Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1873-05-22

SISdl, uuc weather Is DclOhcNtu, Ii
wind; if black, rain. If at the rising OF
the new moon the upper horn is OBJ
scured, there will be prevalence of wet
when she is on the wane; if the lower
horn is obscured, there will be rain be
fore she attains her full if both horns APP
pear obtuse, a frightful tempest is near
if they are sharp and erect, high winds
may be expected. Darwin declares it is a
sure sign of coming rain when the moon s
head is hidden in halocs. A correspond
ent of Notes and Queries says large circle
round the moon, with a north or north
east wind, predicates stormy weather;
the wind comes from any other quarter,
there will be rain, but less Of it. If, how
ever, the moon rises after sunset, the APP
pearance of a ring round her is not so
significant as the Dutch rhyme put it:
A ring round the moon
May pass away soon;
But a ring round the sun
Gives water III the tun.
An old Spanish proyerb says the circle of
the moon never filled a pond, but the
circle of the sun vets shepherd; while
an English rhyme prOnOunces-
If round the moon a circles seen
OF white, and all the skys serene,
The following day, you may divine.
VIII surely prove exceeding fine.
And
Whenever in autumn or in spring,
mist the moon doth with it bring,
At noon the will bright appear.
The evening be serene and clear.
The turning up of the horns of the new
moon is another sign of fair weather:
There's no likelihood of drop now, an
the moon lies like boat there" says
somebody in adam Bede." SOuthey no
tees this notion in one Of his letters
81 7 Eor til Il, 4
the cause of the rains which have pre-
vailed for the last five weeks, by a theory
which will probably be as new to you as
it is to me. / have Observed he says,
| that when the moon is turned upwards,
we have fine weather after it, but when it is
! turned down then we have a wet season :;
and the reason think is, that when it is
| turned down, it holds no water, like q
| basin, YOU know, and down it comesn"
! 1t is q very common belief that the wealth
| er depends upon the moon changing be-
fore or after midnight; belief absurd on
the face of it, since, as has been we'll OBJ
| served, the moon may change before
| twelve at Westminster, and after twelve at
| St Paul's. DIR. Adam Clarke was Oblivi
Gus of this fact when he put forth a
| Weather PrOgnOsticatOr, through all the
| lunatiOns Of each year forever; showing
| the observer what kind Of weather will
most probably follow the entrance of the
moon into any one of her quarters, and
that so near the truth, as to seldom
or never be found to fail" Our
readers can easily decide as to the worth
| of the reverend doctors weather guide
! they have only to note the time Of the
moons entrance upon new quarter, and
| compare the actual result with that antici-
pated by the ''PrOgnOstiCatOr." II would
be useless to quote his formulated obser-
yations-for, like all other prophecies
concerning the lunar phenomena, there is
| a total neglect OF the fact, that weather is
local, and not universal. In other words,
the change in the moon that is supposed
to have given good weather in the south
Of England, has probably been attended
with exceedingly bad weather in Scotland.
There is a time for all things the diff
Guilty lies in hitting on the right time. No
such difficulty disturbed the minds Of the
farmers of bygone days, who took my
lady moon as their guide. They had only
to ask themselves was she waxing or wan
ing, and they knew what to do, and what
to leave undOnc. An increasing moon
was favorable to increase; a waning moon
Just the reverse. so, under the first, grain
hen, sheep sheared, and manure spread
upon the land. Seeds were sown under a
waning moon, in order that the young
plants might have the advantage of grow
ing with the moon.
Sow peason and beans in the wane Of the moon,
Who soweth them sooner, he soweth too soon;
That they with the planet may rest and arise,
And flourish with bearing most plenuful-wisc.
When the moon was at the full was the
proper time to make bitches, tread out
grapes, and cover up the roots of trees
seven days later being the fittest period for
srubbing up such as were to be removed
Timber, however, was not to be touched
| until the end Of the second quarter, and
then only when the moon was upon the
| change. The state of the moon, says
| Pliny, is all-impOrtant when the telling Of
| timber is in question, the very best time
for the operation being during the moon S
silence, or when she is in conjunction with
| the sun. Some, however, averrcd she
| ought to be below the horizon as we'll
| and that if the conjunction happened to fall
| upon the day of the winter sOlstice, timber
| then telledwould be ofeverlasting duration
| Even now, Devonshire apple growers pre-
| fer gathering their fruit at the shrinking
of the moon, believing then it does not
matter though the apples get bruised in the
| gathering, which is otherwise fatal to their
| preservation. Peat-cuttcrs aver that if peat
| be cut under a waning moon it will re
main moist and not burn clearly. The
Brazilian matmakers Of PetropOlis &C,
| count for some of their mats wearing out
| too quickly, by reason Of the canes hay
| ing been cut at the wrong time of the
moon. 1t is foolish, according to Suffolk
notions, to kill pig when the moon is
waning; for if pig be converted into pork
at that time, the meat will invariably
waste excessively when it comes to be
cooked. In Burray and South Ronaldsay
they carry the waxing and waning theory
still further, holding it unlucky to marry
except under a growing moon. A skepti
cal writer, sneering at one of those who
might have boosted, like Falstatf, I'VE be
men OF good government, being governed
as the sea Is, by our noble and cnaste mis-
!FesS, the MOON says: when the moon
IS III Taurus, he can never be persuaded
70 take physic; lest that animal, which
cheWS the cud, should make him cast W
again, Ii at any time he has a mind to be
admitted into the presence of prince, he
VIII wait Til the moon is in conjunction
with the sun, for It's then the society OF
an INFERIOR with superior is salutary and
successful"
1t was once, and still may be, the Gus
tom Of Highland danes to salute
the new moon with solemn courtesy
English country danes were wont to sit