METHODS OF FORECASTTl^G THE WEATHER. 155 



in the power of iittraction." You will see at once without further 

 explanation that this i« not a tena])le principle for weather predictions. 

 Servus himself, for the purpose of preparing weather predictions, has 

 been oblioed to call in the sun and moon to his aid as causes of the 

 disturbance in the condition of the interior of the earth. In this way 

 his method approaches so nearly to that of Zenger and those of the 

 lunar prophets that we need not treat of it separatel3\ 



But Professor Lamprecht has shown us in a most startling manner 

 how far one may be led awa}^ l)}^ adopting a priori causes for the 

 changes of weather without a sufficient basis of experience. By 

 analyzing a series of observations for several 3^ears he has discovered 

 five periods in weather processes, one of 12^ days, one of 12|f days, 

 one of 13y\ days, one of 14f days, and one of 29f days. Before pass- 

 ing on I must just tell you that one can, according to his method, 

 compute periods of almost any length desired. This is not objection- 

 able; but he now proceeds immediately to find the causes for these 

 periods, which were really only computed and not at all furnished by 

 experience, and, since he sincerely wished it, he found them. We can 

 only be astonished at the boldness of his hypothesis. He assumes 

 the earth to be surrounded b}" five rings, similar to the rings of 

 Saturn, and that their periods of rotation and temporary relations to 

 one another are the causes of his weather periods. Lamprecht repre- 

 sented to himself the existence of these imaginary rings in such a 

 manner that he immediately endowed the rings with names, giving 

 them successively the following magnificent names: Emperor William 

 ring, Moltke ring, Bismarck ring, Copernicus ring, King Albert ring. 



An old and by far the most widespread method of weather predic- 

 tion is based on the idea, which is 1 might say universal among man- 

 kind," that the heavenly bodies have an influence on everj-thing which 

 takes place on the earth, and particularly upon the weather. The 

 moon is that one which was supposed to more especially influence the 

 weather, although this power was attributed to the planets also, so 

 that each one produces a certain kind of weather, and therefore 

 divides the year into damp, dr}^ stormy, quiet periods, etc., accord- 

 ing as one or the other planet is the "" ruler for the year." The moon 

 is credited with the principal dominator of the changes of the weather. 

 The weather is supposed to change by preference with the moon; 

 th(M-efore the new moon and the full moon especially possess the 

 power of influencing the weather, and one of the most widel}' spread 

 weather rules is that the weather changes with the new moon and the 



« Astrology seems to have been specially cultivated in Mesopotamia and to have 

 been spread north, south, and west by Sanskrit, (ireek, and Aral) indueiices. It is 

 peculiarly Asiatic and Eurojiean. Tliere is no record of its having had any great 

 intlnence among the Chinese, Malays, or American Indians. It can, therefore, 

 hardly be spoken of as uni\ersal amung mankind. — Ed. 



