The Old Farmer's Almanac 1998 [1998 ed.] 1571980466, 9781571980465

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ALL NEW! Facts, Features, and Fun for 1998

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Although we did not predict the magnitude of several other extreme weather conditions, our forecasts at least pointed

For example, we said “warm” for the record warm temperatures in the East in February, “heavy rain” before and during the flooding in the Pacific Northwest, and “rain and snow” for the locally heavy rains that flooded Louisville, Kentucky. Our forecast for the Fargo, North Dakota, area and the north-

The 1998 Edition of

The Old Farmer’s Almanac Established in 1792 and published every year thereafter

Robert

in the right direction.

ern Great Plains called for

much

colder

weather than normal in March and April, with above-normal precipitation. But to say our forecast accurately predicted the tragic and record flooding would not be appropriate nor altogether correct. hearts

go out

everyone

So

—

to all our readers

Our

— and

in that devastated area.

you have our weather predicoh, yes, tions, our hole situation, and there’s one more thing: We wish to thank John T. O’Malley of Sterling, Massachusetts, for instigating and overseeing (comthere

—

pletely as a labor of love) the restoration

of the gravestone of our founder, Robert B.

Thomas (1766-1846), who is buried in

Legge Cemetery at the intersection of Route 140 and Dana Hill Road in Sterling. The professional stonework was expertly done by A. Rogonini of nearby Clinton, who, at the same time, restored the stone of Robert B.’s wife, Hannah Beaman the

Thomas (1774-1855).

After years of ne-

and vandalism, both gravestones are now properly mounted, cleaned, restored and handsome! glect

—

Now,

as usual,

we

will close with the

following words of Robert B. self,

Thomas him-

used since 1819 to end this page. J. D. H. (June 1997)

However,

it is

by our works and not our words that

we would be judged. These, we hope, will sustain us in the

humble though proud station we have so long

held in the

name

B.

Thomas

(1766-1846)

FOUNDER EDITOR (12th since 1792): Judson D. Hale MANAGING EDITOR: Susan Peery

Sr.

Tim Clark ART DIRECTOR: Margo Letoumeau EXECUTIVE EDITOR:

COPY EDITOR: Ellen Bingham ASSISTANT MANAGING EDITOR: Mare-Anne Jarvela SENIOR ASSOCIATE EDITOR: Debra Sanderson

SENIOR CONSULTING EDITOR: Mary Sheldon RESEARCH EDITORS: Maude Salinger, Randy Miller ASTRONOMER: Dr. George Greenstein SOLAR PROGNOSTICATOR: Dr. Richard Head WEATHER PROGNOSTICATOR: Michael A. Steinberg WEATHER GRAPHICS AND CONSULTATION: Accu-Weather, Inc. ARCHIVIST:

Loma Trowbridge

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS: Jamie Kageleiry; Bob Berman, Astronomy; Castle Freeman Jr., Farmer’s Calendar

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Joseph B. Meagher, President; Judson D. Hale Sr., Senior Vice President; Brian Piani, Vice President and Chief Financial Officer; Jody Bugbee,

John Pierce, Joe Timko, and Sherin Wight, Vice Presidents.

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Old Farmer’s Almanac

9

SAt

SAG SAG CAP

10 1998

±m The text heading the calendar page is 6 * Length of Days. This column denotes a summary of the sky sightings for the how long the Sun will be above the horimonth. These astronomical highlights appear on each month’s calendar page.

2* The

Moon’s

dates and times of the

phases for the month. (For more see Glossary, page 42.)

3

details,

length of day.

The days of the year, month, and week are listed on each calendar page. The tra«

ditional ecclesiastical calendar designation for

—E

Sunday

for 1997,

—

the Dominical Letter

D for 1998 — is used by the

Almanac. (For further explanation, see Glossary, page 42.)

4

zon in Boston for each day of the month. To determine the length of any given day in your locality, follow the procedure outlined in #5 above to determine the sunrise and sunset times for your city. Then add 12 hours to the time of sunset and subtract the time of sunrise, and you will have the

.

Sunrise and sunset times

EDT)

for

(EST

Example:

Sunset, Miami, Florida, Nov.

Add

5:34

1

+12:00

12 hours

T7y34~ Subtract sunrise, Miami, Nov.

Length of day, Miami, Nov. (11 hr., 02 min.)

-

1

6:32 1 1

1

:02

or

Boston for each day of the

month.

Key Letter columns. The letters in these two columns are designed to correct to other localities the sunrise/sunset times

given for

Boston. Note that each sunrise/sunset time

has a

Key

Letter.

The values

(that

is,

the

number of minutes) assigned to these Key

7

The Sun Fast column is designed change sundial time into clock time .

Boston.

A

to in

sundial reads natural, or Sun,

Tables, page 214. Simply find your city, or the city nearest you, in the tables, and

which is neither Standard nor Daylight time except by coincidence. Simply subtract the minutes given in the Sun Fast column to get Boston clock time, and use Key Letter

Key Let-

C in the Time Correction Tables (page 214)

Letters are given in the

Time Correction

locate the value in the appropriate

time,

column. Add or subtract those minutes to the sunrise or sunset time given for Boston. (Because of the complexities of calculation for different locations, times may not be precise to the minute.)

to correct the time for

Example:

Sundial reading, Nov. 1 (Boston or Denver) Subtract Sun Fast (p. 34)

- 32 minutes

Clock time, Boston

1 1

ter

To find the time of sunrise in Atlanta, Georgia, on November 1, 1997: Sunrise, Boston, with

D (p. 34) Value of Key Letter D for Key

(p.

To change sundial time into clock time in Boston, Massachusetts, or Denver, Colorado, on November

the

same procedure

time of sunset.

1,

Use Key

1997:

C for Denver

12:00 noon

+

:28 a.m.,

EST

15 minutes

(p.215)

+40 minutes

214)

Sunrise, Atlanta

1998

EST

city.

Example:

Letter

Atlanta

Use

6:18 a.m.,

your

6:58 a.m.,

EST

to determine the

Clock time, Denver

8

1 1

:43 a.m.,

MST

This column denotes the declination (angular distance from the celestial equator) of the Sun in degrees and minutes, at noon, EST or EDT. .

Old Earmer’s Almanac

35

9

daily high tides in « Boston, for morning and evening, are recorded in this column. (“3” under “Full

The times of

Sea Boston, a.m.” on November 6 means that the high tide that morning will be at 3:00 — with

the height in feet of the high

shown for some of the dates on the Right-Hand Calendar Pages. Where a dash is shown under Full Sea, it indicates

tides

that time of high water occurs on or after midnight and so is recorded on the next

Tide corrections for some localities can be found in the Tide Correction Tables on page 210. date.)

10

Moonrise and moonset times (EST or EDT) for Boston for each day of the month. (Dashes indicate that moonrise or moonset occurs on or after midnight and so is recorded on the next date.) •

the

same procedure

to

determine

the time of moonset.

