16 “On the Nigh—naked Tree the Robin Piped”~

“A perfect day,” Oct. 25, 1919; like Spring, followed by a great rain and howling wind on the 26th. A great storm in the night of Oct. 25, 1925; gale 85 mph. on the Atlantic, the baro— meter here fell an inch and a half previously. Raw and squally, snow lying, Oct. 26, 1921. During a great N.E. storm on Oct. 26. 1930, hundreds of Little Auks (“Dovekies”) were blown inland here, and perished. They were probably migrating from Green- land southwards. Ground frozen on Oct. 26, 1935.

Robin observed in garden, Oct. 27, 1921. First snow to lie Oct. 27, 1923. Harvested apples Oct. 28, 1917. Wind SE, with the heaviest rain the writer has experienced, Oct. 28, 1919. Bees still flying, Oct. 28, 1924. Minimum temperature on Oct. 28, 1927, was 28 degrees F.

Violent electric storm at night Oct. 29, 1918. Ground hard frozen Oct. 29, 1919. Frost kills dahlias, Oct. 29, 1929; on samt date a Green—winged Teal was brought in wounded.

Terrific gale in the night of Oct. 30, 1917: this gale, general in Canada, was estimated to have done $200,000 damage. Note on Oct. 30, 1927; “Lilacs retain foilage long after native-trees shed their leaves.” Calendulas and Candytuft still blooming Oct. 30, 1930; lilac and rowan (P. sitchensis) still in leaf.

At 9 pm. Oct. 31, 1930, the temperature fell to 39 deg. F. Stored turnips in the root cellar, Oct. 31, 1935. In the last week of October 1932, I noted that the two macro-fungi Hygrophorus pudorinus, and Tricholoma terreferrium were unusually abundant.

NOVEMBER

“October turns the leaves all brown, November blows the leaves all down,” say the Danes; but in our part of the globe chill November’s surly blasts blow through trees leafless and bare. Nevertheless we have irregular spells of fine weather—the “Indian Summer”——some time during November. It may be only for a day or two, or it’ may last for over a week; and it must be looked for, (the ancients tell us) “just after the first snow flies.” When the wind hauls to the N.N.E., which it often does at this time of the year, the snow it brings is “English snow” with large moist flakes, altogether different from the dry «powdery snow of the N.W. dirift. It is becoming more and more the custom to delay taking the turnips into shelter till the first or even second week of November—a very risky proceeding.

There is a belief that the English November is a very gloomy month, and perhaps this impression "has been created 'by pessim— istic poets, like the one who wrote—“No flow’rs, no birds, n0 bees, No-vember!” In France they held the belief that November made the English melancholy and inclined to suicide! The fact is the No— vember varies with the year and we in the North had wet Novembers