Year: 1873

The evening be serene and clear.


The turning up of the horns of the new


moon is another sign of fair weather


There's no likelihood of drop now, an


the moon lies like boat there says some


body in Adanl Bede. Southey notices this


notion in one of his letters; Poor Little


dale has this day explained the cause of


the rains which have prevailed for the


last five weeks, by theory which will


probably be as new to you as it is to me.


" [ have observed" he says, q that when


the moon is turned upwards, We have fine


weather after it, 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 basin, you


know, and down it comes - 1t is very


common belief that the weather depends


upon the moon changing before or after


midnight; belief absurd on the face of it,


since, as has been well observed, the moon


may change before twelve at Westminster,


and after twelve at St. Paul's. DR.. Adam


Clarke was oblivious of this fact when he


put forth A Weather Prognosticator,


through all the lunationS Of each gear for


erer; Showjng the Observer what kind of


,oeatber 'ciH most probably tollolo the en-


trance Of the moon into any one Of her


quarters, and that so near the truth, as


to seldom or nerer 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 observa-


tions, for, like all other prophecies concer-
ming the lunar phenomena, there is 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 a time for all things the diff
Guilty lies in hitting upon the right time.
No such difficulty disturbed the minds of
the farmers of bygone days, who took my
lady moon as their guide. They mad only
to ask themselves was she waxing or wa
ming, and they knew what to do, and what
to leave undone. An increasing moon was
favorable to increase, 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
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 fttest period for
yrubbing up such as were to be removed.
Timber, however. was not to be touched
until the end Of the second quarter, and
hen 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
;he operation being during the moons 81
ence, or when she is in conjunction with
;he sun. Some, however, averred she
ought to be below the horizon as well, and
that if the conjunction happened to fall
lpon the day of the winter solstice, timber
hen telled would be Of everlasting du-
ration. Even now, Devonshire apple
growers prefer gathering their fruit at the
of the moon, believing then it |
loes not matter though the apples get
bruised in the gathering, which is other
wise fatal to their preservation. Peat
cutters aver that if peat be cut under a
waning moon it will remain moist, and not
burn clearly. The Brazilian mat-makers
Of Petropolis account for some of the mats
wearing out too quickly, by reason Of the
canes having 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 pig be converted
into pork at that time, the meat will lava
riably waste excessively when it comes to