12 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



From the Edinburgh Magazine. 

 ON THE INFLUF.MCE OF THE MOON UPON 



THE SEASONS. 

 Translated from a pnper vf Olbers, in '■'■ AnnaUs de 

 Ckimie el de Physique. Fevrier, 1822." 

 The moon acts upon the earth in a manner 

 certain and demonstrable ; for it enlightens our 

 nights, it draws the earth a little from its ellip- 

 tic orbit, it occasions a small oscillation in the 

 earth's axis, it produces the flnx and reflux of 

 the sea, and an analagons but less motion in the 

 atmosphere. But it has been the treneral opin- 

 ion of mankind, from time immemorial, that be- 

 sides these demonstralde ett'ects, the moon accor- 

 ding to its difl'erent phases, exercises a consider- 

 able influence upon the health of mankind, upon 

 animals, upon vegetation, and on chemical ope- 

 rations. Exjierience alone can throw light up- 

 on this subject; for it is possible that the moon 

 maj have an intiuence upon our atmosphere, 

 produced by the different forces of attraction 

 which it exercises at dili'erent times — and also 

 by its light. Long and well conducted ex- 

 periments have completely refuted such hy- 

 potheses; they have proved that neither the lu- 

 nar phases, nor the situation of the moon with 

 respect to the sun and earth, have scarcely any 

 influence upon the weather; for no flsed rela- 

 tion whatever can be discovered between tbein, 

 notwithstanding the vast number of trials and 

 observations which have been made for a great 

 number of years. The res'ilt deduced from one 

 series of meteorological observation, are always 

 contradicted by another series : we cite, for ex- 

 ample, Howard, who believed he had discover- 

 ed that the barometer rose most irequently in 

 the quadratures, and thai its fall was most com- 

 mon in the syzyges. Cotte, on the contrary, to 

 whom meteorology is so much indebted, and 

 who commenced in order to confirm the re- 

 mark of Howard, afterwards found by twenty 

 years' observation, that the barometer was the 

 liighest at the time of the nczo moons, and low- 

 est at the time of the full moons. Lalande and 

 Lamark have drawn from their observations the 

 most opposite result, respecting the effects of 

 the moon in her passage by the plane of the 

 equator. But a decisive proof of the small in- 

 fluence of the moon, appears to me to result 

 from this circumstance, that this influence, by 

 whatever force it may be produced, known or 

 unknown, ought to be the greatest possible be- 

 tween the tropics ; however, m the equatorial 

 regions, not a trace of it can he found. In these 

 countries, the heat, the rain, the winds, kc. all 

 depend on the distance of the sun from the ze- 

 zith of the place, without any regard to the sit- 

 uation or tlie phases of the moon. We may be 

 yet more convinced of the sniallness of this in- 

 fluence, if we reflect that the most opposite 

 weather, in different parts, takes place at the 

 same instant of time, and consequently, under 

 tlip same lunar phase. This fact is determined, 

 with the greatest evidence, by the accounts of 

 the v/eather which we receive from different 

 places, during the time of an eclipse. M. I3ode, 

 tor example, has collected the remarks made 

 during t!ie time of a solar eclipse which happen- 

 ed on the 18lh Nov. 1816; where we perceive 

 a strong mixture of good and bad weather, with- 

 out any respect to order, spread, during this 

 day, through a groat part of Europe. Profes- 

 sor Brandos, having compared, with great labor, 

 but in a very instructive manner, the variation 



of the weather, which took place over a great 

 part of the earth's surface, in 1783, found no 

 relation between it and the lunar phases; and if 

 a variation in the weather appeared to coincide 

 with these phases in any one country, no varia- 

 tions, or opposite variations, would take place 

 in other countries. The period of eighteen or 

 nineteen years makes no discovery of any sen- 

 sible analogy in the variations of the weather 

 during the years equally distant from these in- 

 tervals. 



Some have pretended to have remarked sen- 

 sible effects produced by the rising of the moon, 

 and by her culmination ; but the phenomena 

 cited hy them, either do not prove this influ- 

 ence, or are not accurate. Several of our mar- 

 iners, also hold, that the full moon, when ris- 

 ing, dissipates the clouds; but this prejudice 

 owes its origin to the circumstance, that the 

 clouds commonly disappear during a tranquil 

 evening, and consequently at the rising of the 

 moon, according to a very just remark of M. 

