PLANTING IN THE MOON 57 



on the influence of clouds in checking radiation. 

 On cloudy nights little dew is formed, while on clear 

 nights the dews are always more heavy, providing 

 there is no wind and the weather is not cold enough 

 for frost or is not excessively dry. The occurrence 



of frost on clear moonlit nights at a temperature 



* 



apparently above the freezing point, has led the 

 injury by frost under certain circumstances to be 

 attributed to the direct malignant influence of the 

 moon. In France the particular moon which is 

 supposed to cause this result is called la lane 

 rousse (the red moon ) from the reddish brown color 

 which the leaves of the vine and other plants 

 assume under its supposed influence. Louis XIV, 

 issued a royal order to men of science to determine 

 the date of this moon, and received an answer that 

 no such moon existed, and that the effect observed 

 was the result of frost. Another widespread belief 

 regarding the moon is its supposed influence on the 

 rise and fall of the sap in trees. It matters not 

 that there is no such rise and fall of the sap as 

 was once supposed, the belief in some form is found 

 in nearly all parts of the world. The forest laws of 

 France at one time, if they do not now, prohibited 

 the cutting of timber during the increase of the 

 moon. German foresters were careful to observe 

 the same rule. The explanation for this practice, 

 given in the words of Sauer of Germany, is that 



