the same time above their heads.

In the whole canton over which this cloud was suspended, there was a hissing noise, like that of a stone discharged from a sling; and a great many mineral ma.s.ses, exactly similar to those distinguished by the name of 'meteor-stones,' were seen to fall. The district in which these ma.s.ses were projected, forms an elliptical extent of about two leagues and a half in length, and nearly one in breadth, the greatest dimension being in a direction from south-east to north-west; forming a declination of about 22 degrees. This direction, which the meteor must have followed, is exactly that of the magnetic meridian, which is a remarkable result. The greatest of these stones fell at the south-eastern extremity of the large axis of the ellipse, the middle-sized in the centre, and the smaller at the other extremity. Hence it appears, that the largest fell first, as might naturally be supposed. The largest of all those that fell, weighs seventeen pounds and a half. The smallest which I have seen, weighs about two _gros_, (a thousandth part of the last.) The number of all those which fell, is certainly above two or three thousand."

Meteoric stones have been known to commit great injury in their fall. In July, 1790, a very bright fire-ball, luminous as the sun, of the size of an ordinary balloon, appeared near Bourdeaux, which, after filling the inhabitants with alarm, burst, and disappeared. A few days after, some peasants brought stones into the town, which they said had fallen from the meteor; but, the philosophers to whom they offered them laughed at their statements. One of these stones, fifteen inches in diameter, broke through the roof of a cottage, and killed a herdsman and a bullock. In 1810, a great stone fell at Shahabad, in India. It burnt a village, and killed several people.

The fall of meteoric stones is more frequent than would be supposed.

Chaldni has compiled a Catalogue of all recorded instances from the earliest times. Of these, twenty-seven are previous to the Christian era; thirty-five from the beginning of the first to the end of the fourteenth century; eighty-nine from the beginning of the fifteenth to the beginning of the present century; from which time, since the attention of scientific men has been directed to the subject, above sixty cases have been recorded. These are, doubtless, but a small proportion of the whole amount of meteoric showers which have fallen, when the small extent of surface occupied by those capable of recording the event is compared with the wide expanse of the ocean, the vast uninhabited deserts, mountains, and forests, and the countries occupied by savage nations.

Meteoric stones have generally a broken, irregular surface, coated with a thin black crust, like varnish. When broken, they appear to have been made up of a number of small spherical bodies of a grey colour, imbedded in a gritty substance, and often interspersed with yellow spots. A considerable proportion of iron is found in all of them, partly in a malleable state, partly in that of an oxide, and always in combination with a rather scarce metal called nickel; {181} the earths silica, and magnesia, and sulphur, form the other chief ingredients; but, the earths alumina and lime, the metals manganese, chrome, and cobalt, together with carbon, soda, and water, have also been found in small quant.i.ties, but not in the same specimens. No substance with which chemists were previously unacquainted, has ever been found in them; but no combination, similar to that in meteoric stones, has ever been met with in geological formations, or among the products of any volcano. They are sometimes very friable, sometimes very hard; and some that are friable when they first fall, become hard afterwards. When taken up soon after their fall they are extremely hot. They vary in weight from two drams to several hundred pounds. Meteoric stones have fallen in all climates, in every part of the earth, at all seasons, in the night and in the day.

The meteoric stones already noticed, are not the only metallic bodies which are supposed to fall from the sky. In many parts of the earth ma.s.ses of malleable iron, often of vast size, have been found. An immense ma.s.s seen by Pallas, in Siberia, was discovered at a great height on a mountain of slate, near the river Jenesei. The Tartars held it in great veneration, as having fallen from heaven. It was removed in the year 1749, to the town of Krasnojarsk, by the inspector of iron mines.

The ma.s.s, which weighed about 1,400 pounds, was irregular in form, and cellular, like a sponge. The iron was tough and malleable, and was found to contain nickel, silica, magnesia, sulphur, and chrome. Another enormous ma.s.s of meteoric iron was found in South America, about the year 1788. It lay in a vast plain, half sunk in the ground, and was supposed, from its size and the known weight of iron, to contain upwards of thirteen tons. Specimens of this ma.s.s are now in the British Museum, and have been found to contain 90 per cent. of iron and 10 of nickel. Many other ma.s.ses of iron might be mentioned, which, from the places in which they are found, and from their composition, leave no doubt as to their being of meteoric origin. The only instance, on record, of iron having been actually seen to fall from the atmosphere, is that which took place at Agram in Croatia, on the 26th May, 1751. About six o'clock in the evening, the sky being quite clear, a ball of fire was seen, which shot along, with a hollow noise, from west to east, and, after a loud explosion accompanied by a great smoke, two ma.s.ses of iron fell from it in the form of chains welded together.