 Brandes. The pretended observation, that a 

 storm cannot approach from the zenith, at the 

 time of the full moon, contradicts itself, for the 

 electric cloud which is at the horizon of one 

 place is at the zenith of another place not many 

 miles distant. But in asserting that the lunar 

 influence upon the seasons is extremely weak, 

 and that it is nearly lost among the other causes 

 which produce a variation in the weather, we 

 are not certain that the moon does not produce 

 some little effect. Let us see what the theory 

 seems to indicate. The moon and the sun pro- 

 duce, twice in twenty-four hours tiity minutes, 

 a flux and reflux, both in the ocean and in the 

 atmosphere ; these motions vary with the pha- 

 ses of the moon ; they are the strongest in the 

 new and full moons, and the weakest in (he first 

 and last quarters. I.,et us suppose, for example, 

 that the tides of the atmosphere produce a 

 change of .0354 of an inch in the height of the 

 barometer, in the syzygiez; it will produce on- 

 ly half that variation in the quadratures. Now, 

 though these effects j»re so weak, it is not im- 

 possible but that the strong tides at the new and 

 full moon may dispose the atmosphere to receive 

 considerable motion. We dare not therefore, 

 declare as absolutely filse, the observations 

 which some philosophers pretend to have made, 

 namely : tliat more storms happen at the time 

 of a new and full moon, than at the quadratures. 

 It is the same with respect to the passage of the 

 moon through the equator, and through the per- 

 igee; at these times it may act as an exciting 

 cause, although no violent motion be produced 

 by it in the atmosphere. 



The moon may also have an intiuence upon 

 the variation of the weather, in an indirect man- 

 ner; that is b}' the motion of the waters of the 

 ocean, at least upon some coasts. It is true, in 

 the open sea, the height of the tides never ex- 

 ceeds three or four feet ; but upon the coasts, 

 in bays, and narrow channels, the rise of the 

 tides is much more considerable. At Brest, lor 

 example, it rises more than twenty feet, and at 

 Bristol more than fifty. Ought not the motion 

 of these large masses of water to occasion some 

 variation in the atmosphere, especially as they 

 appear to have a small influence on the elec- 

 tricity of the air? The inhabitants of the sea- 

 coasts believe it to be a fact, that the changes in 

 the weather, and the force and direction of the 

 wind and clouds, depend on the tides. Wc may 



here observe, that the tides of the ocean, and 

 those of the atmosphere, do not happen at the 

 same period. The air being easily moved, 

 and not being hindered by any obstacle, instant- 

 ly obeys the attractive force of the moon ; but 

 the waters of the ocean are more tardy in obey- 

 ing this force. On this account, the atmosphe- 

 ric tides immediately follow the passage of the 

 moon over the meridian; but high water, in 

 the open sea, does not take place till three hours 

 afterwards; and on coasts, and in bays, it hap- 

 pens still later. It is possible, then, that the 

 mediate and immediate effects of the moon upon 

 the atmosphere, in some places mutually tle- 

 stroy each other; and this is perhaps the cause 

 why the astronomer Horseley, at Oxford, could 

 not perceive, in the English observations, any 

 relation between the weather and the phases of 

 the moon; while Toaldo, at Padua, believed 

 that he couhl distinguish the moon's influence in 

 the observations made during fifty years at Po- 

 leni. Now, though 1 would not deny but that 

 the results deduced from observations by Toal 

 do, might be partly true for the climate of It- 

 aly, 1 must still observe, that from the great 

 number of exceptions to this rule, he was him- 

 self convinced that the lunar influence was 

 tremehj small. A series of experiments for many 

 yeais, has convinced me, that in our climate 

 where the weather is subject to more consider 

 able and more numerous variations, the rules ol 

 Toaldo are entirely wrong. For example, on 

 the 7th Dec. 1813, the full moon coincided 

 with the perigee, and two days after the moot 

 had its greatest northern declination, so that 

 from the principles of Toaldo, the lunar influ 

 ence ought to have been the greatest possible 

 but notwithstanding all this, there was not any 

 sensible change in the weather. I believe 

 iben, that 1 have demonstrated, that the influ 

 ence of the moon upon the weather is so smaiL 

 that it is totally lost among the inlinite num- 

 ber of other forces and causes which change 

 the equilibrium of our very moveable atmos- 

 [ihere. The influence of the moon upon the 

 weather, and upon the atmosphere, being so in. 

 sensible, ive are entitled very much to suspect 

 its pretended influence, either upon men, an- 

 imals, or plants. In fact, it is all of it due to 

 illusion and prejudice. It is evident the dura- 

 tion of the period of some phenomena exhibited 

 by men in health, agrees only nearly, and never 

 exactly, with the lunar revolutions; and that 

 these phenomena show themselves under every 

 phase of the moon, not only in persons of the 

 same age, and of the same constitution, but also 

 in the same individual. This alone is suthcient 

 to show that the moon has no influence, and all 

 modern physicians are agreed on this point. 



1 have httle faith in the observation of Sane- 

 forious; namely, that men in health gain one or 

 two pounds in weight at the commencement of 

 the month, and that they lose as much towards 

 the end. In the same manner, observations 

 made with the greatest care, have induced me to 

 doubt very much the remark cited by the poet 

 I..ucilius, and often since repeated : namely, that 

 lobsters, oysters, and other shell-fish, are fatter 

 while the moon is on tlie increase, than when 

 she is decreasing. A very little attention will 

 convince us of the nullity of this asssertion ; es- 

 pecially if vvp can but credit the remarks made 

 by the able physician, Robault. I have great 

 confidence in the very careful experiments made 