12

The Moon’s Place denoted in this column is its astronomical place, i.e., its .

actual placement, in the heavens. (This should not be confused with the Moon’s astrological place in the zodiac, as explained on page 170.) All calculations ini

Almanac, except for the astrological information on pages 166-170, are based on astronomy, not astrology. this

In addition to the 12 constellations of the

astronomical zodiac, five other abbrevia-

may

tions

appear in this column: Auriga

(AUR), a northern constellation between Perseus and Gemini; Cetus (CET), which south of the zodiac, just south of Pisces and Aries; Ophiuchus (OPH), a constella-

lies

tion primarily north of the zodiac but with

11 • Key Letter columns. These columns

a small comer between Scorpius and Sagittarius; Orion (ORI), a constellation whose

designate the letters to be used to correct

northern limit

to other localities the

same procedure

moonrise/moonset

As explained

times for Boston.

in #5, the

for calculating sunrise/

used except that an additional correction factor based on longitude (see table below) should be used. For the longitude of your city, consult the Time Correction Tables, page 214. sunset

tween Taurus and Gemini; and Sextans (SEX), which lies south of the zodiac except for a

comer

89° 90°-102°

+2 +3 +4 +5 +6

103°-115°

116°-127° 128°-141° 142°-155°

that just touches

it

near Leo.

of the

of moonrise in Akron, 1997:

Moonrise, Boston, with Letter

Value of Key

E

34) Letter E

The last column lists the Moon’s age, which is the number of days since the previous new Moon. (The average length of the lunar month is 29.53 days.) •

7:

urther astronomical data can be

found on page 48, which eclipses for the

upcoming

principal meteor showers,

Example:

To determine the time Ohio, on November 1,

13

F

0 +1

IT-

14 a.m.,

EST

(p.

+37

minutes

(p. 214) Correction for Akron longitude 81° 31'

+

minute

Moonrise, Akron

7:52 a.m.,

for

reaches the zodiac be-

Correction minutes

58°- 76°

Key

first

is

Longitude of city

36

Use

Akron

1

EST

full

lists

the

year, the

and the dates

Moon over a five-year period.

The Visible Planets (pages 46-47) lists selected times for observing Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, and Mercury for 1998; page 50 carries the transit times of the bright stars for 1998. Both feature Key Letters, designed to convert the Boston times given to those of other localities (see #5 and #11 above). The Twilight Zone on page 212 is a chart that enables you to calculate the length of twilight and the times of dawn and dark in your area.

Old Farmer’s Almanac

1998

0

The Right-Hand Calendar Pages

Ascension Day Whitsunday-Pentecost

May 21 May 3

Sunday

June 7 June 1 Nov. 29

Trinity

(Pages 61-87)

T

hese pages are a combination of astronomical data; specific dates in mainly the Anglican church calendar, inclusion of which has always been traditional in American and English almanacs (though we also include some other religious dates); tide heights at Boston (the

Left-Hand Calendar Pages include the daily times of high tides; the corrections for your locality are on page 210); quotations; anniversary dates; appropriate sea-

sonal activities; and a rhyming version of the weather forecasts for New England. (Detailed forecasts for the entire country are presented

1

on pages 120-149.)

The following list classifies some of the entries from the Right-Hand Calendar Pages, with a sample (the first part of November 1997) of a calendar page exAlmanac’s tradition, the Chronological Cycles and Eras for 1998 are listed. plained. Also, following the

Corpus Christi 1st Sunday in Advent

The Seasons of 1997-1998 FaU 1997

EDT Dec. 21, 3:07 p.m., EST Mar. 20, 2:55 p.m., EST June 21, 10:03 A.M., EDT Sept. 23, 1:37 a.m., EDT Dec. 21, 8:56 p.m., EST Sept. 22, 7:56 p.m.,

Winter 1997 Spring 1998 Summer 1998 Fall 1998 Winter 1998

....

Chronological Cycles for 1998 Golden Number (Lunar Cycle)

4

Epact

2

Solar Cycle

19

Dominical Letter

D

Roman Indiction

6 6711

Year of Julian Period..

Era

Year

Begins

Byzantine ,7507 Jewish (A.M.)* ,5759 Roman (A.U.C.) ,2751 Nabonassar 2747 Japanese 2658 Grecian (Seleucidae)... 2310

Sept. 14 Sept.

20

Jan. 14

Apr. 24 Jan.

1

Sept. 14 (or Oct. 14)

Indian (Saka) Islamic (Hegira)*

1920 1715 1419

Chinese (Lunar)

4696

Diocletian

Mar. 22 Sept. 11

Apr. 27 Jan.

28

(Tiger)

^Year begins at sunset

Determination of Earthquakes

^ Note the dates, on right-hand pages 6187,

when

the

“runs low.”

\IovABLE Feasts and Fasts for

1998

Septuagesima Sunday Shrove Tuesday

Feb. 24

\sh Wednesday Palm Sunday

Feb. 25 Apr. 5

3ood Friday

Apr. 1 Apr. 12 May 17

BasterDay P.ogation

1998

Sunday

Feb. 8

Moon

(C) “rides high” or

The date of the high begins the

most likely five-day period of earthquakes in the Northern Hemisphere; the date of the low indicates a similar five-day period Southern Hemisphere. You will also find on these pages a notation for Moon on the Equator (ay SufffUy! Fight High Cholesterol! and Reduce Your Risk of Heart Disease with All-Natural ;T*f

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Send 1998

toi

CITY

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Old Farmer’s Almanac

CA 91356 59

1

NOVEMBER, The Eleventh Month

1997

An extraordinary gathering ofplanets appears at nightfall. While their most dense concentration will occur early next month, now we can observe every planet in the solar system at once! Pluto requires a powerful telescope and good star chart, while Neptune and Uranus demand a telescope or binoculars. The rest stand brightly after sunset, stretched leftward along the solar system ’s plane (the zodiac) from south-

west to southeast. At nightfall, Venus is brightest and lowest, Jupiter far to its left, while less brilliant Saturn rises in the southeast. On the 3rd, the Moon, Mars, and Venus form a striking triangle in the southwest 45 minutes after sunset. J)

Quarter

First

O 9

Full

(X

Moon

7 th day

16th hour

43rd minute

14th day

9th hour

12th minute

Last Quarter

21st day

1

8th hour

58th minute

New Moon

29th day

21st hour

14th minute

Standard Time. For an explanation of this page, see “How to Use This Almanac, ” page 34; for values of Key Letters, see Time Correction Tables, page 214.

Times are given

4^

Length 0’S (U

r\

305 306 307 308 309 310 311 312 313 314 315 316 317 318 319 320 321 322 323 324 325 326 327 328 329 330 331 332 333 334

^

rs S' [—1

Rises h.

Sa. 6 18

2

E 6 19 M. 6 20

4 Tu. 6 21 5 W. 6 23 6 Th. 6 24 7 Fr. 6 25 8 Sa. 6 26 9 E 6 28 10 M. 6 29 11 Tu. 6 30 12 W. 6 31 13 Th. 6 33 14 Fr. 6 34 15 Sa. 6 35

16 E 6 36 17 M. 6 38 18 Tu. 6 39 19 W. 6 40 20 Th. 6 41 21 Fr. 6 42

22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30

Sa. 6

E 6 M. 6 Tu. 6 W. 6 Th. 6

h.

D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D

44 45 46 47 48 49 E

6 51 E Sa. 6 52 E E 6 53 E Fr.

of

Days

Sets

m.

1

3

(

,

(U

Q^ Q^ 1

© Rises

m.

M. 6 54 E 4

13

E M.

15

M.

16 Tu. 17 W. 18 Th. 19 Fr.

20 Sa.

E 22 M. 21

23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31

Tu.

W. Th. Fr.

Sa.

E M. Tu.

W.

55 E 4 12

56 57 58 59 7 00

E 4 12 E 4 12 E 4 12 E 4 12 E 4 12

01 E 02 E 03 E 03 E 04 E 05 E 06 E 7 06 E 7 07 E 7 08 E 7 08 E 7 09 E 7 10 E 7 10 E 7 11 E 7 11 E 7 12 E 7 12 E 7 12 E 7 12 E 7 13 E 7 13 E 7 13 E 7 13 E

7 9 Tu. 7 10 W. 7 11 Th. 7 12 Fr. 7 13 Sa. 7 14 E 7 8

m.

4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4

11 11

12

12 12 12 12 12 13

13 13

h.