It is, perhaps, impossible, in the present state of our knowledge, to account for the origin of these remarkable bodies. Some have supposed them to have been shot out from volcanoes belonging to our earth; but this theory is opposed by the fact that no substance, resembling aerolites, has ever been found in or near any volcano; and they fall from a height to which no volcano can be supposed to have projected them, and still less to have given them the horizontal direction in which they usually move. Another supposition is, that these ma.s.ses are formed in the atmosphere; but it is almost ridiculous to imagine a body, weighing many tons, to be produced by any chemical or electrical forces in the upper regions of the air. A third explanation is, that they are bodies thrown out by the volcanoes, which are known to exist in the moon, with such force as to bring them within the sphere of the earth's attraction.

This notion was supported by the celebrated astronomer and mathematician La Place. He calculated that a body projected from the moon with the velocity of 7771 feet in the first second, would reach our earth in about two days and a half. But other astronomers are of opinion, that the known velocity of some meteors is too great to admit of the possibility of their having come from the moon. The theory which agrees best with known facts and the laws of nature, is that proposed by Chladni, namely, that the meteors are bodies moving in s.p.a.ce, either ma.s.ses of matter as originally created, or fragments separated from a larger ma.s.s of a similar nature. This view has also been supported by Sir Humphrey Davy, who says, "The luminous appearances of shooting-stars and meteors cannot be owing to any inflammation of elastic fluids, but must depend upon the ignition of solid bodies. Dr. Halley calculated the height of a meteor at ninety miles; and the great American meteor, which threw down showers of stones, was estimated at seventeen miles high. The velocity of motion of these bodies must, in all cases, be immensely great, and the heat produced by the compression of the most rarefied air from the velocity of motion, must be, probably, sufficient to ignite the ma.s.s; and all the phenomena may be explained, if _falling stars_ be supposed to be small bodies moving round the earth in very eccentric orbits, which become ignited only when they pa.s.s with immense velocity through the upper region of the atmosphere; and if the meteoric bodies which throw down stones with explosions, be supposed to be similar bodies which contain either combustible or elastic matter."

This chapter ought not to be concluded without a short notice of that remarkable rain known to geologists as "fossil rain." In the new red-sandstone of the Storeton quarries, impressions of the foot-prints of ancient animals have been discovered; and in examining some of the slabs of stone extracted at the depth of above thirty feet, Mr. Cunningham observed "that their under surface was thickly covered with minute hemispherical projections, or casts in relief of circular pits, in the immediately subjacent layers of clay. The origin of these marks, he is of opinion, must be ascribed to showers of rain which fell upon an argillaceous beach exposed by the retiring tide, and their preservation to the filling up of the indentations by sand. On the same slabs are impressions of the feet of small reptiles, which appear to have pa.s.sed over the clay previously to the shower, since the foot-marks are also indented with circular pits, but to a less degree; and the difference Mr.

Cunningham explains by the pressure of the animal having rendered these portions less easily acted upon." The preservation of these marks has been explained by supposing dry sand, drifted by the wind, to have swept over and filled up the footprints, rain-pits, and hollows of every kind, which the soft argillaceous surface had received.

The frontispiece to the present chapter (p. 156), represents a slab of sandstone containing impressions of the foot of a bird and of rain drops.

This slab is from a sandstone basin near Turner's Falls, a fine cataract of the Connecticut river in the State of Ma.s.sachusetts, and is described by Dr. Deane in a recent number of the American Journal of Science. "It is rare," says that gentleman, to "find a stratum containing these footprints exactly as they were made by the animal, without having suffered change. They are usually more or less disturbed or obliterated by the too soft nature of the mud, the coa.r.s.eness of the materials, and by many other circ.u.mstances which we may easily see would deface them, so that although the general form of the foot may be apparent, the minute traces of its appendages are almost invariably lost. In general, except in thick-toed species, we cannot discover the distinct evidences of the structure of the toes, each toe appearing to be formed of a single joint, and seldom terminated by a claw. But, a few specimens. .h.i.therto discovered at this locality completely developed the true characters of the foot, its ranks of joints, its claws and integuments. So far as I have seen, the faultless impressions are upon shales of the finest texture with a smooth glossy surface, such as would retain the beautiful impressions of rain drops. This kind of surface containing footmarks is exceedingly rare: I have seen but few detached examples; recently it has been my good fortune to recover a stratum, containing in all more than one hundred most beautiful impressions of the feet of four or five varieties of birds, the entire surface being also pitted by a shower of fossil rain-drops. The slabs are perfectly smooth on the inferior surface, and are about two inches in thickness.

