17 DECEMBER 1954, Page 22

Country Life

THE weather is never out of the news and because of the way forecasting is done, mistakes, when they are made, loom large. The impersonal report of the weather man is torn to bits by those who find that when they were to have had sunshine in a strictly local area it is raining cats and dogs. The sage who builds a reputation for foretelling the weather achieves his local success by the u of a score Aof signs. The other d R., who had an ache in his back and ha watched large numbers of birds going ove made an accurate guess. He said it woul snow. He was right and has since bee basking in admiration. Perhaps it is the la of humility in the official forecast that stifle the attitude of the unbelievers. R. claims be only human and therefore fallible, but th impersonal forecaster cannot answer, and t things said about him are harsh, particularl when urgent tasks are planned on the streng of what he has said.