A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A

14 14 14 A 15

15

16 17

18 18 19

20 21

21

of

Days

Sets h.

h.

2 Tu. 6 3 W. 6 4 Th. 6 5 Fr. 6 6 Sa. 6 7

Length >>

A A A A A A A A A A

m.

s « 00

tin

m.

in

Declination

Sea Boston

Full

of Sun

D

A.M.

P.M.

9 19 27 9 17 26

21s .52 Ill 22 01 121 121 9 16 26 22 10 1 11 9 15 26 22 17 11 2 9 14 25 22 25 21 21 9 13 25 22 32 3^ 31 9 12 24 22 39 Ai 41 9 10 24 22 46 5h. 51 9 09 23 22 52 6h 7 9 09 23 22 57 1\ 8 9 09 23 23 02 81 9 9 08 22 23 06 91 91 9 07 22 23 10 10 101 9 06 21 23 14 lOi 111 9 06 21 23 17 111 9 06 20 23 20 121 121 9 05 20 23 22 1 11 9 05 19 23 23 11 2 9 05 19 23 24 21 21 9 04 18 23 25 3^ 31 9 04 18 23 25 41 41 9 04 17 23 25 5 51 9 04 17 23 25 6 61 9 04 16 23 24 61 71 9 05 16 23 22 1\ 81 9 06 15 23 20 9 9 06 15 23 17 91 91 9 06 14 23 14 91 101 9 07 14 23 11 lOi 111 9 08 13 23 07 111 9 08 13 23s..03 12 12

Old Farmer’s Almanac

h.

D

>>

Rises

m.

mOI 8 55 9 45 10 30 8

D D

Sets h.

E E E E

Place

m.

OPH 6 55 B SAG 7 57 B SAG 9 02 C CAP 5 ^59 B

D 10 09 C AQU 11 Ci48 D 111S18 C AQU — AQU 12 ^24 D 12 58 D 12 kll D PSC 1 32 C 1 37 D PSC 2 09 C 2 47 E PSC 11

11

——

2 48 B 3 32 B 4 20 B 5 13 B 6 09 B 7 07 B 8 06 B 9 05 C 10 03 C

3 57

5 05

6 11 7 12 8 06

54 9 36 8

E ART E TAU E TAU E TAU E GEM E GEM E CAN E CAN

10 13 10 45 D

LEO 11 00 D 11 15 D LEO 11 131 D 11.^43 D LEO _____

D 1 52 D 2 50 E 3 50 E

12 Ci54

4 50 5 49 6 46 7 40

E E E E 8 ^i28 E

12 Sll c VtR 12 39 c VIR 1 1

09 c VIR 42 B LIB

2 18 B LIB 3 00 B

49 B 4 44 B 5 45 B 3

6 S51 B

SCO OPH SAG SAG SAG

CJ)


98

Fr.

c on

at

Sa.

D

St.

Robert B. Thomas _ bom, 1766 Anders Celsius . /1T3 • 112.0 • died, 1744

know

Eq. .

Mark • (X peng.

New#

lated to the physical condition of the it;

April

W.

• is af. Carter • I 92° F, New York 12 3 Ulysses S. Grant cruel. • bom, 1822 City, 1915 { ii's • 12.4 landed the Captain Cook Mutiny on f said * Bounty, 1789 * Tides ^ {j^;2 in Australia, 1770 1 1 1 .2 zipper Duke Ellington Modern . n the * patented, 1913 * St. Catherine * bom, 1889

Th.

vL high *

M. Tu.

rides

^

New York

Tides

World’s

Fair opened, 1939

™^®{l0.3

There are some people that if they don ’t know, - Louis Armstrong you ctin ’t tell ’em.

poet.

my own

pro-

duce, however old, as long as

it is

aged harvest. merely tough.

I’ll

Some

I

crops, though,

go over a semiliquid state. Those

like those of the

the hill into

eat

squash

tribe,

won’t touch. So the law, perhaps,

needs refining, as follows: If you grew it, and you can bring yourself to pick it

up,

Old Farmer’s Almanac

you

will eat

it.

71

MAY, The Fifth Month

1998

The crescent Moon performs two bright and striking conjunctions, meeting Jupiter on the 20th and a fading Venus on the 22nd. Venus meets Saturn on the 29th in a particularly close and eye-catching encounter, low in the east in morning twilight. Both will fit in the same low-power telescope field. Saturn ’s rings show their greatest tilt in six years and will be spectacularfrom now through the end of the year. This is also the time ofyear when space satellites are most visible; you can see one crossing the sky every minute or two during the first hour after nightfall.

D

3 rd day

6th hour

4 th minute

11th day

10th hour

29 th minute

Last Quarter

19 th day

0 hour

35 th minute

New Moon

25 th day

15 th hour

32 nd minute

First

O C •

Full

Quarter

Moon

Time. For an explanation of this page, see “How to Use This Almanac, ” page 34; for values of Key Letters, see Time Correction Tables, page 214.

Times are given

O w

^4^

o

>,

Rises

4 08 5 05 6 03 7 00 7 58 8 55 9 52 10 45 11 S35

D D D E E E E E E

53 C 4 20 C 4 48 C 5 17 C

VIR VIR VIR VIR

5 49 B

LIB

3

6 24 B LIB 7 04 B OPH 7 49 B OPH 8 39 B SAG 9 35 B SAG 12 A 22 E 10 35 B CAP 1 04 E IF B AQU 1 42 E 12iUl C AQU 2 19 D 1 56 D AQU 2 53 D 3 07 D PSC 3 28 C 4 20 D CET 4 04 C 5 33 E PSC 4 43 C 6 46 E ARI 5 26 B 7 57 E TAU 6 14 B 9 04 E TAU 7 06 B 10 05 E TAU 8 03 B 10 58 E GEM 9 03 B 11 U3 E GEM 10 04 B CAN 11 n5 C 12 D LEO

Old Farmer’s Almanac

UO

m

u

< 5

6 7 8

9 10 11

12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19

20 21

22 23 24 25 26 27 28 0 1

2 3

4 5

6

199

:

MAY hath 31

The

glittering leaves of the rhododendrons Balance and vibrate in the cool air; While in the sky above them White clouds chase each other.

Farmer’s Calendar May 15. Wasting time in

1

2 Sa. 3

D

4 M. 5 Tu.

n Sts.

St.

...

n

Philip

,

•

& James

3rtS..af.«EaSter*5r‘S"o.,*

13

W.

14 Th. 15 Fr.

16 Sa. 17 D 18 M. 19 Tu.

22

Fr.

23 Sa. 24 D 25 M.

26 Tu. 27 W. 28 Th. 29 Fr. 30 Sa. 31 1998

D

flO.5

{9.?

9.4

I

’

foist.

»

Warmer

-

St.

New York,

1789

.

*1/

*1945 *19.8 apo. • 1945 Pnrtlf^nH Orpann Portland, Oregon, / '

Li

•

to

bless 9.4

894 • IIO.O* US', George Vancouver * CVCn af. toter • died, 1798 Martha Graham cold bom, 1894 { 9.5 • Y0.3 • showers 9.5

4ft Three

latest freeze,

Nature is the art of God. John D. Rockefeller donated $100,000,000 to * establish the Rockefeller Foundation, 1913 Joseph Pulitzer

III

cannot

*

,

dCprCSS

mns ^ Li low *

f 10.3 U.S. Dept, of Agriculture * Ddesy q g • created by Congress, 1862 First U.S. five-eent coin Life is short and * so is money. authorized, 1866

Day

Helens / 10.0 * I 9.4 (Canada) * empted, i980

St Dnnstan • ,

are

(5WCL*6stat.*d$C[ Mount

Victoria

St.

C S •snow,

,

bursting

with

6

a.

