The leafing of the elm has from time immemorial been made to regulate agricultural operations, and hence the old rule:—
"When the elmen leaf is as big as a mouse's ear,
Then to sow barley never fear.
When the elmen leaf is as big as an ox's eye,
Then say I, 'Hie, boys, hie!'"
A Warwickshire variation is:—
"When elm leaves are big as a shilling,
Plant kidney beans, if to plant 'em you're willing.
When elm leaves are as big as a penny,
You must plant kidney beans if you mean to have any."
But if the grass grow in January, the husbandman is recommended to "lock his grain in the granary," while a further proverb informs us that:—
"On Candlemas Day if the thorns hang a drop,
You are sure of a good pea crop."
In bygone times the appearance of the berries of the elder was held to indicate the proper season for sowing wheat:—
"With purple fruit when elder branches bend,
And their high hues the hips and cornels lend,
Ere yet chill hoar-frost comes, or sleety rain,
Sow with choice wheat the neatly furrowed plain."
The elder is not without its teaching, and according to a popular old proverb:—
"When the elder is white, brew and bake a peck,
When the elder is black, brew and bake a sack."