Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-07-21
THE DOG DAYS.
Strong Hold of the Superstitious on
the Modern Mind.
From the Philadelphia Ledger.

From the Philadelphia Ledger.
The fiction of the dog days" Is too hoary
to loose It's hold easily upon a race partial
to traditions of astral influence in human
affairs, and some almanac makers, like
those happy mortals who rush in where
angels fear to tread" announce in cheerful
confidence that these dies caniculares." as
the old Romans termed them, are upon US.
But what, and which. are the dog days?'
Every computer of domestic calendars Is
a law unto himself with respect to this par
ticular season. for the best of reasons-che
season itself is at sea.
In fact. 1t cannot be otherwise, for, like
the movable feasts'' of the church, its as
Economical setting. upon which it entirely
depends. IS a perpetually varying quantity.
In midwlnter, conspicuous among the
brilliant star groups of the southern SKY.
is visible the constellation of CAMS Major
the Greater Deg. Its bright particular
star, Sirius, though not so brilliant as some
of the plants, is the most lustrous of all
the starry host, and therefore easily the
emperor of the train. For ages 1t has been
known as the dog star" In ancient myth
ology CAMS Major and CAMS Minor-the
Lesser DISCRIMINATING the bright star Pro-
cyon Cgoing before the dog), were as
signed TO the mighty hunter Orion to serve
him in the chase. The stars of midwlntar
nights are the stars that beam upon US, all
unnotlced, on midsummer days, and hence
at this season the imperial Sirius together
with his canine associate. Procyon, shines
all of the day in the sunny azure.
The Romans of the olden time annually
sacrificed dog to Sirius, hoping to win his
favor toward their fields and fiocks The
Egyptians, long before, gave the closest
attention to the rising of Sirius, for in their
thought Ii was associated with the veal or
woe OF their land. 1t augured the rising of
the Nile. "Siris.'' and indicated the pro-
pitious time for sowing.
Unfortunately for votaries of the "signs''
In planting and other astrological vagares;
the time of the rising OF Sirius varies with
the latitude: besides. it varies in the same
latitude as decades and centuries go on.
owing to the procession of the equinoxes.
Hence It Will not answer to hitch the wagon
of seasonal hypothesis to star.
So intimately did the ancients associate
the hellacal rising of Sirius with events of
Importance to the land that they even In
stituted a heliacal year. Various dates
have been assigned by tradition as the first
dog day. and various periods as CONSTITUTE
Ing the season. 1t has been claimed that
It commenced IN the remote past on August
and lasted forty days. until September IA.
AS few as thirty days are sometimes cited.
and as many as ffty-four Pliny refers
the commencement of the dog days to the
heliacai rising of Procyon which seems at
least appropriate being canicular and
which occurred July 10. 1t would seem
that forty days was regarded as the period
in most cases, twenty days before and
twenty days after the heliacal rising OF
Sirius.
But whatever the variations of testimony
there Is general agreement with Hippocra-
ties, VINO may be styled the iather of as
tronomy. and to whom Ptolemy was great
Is indebted for pioneer work In the science.
He affirms that the dog days were In the
very hottest part of the summer. And II
Is known that the Egyptians were In great
dread OF the extreme heat and blighting
drought. People of the present age who
cling to venerable traditions will not be
embarrassed about the uncertainty of a
few days. but will contentedly ascribe the
sweitering weather likely to be encoun-
tered to the ma'ign influence of the great
dog Sirius.