Vnl. 0. — No. P. 



NEW ENGLAND PARMER. 



59 



>gy IS su niiicli indebted; iind wtio commenced in 

 irder to conlirni the reni;irl;s of Howard, found, 

 by twenty ycnrs' observution, that tlio barometer 

 was lowest at the time (iffuUmoon. Lalande and 

 LamerUe alao, have drawn the most opposite rc- 

 •snlts fronitlicir observations respeclinjr the influ- 

 ence of the moon in her passage by the plane of 

 the equator. But what is decisive on tliis subject 

 is, that in the equatorial regions, whore tlie influ- 

 ence of till) moon ought to be tlie greatest, not a 

 trace of it is to be found: but the boat, rain, winds 

 &c. all depend on the distance of the sun from the 

 zenith of the place. Foul weather and fair often 

 prevail in iliflcrent places at the same time, and 

 consequently under the same phase (appearance) 

 of the moon. M. Rode, for example, collected tlic 

 remarks made during the time of an eclipse of 

 the sun, 2'lov. 18, 181ti, from which it appears that 

 a great diversity of weather, without any regard 

 to order, prevailed on that day, through a great 

 part of Europe. Professor Drandcs compared, 

 with great labor, the variation of the weather over 

 a great part of the earth's surface in the year 

 J7t.3, and found no relation between it and the 

 phases of the moon. Suppose that the full moon, 

 when rising, dissipates the clouiis; but clouds 

 usually disappear in a tranquil evening. — Some 

 who live near the sea coast, believe that the 

 changes of the weather, and the force and direc- 

 tion of the wind and clouds, depend on the tides. 

 We may here observe, that the tides of the ocean 

 and that of the atmosphere do not happen at the 

 same time. The air being easily moved, and hin- 

 dered by no obstacle, instantly obeys the attrac- 

 tive force of the moon; but high water, in the 

 open sea, does not take place till three hours af- 

 terwards ; and on coasts and in bays, it happens 

 still later. The astronomer Horseley, at Oxford, 

 Eng. could perceive no relationbctweenthe weath- 

 er and the tides, or moon. And Toaldc, from ob- 

 servations made during fifty years at Poleni, in 

 Italy, where the climate is very mild, while he 

 'iiought that he could distinguish the influence of 

 iie moon upon the weather, was convinced that it 

 ■•■as e.Mremely small. A series of experiments, 

 I'or many years, has convinced me, that, in our 

 climate, where the weather is subject to more 

 considerable and numerous variations, the rules of 

 Toaldo ate entirely wrong. For example, on the 

 7th of Dec. 181.3, the full moon coincided with the 

 perigee, and two days after the moon had its 

 greatest northern declination; so that, from the 

 principles of Toaldo, the influence of the moon 

 ought to have been the greatest possible ; and not- 

 withstanding all this, t.here was not any sensible 

 change in the weather. I believe, then, that I 

 have demovstraied that the influence of the moon 

 'ipon the weather is so small, that it is totally lost 

 imid the great variety of other forces and causes 

 vhich change the state of our atmosphere. 



And the influence of the moon is so insensible 

 on the ivcather, we are entitled very much to sus- 

 pect its pretended influence, either upon men, an- 

 ■'m(ds or plants. In fact, it is a.V q/"t< due to illu- 

 sion and prejudice. Observation shows, that the 

 notion tiiat men weigh one or two pounds more at 

 the beginning of the month; and that lobsters, 

 oysters, &c. are fatter when the moon is on the 

 increase, is entirely without foundation. We may 

 place great confidence in the very careful e.xper- 

 iments made by the celebrated agriculturalists, 

 Ladquinterie, Nardmann, Reichard, and Harten- 

 .fels; and by the naturalists, Buffon, and Reaumur; 



who proved distinctly, thai iho iiicr case or decrease 

 of the moon had no iiijhtcjicc either upon the f^ermi- 

 nation of seeds, or upon the rapidity of their groivU; 

 or upon their quality. 



I can positively assert, that I have carefully in- 

 quired into the influence of the moon upon the sick 

 (luring tiie long time that I have practical mcd- 

 iciuo, and that I never perceived any relation be- 

 tween the moon and my patients : and all modern 

 physicians have come to a similar result. It is in 

 respect to the influence of the moon, as in many 

 cases of reverie, we sec it only when we believe it. 



A gentleman who came passenger in the Doris, 

 from Liberia, gives of it a satisfactory account. 

 The colonists are in good health, and going on 

 prosperously. He describes their mode of living 

 as comfortable, even to luxury, the tables of many 

 who had arrived there pennylo£s, being covered 

 with the greatest abundance, including wine and 

 other luxuries. It will be observed that the Col- 

 onization Society proposes to fit out an expedition 

 soon as practicable, and v/e hope that the number 

 of those who are willing to visit the "land of 



promise," may be such as to meet their wishes 



.'V. Y. Inquirer. 