10 inches

Stafford,

^

f 10.0

.

^

,

Vermont, 1892 1 10.0 VlOlCtS flO.l on American Red Cross , * 110.6 *ana Ascension * Li Eq. * founded, 1881 Sir Arthur Conan Doyle / 10.4 ^ , * 1 11.1 * VCtch: bom, 1859 at There are spots / 10-6 _ jr Ddesy^jg* Liperig. * even on the Sun.* [j

d9(X ist St.

at.

9st. •

Bede •Memorial

d

(2 • Tides {} 2 ;§ • daisies

Day* New

*

Tides

10.9 12.2

•

were

• dollars, St. Augustine of Canterbury • bor^, i9^^7"^ The Golden Gate Bridge opened, r,,., / 12.2 _ ,, * We d 110.7 * San Francisco, Calif., 1937 Orthodox Ascension •

(X

•Pat(?*d9h

Island became Wisconsin became * 30th state, 1 848 13th state, 1790 It is easier to. find a traveling companion than to get rid of one.

Rhode

Wljtt

spotted

I

them

at last, a

very high. They were

river,

I

saw

no more all day. For Canada geese and at least some other famous migrators, and for those who watch them pass, spring has a very different action from the fall. fall,

the geese

move through

by thousands, by ten thousands. All day long the sky is full of them. The long lines of geese, distantly honking,

move

south overhead, one after an-

• ^enteco£ft • Shavuot

worthy of a railroad, recalling the Pin Stripe Limiteds that carry the day’s commuters to Penn Station and Grand Central. On a good goose afternoon in October, you can see a flight almost any time you want to look up. other, with a regularity

In the spring, the situation

Meadows

3l^gatuin

I

1

•c59h*c5cf©*{ * bom, 1913

thought

the first I’d seen that year, and

In the

begin 9.2 9.5

/ * “aes|

V-E Day,

at

rr

Gre^oiyofNazianzus •

Chilly

days ,

,

First President’s Inaugural Ball,

•

at

'

V

^

20 W. 6^(L 21 Th.

'

Elong. Audrey Hepburn * (27° W.) • bom, 1929 star • Cy Young pitched baseball’s f 9.2 * 19.1 * vk atoo * third perfect game, 1904 Great talkers are like leaky pitchers, t,. f 9.1 * Tides I 9.3 • everything runs out of them.

.1 T .. D »T Julian of Norwich •

12 Tu.

Moist

'

xGr.

8 Fr.

M.

Day • ,

on ^ Li Eq.

11

Mother Jones bom, 1830

Lou Gehrig played his recordAthanasius * making 2 fsoth game, 1939

6 W. 7 Th. 9 Sa. 10 D

— then

over the

May

I

small flight of 10 or 12 heading north

Aspects, Tide Heights

d Fr.

ing

Weather

Dates, Feasts, Fasts,

the

heard geese overhead. Looked aloft and saw nothwoodlot,

- John Gould Fletcher

s d

1998

days.

Roughly the same numbers of geese return north in the spring as go south in the fall, right? But where are they? In April and May,

all

be .

,

• rich.

see a

two one day, then no more geese till the next week. There are few or no days when they pass like armies of the should

this

air,

be?

as in the

fall.

Why

Do the geese go north

by a different route? I don’t think so, for you do see some in spring.

Hawks,

I

known

believe, are

to fly

south in flocks but to fly north less

conspicuously, singly or in pairs.

tle,

rii.o 9.8 10.4 9.5

I’ll

flight or

by night

fll.S

* llO.l

other-

wise.

geese do the same?

•

is

Do they fly more

in spring? I’ve read

up a

lit-

looking for the answer here, but

only a

little. I

find

it’s

a mystery I’m

not eager to put an end

Old Farmer’s Almanac

Do

to.

73

JUNE, The Sixth Month

1998

Morning conjunctions are getting easier to see as the two largest and most telescopically interesting planets climb higher each dawn and stand nicely visible in the east well before sunrise. Look for a fatter, higher crescent Moon meeting Jupiter on the morning of the 1 7th and Saturn on the 19th. The summer solstice occurs at 10:03 A.M., EDT, on the 21st. As if to celebrate, the Moon stands near Venus on that day; both float quite low in the morning twilight just ahead of the sunrise. The full Moon of June 10 is the lowest of the year, barely climbing 25 degrees for obday

21st hour

45 th minute

10th day

0 hour

18th minute

Last Quarter

17 th day

6th hour

38th minute

New Moon

23rd day

23rd hour

50th minute

2»

First Quarter

O

Full

C

1st

Moon

Times are given

in Eastern Daylight

Time.

For an explanation of this page, see “How to Use This Almanac, ” page 34; for values of Key Letters, see Time Correction Tables, page 214. Len gth

O >\ cd

•*-»

o-«

^

ca

'mal (or tear) band, they will contain

i

—

much prolactin in your system cein become cr>'ing is a way of cleansing the bexjy of this

glands. Tex') toxic, so

during stress, just as

irritant tears

Women average

help cleanse the eye

cries

a month.

men

cry,

hard

to tell

I

i

;

i

:

5.3

When

of smoke, onion fumes, or a stray eyelash.

The

fact that

crying flushes

away excess

prolactin

during stress probably accounts for the fact that 85 percent of women and 73 percent of men say they feel

and why some studies even indicate that men who do not cry, or who consider crying a sign of weakness, are more apt to suffer stress-re-

it’s

often

—

usually

better after crying,

such as

lated illnesses

colitis.

Imagine the woman, sink again. are,

let’s

We’ve discovered

not

name

her Nadia,

at

many

Chances four times more often

dom

—

women avNo surprise When men cry, it’s often hard to tell

than her ogre of a husband.

erage 5.3 cries a month.

many

tears escape

down

but

tears escape

the

that she’s sad.

she cries emotional tears

eyes brim, but not

their eyes brim,

their face.

—

usually their

their face.

Before puberty, boys and girls cry about the same amount. Then, by some combination of a “big boys don’t cry” culture (at least in this country) and biological differences,

women

pull

way

ahead.

Men’s and women’s

tear glands

something else that may cause women to cry more that sneaky prolactin again. Not only is the hormone present during emotional times, it’s crucial in promoting the secretion of milk. Women need prolactin to nurse their babies, and their bodies contain 60 perare structurally different, but there’s

—

cent

more of

it

than do men’s.

TLME

IS

A Rn'ER OF TEARS

woman

stands crying. Only this time, it’s not at a sink. It’s beside a fire, and she is early Homo sapiens. A neurophysiologist named Paul MacLean thinks that humans first

o a

began fire.

to cry

He

1

.4

million years ago

pictures the

standing around

it

smoke from

when

they started using

the first fire

making those

cry irritant tears. Then, as tribespeople ha-

—

around the fires for social activities cooking, tending the sick, even disposing of loved ones in tearing became a conditioned recremation ceremonies bitually gathered

—

flex associated with separation.

MacLean

suggests that

it is

the ability to cry

response to separation from loved ones that sets us apart from other animals. (Though there is the story of the lost golden retriever. His owners tears in

1998

Old Farmer’s Almanac

103

him down hundreds of miles away from their home. As they

finally tracked

walked up

to the shelter to get him, out

he

came with tears running down his face. But

we

didn’t run into

many

of these stories.)

