Lab
Library
Journal
Shop
Sign in
to keep
Share image
1
271
The Folk-lore of Plants
·
T. F. Thiselton-Dyer
107
Another
version
being:--
"Sow
peas
and
beans
on
David
and
Chad,
Be
the
weather
good
or
bad."
A
Somersetshire
piece
of
agricultural
lore
fixes
an
earlier
date,
and
bids
the
farmer
to
"sow
or
set
beans
in
Candlemas
waddle."
In
connection
with
the
inclement
weather
that
often
prevails
throughout
the
spring
months
it
is
commonly
said,
"They
that
go
to
their
corn
in
May
may
come
weeping
away,"
but
"They
that
go
in
June
may
come
back
with
a
merry
tune."
Then
there
is
the
following
familiar
pretty
couplet,
of
which
there
are
several
versions:--
"The
bee
doth
love
the
sweetest
flower,
So
doth
the
blossom
the
April
shower."
In
connection
with
beans,
there
is
a
well-known
adage
which
says:--
"Be
it
weal
or
be
it
woe,
Beans
should
blow
before
May
go."
Of
the
numerous
other
items
of
plant
weather-lore,
it
is
said
that
"March
wind
wakes
the
ether
(i.
e.,
adder)
and
blooms
the
whin;"
and
many
of
our
peasantry
maintain
that:--
"A
peck
of
March
dust
and
a
shower
in
May,
Makes
the
corn
green
and
the
fields
gay."
It
should
also
be
noted
that
many
plants
are
considered
good
barometers.
Chickweed,
for
instance,
expands
its
leaves
fully
when
fine
weather
is
to
follow;
but
"if
it
should
shut
up,
then
the
traveller
is
to
put
on
his
greatcoat."[5]
The
same,
too,
is
said
to
be
the
case
with
the
pimpernel,
convolvulus,
and
clover;
while
if
the
marigold
does
not
open
its
petals
by
seven
o'clock
in
the
morning,
either
rain
or
thunder
may
be
expected
in
the
course
of
the
day.
According
to
Wilsford,
"tezils,
or
fuller's
thistle,
being
gathered
and
hanged
up
in
the
house,
where
the
air
may
come
freely
to
it,
upon
the
alteration
of
cold
and
windy
weather
will
grow
smoother,
and
against
rain
will
close
up
its
prickles."
Once
more,
according
to
the
"Shepherd's
Calendar,"
"Chaff,
leaves,
thistle-down,
or
such
light
things
whisking
about
and
turning
round
foreshows
tempestuous
winds;"
And
Coles,
in
his
introduction
to
the
"Knowledge
of
Plants,"
informs
us
that,
"If
the
down
flieth
off
colt's-foot,
dandelion,
and
thistles
when
there
is
no
wind,
it
is
a
sign
of
rain."
Marker
Marker
Fine marker
White-out
Fine white-out
Circle
Paint
Unmarker
Hand
Scalpel
Dice
Sieve
Purify
Undo
Redo
Start over
