The Bluffton news. [volume] (Bluffton, Ohio) 1875-current, 1949-01-27

housewives are making tnat annual
important change in their kitchen
if you've been brought up on a farm
you've probably guessed it--they are
taking down the old almanac and
hanging up the new one.
And If you are one of those be-
nighted souls who don't know your
way around, We'll stop right here
and explain that the almanac-any
almanac worthy of the name has a
small hole in the upper left hand
corner from which it is suspended
by string from a nail in the kitch
en-somewhere SO it will be handy
for it contains lot more necessary
right down to earth information than
an unabridged encyclopedia in big
city library.
Most anything you want to know
if it pertains to everyday living Of
everyday people you'll find in the
almanac.
Only in the almanac can one find
full year of weather predictions
served up in one printing-but that's
only a small part of the voluminous
information which it cottains.
1t carries a calendar listing an
anniversary for each day and cram
med with data on the sun, moon and
planets. Many a farm wife has set
her clock as the sun touched the
horizon, using the time shown in the
almanac for sunrise or sunset on
the day concerned.
The Almanac tells the farmer
how to raise healthy chicks, how to
get rid of rats, how to stay awake
in church. 1t tells his wife how to
make cheese, remove greese stains
and physic the cat. Many of its
hints they already know, but enjoy
as reminders wittily presented after
the almanac style popularized by
Benjamin Franklin's Poor Richard.
It's most cited feature, however, is
its prediction of weather for every
day of the year.
Beneftting from past experience,
the weather forecasts are often right.
Even when plainly labeled as con-
lecture, they are welcomed as gospel
by many readers. About each
almanac's weather predictions, legend
of uncanny accuracy sooner or later
springs up. They are built around
astounding instances that can be
cited, chapter and verse.
The Old Farmers almanac has
been published in New England
without interruption since 1892. At
one stage in preparation of its 1916
edition, a prediction for July 13 was
lacking. The typesetter improvised
"rain. snow and hail." expecting the
editor to make correction on the
proof. Not until the edition was
partly run was the prediction chang
ed to "dull." When July 13 came, it
rained, showed and hailed!
Similar in general pattern, the
Hagerstown Town and Country al
manac dates its operation from 1877.
1t gained considerable stature about
1874 by predicting and producing
snow on July d, according to ac-
counts. Old Moore's almanac OF
London, first issued in 100 as Vox
Stelarum Voice of the Stars), is
said to have called the turn in a
year that unreasonable snow fell on
Britian's derby day.
Egyptians. Greeks, and Romans
put astrology first in preparing their
| ancient equivalents of the almanac.
Invention of printing brought al
manacs into vogue about 1900.
Rabelais in 1888 is credited with
preparing the first one devoted to
the year of issue.
Prophecies were freely indulged in
by early almanac makers. The
French kings of the 10th century set
the precedent, especially interesting
today, of prohibiting political prog
nostications.
William Yilly in 1850 included a
picture of London afire in his al
manac, which was rife with prophecy
| Sixteen years later he was hailed as
a prophet and called before parlia,
ment to help establish the cause OF
/ the great London fire of 1866.
In the American colonies, al
manacs appeared from the mid-17tl
century on. They shared honors
with the Bible as literature quoted in
many households. Taking his cue
from Poor Robins almanac in Eng.
land, Benjamin Franklin created
! Poor Richard in 1928. Almanacs