The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-09-23
M E IN, w o MEN
 A ND T HIN GS

l The ancients counted the dies ca nicular. or dog days, from the 'heli- acal rising or Sirius, and made them 40 in number, 20 before and 20 after the rising of the star.
 You may know, but as some may not, which was my case until I looked 1t up, -the heliacal rising means the time when the star, after being practically in conjunction with the sun and invisible. emerges from the light so as to be visible in the morning before sunrise.
 am no astronomer, and what It, tie I learned about it in my school and college days has almost passed out of mind, and so whenever there is discussion around my family table about the subjecN and I am appealed to settle a matter in dis pute, I simply say to my boys, whenever you two are in doubt as to which is the sun and which Is the moon. just ask me, but on all ether astronomical questions please leave me out"
 Canicular days is but the more classic name for dog days, and when used entitle one to be thought a "highbrow." Canicula was the old name of Canus Minor, and so came to be used to denote Sirius, or the Dog star, the largest and brightest of the stars situated in the mouth of Canus Major. It may we'll seem a freak of fate, but Sirius, sun superior to Sol himself, can but give a name to the dog days.
 l The dog days are still talked about not only here but abroad, but it does not require Grassendi's grave argu- ment to convince people in this scien- tific era that the Dog star cannot possibly exercise any good or bad fn- 1 fiuence upon the earth. Popular prejudices finger a long time after the truth has been found out. To this day many people believe that t',e weather is affected by the moon, and that the equinoctial storms at tend the sums ina ginary passage across an imaginary line. I have a friend who sat up all night on his return passage from the Philippines to see the equator when he crossed it, being the butt of lot of prac- tical jokers on shipboard
 If it takes long time for preju- dice to be cleared away, it takes much longer for superstition to die. The superstitious feelings generated ir Egypt with regard to the dog days gradually spread throughout the world, and made themselves felt like many other ancient beliefs. There are still those who seem to think that Sirius causes dogs to go mad, and that Is why there is an epi- demic/ of hydrophobia during the canicular days" witty doct-r says such a one should be classed with the person who said that vac ciration was named after Dr. Vacca, the inventor"
 The rising of Sirius coincided in ancient times with the summer sol stice and the oyerflowing of the Nile; as the latter was the source of fer tility of Egypt, the period was re- garded as sacred, and the influence of the Dog star was deemed part ularly suspicious. But while the IT. Ing of Sirius was the harbinger of plenty and prosperity to the Egyp- tians, it was just the reverse to the Romans, who looked upon the dog days as unfortunate and even freju- dicial to life, on account of the pes tilential heat.
 According to the ordinary compu- tations the dog days begin on July 4, and continue to August H. -'liny, however. says they begin with tl.e heliacal rising of Procyon, which and this date has been widely ac- cepted. But he also says the sun was then entering Leo which rule making the dog days begin July za has also been used. The consensus of opinion seems to agree with Hip pocrate's time .(450 B. C.), who af- firmed that they were in the hottest and most unhealthy part of summer. It seems to me thta they are staying overtime this year