virtue of the leech, and laid down the
following as the rules to which his observations
had led him relating thereto: —First. If the
weather prove serene and beautiful, the leech
lies motionless at the bottom of the glass
rolled together in a spiral form. Second. If
it rains either before or after noon, the leech
is found to have crept up to the top of its
lodging, and there it remains until the weather
is settled. Third. If we are to have wind,
the poor prisoner gallops through its limpid
habitation with unceasing swiftness, and
seldom rests until the wind begins to blow hard.
Fourth. If a remarkable storm of thunder
and rain is to succeed, the leech remains
for some days before almost continually
out of water, and manifests uncommon
uneasiness by its violent throes and
convulsive movements. Fifth. In frost, as in clear
and summer weather, the leech lies
constantly at the bottom; while during snow, as
in rainy weather, it pitches its dwelling on
the mouth of the vessel. These rules
correspond tolerably well with those recorded by
the clergyman in France, and are on that
account all the more worthy of notice. Mr.
Attree states, that his observations were
made on a leech kept in a common two-ounce
phial, three-fourths filled with water, and
covered with linen rag. The water was
changed once a week in summer, and once a
fortnight in winter. Mr. Attree throws out
a curious query —as the leech may be in some
way affected by the electrical state of the
atmosphere; as this electrical state is known
to be closely connected with meteorological
changes; and as it may also be in some way
connected with the production of cholera,
influenza, fever, and epidemics —is it not at
least possible that the leech might, by its
strange movements, give some intimation of
the approach of that state of the atmosphere
during which epidemic diseases are likely to
occur? Should this be so, even in a very
slight degree, the leech would at once rise to
an important position in society —he would
be not only a surgeon, but a physician skilled
in diagnosis.

But of all the persons who have placed any
faith in leech-barometry and have shown the
intensity of their faith by the patient management
of experiments, commend us to Dr.
Merryweather. His Tempest Prognosticator is
the proof of his faith. Imagine a circular
pyramidal apparatus, about a yard in
diameter, and somewhat more than this in
height, presenting a bright array of polished
mahogany, and silver, and brass. This is the
Tempest Prognosticator. The illustrious
Jenner, it appears, was a believer in
leech-barometry; he wrote a few rhyming lines on
the Signs of Rain, among which were:
           "The leech, disturbed, is newly risen
           Quite to the summit of his prison."

Jenner, and Cowper, and other writers,
suggested to Dr. Merryweather the making of
apparatus to register the movements of the
leech; and thus originated The Prognosticator.
If we admit that, before stormy and
thundery weather, the leech mounts to the
top of his bottle, the question comes how to
mark and register his movements. There are
twelve leeches in twelve bottles ranged in a
circle; there are small metallic tubes in the
necks of the bottles; there is a kind of little
mouse-trap of whalebone in the tube; and
there are a bell and a register connected with
the trap. The leech, in wrigghng himself
through the tube, unwittingly rings the bell,
and makes a register of his progress. Dr.
Merryweather speaks in very high terms of
the certainty with which any storm is preceded
by an ascensive motion of the leeches
to the tops of their respective bottles.

    A BORDER OF THE BLACK SEA.

Having said something in a former
number, of Varna, the principal commercial
emporium of Bulgaria, and sympathised with
the poor peasants, who come trudging with
their waggons through the mud that obstructs
the Land-Gate of the city, to be fleeced by the
cunning and oppressed by the strong,* we
shall go out into the country and look at the
details of agriculture. Even in our civilised
western countries there is nothing so difficult
to teach as the use of a new plough, or a
patent winnowing machine; not because there
is anything mysterious in the thing itself, but
because the will to learn is wanting in men
who have inherited the routine of centuries.
We must not be surprised, therefore, that
although since Bulgaria has been more
liberally administered, the production of
grain has greatly increased, the system of
cultivation has remained unchanged from
the most ancient times. The surface of
the ground is rather scratched than furrowed
by the plough, to which, nevertheless, as
many as eight pairs of buffaloes or oxen are
sometimes yoked. If the field chosen for
sowing has been a long time uncultivated, a
still greater number of horned cattle is
employed. To the plough a long shaft is
attached, supported by sixteen wheels; the
first pair of buffaloes is fastened near the
plough; the other pairs are fastened between
the wheels, each guided by a boy; the peasant
stands upon the ploughshare, which is broader
and sharper than that used in Europe.
* See page 378 of the current volume.

The agriculturist is free to choose in the
vast plains of his country the fields most
fitting to receive the seed. These fields, with
some few exceptions, belong to the government,
which permits their use to whoever
wishes to sow; of course, with the tacit
understanding, that it is entitled to a tithe. In
this way the condition of the peasantry
would be very happy, if it were not for