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the public mind to giye more attention to this suggestion,which we thus venture once more to press upon their notice,although it has certainly been already put forward sufficientlyoften.
As regards other influences attributed to the Moon , we mayremark that we do not believe that any proof has yet beengiven that it rules the weather, or that it has any importantpower over health or disease. Moon-blindness, aud othersimilar effects, are in general caused by the cold produced byradiation during exposure, not to the Moon ’s rays, but to aclear and unclouded nocturnal sky. Any apparent synchronismof the Moon ’s movements with the periodicity of the paroxysmsof lunacy, or of other diseases, is probably, in most cases, eitherfortuitous, or is the result in the nervous system of a belief insuch an effect, the belief causing its own apparent confirma-tion. There may, however, also be some cases in which thecomparative absence of darkness during the nights near to thetime of Full Moon may help to increase sleeplessness, andconsequently aggravate the symptoms of mental disorder.
But as regards the weather, it really seems absurd to speakof any connection between its chauges and those of theMoon ’s phase. For the weather (at any rate in England) isalmost always changing; and the Moon ’s phase does notchange by jumps, four times iu a month, from new to half-full, from half-full to full, and so on, but is also always andcontinuously changing.
Those who believe that the phases of New, Full, and HalfMoon in general affect the weather, may also be so good as tonotice that such phases recur at intervals of about every sevendays. If therefore (as we believe we have seen stated) thechange of weather be considered to follow, or precede, any ofthese special phases within two days, the probability is infavour of such apparent coincidences being very frequent, evenif they really have nothing to do with the Moon . Or to putit somewhat differently, it is very likely indeed, that, on one ofa certain group of four days out of every seven, there will besome decided change in English weather.
It may also be asked, in the case of occasional periods of