Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1883-02-01

found that tue latter eXerteu no luuu
ence upon the former, Sir William
Thompson lately stated to the British
Scientific Association that he had
care ully observed the full moon, the
new moon aud tho moon 10 Its quar-
;ers,and could 6Od no relation between
its phases and the variations Of the
weather.
Ii Is quite an ancient opinion that
the best time for telling timber is
when the moon is waning, for it it is
cut when the moon is increasing, the
wood, it was supposed, would rapidly
decay. This impression stll prevails
in many countries 1t is acted upon
in England aud Germany, and in
France the forest law iorbids the
cutting Of timber during the increase
OF the moon la Brazil a distinguished
agrit ulturist in that empire asserts IS
the result of his experience, that woot
which was not cut at the full Of the
moon was at Ouce attacked By worms
and soon decayed.
For the purpose Of testing this point
Monsieur Duhamel, a celebrated agri-
culturist, made dir ct and accurate
experiments, and the results clearly
proved that the qualities Of timber cut
10 different parts of the month are
the same
Akin to this belief is the notion.
which extensively prevails ID Europe.
that seeds must be sowB, aud trees
planted, when the moon is on the in
crease, if they are expected to grow
and flourish with vigOr. Duhsmel
and others made extended observa-
tions on this point also, which showed
that, ss far as the investigation wa
carried, this belief had no foundation
in ftct
The Romans believed that oysters
and Other shell fish became larger dur
ing the increase of the moOn than when
it was waning, and the notion il msn
toned By the oct Lucretius and Other
ancient wriurs II has been held ALEC
in modern times; but the subject h s
been c ,%reiully rxamined by Rphault
who, by comparing shell fish taken 10
different periods of the month, found
that no differ nee could be- detecttC
in their condition.
Plu'arth. in o of his dinner talks
thus remarks! "Euthedemus, o: SUM
um, gave US at an entertainment {
very large boar; the guests wondering
at the bigness of the beast, he sale
thu. he had enc 9 great deal larger
but in the carrying Of it its exposure
to the rays of the moon had made i
shrink" T. Wa supposed by thu
ancients that the moonbeams sheC
mois ure upon auimal substances ant
thus caused their putrefaction.
There is also a belief at the presen.
day, especially ia tropical countries
that the moonhee ms produce a rapiC
decomposition on flesh aud fish tia
are exposed to the Influence Thes,
results c readily be explained with
out having to suppose that there i
any peculiar property in the moon
rays which produces this feet Wher
the moon is shining brightly the SKY
! is clear, aud the dew is ~copiously de
posted upon the animal substance
then exposed, and tile moisture thu
received tends to accelerate putrefac
ton. The dew, then, is the cause o
, this change, and not the moon; fol
this effect would occur when the SIX,
is clear, whether the moon is abovl
z the horizon or below it
4 Among the farmers of New Enplant
it used to be said, aud perhaps is nov
Q that ii pigs were killed 10 the wane o
the moon, the salt pork would shrinI
in the boiling; but if they we're kille,
e during the Increase Of the noon tn
pork would swell IN the rot.
Q This may be one of the host Of thing
; that we're brought over in the MAY
iower-for the notion prevails in Sui
folk, England.
The sun shall not smiio thee b
a day nor the moon by night" is a vers
a that embodies a very old billet tha
u the moon eKerts a pernicious inhuenC
on persons exposed to It's RAYS |
modern times this influence, howeye
10 has been doubted, aud even denied
though many accounts can be ioun
} where, in tropical climates, person
sleeping beneath the direct rays of Oh
moon have had their ,isht affected, {
the muscles Of the face contracted. ,
their eyes drawn aside. and fevrris
symptoms produced. Ii is a questio
whether these fleets we're the result
E, of any other Influences than the glal
l. OF light and the chill of the night
which the sufferers were exposed.
The influence which the moon
O. supposed 10 exert on the maladies
N the human body is a very ancient n
re ton. Hippocrates held it. aud it ".
y, likewise maintained by GAlen. II h
$ come down to our own times, iboul
of with diminished credit. ShakspeaI
So makes Mrs. Quickly remark that Ia
e. staff 'di' at the tnrn of the tide
is The negro in the West Indies say
1t Him fever shall 20 when the wat
lie comes low him always come when Il
1t tide il high" 1T is as true as d
d gospel" writes General Napier, fro
t Scinde, "that at every full and n,
lie moon down we all 90 here with Il
fever"
70 An opinion once prevailed that Il
signs Of the ecliptic once governed Il
different parts OF the human body. a.
d that when the moon, in her mouth
circuit, passed through these signs 81
il fuenced that part of the body ov
which the sign presided Thus, Il
instance. the sign Aries governed ii
J. head and face, Leo the heart. and
n on and the moon when in these sig
affected respectively the portions
the body here mentioned.
In almanacs we not unfrequent
e find a frOniispieee Of the human bod
e surrounded by the signs, with lin,
o directed to the parts ofthe body whio
| they are supposed to govern; aud i
z the columns Of the almanac there WI
| one devoted to the signs. The write
has now such an almanac before hin
published by Hudson \ Goodwin, Z