Designed to improve all Classes interested in Soil Culture 
AGRICULTURE IS THE MOST HEALTHFUL, THE MOST USEFUL, AND THE MOST NOBLE EMPLOYMENT OF MAN —WASHINGTON 
JRANOE JUDD, A. HE., 
EDITOR AND PROPRIETOR. 
« $1.00 PER ANNUM, IN ADVANCE. 
I SINGLE NUMBERS 10 CENTS. 
VOL. XVIII.-NO, 3.] NEW-YORK, MARCH, 1859. [new series-No. i 4 6. 
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^’Contents, Terms, 4c. on pascs 91, 96. 
[copy BIGHT SECURED.] 
Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1858, 
by Orange Judd, in the Clerk’s Office of the District 
Court of the United States for the Southern District of 
Nevv-York. 
13* N. B.—Every Journal is invited freely to copy 
any and all desirable articles, and no use or advantage 
will be taken of the Copy-Right, wherever each article 
or illustration is duly accredited to the American Agri¬ 
culturist. ORANGE JUDD, Proprietor. 
American ^tgviculturist in (German. 
The AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST is published in 
both the English and German Languages. Both 
Editions ara of Uniform size, and contain as 
nearly as possible the same Articles and Illustra¬ 
tions, The German Edition is furnished at the 
same rates as the English- 
March. 
The eighth, no less the ninth, with favoring skies, 
Speeds, of the increasing month, each rustic enterprise ; 
And on the eleventh let thy flocks be shorn. 
And on the twelfth be reaped thy laughing corn. 
On the thirteenth forbear to sow thy grain ; 
But then the plant shall not be set in vain. 
The sixteenth profitless to plants is deemed, 
Auspicious to the birth of men esteemed ; 
But to the virgin shall unprosperous prove 
Then born to light, or joined in wedded love. 
Hesiod's Days. 
We are accustomed to look upon these old 
omens of classic days as relics of a decayed su¬ 
perstition. Hesiod does but record the popular 
faith of his times, in these prophetic signs. Every 
day in the month had its good or ill omen, and 
date had much more to do with the success or 
failure of any enterprize, than any other circum¬ 
stance. Events were determined in the moon, 
rather than on earth, and human sagacity had its 
legitimate field of exercise in watching the moon 
for a good dinner, rather than the pot in which it 
was boiling. If the meat was killed and the cab¬ 
bage sowed in the right phase of the moon, some¬ 
thing worth eating might be expected; but if the 
jiatcr-familias has been careless in these respects, 
he might count upon very poor pot luck. Certain 
days were perilous, and a man had better lie still 
than to attempt any labor. 
“ Beware the fifth, with horror fraught and woe : 
’ ’Tis said the furies walk their round below, 
Avenging the dread oath ; whose awful birlli 
From discord rose, to scourge the perjured earth.” 
We frequently boast of our own as an enlight- 
ed age, and of the light of the nineteenth cen¬ 
tury as something particularly luminous. We 
look back with pity upon the superstitions of the 
Greeks, and yet if we studied the popular mind 
among us, we should probably find it about as 
much influenced by superstition as it was in the 
days of Hesiod and Homer. Indeed, some of 
their signs and omens have come down, in un¬ 
broken line of descent, to our own times. If one 
could gather up all these superstitious signs, as 
they are now found in the homes of the laboring 
classes, they would make a large volume. Many 
of them are of Grecian and Roman origin, while 
more still come down from the days of the Druids. 
Some were imported from Germany, and Ireland, 
and have found new life by our firesides. 
The influence of the moon upon the weather is 
fully believed in, probably, by the large majority 
of our population. If the weather is foul, no 
change is anticipated until the moon quarters. 
The new moon is particularly efficacious in bring¬ 
ing changes. This luminary also foreshadows 
the character of the weather by the angle at 
which its horns make their appearance in refer¬ 
ence to the horizon. If the crescent holds water 
like a bowl—then look out for dry times. But if 
the crescent dips, so as to let the water out, look 
out for foul weather and floods! The Almanac 
makers are supposed to be on particularly good 
terms with the moon, and to have got all the se¬ 
crets out of her, for the year ahead. The prog¬ 
nostics of snow, rain, wind, thunder and light¬ 
ning, found in these household annuals, are by 
some people still received with as undoubting 
faith as the articles of the creed. It matters not 
that the lightning or the hot term is but a week 
too early or too late in July, the Almanac is none 
the less a veritable prophet. 
