16 The Ottawa Naturalist. [April 



globe? Think of the very marked change we had a week ago 

 to-day, that storm; it was on the 22nd, new moon or "change" 

 was on the 18th. Furthermore "Old Probabilities" knew that 

 change of weather and storm were coming, for the day before 

 it was about 700 miles to the southwest of us, and our weather 

 generally comes from the west. A beautiful example that of 

 simultaneity of "change of moon, change of weather." 



But this is not all. Popularly, there are four changes of 

 the moon in a month, although the new moon change holds, I 

 think the principal place as weather changer. We thus have a 

 "change of moon" every week through the four quarters, so 

 that we have four vanks of the weather crank per month, simul- 

 taneous over the whole world. It is so rational, is it not? The 

 whole scientific world or at least the wdiole world of meteorolo- 

 gists is trying to learn to predict changes of weather by studying 

 the dynamics of the atmosphere, the dynamics of the sun, the 

 rotational effect of the earth, the modifications by land and sea, 

 and yet has failed to discover so simple a rule as "change of the 

 moon, change of weather." As I have already said, in reality 

 there is a change of the moon every day, every instant, which 

 shows the absurdity of selecting any one or four changes as being 

 more potent than others, which are continually taking place. 



This superstition of the moon and weather is deep-rooted, I 

 admit. It exists over the whole earth, amongst civilized and 

 uncivilized peoples. If any of these moon-weather wise would 

 take the trouble to note the state of the weather day by day, 

 and compare such with the phases of the moon or change of 

 the moon thev would soon discover the unreliability of any 

 prediction they might make, in short, would find what scientists 

 have found bv close study and observation in every civilized 

 country over the globe that there is absolutely no connection 

 between the moon and weather. 



Now, this belief in the influence of the moon on the weather, 

 I venture to sav, has not for many generations been evolved by 

 any person from his own recorded observations, but it has been 

 handed down from generation to generation, from father to son, 

 from mother to daughter, and it is so much easier to believe a 

 thing than to try and find it out for yourself. If by chance, 

 change of moon is immediately followed by change of weather, 

 the fact is riveted in the mind to perpetuate the tradition, and 

 if it doesn't fit- well, it's forgotten. Hence, we have the spec- 

 tacle, the sad, the deplorable spectacle, in this year of grace 1912, 

 in this age of enlightenment, of men and women clinging to this 

 false weather-god. And who are these people that entertain 

 this belief, are thev only our ignorant, our common plebians? 

 No, vou will find included, men who are intelligent, who are 