Jeffrey Kottler notes that Charles Dar-

win

— who believed

havior

is

based on

useless but its

that

is

no human be-

naturally selected

adaptive value in helping an or-

—

could think of no use for ganism survive tears. But think about babies. And, once more, picture Nadia at the sink. This time, she stops what she is doing and turns her head quickly. Her three-month-old baby is crying. She listens for a second; Is he just trying to get to sleep? Is he hungry? Or sick? Or wet? Studies have found that though fathers can correctly identify their own child’s cry out of a group 84 percent of the time, mothers are nearly infallible; and mothers are better than fathers at being

more sharply than her husband did

morning. But she stands with her hands on her hips, dry-eyed. As women move into

male worlds, the tears aren’t as automatic. Nadia cries at home. She would never cr>' at work. In our culture, where more people of both sexes tend to cry more often than those of other cultures, one’s occupation is as good a predictor as any for this tendency; Nurses traditional

cry, doctors don't (as often); therapists

And, as with Nadia, depends on where you are when you

cry, engineers don’t. it

all

feel like crying.

“LAUGH, AND THE WORL,D L,AUGHS WITH YOU; WEEP, AND YOU

WEEP AL,ONE, '

able to discern what their baby’s cries

message across and

his

have Nadia, and cries

crossly to her

o

o

all

depends

vate. If a tear slips out in

public, chances are those with you will look away in embarrassment

needs met.

Take a different look at Nadia. She stands in her office at a major law firm where she works as the chief litigator. Her boss has just spoken

o

on your culture. If you’re English, you might cry only in pri-

stimulated milk production in she feeds him. He won’t be able to speak words for another year, but he has gotten his

o

ell, that

mean. Nadia can tell by the sharpness of her baby’s cry that he is hungry, and she picks

him up and soothes him. His

that

or discomfort.

more likely whether happy or sad.

though,

is

— prob-

ably even

Roberts

Armstrong

H. -

Old Farmer’s Almanac

An Italian,

to cry in public,

If

you are one of the Bosavi people

New

in

more complicated. If visitors from another village come, for instance, they

Guinea,

it

expected to perform a night of singing and dancing for their hosts. Suddenly, a local vilare

lager will grab a torch Jiist

some women

as

and burn one of the iting

are learning to

certain situations,

in

America are

coming around

to

tler, is

can serve a purpose.

one “of

grief,

gists

of

.

.

is

to

cry.” Anthropolo-

are presented not as taunts but in the

same

of sympathy with which the guests

for their

the Tin

cried

in

of

ing Dorothy

Scarecrow fear he would

and the

rust),

chances

are he had a secret device supplying wa-

But

ter.

in

Madly, Deeply, where actress

in Truly,

Juliet

a scene such as the opener

Stevenson sobs to her therapist

about how much she misses her cently

deceased

lover,

the actor must

rein-

voke the tears on the spot.

One veteran

of the stage (which

doesn’t allow the luxury of multiple “takes”) tells us the best to try not to. “You sort of

way

to cry

is

empty yourself

saying and avoid any conscious effort to

.

observing the Bosavi think the songs

end of the ceremony hosts who have suffered. The entire at

the

ily

»

eas-

The ob-

reciprocity.

make them

themselves weep

they cry

out and listen hard to the words you’re

strong emotional reactions in the par-

spirit

so TJ // // ow do h movies? When Man /// / yy II / The Wizard Oz {mak-

violence, of tribute and ject of this exercise

ticipants, to

JOB TO CRY

Bosavins on the

more successful the ritual is deemed to be. This ceremony, writes Kot-

the idea that crying

elicit

vis-

shoulder. The victim will not cry or even show he is in pain. The villagers, though, will scream, cry, and carry on all night. The longer and harder the crying, the

withhold tears in

men

WHEN ITS YOUR

gets

the

way of contriving tragedy so that everyone may cry in the end. This may sound bizarre, but when you think about it, it’s not a lot different from what we do when we purposely play a song that makes us cry, or go to an opera or film that will make

tear up.

In fact,

it

ter to try to stifle

sometimes works

any sad feelings, be-

cause then they come on hard. works,

it

works.

If

it

good acting because

One

doesn’t, it

is

If

it

it’s still

stays simple.

of the worst things you can

an actor

bet-

do as

get so emotional that the au-

dience can’t understand what you’re saying.” Others say that conjuring up

ritual is a

tragic

thoughts does the

trick.

“Both within the culture of the Bosavi,” says Kottler, “and in our own com-

us weep.

munity,

we have

institutionalized ‘tear cere-

monies’ that help us to reflect on our feelings about our own existence through the lives of others” allowing us to experience our emo-

—

tions safely, without rocking the boat too

The

ability to turn

on

tears, or

even

much.

Photos

to withArchive

work, functions as communication. Think about the late Senator Edmund Muskie. In 1972, Muskie, then hold tears as Nadia did

at

seeking his party’s presidential nomination.

1998

1

Deborah Kerr

Old Farmer’s Almanac

In

An Affair to Remember.

105

both comfortable blubbering in public. It had become, in the words of one reporter,

purportedly wept at a rally in Manchester,

New

Hampshire, while denouncing a newspaper publisher for printing a derogatory letter about his wife. His “weakness” did in his campaign. Yet the 1996 campaign season was, according to the Wall Street Journal, “the weepiest on record.” Bill Clinton and Bob Dole were

“increasingly cool to cry.”

So perhaps the next time we see someone sobbing at the sink, it may be Nadia’s husband or her son crying over Field of Dreams. Or maybe it’s just onions.

TEARJERKER HALL OF FAME •JOur nomimtions for An

Affair to

Remember

Baby Jessica, the movie about the little girl who was taken from her adoptive

home

to live with her birth

parents

— watching

it

on the

news was just as bad

I

the weepiest movies, books,

Have a Dream, the speech

by Martin Luther King

Lassie

Jr.

Come Home

and music

J*

The Prince of Tides, about half of all the scenes The Red Shoes,

original

version

The Littie Rr Tree, a story by Hans Christian Andersen

St.

you see the truth and the

Bach, the chorales at the end

—

sadness

in

it

more and more

Bambi, the Disney movie

as you get older

Beaches, at the end when

The

Barbara Hershey dies

Andersen story

Littie

Match

Giri,

another

Matthew Passion, by J.

Schindler’s List

Sense and Sensibility, at the end when the heroine breaks into great sobs and tears .

The Bridges

of

Madison

Little

Women,

May when

by Louisa

County, by Robert James

Aicott (book or movie),

Waller (book or movie)

sister Beth dies

Camiiie, with Greta Garbo

The Lost Dog, by Edwin Way

Casabianca

Teale (a true story, suitable

S.

.

of happiness!

Shadowlands Sophie’s Choice, by William

for

any age)

she has to choose which of her children to give up

A

My Girl

The Sound wedding

Christmas Story, Truman

when he has “go home”

Did Yeller

Patrick

played at the

to

Olympics

Tears

Swayze

in

sung by

dies

Heaven, Eric

Clapton

Terms of Endearment

Heidi, the Shirley

Temple

of Music, Maria’s

The Star-Spangled Banner,

Ghost, when

version,

when the

Walt

scene where

Love Story

ET, at the end

Disney

especially the

The Champ, the scene where the dad is dying

Capote’s short story

Productions

Styron (book or movie),

The Way We Were

grandfather

Where the Red

calls for her

Fern Grows, by

Archives/©

Homeward

Wilson Rawls

Bound, the pets

Photo

arriving

-

106

(book or movie)

home

Old Farmer’s Almanac

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Old Farmer’s Almanac

107

First

minted 85 years ago, the nickel with a Plains Indian on

one side and a

buffalo

on the other captured the romance

of the American West. Numismatists are

still

arguing about

helped transform our coinage from the purely practical to the uniquely

American.

was designed by James Earle Fraser, a sculptor raised on the northern prairies of the Midwest. As a boy in the 1880s, Fraser traveled through the West with his family (his father was a mechani-

The

nickel

and railroad builder) and spent ten years on a ranch in South Dakota. The boy began to draw his surroundings at an early age, and shortly afterward began to crecal engineer

The

1913 Indian Association

Head Nickel. Numismatic

American

from stone quarried near his home. The romance of the West and the sad plight of the Native American and the buffalo impressed young Fraser. While still in his teens, he completed his first major work, “The End of the Trail,” a statuette ate small sculptures

the

depicting a lean Indian hunter astride his

of

exhausted

Museum

horse, their

the

heads bowed courtesy

in despair and photo

fatigue.

