814 



• KNOWLEDGE 



[Oct. G, 1882, 



»ho«irii: by statistics, Ac, thnt, however it comes about, a Sntur- 

 ilav's mooa — i.t.. anew moon occorring U(iou that day of tho week 

 - jiroves itaclf to bo a very unwelcome visitant. 



The second I recollect uitvtiiig with in tho family H»rald, aud it 

 nn thus : — 



" Si sol splendescat Maria Puriticante, 

 Major erit hyems qunm fuit ante." 

 Which distich has been trauslatetl thus: — 



If CniullemBS-Day be cloudy aud dark 

 It will carry cold winter away on its back ; 

 But if Candlonios-Uay bo dry and clear. 

 Then half the winter's to como this year. 

 Well, I declare I think I have observed that adage to be a correct 

 one. [^So have I, often : and as often the reverse. — Ed.] 



The third, I might say, constitutes my reperton,'. 1 should have 

 more, but cannot lay bauds on them. Tho third, then, would bu 

 telling you the " Secn-t of Polichenelli— St. Swithin's. This has 

 hei*n designated RU]>er8tition too, but here is what is said about him 

 in the " Mirror," vol. II., p. 132 : — "There is not any occasion to 

 have recourse to a miracle to account for such a phenomenon. Ex- 

 jierience has amply shown that whenever a wet season seta in about 

 the end of June to the middle of July, when the heat of tho sun is 

 usually the most intense, it generally continues to nearly the end of 

 summer. When the action of thnt orb has considerably abated, tho 

 rain affording matter for exhalation, always naturally the strongest 

 at the hottest |>eriod of the year, and these exhalations yielding in 

 return matter for rain." 



So, too, speaks a much higher authority — Howard on " Clouds." 



Tho following excerpt I have taken from Mather's " Drug 

 Circular" : — 



" WEATIIEB WISDOM. 



" When yon wish to know what tho weather is to be, go ont and 

 select the smallest cloud you sec. Keep your eye upon it, and if it 

 decreases and disapiieors, it shows a state of air which will be sure 

 to be followed by fine weather. But if it increases in size, take 

 your gn.>at-coat with you, if you are going from home, for falling 

 weather will not be far oiT. The reason is this : when the air is 

 becoming charged with electricity, you will see every cloud 

 attracting all lesser ones towards it, until it gathers into a shower; 

 and on the contrary, when the fluid is passing off or diffusing 

 itself, then a largo cloud will bo seen breaking into pieces and 

 dissolving." 

 " Evening red and next monung grey, are certain signs of a 



beautiful day." 

 " When the glowworm lights her lamp, the air ia always damp." 

 ■" If the cock crow going to bod, he'll certainly rise with a watery 



head." 

 When tho peacock londly bawls, then we'll soon have rain and 



B(]aalls." 

 " When ducks are driving thro' the bnm, that night the weather 



will take a turn." 

 " If the moon shines with a silver shield, be not afraid to reap your 



field." 

 " When rooks fly sporting high in air, it shows that windy storms 



are near." — Xntet and Querie: 

 Hoping that the above contribution may bo useful, — I remain, sir, 

 vr.urri, Ac., Michael Ueikukn. 



SINfiCL.^R MKXTAL ILLUSION'. 

 ^5S1 — Will you kindly allow me to supplement tho terrible ghost 

 storj- in a recent issue of Knowi.fdge with some remarks upon an 

 incident which happened to myself, and which comes, perhaps, under 

 the same class of mental illusions, though dilToring from yours as 

 being of calmer character, and less oncumbcnrd by exciting antece- 

 dents or by concurrent alarm. The scene was my sleeping-room, and 

 the time aljout midnight. I do not quite know when, only that it 

 was quite dark. My \>ei\ stood in a corner, a wall l>eing close 

 behind it, and another (inrallel with it, on my right us I lay in bed, 

 at atx>ut two and o-half feet distance. One night, while peace- 

 fully sleeping, I suddenly woke up to perfect consciousness. Tho 

 whole comer of the room on my right, near my head, appeared full 

 of light, so bright and clear as to perplex me. I reasoned with 

 myself, " There is no window there, no fire, lamp, candle, or other 

 artificial light of any kind, and yet it's nearly as light as day." 

 '<!-»' rvinif more narrowly, I saw a pillow end to end with my own, 

 l).i- f urt.iin of my txid intervening, u[H.n which, and also upon tho 

 n»:.i-I;.- turned down be<l-clothes, I distinctly saw every neat plait 

 ar.'l f'iM. This stat« of things continued three or four minutes, 

 and then ins<-nsibly faded off into darkness. I was not conscious 

 of any agitation or mental distnrliance, for the vision rather 

 interested me. I thought it nngtihu-, of course, but I fully under- 



stood it to bo a dyspeptic action of my erratic brain, for my 

 temperament is nervous in the extreme. 



