美國北達科他州的農夫保羅?斯莫科夫從不看天氣預報，也不用雷達或高科技設備預知天氣，他的秘密武器是豬的脾臟。

Paul Smokov examines pig spleens in his kitchen in Steele, N.D., on Dec. 11. 2007. The 84-year-old rancher says he can predict the harshness of winter by examining pig spleens. [Agencies]

Steele, North Dakota Paul Smokov does not need radar or other high-tech equipment to forecast a major snowstorm on the US prairie. He consults pig spleens.

“It looks like a normal year with no major storms,” said the 84-year-old cattle rancher, peering at two of the brown, glistening organs on his kitchen counter like a Gypsy gazing into a crystal ball. “That’s what the spleens tell me.”

If the spleen is wide where it attaches to the pig’s stomach and then gets narrowed, it means winter weather will come early with a mild spring, Smokov said. A narrow-to-wider spleen usually means harsh weather in the spring, he added. The spleens obtained by Smokov this year are pretty uniform in thickness, which means no drastic changes.

Janice Stillman, editor of the Old Farmer’s Almanac said she had heard of at least one other pig spleen weather prognosticator - Gus Wickstrom of Saskatchewan, Canada - but he died earlier this year. “It’s folklore and a dying art, obviously,” she said.

Smokov’s Ukrainian parents brought their knowledge of pig spleen forecasting with them when they came to the US a century ago. Electricity did not reach Smokov’s ranch until 1949, so it was not possible to listen to the weather forecast of the radio.

“The spleens are 85% correct, according to my figures,” he said. As for the weathermen, “Those guys aren’t any better.”

At the National Weather Service office in North Dakota, meteorologist Vic Jensen relies on Doppler radar and other sophisticated scientific instruments. But he is charitable towards folk methods such as Smokov’s. “I can’t discount some of these kinds of theories,” Jensen said. “It’s just another way for people to forecast what’s going to happen.”

The weather service’s three-month outlook is typically at least 60% accurate, Jensen said. Forecasters are calling for a normal winter for North Dakota as well.

（Agencies）

Vocabulary:

spleen: 脾

（英語點津 Celene 編輯）