54 POPULAR ERRORS. 



in the new of the moon will soon throw out the 

 nails. Sheep sheared at that time will yield heavier 

 fleeces than if sheared at other periods. Don't 

 understand me as saying that all of these beliefs 

 are held in any one locality or by any single individ- 

 ual, however " well informed. ' But a little obser- 

 vation will convince one that there are persons in 

 almost every neighborhood whose reliance on the 

 influence of the moon in some things is as implicit 

 as on any of the laws of nature, while there are 

 other people who, though they do not acknowledge 

 or defend such beliefs, and who dislike very much 

 to be considered superstitious, yet prefer in matters 

 of importance to take their chances with the " signs 

 of the moon v in their favor. Perhaps one is not 

 entirely responsible for beliefs of this nature which 

 he may hold, for few people are able at once to 

 wholly banish them upon a demonstration of their 

 falsity. 



We will now notice some beliefs regarding the 

 influence of the moon which at first sight appear to 

 be a little more rational and better founded, and 

 which are more generally held at the present time. 

 There is no notion more firmly fixed in the popular 

 mind than the influence of the moon on the weather. 

 The following from a leading agricultural journal 

 thirty years ago is probably true with slight modifi- 

 cation to-day: "The influence of the moon on the 



