The Complete Weather Guide
A Collection of Practical Observations for Prognosticating the Weather, Drawn from Plants, Animals, Inanimate Bodies, and Also by Means of Philosophical Instruments

First published in 1812, this engaging work derives weather forecasts from the movements of plants and animals.

Joseph Taylor (Author)

9781108065313, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 19 September 2013

174 pages, 1 b/w illus.
21.6 x 14 x 1 cm, 0.23 kg

Early nineteenth-century farmers often sowed their crops on an arbitrarily chosen day every year. Impatient with this practice, naturalist Joseph Taylor (c.1761–1844) presents an alternative method in this work, which first appeared in 1812. He argues that by studying the atmosphere, the behaviour of animals and the condition of local flora, a farmer can not only determine the optimal time for sowing, but also forecast the weather. Including the Shepherd of Banbury's famous rules for judging changes in the weather, alongside remarks on the quality of this wisdom, Taylor's book also draws on a wealth of wider countryside knowledge. He observes, for example, that the flowering of primroses and lettuce occurs at such precise times as to be useful for botanical clocks, while the proximity of bees to their hives and the agitation of dogs suggest oncoming weather conditions.

Preface
Introduction
1. Observations, by which to judge of the changes of the weather, deduced from the appearances of nature
2. Observations on the changes of the weather, indicated by means of the barometer, and other philosophical instruments
3. The Shepherd of Banbury's Rules
Appendix
Index.

Subject Areas: Meteorology & climatology [RBP]