I am |>erfeotly sure that no ouo entered or left tho room during 

 the continuance of the phenomenon. 



It is clear that the objects I saw might have been of distressing 

 character, in which ease I might have jirodiieed a story fellow to 

 your own. I am thankful they were no more than passive and 

 tranquil sheets and )iilKiw cases, and light in which to see them. 



For the simjile truth of mv nurrativo 1 vouili. 



W. U. I'KKKINS. 



TUB USE OF DRUNKENNESS. 



[582] -Such a vico as this can never burn itself out, or it would 

 have disappeared long ago; it is ever ihawing fresh victims into its 

 grasp to supply the places of those whom it destroys. Uonce, a 

 nation, such as tho North American Indians, which does not possess 

 the moral i>rinciples necessary to combat its influence, speedily dis- 

 appears ; and wo may rest assured that llii> liojio of England lies 

 entirely in those humanitarian feelings, whirli have been tho main- 

 spring of the Temperance Reformation, now happily beginning to 

 bring about a diminution in the quantity of alcoliolio liquors 

 consumed. 



Surely Mr. Williams is wrong in assuming that to nearly every 

 drunkard belongs a base and vicious disposition when sober! 

 How many tens of tlionsanils of our countrymen are there 

 of whom it is a ))rovcrbial saying that they are the kindest of 

 fathers and tho best of husbands until " tho drink gets in them ? " 

 How many aro there in their sober moments who aro goaded by the 

 qualms of conscience, and tho thought of tho misery they aro entail- 

 ing, knowing that in a few hours tho despotic thirst will agoin bo all- 

 clamorous, blunting tlio conscience, until tho saturnalia is once more 

 over, when again conscience will speak, it may be, however, in a 

 fainter voice ? So much for tho process, " enjoyable in their own 

 estimation." If Mr. Williams is sceptical of tho reality of this 

 picture, ho should give the subject consideration. 



Racc-develo]>mcnt is attained by a nation— as strength by an 

 individual — not by tlio growth of an nnhealthy tendency, which, 

 so fur from killing tlio impure parts, will pollute tho lunij), but by 

 tho elimination, as far as possible, of every taint, and consequently 

 tho production of a healthier field for tho natural forces to work 

 ujion. J. Ralph. 



THE NEW USE OP ALCOHOL. 

 [583] — I cannot help thinking that Meiihisto (who gives his ex- 

 perience of alcohol in K.S'owlkdce, Sept. H) would find a cold bath 

 at night, followed by a few minutes' dumb-boll exercise, as efliciont 

 for inducing sleep as alcohol, aud preferable to it in its after effects. 

 Would he bo so good as to tell us if ho has tried it, and if so, with 

 what effects ? J. S. 



JORDAN-GLYCERINE RAROMETER. 

 [58t] — Will any corres])ondent kindly give n description of 

 the principle of, and niodo of making, tho "Jordan-Glycerine 

 Barometer r"' C. J. W. 



MONKEY AND MIRROR. 

 [585] — I was in a monkoy-houso near Miinchostcr, sonio time 

 ago, when one of the monkeys, having got lioM of tho cover 

 belonging to a shaving-box, in which was inlaid a Hnmll looking- 

 glass, caused very much amusement by holding tho glass in one 

 hand, and, whilst looking straight into it, feeling behind it with tho 

 other hand for the monkey it thought it saw, which I think was a 

 very intelligent proceeding, and exceedingly practical. 



Deo Fido. 



THE "NEW METHOD" OP PUKKERVING 

 OltGANIC BODIES. 



[586] — The galvanoplastic preservation of organic bodies ex- 

 hibited by Professor Christian at Berlin, and described in Know- 

 l.ElioE, page 223, is nearly forty years old. 1 practised it myself in 

 181.5-G. If I remember rightly, it was I'arkcs, of Birmingham, who 

 invented tho process, which was to dip the object in a solution of 

 phosphorus, in bisulphide of carbon, and then into a ilihite solu- 

 tion of nitrate of silver. Or tho object wan first dijipod in the 

 silviT solution and then exposed to phosphorus vajrour. A coating 

 of silver was thereby deposited on its surface. 



I improved tho original process by diluting the i)ho»phoras Boln- 

 tion with turpentine, and adding a little boiled linseed-oil to this. 

 The result was a thin adherent varnish, containing sufliciont phos- 

 phorus to precipitate tho silver as a continuous film. I found that 

 this precipitation was still further assisted by adding ammonia to 



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