282 THE FARMER AT HOME. 



round the earth ; her orbit is an ellipsis, in which she is retained by 

 the force of gravity ; performing her revolution round the earth, from 

 change to change, in twenty-nine days, twelve hours and forty-four 

 minutes, and round the sun with it every year ; she goes round her 

 orbit in twenty- seven days, seven hours, and forty-three minutes, 

 moving about 2290 miles every hour ; and turns round her axis 

 exactly in the time that she goes round the earth, which is the reason 

 of her keeping always the same side towards us ; and that her day 

 and night taken together are as long as our lunar month. 



Among the ancients the moon was an object of prime regard. 

 By the Hebrews she was more regarded than the sun, and they were 

 more inclined to worship her as a deity. The new moons or first 

 days of every month, were kept as festivals among them, which were 

 celebrated with sound of trumpets, entertainments, and sacrifice. Peo- 

 ple were not obliged on these days to rest. The feasts of new moons 

 were the miniature representation of the feast of trumpets, which was 

 held on the first of the month Tisri, which was the beginning of the 

 civil year. The Jews, not being acquainted with the physical causes 

 of eclipses, looked upon them, whether of sun or moon, as signs of the 

 divine displeasure. The Grecians looked upon the moon as favorable 

 to marriage ; and the full moons or the times of conjunction of the 

 sun or moon, were held the most lucky seasons for celebrating mar- 

 riages ; because they imagined the moon to have great influence over 

 generation. The full moon was held favorable for any undertaking 

 by the Spartans ; and no motives could induce them to enter upon an 

 expedition, march an army, or attack an enemy, till the full of the 

 moon. The moon was supposed both by Greeks and Romans to 

 preside over childbirth. The patricians at Rome wore a crescent on 

 their shoes, to distinguish them from the other orders of men. This 

 crescent was called Lanula. Some say it was of ivory, others that it 

 was worked upon the shoe, others that it was only a particular kind 

 of fibula or buckle. 



MOROCCO. This is a fine kind of leather, prepared of the skin 

 of an animal of the goat kind, in the countries of the Levant. The 

 name was probably taken from the kingdom of Morocco, whence the 

 manner of preparing it was borrowed. The skins are steeped twenty- 

 four hours in a river, taken out, stretched on the leg, beat with the 

 knife, returned into the water for twenty-four hours, rebeaten on the 

 leg, re-steeped, thrown into a vat, and, for three weeks taken out and 

 returned every morning, to dispose them to peel. Being taken out 

 for the last time, they are scraped with the knife, and when the hair 

 is quite off, thrown into pails of fresh water, where they are rinsed, 

 then the flesh side is scraped, thrown into the pails, and thus alter- 

 nately from the leg to the pails, till they leave the water clean. 

 They are then put into lukewarm water, with the sumac, and, after 

 twelve hours, rinsed in clear water, and scraped on the leg on both 



