The search for " indications of spring " is more
than amusing. I am told, indirectly by a German professor, that one of the more fruitful sciences of the future is phenology. This quaint science, over which a number of international observers are co-operating, is founded on the theme of Tennyson's " Flower in the crannied wall." It is held that if we correlate the phenomena, the seasonal appearances of movement and habit in selected animals and plants we shall become prophets indeed. A farmer—to give one alleged example—will best know at what date to sow his barley by noting the date of the blackthorn's flowering. Those who have faith in this charming, if not yet proven department of prognostics, can secure forms from the meteorological offices with a host of natural history details to fill up. A mass of material is needed, especially in England, where every other parish has its peculiarities of clime, of soil, and of shelter. At the onset it is amusing to have one's eyes and ears officially directed in a useful direction and to feel we are co-operating with a great company of observers in many countries. * *
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