Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1883-05-31
THE MOON.
Theories as TO How She Anects Human
Beings.
From the BaltimOre sunday Nev..

Beings.
From the Baltimore Sunday News.
The statement that the moon affects
the human body may, at the first sight,
seem nor sense, but the fact is, when
we examine 1t little, it does not sp-
pear so absurd after all. The moon
certainly exercises an influence over all
fluids on the earth, aud the human
BODY is about three-fourths water. 1t
is said that if we put a human body
into an oven and make it perfectly
dry it will go down from $50 to about
forty pounds.
People who are born when the moon
is rising are more subject to her infu-
ence in after life than others. They
frequently have the habit of walking
in their sleep and about the time of
her fulling they are greatly subject to
dreams. Another curious thing is
that, if near sighted, their eyes grow
more dim at the opposition and the
change. 1t is also well known that
there are animaIs-horses, for instance
which are moon eyed-that is, their
sight is better or worse through the
month, according to the condition of
the moon. The same is said of some
dogs. There are certain physiological
facts in connection with the female sex
and the lesser iuminary which abso-
lutely establish beyond any question
the direct and powerful influence of
the moon over the human body. They
can not be described in print, nor is
the relationship generally understood
by physicians, except those familiar
with the very ancient lore of their
science
A whole volume might be filed with
the literature of the moon-not only
the astrological notions attached to
her, but the curious myths and le-
gends. Nothing is better known than
the insane are affected by her beams
at her season, and yet there are some
doctors who deny it. The famous
English physician Forbes Winslow,
who made the exhaustive investiga-
ton Of the subject, IN summing up the
various theories as TO how the moon
acts upon the demented, says it is i'm
possible to ignore the evidence Of such
men as Pinel, Daquin, Gulslain, and
others. The astrological idea is that
the planet acts on the moist matter of
the brain. Some Of the French psvch
ologists thought that the insane were
observed to be more troublesome when
the moon was tull because the light
would naturally make them so, pre-,
venting them from sleeping. But this
is very poor explanation, for, al
though the moon fulls every month,
the nights are not always bright
there may be week or more Of cloud
iness-but the restlessness and excite
ment among the lunatics is seen to BE-
Just the same and to exist by day as
well as after dark. DR.. Wlnslow's
suggestion was as follows: May not
the alleged changes observed among
the insane at certain phases of the
moon arise. not from the direct, but
the indirect influence of the planet?
1t is we'll known that the rarity of the
atmosphere, the degree Of heat, dry
ness, moisture, and amount Of wind
prevailing, are all more or less modi-
fed by the state of the moon In the
generality CT bodily diseases what OBJ
livlous changes are observed to &C
company the meteorological condition
referred to? Surely those suffering
from diseases of the brain and nervous
system affecting the mind can not with
anv show of reason be considered as
exempt from the operations of agen-
cies that are universally admitted to
affect patients afflicted with otuer dis
eases" He gives an Instance further
on Of lady of much intelligence en-
ployed as matron in his establishment
for insane ladies during some five
years. who informed him that the pc
riod OF the full moon invariably crea-
ted great agitation among the pa
tlents