The semi-weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1882-1886, 1882-04-05
--,rnrnoA ToRRD SUMNER
.,o,oeists Forseelling . scorch-
ing Season.

ing season.
,rhecies That Nay or. Nay Not
l Como True.
- snmn,ef WaD warm and drv
Lsh 70 discourage the farmers .and
esoS eners: but according to the indica-
the coming season viii Be more
t'o"ss, for it's heat and absence Of min.
na!H rr,diction is based upon the calcu-
In 9:ens Of the astrologerA and, like ma
AUNT ~ their prophecies, 10 in . treat
y! ..nne. guess work. According TO the
n'ses'.s"ers. the relative positions OF The
a, ,.ne,s will bc such - to affect the At
p'a.',h.r. surrounding our earth. It n
m'Ir'.te,l that sufficient heat will Be Ne
sAl',si on these bodies to evaporate the
nes s;s,mr. in the atmosphere and thus
hp ...mt rain. Some of the astrolo9ers
PIT ;he not very comforting prophecy
'i'" mr. atmosphere will he DESTROYED
', ,,."",c,lcr. and that that there being no
Nv ~ te,n,rr the rays Of the sun. vepe.
a. ',;"n viii ;p withered, that the brooks
'a AL rivers will dwindle away, and the
~" '.h will hecoHle cracked and fissured.
ike the S.utS III q NOACNhnC IIlOuUl8l0.
; rS,.-, predictions, these gloomy proph-
:" ,ay, may lead US to believe that
Wthsr >!l.pton's prophecy had had
'.",e foundation after all. Be this Is it
,.,. il is certain that Neither Shipton
n ,." made mistake Of Ut least ore year
- her calculations.
y The I superintendent Of the United
.,,,'. ,isl,al-scrvicc bureau, whose
...Ju,ur:.rs are situated upon the roof
't,hc Equitable building, was asked
rh,t h, thought Of the astrological pre-
';,,;on.. shifting huge quid Of to-
a,.,, from, one side of his mouth to the
.,:,.r. 50 Il, t. enable him to speak more
,.,diiy. he exclaimed:
stiff and nonsense! 1 don't believe
,;at any living man or woman knows
.nvthinr about the kird of weather we
,rc going to have next summer. If !
x,, going to make a prediction / would
.ay that We will have plenty Of rain dur
inc the coming season."
why do you think sO?"
because last summer was a dry one
and experience has shown US that It is
..Llom that we have two consecutive
..a,ons alike. Tie oldest inhabitant
will tell you that every alternate year is
!, ycod year for fruit and crops. Now,
am looking for season Of abundant
,avvests and luxuriant vegetation, when
The land will he almost literally over
lowing with milk and honey"
rs it true that the earth is nearer the
Jun than ever before ?"
THAT is hard question to answer
million of miles more or less in the dis
lance, between our planet and the great
Iun,inary, is difficult to calculate, and
Even the most skillful astronomers have
admitted that their measurement is to
>ou,e extent a matter Of guess work."
Have there been any marked
changes in recent yeas in the appear
ance II the surface Of the sun ~
"Oh, yes, there have been some
marked changes /; astronomers tell us
That within the last i've years these
spots on the face of the luminary have
changed to greater extent than during
any previous five years within . centu-
y. Whether these changes will or will
not affect our atmosphere and bring on
,lry weather is more than know or will
pretend 10 say. Ii the atmosphere sur
runding the sun is, as some claim, fast
Disappearing, it may be that the solar
lays will become moro and more intense
until the heat on our planet y unendur-
able, and the heavens are rolled up like
scroll. But all this speculation Is too
deep for me, and / do not care to wade
in n~yond my depth. The Old-time AZ
lrl'gcrs, in my opinion, were great
nunlblyS."
Prof. J. w. Clume has made astrolo-
,yaspccial study for the last quarter Of
4 rcntury. He is free to admit, hOwev-
rr, that many If the pretensi0ns made
~ the professors OF his craft are akin to
hun,'"lggcry. When asked for his Opin-
i'm in regard to the weather Of the COM
M summer, he said:
Il will tell you what the prospects are
As nearly rs can calculate, from the
conjunction Of the planets. You must
Een'e'nl@r that astr0lOgists are as
liable to make errors as any class Of
hlathc'haticians or astronomers. A SIM
lie figure that is incorrect or 4 sign that
Is out Of place, will spoil calculation
and prMilcc result that is far from be-
ing true"
i suppose 50, sir; but please give me
Your predictions for next summer"
The planet Mercury will he visible
as the evening star on the 1st Of June,
End a. the morning star July 18th, and
Inc relative position Of Mercury with
Venus anil Jupiter in June and July
next summer will lie such ~ to indicate
absence Of rain with extremely warm
weather. Not only the planets which |
nave naiae,l, tut others alsO must lie ta-
Ken INT" consideration. There will be u
,sa' rlil se OF the sun on the 18th of
way. hut this will not affect this portion
=" the globe. Naturally an eclipse tends
;"'''u>e cooker weather, but this Obscur-
a!"'h Of the sun will be visible only IN
Europe. Asia, and Northern and Cen
'Eai Africa. \ total eclipse Of the sun,
winch took place in 1870, and caused al
most total darkness in the United States
WAS followed by extraordinary cold
Weather for a summer season. In fact,
me weather was 10 cold that It was Sc
lou, -, drawback to the farmers crops.
, 'ne eclipse Of the present year, ,lntor-
'""atrly. will not he au ameliOratiOn to
,M '"rrid weather which, we are to ex-
wl'en'c during the coming June, July
and Al,vuxt ,,