13 JUNE 1925, Page 16

" TILL MAY IS OUT "

[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] SIR,—In reply to the enquiry in your issue of the 6th inst. as to whether the advice " not to cast a clout till May is out " refers to the end of May or to the may tree coming into blossom, I think it undoubtedly refers to the end of May. I have often heard the phrase, " Cast ne'er a cloot till May be oot," in Scotland. The " May " cannot refer to the may tree, as that tree in Scotland is not known as such, but

as hawthorn.—I am, Sir, &c., D. B.