538 Harvest Moon. 
ing full moon the dlfFerence is greater, but yet so much less than 
is usual, that it has long been noticed, and the phenomenon is 
called the Hunter^s Moon, because it favors the pursuits of the 
hunter. The same cause is then operating as before. Indeed the 
constellation Aries always rises at a small angle with our horizon, 
and is of course attended with this result, but no attention is paid 
to it unless when the moon rises at or near its full in this con- 
stellation, and this happens in the months of September and Oc- 
tober. 
To us there is no reason for calling the full moon in September 
by its well known designation in England, of harvest moon, be- 
cause our grain harvest has long been past, and that of Indian 
corn has not begun at that time. But in England the fact is 
otherwise, as their corn, meaning wheat, rye, barley and oats, is 
not wholly harvested at the autumnal equinox. A Liverpool 
paper of Sept. 18th, stated that the " weather has been favorable 
for harvesting for some days past, and a large proportion of the 
harvest has been gathered, and a few more such days will secure 
the whole." A Hull paper of Oct. 13th, has the statement that 
in consequence of the pleasant weather, nearly all the harvest 
was then secured. The full moon near the equinox, is in Eng- 
land emphatically the harvest moon. 
In the state of New York, the harvesting of wheat, rye and 
barley is in July, and of oats only a little later; in states more 
southern, it is still earlier. 
The cause of this difference is to be traced to difference of the 
climate. 
In England, the mean temperature of the year is greater by 
several degrees than in our state, and the atmosphere contains 
more vapor. The fall of rain is more frequent, and there are 
more cloudy days. The summer months are not so hot as ours, 
and there is less difference between the temperatures of midday 
and night. In a more uniform and not a very high temperature, 
the progress of vegetation is even slower; while our hot days 
bring forward our grains with great rapidity. In England, the 
spring is earlier and wheat gives an earlier promise than here; 
but, for the reasons just given, it advances much slower. Our 
wheat was nearly ripe this season, when the English papers stated 
that the heads had just begun to appear there. The same causes 
make the heads slow in filling and in coming to maturity. 
The same reasons account for the fact, that Indian corn can not 
be raised in England. The season is longer far than ours for its 
maturing, but is not hot enough, even with its length, for ripen- 
ing the kernels. Nothing can be more striking than the fact of 
the rapid growth of Indian corn, in a few of our hottest days in 
J uly and August. It seems as if the earth, atmosphere and sun, 
