The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1889-07-19
The MOON and the weather.


1t is undoubtedly far too low an estimate
to place the number OF persons who believe
that the moon has direct and easily OBJ
served effect upon the weather at five in
every ten. The households are few. espe-
elally In the country regions where. people
depend on the weather for the success Of
theis agricultural operations, in which there
are not handed down variety of proverbs
about tho influence OF the moon ON the
weather III there is a long drouth 1t is ex-
pected to ''break when the moon changes"
II the crescent Of the new moon so hangs in
the sky that 1t might apparently hold water,
or so that "tbc Indian might hang his pow
der horn on 1t" we are said to have "dry
moon" IL, on the other hand, the position
OF the crescent is reversed we have SWEET
moon," and consequently are expected to
have rains. Fanciful as these theories are,
they are implicitly trusted by hundreds, who
declare that the signs have always proved
true, and are able to give special instances.
The cases where these signs do not prove
true are strangely forgotten, however;
though any one who has cCnpaied results
with the signs must be convinced that there
are many times when the signs fail. Indeed,
the most implicit believers in the potency OF
the moon admit this, although they do so
fsstAer the apologize prpverb that "all signs
dia, in its tine ire. Chambers's Encycloi@ -
"all observation goes Indre Gather. says that
tiCns based on solar or other astf6fRSlnssa1sic,
causes are without foundation" IIut sucb
general statements, even IL made BIZ authori-
ty, are less convincing to admirers of the
moons potency, than the r,curds OF spe~i.
fed observations. There Is in this country
student of astronomy. Mr.. Alpha Child.
now of WATERFOWL, N. Y. who has taken
interest enough in these old proverbs and
superstitions to watch the moons. or have
them watched, for thirty years. Western
Michigan, region where the weather is I'M
der as normal conditions as anywhere in the
country, has been the scene OF these obser-
vations. There have been 374 moons in that
thirty years, Of all Of which. but 50, the r. c.
ords have been faithfully and intellgently
KEPT. At the end of the Thirty years the
records OF these 800 moons aud their accom-
panylng states of weather have been tab.l-
lated. This table shows that almost all the
old sayings for predicting the weather from
tue moon have proved false as often or oft
ener than they have proved tue. The only
notable exception 10 this statement Is the old
saying that rain follows very -Soon after the
new moon. This was verified in 27l Of the
322 moons, a rainfall Of not less than eight
hundredths Of an inch, or H. Equivalent in
snow, having fallen within ~ hours of the
changes. But this exception realty signifies
little, since to establish the rule it would be
necessary TO show an equal result in almost
all parts Of the conntry aud world As
storms are by no means rral but i'm n
large proportion of eases local. it must have
followed that while the rule was being car
ried out in Western Michigan. it was being
broken IN some other places. The memo-
rinda Of the observations also show that in
majority Of cases on clear nights. the cod
est weather during the moons came at the
time OF the full moon. This Is in scc,rd.
ance with one of the old sayings; but the
results OF the observations were moi definite
enough TO rehabilitate the idea, exploded
long since, that the moon is safe guide bv
which TO determine the future state of the
weather.