New-York tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1841-1842, 1842-02-11
For the Tribune.
: ICl t1Ir IID1I7Is'
INFLUENCE OF THE MOON.

[ was somewhat surprised to see cornmunica-
ton IN your paper, few days since, dcnounclns as
an opinion formed on lasty judgement and nnper-
feet knowledge. The statement confidently made by
Dr.. Lardner In one OF his lectures. that the Moon
has no influence upon the animal or vegetable king
dom To all who had the pleasure of listening
10 that interesting ccturc,-it VIC may Judge from
the hearty applause that greeted the lecture as
with a master hand. he separated error from truth
and arruvcd the latte. in all It's natiyc majesty
his reiIt,l;ion o; the popular supcrs'i'iens i'eo
speeding the Moon, perfectly sat,s'ae'o's
convincing, leaving no shadow OF ooupt ~ ~
minds O; any who followed him step by step,
,hro,,rI Tho lc,,,iful cucidaton Of his subject I'll
>, is cIose.,hcy we're lcd insensibly, to adopt as
,.e;r cc,cI,.;on. an opinion dircc,ly opposed to
their preconceived views,
Wcar,, aware that there MAS time, when even
mon of science were enrolled among the strenuous
advocates Of this Lunar iniucncc-whcn popular
on;ro,l rave it unlimited credcncc-n that even
at the present day, there still fingers in the minds
Of some. a faith. which hunded Own from thci.
ancestors, they unwilling yield evcn TO the
dictates of ,llcil better judgement; but IN this en-
lightened age, it Is generally classcd among the
exploded supers,tions of the dark ages, AKIN to
those. which hung war, pcstilcncc and famine >
upon comets tails.
The error we think is here: in not drawing the
proper distinction between phenomena that may
occur al the same time, independent Of each
other, and those which nrc the result Of one an
other. Thus 60 take holnev ustration) no
QUO surely would be mad enough 10 contend that
because frogs arc often skipping about during
aud after /; summers shower. that they actually
fell with the rain: and no less absurd are some of
The charges that arc visited upon the face of the
Moor, ], is no, denied, that meat exposed to the
beams of the Moon, putriies sooner than iii were
not thu, exposed that plants more readily
froslbttcn IN the moonlight than in the .llads ::
these arc facts tilat res; upon such indisputable
evidence. THAT il would be foyt attcnpta dcnia
we only differ in assigning cause for such pine
nomcna. Before wc proceed to the consideration of
cf the cause, NC would ask, is it not more phi
losollicul TO give crcdcncc to that which rests
upon pure philosophy forts basis, than TO that, for
the existence of which have only the evidences
OF our senses, which 80 often mislend us. without,
icing able assign the why or wherefore?
For the better understanding Of our subject II
will be necessary To state few preliminary facts.
It, well known, either from theory or observation.
that clear night is necessary for the deposition OF
der When the heavens arc obscurrd by clouds,
dew is not deposited, for the following rcaSon be-
fore it can be formed, the body upon which it is
prccipita,cd must lave parted with its heat, until
1t has become colder than the surrounding at,nos-
4. IL, 81, Tot,
from the Garth instead of passing off into space,
will be returned by tho clouds, and thus only
slight dimultion oil temperature will occur. Even
a THU, wire gauzc suspended above any substance,
has been found to prcvcnt ciccually the formation
OF dew uponit Another fact, that it may be well
TO bear in mind, is this the Moon may be seen
twenty-scvcn nights. out of the twcnty-ninc const-
tuting the lunation-so that, without any material
error, it NAV BIZ said, that there is moongt for
greater or less portion of the night, whenever
clear sky will permit it. From these few simple
facts VIC dcducc our explanation. \ piece OF meat
exposed to clear sky, will lavc dew deposited
upon it. when another piece. at the same time,
hut under cover, viii be nearly OF perfectly dry
and moisture is known TO be great aid to the de-
composition Of animal substances. Hence the
reason, why exposure OF meat to the moonbcams
promotes pu.rcf,clion.
Plants under similar circumstances, having
notlnglo countcrac their natural tendency toward
the cxhalation OF their heat, readily part with the
heat they had acquired during the dry time, and
are thus rendered sensible to the effects of frost.
Many wonderful consequences are related, as
resulting from the exposure of the animal frame
to the light of the Moon. Persons, said, have
had their features strangely distortet!-otcrs hav:
been berc OF their sight, and even of their senses
These to say the least, still require confirmation
DR. Mead in a work entitled g De Impcrio Soils
&c Lun.c IN Corpor5 humano' has collected a
number Of such facts (l) to which he gives his
firm belief. as the result Of the cause to which
they arc ascribcd. This hypothesis once had u
nunlbc, of supporters, bu, it has since been dis
cardcd It's unreasonable in itself, and contrary to
fact. To such as do not believe that sleeping ali
night beneath the clear sky in the absence of the
moonlight. would not be attended by results equal
.y as severe. NC would recommend the test of
practice.
The torn LunacY, was framed under the popu-
lar belief that there exists an intimate relation
ship between ITS Of insanity. and the phases of
the moon. 1t called at Il time when 1t
was customary to refer every thing, either to the
bcrignunt maign influence of some celestial
body \ terrible disease ,,nong the Cats fWcst-
pl,alia, and an unusual number OF trims uShcred
INTO existence. We're ;l>crihcd toa particular comet
,hnt was llicn shaking It's horrid hair DER al
trghtcd nutions-why not then lay mental dcrangc-
mont to the Moon! From the fact that some emil
ncnt medical men have been believers in this nb-
>urd doctrine, the subject has been given most
critical examinations .rl!c period of the rccur-
renee Of the fits of a grca, number of patients
were carefully noted for grca, length of time,
and upol, comparing them with the changes of the
tho ,,Sult nj n Il d
cudc the idea. that thcr,, existed between the two
the most remote connection Nor has observation
established {; relation between the Moon and the
ceather--2,c OF the oldest and most popular de-
h'sions tina, has obtained. Here, If any where we
niShi- nSncci o ,naA..-Snlua OF cbaracS cnnd: