Evening Republican, Volume 19, Number 256, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 28 October 1915 — Crops Not Affected by Moon. [ARTICLE]

Crops Not Affected by Moon.

Scientists are now convinced that the moon has no more influence on crops than it has upon the temperature or the amount of rain or the winds or any other weather element. The growth of plants depends upon the amount of food in the soil and in the air that is available them and upon temperature, light, and moisture. The moon obviously does not affect the character of the soil in any way, neither does it affect the composition of the atmosphere. The only remain ing way in which it could influence plant growth, therefore, is by its light. Recent experiments, however, show that full daylight is about 600,000 times brighter than full moonlight, yet when a plant gets l-100th part of normal daylight it thrives little better than in absolute darkness. If l-100th part of normal daylight is thus too little to stimulate a plant, it seems quite certain that a 600,000 th part can not have any effect at all. It is therefore a mere waist of lime to think about the moon in connection with the planting of crops. The moon, says, the scientists, has nothing more to do with the building of fences, the time for killing hogs, or ay other of the Innumerable things over which It waa once supposed to exert a strong influence. ■" An alarm indicator tor firemen has been invented thabswitchos an incandescent tamp at a point on a map corresponding witß the place, from whicl tbs alarm cornea.