So also particular days in the month or week are 
supposed to have a controlling influence over the 
subsequent days. When the first Sunday in the 
month is rainy, rain will fall on all the following 
Sabbaths. The last Friday in each month is 
called the Almanac day for the next month. If 
clear, cloudy, rainy or windy, it determines the 
character of the succeeding month. The twelve 
days that follow Christmas, are also prophetic of 
the comin-g months of the year. If the first is 
clear and cold, January will have like weather 
We have seen an Almanac made out in due form, 
following this guide. The indices were twelve 
circles over the kitchen fire place, in chalk marks. 
If the day was clear, the circle was left unspot¬ 
ted. If rainy and cloudy, the circle was filled up 
with chalk to the extent to which the rain pre¬ 
vailed. This stood till the next Christmas, when 
it was rubbed out to make room for another. This 
made a very summary guide to the weather, and 
just as reliable as any thing the astronomer could 
give us. 
But the moon has also a great influence over 
vegetable and animal life. Many a man, intelli¬ 
gent in other things, will watch the phase of the 
moon to sow his onions this Spring. If the old 
of the moon ends with the last day of March—the 
sowing will be put off three weeks or more till 
the old of the moon in April. The seed would 
not sprout well, and they would all run to tops, 
unless an old moon shone on the seed time. So 
in sowing the later crops, this luminary must be 
consulted in order to have good luck. Beans, 
peas, squashes and cucumbers planted in the new 
moon, run to vines with inevitable certainty. Its 
influence is quite as powerful upon animal life. 
That your pork may swell in the pot, always 
butcher in the increase of the moon. If this be 
done after the full, there will be a collapse in the 
salt junk, no matter how much corn and meal may 
have been put into the cellular tissue ! 
The sun also has a mysterious influence over 
the animal functions, and its place in the signs of 
the zodiac must be studied, to fix the time of 
successful breeding and yeaning. The sun in a 
certain sign, makes the altering of males a suc¬ 
cess, while in another it brings peril and death. 
The weather and care of the animal under treat¬ 
ment are supposed to be matters of secondary im¬ 
portance. 
The superstition in regard to Friday is as wide¬ 
spread as the Christian religion, and is undoubt¬ 
edly owing to church traditions in the dark ages' 
From the reputed death of Christ on Friday it is 
supposed that that day is tinged with a melan¬ 
choly hue, for all coming time. Multitudes of 
intelligent people never leave home or begin any 
new enterprize on this day. All accidents and evils 
come to them on Friday. Sailors, universally, are 
influenced by this superstition. To break down 
this belief, the ship owners in one. of our seaports 
laid the keel of a vessel on Friday, launched it on 
Friday, named it Friday, and had her sail on Fri¬ 
day. As she had a competent captain and crew, 
she proved to be a very fortunate vessel, notwith¬ 
standing the tradition. 
It may be thought that these and kindred su¬ 
perstitions are harmless, but as they stand in the 
place of truth, they must always work evil to the 
mind that receives them. The true faith for the 
farmer and for every man is, that he is the maker 
of his own fortune, and the maker of his own des¬ 
tiny. If he prepare the soil well, and sow his 
crops seasonably, he will secure good harvests 
without reference to the phases of the moon. Il 
he is careless of these points, it is lunacy to ex¬ 
pect that the moon will save him from loss. If 
he fatten his beef and pork on corn meal, he need 
never fear the influence of the moon upon his 
corned meats. They will come to the fable plump 
and swollen, showing the power of the meal bar¬ 
rel much more distinctly than the power of the 
moon. The whole tendency of these supersti¬ 
tions is in favor of routine farming. There is lit¬ 
tle occasion for investigation and forethought, 
where the moon and the Almanac rule all farm 
operations. The teachings of science and of ex¬ 
perience can come in to mold our husbandry, only 
as these miserable superstitions are driven out 
But their domain is already broken. The light 
of a better day is shining in upon the dark re¬ 
gions of superstition. Men and women are learn¬ 
ing to perform their labors at the best season and 
in the best manner, regardless of any imaginary 
Lunar or Solar influence. 
