LEEUHES AS BAROMETERS. (THE COUNTRY.)

Waikato Times, Volume V, Issue 283, 5 March 1874, Page 2

LEEUHES AS BAROMETERS. (THE COUNTRY.)

Whf.K we consider how often anxiety is expressed *s to tho itite of the weather, it would seem probable that an infallible barometer, which could be obtained at the cost of a few pence, would be looked upon »s invaluable, and find a pl<cc in every house. Such, however, is not the case ; thoB<- who patronize this living barometer are " lew aud fai betwewi," and it is with the do&ire ot making others better acquainted with what has been proved to be a most useful aid to weatlwr- wisdom thai the following notes are put togeuher. Tnis barometer is none other than the common leech, whit h we are perhaps accustomed to look upon with more or ltBS disgust, in apite of the undoubted benefits which its opeiations bring to us. The poet (Jowper was well aoquninted with this property of the leech. In a letter to Lady Hesketh, he says:— "Yesterday it thundered, last night it lightened, and at three this morning I saw the sky as red as a city iv flamts could have uiude it. 1 have h. leech in a bottle that foretells all these prodigies and convitlsinns of nature. "No— not, as you will naturally conjecture, by articulate utterance of oracular notices, but by a variety of gesticulations which here I have not room to give an account of. Sufiice it to say. that no change of the weather surprises him, and that in point of the earliest and most accurate intelligence, he is worth, all the barometers in the world. None of them, indeed, can make the least pretence to foretell thunder— a species of. capacity of which he ho* giv n the mo t unequivocol evidence " In Hone's "Everyday Book" there is |a letter dated March, 1827, in which the following observations, "made by a gentleman who kept [a leech] several years for the purpose of a weather-glass," are given. The leech was kept in an ordinary eight-ounce bottle, about, three parts filled with water, and covered at the mouth with a piece of linen rag ; it was kept in a window, and the water was changed once a\i eek in summer, and ever> fortnight in winter. His observations coincide so nearly with those which we have ourselves made, that we shall extract them for the benefit of those who may make a similar experiment, so that they may know in advance (what observation would soon teach them) the meaning of the different movements of the prisoner. ..,.,_, t. ' "If the weather proves serene and beautiful, the leech lies motionless at the bottom of the glass, and rolled together in a spiral form. If it rains either before or after noon, it is fonnd crept up to the top of its lodging, and there it remains till the weather is settler!. If we are to have wind, the poor pusoner gallops through its limpid habitation with amazing swiftness, aud seldom rests till it begins to blow hard. If as 1 orm ot thunder and rain is to Bucceed, for some days previously it lodges almost continually out of the water, and dwcoveis very great uneasiness in violent throe* and convulsions. In the frost, as m clear summer weather, it lies constantly at the bottom, and in snow, as in rainy weather, it pitches its dwelling upon the very mouth of the phial." „ Our personal experience of these " clerks of the weather is but limited ; so far as i goes, it genoiaUy|teads to confirm the foregoing remaiks The following obso.votions, bowt\er, of a lady naturalist, to whom we :ire indebted lor our introduction to leechts in their barome rical capacity, and who has herself kept a, daily record of their movements for move than twelve years, admirably supplement what haa been alrea ly quoted. '• A.? a rule during fine and wet weather, the leeches remain at the bottom of the vessel. When a change is slowly approaching they move upwards, twenty-four hours, or, at timen. thirty-six hours in advance of it. When a storm is rapidly approaohinij, the leeches become very iestles-8, and rise quickly ; while before a thunder storm they pass entirely out of the water. A tijiht-titting wire-work cover must be pin cod o\er the top, as the Leches soon escape, especially in ftonny weather. When the change occurs, they becomo still at th>. bottom of the vessel ; but if under sue 1 ! oircumstinces they use again or keep above the water, li-nuth <>r violence of storm is indicated. If the leeches rise ihuina a continuance of e.ist wind, wind lather than r.iin us to be e\p"eted. When a storm comes direct from a distance, we »hall obseive the iapid nsn it nnd res.tkss.usss alluded to above, but much shorter notic— frcw tourio six hours— will he tfiven. When heavy ,am or high wind is to be expected, the leeches are also iebt ess, and keep out of the wa^er, bui their movements aie uuuh le*s rapid. It is advisable to keep the vessel in a temperature ns even as possible. When the temperature falls below 4bdegs. the i leeches cease to indicate any change ; they become torpid, or, in oth- r words, bvl'«rnate pro tern. In a small j»<* at a tempetaturc above 7odeg., the excessive heat may cause them to rise ; otherwise they would be quiet." From this description— the more trustworthy as being the result of the observations of many years — our readers will be able to gather what the various motions of the leeches indicate, should they be induced by this short notice to set up a living barometer, in more than one instance, when in apparently cloudless and settled weather a sudden ■torm has been indicated by the leeches and prophesied by their owner, the amazement of those not in the secret has been very amusing. We do not hesitate to say that many disappointments at picnics or excursions would be prevented were these weather-wise creatuies moie generally known and more frequently consulted. t.