In 1829, 88,000 tons of American shipping were 

 employed in the Haytien trade. The imports from 

 the U. S. amounted to 0,000,000 dolls. In J 826, 

 the tons of shipping in this trade were reduced to 

 13,000 and amount of imports to about one million. 



It is stated in the Portsmouth Journal that a few 

 husheh of peaches, from Newton, Mass. were read- 

 ily sold in that market on Friday, at three dollars 

 a bushel. 



^ Ducking. — A young man, whose credit had 

 been rather better than his conduct proves it 

 should have been, left the town of Mayfield, in 

 this county, on Saturday last, and made for the 

 canal with a view of being drawn out of the reach 

 of his creditors. Unluckily for him there was one 

 among them sharp set enough to discover his 

 track, and who pursued and overtook him at Voor- 

 hees' lock. At the first glimpse the runaway re- 

 cognised his pursuer, and dove into the canal. — 

 He bent his eyes wishfully to the shores but alas ! 

 on both, he perceived those whom he was well 

 satisfied were watching an opportunity to nab 

 him. After remaining in the w-ter about half an 

 hour, and being nearly exhausted ho landed and 

 gave himself up, in rather a watery condition, and 

 trembling like an aspen leaf. His creditor, who 

 was a merciful man. made him turn down a good 

 horn of w hiskey to keep the cold from striking to 

 his stomach, and he in return paid the debt and 

 took up his line of march for the Ohio. 



Johtstoicn Herald. 



Explosion. — Last evening, a lad employed in a 

 grocery store in this village, while engaged in 

 drawing some rum for a customer, snuffed his 

 candle, throwing the snuff down into some rum 

 that had leaked out. It immediately took fire, 

 communicated with the stream running into the 

 measure, and burst the barrel, making a lieavy 

 report, and scattering the burning liquid to the 

 four quarters of the room. The building was 

 threatened with immediate destruction, but was 

 saved by timely exertion. Query-Happose the 

 case a little different — in place of the barrel put 

 the body of an " incorrigible toper" and imagine 



his throat, the fasset ; and then suppose that while 

 " quaffing the deep libation," in that moment of 

 drunkard's ectacy, a candle should be brought in 

 contact with his beloved beverage — .what possi 

 blc diflTerence could there be in its'l^fects ? 



Lockporl paper. 



hACE. 

 A school, for the purpose of instructing young 

 ladies in the working, of lace, has been establisheii 

 at Newburyport. 



Philadelphia .Arcade — The stores in the At 

 cade, says the Aurora, were rented at auction 

 yesterday morning. All on the eastern side ol 

 the eastern avenue, and those on the western side 

 of the western avenue, on the basement story, 

 were rented at from 200 to $400 each. Three 

 in the centre, on the same story, .$400. That un- 

 der the stairs, fronting on Chesnut-street, $180 

 and one up stairs at $160. The remainder of the 

 stores will be disposed of at private sale. Imme- 

 diately after the sale, 15 shares of the stock were 

 sold at $112 a share at auction. 



We are pleased to learn that nine Farms have 

 already been entered for the premiums to be a- 

 warded at the next Cattle Show and fair of the 

 Hartford Agricultural Society. This we under- 

 stand is a greater number than has been viewer- 

 in any former year. 



Speed. Yesterday the steam packet Indepen- 

 dence arrived in this city from New York, one 

 minute before 5 P. M. having made the passage 

 in 1) hours, snd stopped at the different landings. 

 This, we believe, is the quickest passage evei 

 made between the two cities. [Albany Argus 

 Sept. 6.] 



A mortal sickness prevails in some parts of thc- 

 county of Oswego, N. Y. particularly among the 

 labourers on the Oswego canal. — Many persons 

 die, and in one instance five died in one building, 

 on the same day. 



CUTTING ICE. 



At a recent meeting of the London Society of 

 Arts, Lieut. Hood, of the British Navy, received 

 the large silver medal, for an ice saw for clearing 



a channel for ships navigating through the ice. 



This saw should be known in the United States. 



The signs of the times are excellent at St. Lou- 

 is- Health is perfect, business active, labour is 

 demanded and pay ready. About 130 steamboat 

 ariivals, which have taken place during the seas 

 on, attest the extent of our commerce. Buildinrr 

 goes on rapidly, but not to keep pace with the de- 

 mand for houses. Every tenement is in requisi- 

 tion. On the other hand crops are good, provis- 

 ions are cheap, excellent and abundant. In a 

 word, signs were inper to good it St. Louis, be- 

 fore. [So writes the Missouri Observer, and we 

 reprint the article with pleasure. These are the 

 true "signs of the times." Signs which gratify 

 the patriot's pride, and fill with gladness, the heart 

 of the philanthropist.] — JV. Y. Enquirer. 



Northern Lights\\z.veheen visible several even- 

 ings of the past and present month. On Satur- 

 day evening they were peculiary brilliant, the 

 corruscations e.xtending many degrees to the S. 

 of the "solitary star." 