The

-

emotional

in-

tensity Fraser

portrayed

him OR MANY Americans, the Indian Head, or Buffalo, nickel is the most familiar obsolete coin in existence. The design is unforgettable. On one side is the

head of a warrior, his hair braided and decorated with three feathers, his expression proud. The reverse of the coin portrays an adult

male bison (the proper term for buffalo)

atop a grassy mound. Released on

1913, and minted

108

won

interna-

tional recognition

and ledhim

to study

under

the preeminent

“The End of the Fraser’s

first

Trail,”

James

Earle

major work, won him

international recognition.

sculptor of the day, Augustus Saint-Gaudens,

and in Cornish, New Hampshire. Saint-Gaudens had been commissioned

in Paris

by President Theodore Roosevelt

to design

March 4,

coins for the United States as beautiful as

until 1938, the nickel

those of the ancient Greeks. His fost design

Old Farmer’s Almanac

1998

by Victoria Doudera

he identity of the Indian model. (ButtheyVe identified the buffalo!)

Endian Hood. JWlokol was

for

the

1907 “double eagle,” a $20

—

gold piece featuring the standing Liberty on the ob-

one hand and and

eagle in flight

on the reverse

— considered

$20 “double

Detail of the

eagle” gold coin de-

signed by Saint-Gaudens

— con-

sidered to be the most beautiful

ever struck

in

the United States.

circulation, his

work

vending machines objected

by many to be the most beautiful coin ever struck in the United States.

months of delay, the Secretary of the Treasury gave final ap-

raised design. After

proval to the

Saint-Gaudens James

Earle

died just as his Fraser,

coins were be-

designer of

ing prepared for

the “purely

inspired other

artists.

was 35 when word reached him that the Treasury Department was considering a replacement for the Liberty Head

American” Indian

Head

nickel.

nickel of 1883. His preliminary sketches for the director of the mint proposed a

“purely American” coin in honor of Native

Americans and the nearly extinct bison. Fraser’s enthusiasm, artistic reputation, and

won him

ary 13, 1912, tU

1998

the job, and

sculptor

new coin. On February 17, Head nickels were struck in

Philadelphia, Denver, and

Although

Fraser

persistence

bitterly to the

San Francisco, and released for circulation on March 4. The new nickels were barely minted when folks began trying to guess the identity of the Native American portrayed. Sculptor Fraser stated that the profile on his coin was representative of many Indians, but no one was content with that answer. After the Treasury Department had received hundreds of letters asking the model’s

an American

1905. Above:

when manufacturers of

carrying a torch

in the other,

in

cast,

1913, Indian

an olive branch

dens

ready to be

verse (front) in

Top: Sculptor Augustus Saint-Gau-

go-ahead to refine the sketches. Fraser’s final designs were at the mint,

on Janu-

was given

the

- National Cowboy Hall of

Fame and

Western Heritage Center,

Oklahoma

City

Old Farmer’s Almanac

identity, Fraser

admitted that the profile was

known to him. When asked for specific identities, he named a composite of three Indians

Two Moons, a Northern Cheyenne, and Iron Tail, a Sioux, but said

he could not remem-

ber the third.

Two Moons was

a leader in the

the Black Hills of 1876-77 and

Wyoming

at

Cody,

General Custer’s defeat

War

for

was present

at Little

Bighorn.

His eyewitness account of that battle was Center,

told to the writer

Hamlin Garland, whose

ticle

Two Moons” was published in

Bill

ar-

“General Custer’s Last Fight as Seen by

Historical

1898.

One of

Two Moons’ descendants, Morgan J. Wheeler of New York, says there was never

Buffalo

-

any debate in his family as to whether his famous ancestor posed for the nickel. “He did sit for Fraser and most people have heard that he is the man on the nickel,” says Wheeler, whose birth

name

Justin

is

him, or

Two Moons.

at least

“But

it’s

not

not totally. That’s defi-

nitely not his nose. In

my

family,

we’ve always believed that the portrayal on the nickel was a composite.” Iron Tail was a war chief who also served as an aide to Sitting Bull at Little Bighorn.

He

joined William “Buffalo Bill” Cody’s

later

Wild West Show and toured with the extravaganza through Europe in 1889. Photographs

Photofest

of Iron Tail, especially in profile, look re-

_

markably

like Fraser’s Indian.

According

to

Fraser’s wife, Laura Gardin Fraser, Iron Tail

was her husband’s favorite subject. But who was the third man? “Fraser was rather unclear as to his identity,”

says Robert

Van Ryzin, editor of Coins

magazine, “and over the years there have been quite a few pretenders.” Van Ryzin re-

Two Moons,

Top:

Fraser. Center: Isaac John, also

Tree,

was an

actor

modeled

for

known as Chief John

Big

a northern Cheyenne,

who claimed

to

have posed

for the

Archives

nickel. Left: Big Tree, a Kiowa, also

was

National

110

likely

known as Adoeette,

Fraser’s third model.

Old Farmer’s Almanac

1998

counts that foot,

Two Guns White Calf,

claimed in the

late

a Black-

- Buffalo

Bill

Historical Center,

Cody, Wyoming

1920s to be the

mystery man, but Fraser publicly denied

it.

From the 1930s on, many enterprising men tried to make their fortunes by claiming at country

fairs,

sideshows, and the like that

they had posed for the nickel.

One such man was Chief John Big Tree, a Seneca, who also claimed to have posed for Fraser’s “The End of the Trail.” InterBureau of Indian Affairs and Who ’s Who in Native Americans name him as the third model. But according to Van Ryzin, there are a few holes in Chief John Big Tree’s story. “His real name was Isaac ‘Johnny’ John and he was a Hollywood actor,” says estingly, both the

Van Ryzin. “He starred in several of John Ford’s silent films, including Drums Along the Mohawk and The Iron Horse. Chief John Big Tree began claiming in the 1950s and 60s that he

was chosen

to

pose ‘be-

cause of his classic facial features,’ but he’s

mentioned

never

in Fraser’s

Iron Tail (right), a Sioux,

was

Fraser’s favorite subject and

may have been

the main model

for the Indian profile.

the largest bison ever held

Albout tbe BKuEE^lo?

tivity,

in

cap-

Black Diamond weighed

al-

years after the coin bearing his

was released, the animal

peramental star who exasperated

was slaughtered.

the sculptor by refusing to stay

in

a blanket, his meat was sold as

Despite his celebrity sta-

“Black Diamond Steaks,” and his

Black Diamond met with a

shaggy head was mounted. This

sad end. Shortly after modeling for

same head appeared at a coin con-

profile.

who never tus,

roamed the West but who was

bom and raised in New York City’s Fraser,

he was deemed too old for

Bronx Park Zoo. Reputed to be the zoo and

1998

1915, two

likeness

was named Black Diamond, a

Great Plains bison

In

most a ton. He proved to be a tem-

The creature Fraser immortaf ized

and game dealer.

was

vention

His hide

some 70 years

became

later.

sold to a pouitry

Old Farmer’s Almanac

Ill

correspondence.

He was only 30 at the time

was designed, while both Iron Tail and Two Moons were in their sixties. “I’ve read Fraser’s letters and my re-

the nickel

mem-

search points to another Big Tree, a

who was also known as Van Ryzin. He notes that

ber of the Kiowa, Adoeette,” says

Laura Gardin Fraser confirmed that Adoeette modeled for Fraser prior to

1

9 1 2.