"The impression of a medallion is not more sharp and clear than are most of these imprints, and it may be proper to observe, that this remarkable preservation may be ascribed to the circ.u.mstance, that the entire surface of the stratum was incrusted with a layer of micaceous sandstone, adhering so firmly that it would not cleave off, thereby requiring the laborious and skilful application of the chisel. The appearance of this s.h.i.+ning layer which is of a gray colour, while the fossil slab is a dark red, seems to carry the probability that it was washed or blown over the latter while in a state of loose sand, thus filling up the foot-prints and rain-drops, and preserving them unchanged until the present day-unchanged in the smallest particular, so far as relates merely to configuration, nothing being obliterated; the precise form of the nails, or claws, and joints, and in the deep impressions of the heel bone, being exquisitely preserved."

The small slab figured at p. 156 is described as being an incomparable specimen. "For purity of impression it is unsurpa.s.sed, and the living reality of the rain-drops, the beautiful colour of the stone, its sound texture and lightness, renders it a fit member for any collection of organic remains."

[Picture: Mandan rain-makers]

CHAPTER VIII.

COMMON SAYINGS RESPECTING THE WEATHER-SAINT SWITHIN'S-DAY-SIGNS OF RAIN OR OF FAIR WEATHER DERIVED FROM THE APPEARANCE OF THE SUN-FROM THAT OF THE MOON-FROM THE STARS-FROM THE SKY-FROM THE DISTINCTNESS OF SOUNDS-FROM THE RISING OF SMOKE-FROM THE PECULIAR ACTIONS OF PLANTS AND ANIMALS-PROGNOSTICS NOTICED BY SIR HUMPHREY DAVY-SIGNS OF RAIN COLLECTED BY DR. JENNER-NORTH AMERICAN RAIN-MAKERS-INCIDENT RELATED BY CATLIN-RAIN-DOCTORS OF SOUTHERN AFRICA-RAIN-DOCTORS OF CEYLON-SUPERSt.i.tIONS GIVING WAY TO THE TEACHING OF MISSIONARIES-CONCLUSION.

There are many proverbial sayings among country people concerning the state of the weather, which, having been derived from long observation, have become axioms, and were designated by Bacon "the philosophy of the people." These prognostics are being set aside by the more certain lights of science, but there is no doubt that many natural objects may indicate symptoms of change in the atmosphere before any actually takes place in it to such an extent as to affect our senses. Some of these prognostics are of a general character applying to all seasons, and there are others which apply only to a particular season; but they may all be derived from appearances of the heavenly bodies and of the sky, the state of meteorological instruments, and the notions and habits of certain plants and animals. The author of the "Journal of a Naturalist" has some good observations on this subject. He says:-

"Old simplicities, tokens of winds and weather, and the plain observances of human life, are everywhere waning fast to decay. Some of them may have been fond conceits; but they accorded with the ordinary manners of the common people, and marked times, seasons, and things, with sufficient truth for those who had faith in them.

Little as we retain of these obsolete fancies, we have not quite abandoned them all; and there are yet found among our peasants a few, who mark the blooming of the large water-lily (_lilium candidum_), and think that the number of its blossoms on a stem will indicate the price of wheat by the bushel for the ensuing year, each blossom equivalent to a s.h.i.+lling. We expect a sunny day too, when the pimpernel (_anagallis arvensis_) fully expands its blossoms; a dubious, or a moist one, when they are closed. In this belief, however, we have the sanction of some antiquity to support us. Sir F. Bacon records it; Gerarde notes it as a common opinion entertained by country people above two centuries ago; and I must not withhold my own faith in its veracity, but say that I believe this pretty little flower to afford more certain indication of dryness or moisture in the air than any of our hygrometers do. But if these be fallible criterions, we will notice another that seldom deceives us. The approach of a sleety snow-storm, following a deceitful gleam in spring, is always announced to us by the loud untuneful voice of the missel-thrush (_t.u.r.dus viscivorus_) as it takes its stand on some tall tree, like an enchanter calling up the gale. It seems to have no song, no voice, but this harsh predictive note; and it in great measure ceases with the storms of spring. We hear it occasionally in autumn, but its voice is not then prognostic of any change of weather. The missel-thrush is a wild and wary bird, keeping generally in open fields and commons, heaths and unfrequented places, feeding upon worms and insects. In severe weather it approaches our plantations and shrubberies, to feed on the berry of the mistletoe, the ivy, or the scarlet fruit of the holly or the yew; and, should the redwing or the fieldfare presume to partake of these with it, we are sure to hear its voice in clattering and contention with the intruders, until it drives them from the place, though it watches and attends, notwithstanding, to its own safety."

