The Oskaloosa herald., 1903-01-08
ONLY AN ALMANAC.
But it Rules the Earth, Sun,
Moon and Stars.

The patent medicine almanac for
1903 has made its annual appearances.
The almanac lie as sure as death. 1t
is bound to come. While a great many
people peruse the pages Of the altman
&C there are many who never look at
it, but it really Is a valuable booklet.
There is a short comic story about
the boy who asked his father howthe
astronomers know when an eclipse
is coming. The father replies:
"They read the almanacs." All pat
emit medicine almanacs give the
eclipses of the sun and moon for the
year.
The almanac contains weather fore
casts, the twelve signs of the zodiac
and their relation to the human anat-
omy, a list of the various legal and
r sligious holidays and now and then
a little astrology. Who is there who
has not seer the picture of the man
with his body cut open and lines run
ming to the picture of a ram, a lion, a
scorpion, pair OF fishes, pair of scales
and other figures.
The,almanac tells you that spring
begins at 1915 p m. OIL March 81 this
year and adds that spring is the time
to take DR.. Pills Purple Pods or some
other medicine. Easter Sunday comes
on April IL and a dose of Old Doctor
Swift's Skin Salve will made the day
brighter. And so on. Why be sick,
when an almanac will cure you.
Every known disease can be cured by
some of the patent medicines and the
only thing not claimed is their power
to awaken the dead
The almanac is an Information bu-
reau. There are people asking at all
times OF the year, what day Easter
comes-on. The man who has read
his almanac is the one who knows
and he.gets credit for being a wise
man. The almanac goes farther than
telling dates. Some of them give the
time for the rising and setting of the
sun for each day of the year and the
time on which the moon rises and
whether it will be a full moon, half
moonsor new noon.
The almanac is correct. The sun
and moon seem to be in the power of
the almanac and rise and set when
aver the almanac says they should.
The almanac prints the program and
the planets follow it out. What would
become of the sun and moon if there
was no almanac? With no time table,
the sun might rise at noon and set
some time the next day and the moon
would be eclipsed every time it felt
SO inclined.
The following information is taken
from the almanacs for the year 1903:
EcIipses for 1903.
There will be four eclipses next
year, two of the sun and two of the
moon, as follows:
1. An annual eclipse of the sun,
March %; visible in the Philippine
Islands, eastern Asia, aportion of the
northern Pacific ocean and Alaska.
II. A partial eclipse of the moon,
April 18th; the beginning visible gen
orally in Africa, Europe, the western
portions of Asia and the eastern parts
of South America; the ending visible
generally in Africa, Europe, South
America and the eastern portions of
North America.
III. A total eclipse of the sun,
September goth, invisible here Visible
to the southern part of Australia and
to the greater portion of the Indian
ocean.
". A partial eclipse of the m Don,
October 9th, not visible here; the be-
ginning visible generally in Africa
and the Pacific ocean; the ending
visible generally in Africa, the eastern
portions of Europe and the Pacific
ocean,
The Church Days.
The following are the dates of the
church days for 1903:
Epiphany, January 6.
Septuagesima, Sunday, February s.
Saxagesima Sunday, February Is,
Quinquagesima Sunday, February
%.
Shrove Tuesday, February "a.
Ash Wednesday, February %.
Juadragesima Sunday, March l..
Mil-Lent Sunday, March %.
Palm Sunday, April s..