“He certainly was much more famous in his day than John Big Tree,” writes Van Ryzin in his

book Twisted

Adoeette

is

Tails.

But until

positively identified, confusion

— Buffalo and Indian Head — was a

will persist.

The Indian Head nickel was replaced

we

1938 by the coin

Old issues were still in circulation in 1951 when James Earle Fraser received one of the most distinguished awards given to artists in the United States, the gold medal of the National Institute of Arts and Letters and the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Fraser died two years later at

cello.

the age of 77.

your local coin or hobby shop, or

minting, six varieties of the

call

Head nickels

In-

exist for that

year:

Type 1 coins (with the

higher

mound) and Type 2s (with

the American Numismatic

Association at 719-632-2646 for

a

was

of dealers near you.

list

Besides the rare

Barber’s modifications) hail from

watch

each mint.

falo,”

for

earlier dates,

the “three-legged

a 1937 coin minted

ver

in

in

buf-

Den-

which Black Diamond,

al-

due to a die mishap, has

quickly ap-

only three legs. In mint con-

everyone from the start, It

use today, featuring

President Jefferson and his home, Monti-

favorite with nearly

though

in

1913. Thanks to this second

dian

The coin with two nicknames

over the identity of Fraser’s third model

1937-D three-

parent that Fraser’s design

dition, a

required a slight change.

legged can fetch up to

The problem

$2,400 or more, while those

lay in the

grassy mound beneath the

in

buffalo’s feet, its thickness

about $80. Probably the

prevented the coin from

most valuable type of Indian

stacking properly, and

Head

it

ex-

good condition are worth

nickel is

known as a

posed the words FIVE

1916 doubled die. A minting

CENTS

error

to heavy wear.

It

also couid not enter the

twice on these coins, and

coin slot of streetcar and

bus fare boxes, requiring most

experts estimate good ex-

A die mishap caused

this

1937

mint-

ing of a “three-legged buffalo" nickel,

fare

boxes around the country to

now worth as much as $2,400.

be changed.

modified the dies, lowering the

mound beneath the adding a thin

amples are worth from $800 to $2,500. If

Chief engraver Charles Barber

line

buffalo and

above the FIVE

According to Bob Slaymin,

owner

of

Downeast Coins and

you search your attic and

that rare specimen doesn’t ap-

pear, take heart.

says, “The hard-to-come-by dates

there are plenty of

are scarce, unless

common date

(1934-1938) Indian Head nick-

spends

again minted at

els out there in

tion.”

and released

112

three mints

into circulation in

As Slaymin

Collectibles in Bangor, Maine,

CENTS. The modified nickel was ail

stamped the year

decent condition,

worth about SCO to $1 each. Visit

Old Farmer’s Almanac

some

kid

his father’s coin collec-

He chuckles, and adds,

“Which does happen.”

1998

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113

Culver Pictures

emember 20

when the weather buzzword was “global cooling”? The Brazilyears ago

ian coffee crop and the grain

Union had both just been devastated by unusual cold. Glaciers showed yield in the Soviet

an alarming advance throughout the Northern Hemisphere, and for the first time in 80

had become a problem for shipping in both the North Atlantic and the Arctic Oceans. Scientists warned that Earth was headed into a devastating ice age, with particulate matter in the atmosphere (from industrial burning and even the contrails of years, sea ice

That record, in turn, may give us a distant mirror that can reflect future climate. What is most striking about the Hudson Bay record is a repeated pattern of sea-level years.

rise for

350

to

360 years, followed by a period of falling

levels for an identical time span.

The

best

scientific explanation

that

is

sea levels

fall

when

increased cold locks

water in glaciers and ice caps; sea levels

when warming

The

jet aircraft) acting to screen out sunlight,

rise

thus causing the cooling.

from a cold trough, known as a climatic pessimum, to a warm peak, called a climatic optimum, and back to cold requires 700 to 720 years. If the record of sealevel change during a complete cycle is as accurate as it seems to be, it is possible to look back from our own time to what may well have been a similar period of climate 700 years ago in the late 13th century. The decade of the 1280s seems to have been a prosperous and optimistic period in Europe. In southern England, small vineyards had entire cycle

But by 1978, the weather was warming up. Since then, the weather buzzword has been “greenhouse warming.” Scientists who in the 1970s had predicted massive world crop failures due to frost began to warn of similar crop failures from drought and parching caused by man-made greenhouse gases, primarily carbon dioxide. Given this dramatic seesaw in popular scientific opinion, one might well ask: Is there any means of gauging climate in the near future, the next century, or even the next half century? The answer is that there may well be. The evidence comes from geological residue on the east coast of the

Hudson Bay

flourished for

much

of the century. The quality of wine produced was high enough to worry French

that portrays

dynamic nature of our climate since the

Ice Age.

That huge burden of ice, which originated more than 100,000 years ago and grew to more than a mile thick, compressed Earth’s crust in a wide area surrounding what is now Hudson Bay. About 12,000

Here’s

vintners,

when the glaciers had completely

who

attempted to have English vineyards closed down as part of a treaty settlement.

how scientists use the past to

years ago,

releases the water.

mirror the future.

The fact that the English vineyards

pros-

as isostatic rebound.

pered indicates that temperatures were something like 1 1 ° to 1 .6° F (0.7° to 1 .0° C)

The continued rising has made it possible to

warmer than during our own warmest period

read the record of sea-level fluctuations on the east shore ^ Uu. oay for the last 10,000

of the 20th century, a period that has been defined as a climatic optimum, (continued)

melted, the land began rising at a predictable rate in

what

is

known

i

1998

.

Old Farmer’s Almanac

115

hroughout the decade

instances of cannibalism were recorded.

It

was a disaster thought by many historians

to

have been the cause of the century of chaos

beginning in 1310, crops

that is best

failed in

many

for the

Hundred

War between England and

Years’

parts of

remembered

France.

Europe because the fields were too swampy to support growth. good growing conditions during the 13th century were not limited to vineyards. Tillage and general agriculture were practiced at much higher altitudes and

The

In Asia,

relatively

latitudes than is possible today. In the British Isles, records exist of farming at altitudes

500

to

600

feet higher than is

now

was culgrew 200 miles

practicable. In Scandinavia, grain

and boreal forests farther north than has been possible since. The prosperity of the 1280s did not last long, unfortunately. The best evidence indicates that the vineyards had completely quit producing by 1300 or a bit later. Oncoming colder conditions also made farming impossible in the northern reaches of Scandinavia and the highlands of the British Isles. Continued cooling in the next decade led to one of the greatest weather disasters tivated

significant

flooding of

China’s central river valleys was

Pictures

common from about

Culver

1300 on.

-

The greatest flood,

in 1332, led to the death

of over seven million people. Almost every year after

1327 saw

famine caused by

flooding and poor harvests in Pictures

was not as in-

much

of

1600s and early 1700s (a period now seen as the depth of what is known as the Little Ice Age), but the cooling caused a phenomenon equally

China.

And

1344, the dikes on the Yellow River were breached, flooding vast areas and causing

as devastating: torrential rainfall.

the dislocation of a previously isolated ro-

Throughout the decade beginning in 1 3 1 0, crops failed in many parts of Europe because the fields were too

dent,

in

Europe. The cold, in

tense as

it

swampy

became

itself,

in the late

to

most

The

which carried

were

ing Europe, deepening the misery.

a decline in solar activity.

