The record-union., 1898-12-19
Old Probabilities and the Moon.

Eds. Record Union: Now that we
are all interested in the future weather,
kindly allow me, through your columns,
to revive the seven-year cycle question
and settle it forever. We have records
of the rainfall in California since 1S49,
and l think it would be interesting to
know approximately what it was for
a hundred and fifty years before thai
time.
1t is we'll known that in early days
about every seventh year was dry one
-1S5G-7, 1854, 1912, and, counting
by seven to the present winter, we find
that it is on the seventh year time.
Therefore allow me to make the follow
ing suggestions:
Let some of your espondents-the
more the better-in our various valleys
each cut down a large tree and examine
the growth of wood it has put on from
year to year He will find that it has
made a very small growth in a very
dry year, a greater in moderate year,
and the greatest on a very wet year.
Now, if we find that the trees have
made honest and faithful records for
fifty years, agreeing with our written
records, can we not trust their records
for hundred and fifty previous years?
The work must be done inteiligently,
or it will be failrue. The tree should
be straight and symmetrical, one hav-
ing at no time lost considerable por-
tio6 of its top, which would affect un-
favorably the growth of wood on its
trunk. Nor should it at any time have
lost large near neighbor, whose re-
moval would certainly have affected the
remaining tree favorably
The correspondents having completed
their Investigations, let them send their
result to the Record Union for publ-
cation If We find that approximately
all the dry years have been the seventh
for two hundred years, it will be
point gained, for then we will prepare
for SUCH
Many people think the position of the
visible part of the moon just after the
change indicates a wet or a dry moon.
After careful observation for nearly half
century L have been unable to dis
cover that this is the case. The only
thing which is not generally known
that [ have learned about the moon is
| this-that, inasmuch as it always pre-
sents one side to US, it must therefore
only, While moving around the earth.
This makes a day and night or the
moon consist of about twenty-nine days
and nights on our earth. The day and
night on the moon also make the spring,
summer, autumn and winter. So we
discover that, had the moon water and
atmosphere, the same as we have, there
could be no such botany, zoology, hu
manlty, etc, as we find here exist
there. Annuals would have to germin-
ate, grow and mature in 250 to 300
hours. AS to perennials, they would
hardly have time to wake up before
winter would be upon them.
| If the reader has doubt in his mind
as to the truth of my assertion, let him
place a table (the earth) in the CEN
ter of his parlor and a lighted lamp (the
SUM on his mantel. Then Che being the
moon) let him walk around the table
keeping one side to it all the time, and
he will discover that the lamp Cor SUM
vii! have shone all around him, not
Wlthstanding an eye on the table Ohe
earth will only have seen one side of
him.
The moon, notwithstanding I fail to
discover that it has any effect to give
rain or drouth to US, is an interesting
study, and l hope We shall sometime
know more about it than we do now
1t is desirable that our astronomers tell
US the time necessary to a revolution
of our suns satellites, other than the
earth, SO we can speculate intelligently
in regard to their seasons and the man
ner of man, etc, which may possibly
or probably exist upon them
j. B. WELTY.
Novelty Farm, December II, 1893.