But before we notice more in detail the natural prognostics of the weather, it is desirable to speak of a superst.i.tion which is widely spread among all cla.s.ses, in the town as well as in the country. The superst.i.tion referred to, is that connected with St. Swithin's-day, and is well expressed in a Scotch proverb:-

"Saint Swithin's-day, gif ye do rain, For forty days it will remain; Saint Swithin's-day, an ye be fair, For forty days 'twill rain nae mair."

This superst.i.tion originated with Swithin, or Swithum, bishop of Winchester, who died in the year 868. He desired that he might be buried in the open churchyard, "where the drops of rain might wet his grave;"

"thinking," says Bishop Hall, "that no vault was so good to cover his grave as that of heaven." But when Swithin was canonized the monks resolved to remove his body into the choir of the church. According to tradition, this was to have been done on the 15th of July; but it rained so violently for forty days that the design was abandoned. Mr. Howard remarks, that the tradition is so far valuable, as it proves that the summers in the southern part of our island were subject, a thousand years ago, to occasional heavy rains, in the same way as at present. This accurate observer has endeavoured to ascertain how far the popular notion is borne out by the fact. In 1807 and 1808, it rained on St.

Swithin's-day, and a dry season followed. In 1818 and 1819, it was dry on the 15th, and a very dry season followed. The other summers, occurring between 1807 and 1819, seem to show, "that in a majority of our summers, a showery period which, with some lat.i.tude as to time and local circ.u.mstances, may be admitted to const.i.tute daily rain for forty days, does come on about the time indicated by the tradition of St. Swithin."

But in these calculations, it is necessary to bear in mind that the change of style has very much interfered with St. Swithin. With the day allowed in the closing year of the last century, St. Swithin's day is how thirteen days earlier in the calendar than it would have been by the old style. Thus the true St. Swithin's-day, according to the tradition, is about the 28th of July, and not the 15th, as set down in the present calendar. There must, therefore, be a considerable difference as to the rains and this day.

We now proceed to collect a number of prognostics connected with the appearances of the heavenly bodies and of the sky; they are the result of long experience, but at the same time it is necessary to caution our readers against attaching much importance to them.

When the sun rises red, wind and rain may be expected during the day; but when he rises unclouded, attended by a scorching heat, cloudiness and perhaps rain will ensue before mid-day. When he rises clouded, with a few grey clouds, they will soon dissipate, and a fine day will follow.

When his light is dim, vapour exists in the upper regions of the air, and may be expected to descend shortly after in the form of dense clouds.

When his light, after rain, is of a transparent watery hue, rain will soon fall again. When his direct rays have a scorching and weakening effect on the body throughout the greater part of the day, the next day will be cloudy, and perhaps rainy. When the sun is more or less obscured by a thicker or thinner cirro-stratus cloud, and when he is said to be _wading_ in the cloud, rain may come-if the cloud indicates rain it will come. A halo surrounding the disc of the sun is almost always sure to precede rain. A red sunset without clouds indicates a doubt of fair weather; but a fine day may be expected after a red sunset in clouds. A watery sunset, diverging rays of light, either direct from the sun or from behind a cloud, is indicative of rain. After a dull black sunset rain may be expected.

It is a common saying among country people,-

"An evening red, or a morning grey, Doth betoken a bonnie day; In an evening grey and a morning red, Put on your hat, or yell weet your head."

There are not many prognostics connected with the appearances of the moon. The changes of the moon produce greater effects than at any other period. With a clear silvery aspect fair weather may be expected. A pale moon always indicates rain, and a red one wind. Seeing the "old moon in the new one's arms," is a sign of stormy weather. Seeing the new moon very young, "like the paring of a nail," also indicates wet; but when the horns of the new moon are blunt, they indicate rain, and fair weather when sharp. It is truly said:

"In the wane of the moon, A cloudy morning bodes a fair afternoon."

And also

'New moon's mist Never dies of thirst.'

Halos and coronae are oftener seen about the moon than the sun, and they indicate rain.

The stars appearing dim indicate rain. Very few stars seen at one time, when there is no frost, indicate a similar result.

When the sky is of deeply-coloured blue, it indicates rain. If distant objects appear very distinct and near through the air, it indicates rain.

When the air feels oppressive to walk in, rain will follow; when it feels light and pleasant, fair weather will continue.

When distant sounds are distinctly heard through the air in a calm day, such as the tolling of bells, barking of dogs, talking of people, waterfalls, or rapids over mill-dams, the air is loaded with vapour, and rain may be expected. The sea is often heard to roar, and loudest at night, as also the noise of a city, when a cloud is seen suspended a very short way above head.