Autolycus in the "Winter's Tale" (iv. 3):--

"When daffodils begin to peer,
With heigh! the doxy over the dale,
Why, then conies in the sweet o' the year."

The dairyman is recommended in autumn to notice the appearance of the
fern, because:--

"When the fern is as high as a ladle,
You may sleep as long as you are able.
When the fern begins to look red,
Then milk is good with brown bread."

Formerly certain agricultural operations were regulated by the seasons,
and an old rule tells the farmer--

"Upon St. David's Day, put oats and barley in the clay."

Another version being:--

"Sow peas and beans on David and Chad,
Be the weather good or bad."

A Somersetshire piece of agricultural lore fixes an earlier date, and
bids the farmer to "sow or set beans in Candlemas waddle." In connection
with the inclement weather that often prevails throughout the spring
months it is commonly said, "They that go to their corn in May may come
weeping away," but "They that go in June may come back with a merry
tune." Then there is the following familiar pretty couplet, of which