Year: 1873




an English rhyme pronounces-


II round the moon circles seen
| OF white, and all the sky's serene,
| The following day, you may divine,
| VIII surely prove exceeding fno.


And


| Wheneer, in autumn in spring,
| A mist the moon doth with IL bring,
| AT noon the will bright appear,
The evening be serene and clear,
The turning up of the horns of the new
moon is another sign of fair weather:
"Theres no likelihood of drop now, an
the moon lies like boat there" says
somebody in "Adam Bede." Southey mo-
tices this notion in one of his letters
poor Littledale has this day explained
the cause of the rains which have pre-
vailed for the last five weeks, by theory
which will probably be as new to you as
it is to me. 4 have observed,' he says,
that when the moon is turned upwards,
| we have fine weather after 1t, but when it is
turned down. then we have wet season
and the reason | think is, that when it is
! turned down, it holds no water, like a
basin, you know, and down it comesp"
| 1t is a very common belief that the wealth
er depends upon the moon changing be-
| fore or after midnight; belief absurd on
| the face of it, since, as has been well OBJ
| served, the moon may change before
twelve at Westminster, and after twelve at
st. Paul's DR.. Adam Clarke was oblivi-
GUS of this fact when he put forth "a
Weather Prognosticator, through all the
lunations of each year forever; showing
the observer what kind of weather will
most probably follow the entrance of the
moon into any one of her quarters, and
that so near the truth, as to seldom
or never be found to fail" Our
readers can easily decide as to the worth
of the reverend doctors weather guide;
they have only to note the time of the
moons entrance upon new quarter, and
compare the actual result with that antici-
pated by the "Prognosticator." 1t would
be useless to quote his formulated obser-
vations-for, like all other prophecies
concerning the lunar phenomena there is
a total neglect of the fact, that weather is
local, and not universal. In other words,
the change in the moon that is supposed
to have given good weather in the south
of England, has probably been attended
with exceedingly bad weather in Scotland.


There is time for all things; the diff
Guilty lies in hitting ON the right time. No
such difficulty disturbed the minds of the
farmers of bygone days, who took my
lady moon as their guide. They had only
to ask themselves was she waxing or wan
ing, and they knew what to do, and what
to leave undone. An increasing moon
was favorable to increase; a waning moon
just the reverse So, under the first, grain
was cut gratis inserted, eggs put under the
hen, sheep sheared, and manure spread
upon the land Seeds were sown under a
waning moon, in order that the young
plants might have the advantage of grow
ing with the moon.


Sow peason and beans in the wane Of the moon,


Who sOweth them sooner he soweth too soon;


That they with the planet may rest and arise,


And flourish with bearing most plentiful-wise.


When the moon was at the full was the
proper time to make bitches, tread out
grapes, and cover up the roots of trees
seven days later being the fittest period for
grubbing up such as were to be removed
Timber however, was not to be touched
until the end of the second quarter, and
then only when the moon was upon the
change. The state of the moon, says
Pliny, is all-important when the telling of
timber is in question, the very best time
for the operation being during the moons
silence, or when she is in conjunction with
the sun. Some, however, averred she
ought to be below the horizon as well,
and that if the conjunction happened to fall
upon the day of the winter solstice, timber
then felledwould be ofeverlasting duration.
Even now, Devonshire apple growers pre-
fer gathering their fruit at the shrinking
of the moon, believing then it does not
matter though the apples get bruised in the
gathering which is otherwise fatal to their
preservation. Peat-cutters aver that if peat
be cut under waning moon it will re-
main moist, and not burn clearly. The
Brazilian matmakers of Petropolis ac-
count for some of their mats wearing out
too quickly, by reason of the canes hav-
ing been cut at the wrong time of the
moon. 1t is foolish, according to Suffolk
notions, to kill pig when the moon is
waning; for if a pig be converted into pork
at that time, the meat will invariably
waste excessively when it comes to be
cooked. In Burray and South Ronaldsay
they carry the waxing and waning theory
still further, holding il unlucky to marry
except under growing moon. A skepti-
cal writer sneering at one of those who
might have boasted, like Falstaff, 1--WE be
men of good government, being governed
as the sea is, by our noble and chaste mis-
tress, the moon," says "When the moon
is in Taurus, he can never be persuaded
to take physic; lest that animal, which
chews the cud, should make him cast up
again. If at any time he has mind to be
admitted into the presence of a prince, he
will wait till the moon is in conjunction
with the sun, for It's then the society of
an inferior with superior is salutary and
successful


1t was once and still may be, the Gus
tom of Highland danes to salute
the new moon with solemn courtesy.
English country danes were wont to sit
astride style or gate, waiting the new
moons appearance, to welcome her with,
"a fine moon, God bless her!" Bachelors
were privileged to claim a kiss and a pair
of gloves upon announcing the advent of
a new moon to the first maiden they met.
| If, when first seen, the new moon was
upon the right hand, or directly before
the person making her acquaintance, good
| fortune awaited the lucky individual on
the ensuing month: just the contrary re-
suit following its appearance on the left
hand, or at his or her back.


A lunar eclipse has been accounted an
omen dire, as it well might be, If the pop
ular notion in ancient times was correct,
and the moon was only eclipsed when suf-
| fering from the spells of wicked magicians
seeking to draw her down TO the earth, to
aid them in their unholy doings; fortu-
nately, their Vaccinations were of no
avail, if honest people could make enough
noise to drown the songs of the en-
chanters.


To sing the moon out of the sky is
about as feasible feat as fishing her out
Of pond. Attempting the latter, hay
maker fixed nickname upon his Wilt
shire brethren forever. The story goes
that two Wiltshire haymakeTs, going home