Un-

no one in Europe was counting sunspots that early. But during the warm period from 1050 to 1250, the Chinese had recorded what could be called a riot of fortunately,

was 1315, when virtually the en-

grain harvest failed in Europe. Great num-

sunspots. After 1300, accounts of sunspots are rare in Chinese chronicles.

bers of sheep and cattle also died in murrains, or epidemics of disease, that swept the sod-

activity

den landscapes. So dire was the famine

early

116

fleas that, in turn,

host to the bubonic plague. Within a quarter century, the Black Death was decimat-

marked by

disas-

trous year

tire

in

One explanation for that historical quick shift in climate is that the period was

support growth.

Culver

that

Solar scientists

now

believe that solar

became unusually quiet during the 1300s. They have named that period

Old Farmer’s Almanac

1998

PERIOD

little Climatic

Optimum

Wine grapes

cultivated in England by

spruce trees and grain cultivated miles north of present

1040 to 1300

on U.S. Great land.

limits.

The analog

Sporer

Sunspot

Torrential

in

1200;

Norway 200

common

Drought

Plains. Vikings colonized Green-

based on the

period,

Age Cycle of 720 years,

Wolf and

TEMPERATURES (C)

CLIMATE CHARACTERISTICS

storms

1760 to 2020.

is

northern Europe during the

in

1310s. Grain crops failed astating floods

Little Ice

much of Europe.

in

Dev-

China during the 1330s.

in

Vikings had to take

more southerly route

to

Minima Greenland because of sea

1300 to 1480

Baltic, in

ice. After

1430, the

the area of the Danish islands, and the

Lagoon of Venice froze nine times. Alpine ers advanced. Analog period,

ISth Century

Warmir^ and Maunder

Minimum

2020

to

glaci-

2200.

Gradual warming until about 1540 followed by severe weather

much

like that of

the 1300s. Re-

gional crop failures In England. Beginning of the

“Freneau Period” of general glacial advance

in

the

Northern Hemisphere. Coldest temperatures

1480 to 1760

northern Europe were from

1680 to 1710.

in

Last

European settlers of Greenland succumbed to the plague. Ice fairs were

Thames. Analog

Modern

Optimum

2200 to 2480.

Noticeable warming by the general cooling from out a

1760 to 2020

period,

common on the frozen

Summer”

of glaciers

in

1780s

followed by

1800 to 1820. “Year With-

recorded

in

1816. Gradual

retreat

Northern Hemisphere after 1820.

Grain cultivated at relatively northern latitudes

North America. Drought Plains (1930s,

common

in

in

U.S. Great

1950s, 1970s). Analog

period,

2480 to 2740. Temperatures on the graph are average yearly temperatures

for

England. Winter temperatures tended to be warmer than average during the optimum temperature periods and colder during the “pessi-

mums.” The Fahrenheit range on the graph 50° (10° C). Temperature information Climate^ History and the

1998

is

is

from 42.8° {6° C) to

based on H. H. Lamb’s book,

Modern World {Methuen, New York: 1982).

Old Farmer’s Almanac

117

What are the implications for mankind in the 21st century? One viewpoint is that we is:

climate change such as that experienced

can adapt to it, as did the 17th-century colonials in North America, who flourished during the coldest period of the Little Ice Age.

in

1310 could spell global

disaster rivaling the scenarios predicted about global warming. the

Wolf Sunspot Minimum.

It

was the first

of three periods of quiet solar activity, followed by the Sporer (latter part of the 1400s) and

Minima,

Maunder

all

(late

of which are

1600s) Sunspot

now

associated

with the colder periods of the Little Ice Age.

Because too much rain is deadly to grain crops, development of other crops may well be an answer. During the Little Ice Age in Europe, for example, people made potatoes a staple crop when heavy rains made the grain crop vulnerable.

On the other hand, a climate change such

Much of this analysis is conjectural. The argument against a solar influence on climate is that the change between an ac-

disaster rivaling the scenarios predicted

when sunspots appear)

about global

minuscule, only one to three watts per square meter at the top of the atmosphere. Opponents argue that no phys-

warming.

greatest

tive

Sun

(the period

and a quiet Sun

ical

as that experienced in

0 could spell global

131

is

Should the atmosphere cool by as little as 1° F

mechanism has been discovered to ex-

plain such a solar-climate relationship.

The

however, remains.

(-17° C), an

Hudson Bay av-

onslaught of

eraging 710 years have been recorded 14 times, accounting for a span of nearly 10,000

precipitation

historical record,

Sea-level fluctuations along

years.

By

the mid- 1600s, sunspots (the

few

happened) were finally being counted in Europe. Looking back to that period, a corthat

between low solar activity and falling sea levels caused by cooling. The record since relation exists

similar to that

of the 1300s might well be expected. Such continued heavy precipitation is easy to understand in meteorological terms. After a period of great warmth, the oceans, which are highly efficient heat sinks,

warm, while the atmosphere

remain

cools.

The

has allowed us

combination of cold

to witness ex-

the perfect recipe for deluge after deluge.

actly half of a

Given the record, it might almost be hoped that greenhouse warming would occur to help mitigate any coming cool period. A repeat of the 50 or so years of the Wolf

Little Ice

Age

Cycle, a 360-

year period during which climate has, with ups and downs, grown progressively warmer while the Sun has become intermittently more active,

peaking in intensity in the 1950s. Sea lev-

Hudson Bay have risen proportionally. Assuming that the Sun and climate follow

Sunspot

air

and

Minimum may

currence, in the

warm water is

bring about a re-

coming century, of some of

the coldest weather of the past millennium,

when

ice fairs

were held on the frozen

Thames, livestock froze in the fields, and hens’ eggs were worth their weight in silver.

els in

the anticipated cooling pattern predicted by the Hudson Bay record, the obvious question

118

This article

is

excerptedfrom the author's forth-

coming book, The Sun, Changing Climate, and the

Coming

Ice.

Old Farmer’s Almanac

1998

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General Weather Forecast

1997-1998 (For details, see the regional fo recasts beginning on page 122.)

T

he year ahead

may be the warmest on

record overall, with a mild winter in

much of the country and a substantial risk of drought in the summer across the nation’s breadbasket.

NOVEMBER THROUGH MARCH will start relatively

from the eastern seaboard into the Ohio Valley and Great Lakes regions, with November and December near normal, except from Maryland to Florida, where it will be well below normal. However, most of this region will be unusually mild during January and February. March will be a bit cooler than normal from New England westward to Wisconsin, with mild chilly

temperatures in the Southeast.

The western

regions will start relatively mild, but cold

temperatures will be the rule from January

through March from the Dakotas south-

ward

Kansas and westward to the Pacific Northwest. Temperatures from Texas to

to southern California will stay close to

normal. Precipitation will be above normal

from New England and New York through Michigan, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, and North Texas, and also from northern California to western

Washington. Elsewhere, it will be below normal. Snowfall will be above normal in much of New England, the

Rocky Mountain

states,

and

interior

Washington; from the North Carolina and Tennessee mountains northward to southwest Pennsylvania; and from the Great Lakes into the northern Great Plains. It be below normal

most of New York and Pennsylvania, the mid- Atlantic states, the Ohio and Tennessee Valleys, Oklahoma, and North Texas. will

in

j

and the Desert Southwest. The Rocky Mountain states will remain chilly. Coastal New England and New York will be near normal, and the northern and central Great Plains will be warm in April and May. Elsewhere, it will be warmer than normal. Precipitation will be below normal in most of the country. Exceptions include the northern Rockies, southern and central California, Oregon, the

nessee, and western

Deep South, Ten-

Kentucky and Indiana.

be hotter than normal from New England and New York across to the northern and central Great Plains. The mid- Atlantic states and Southeast will be a bit above normal, with Florida, the Deep South, Texas, and southern California near normal. The Rocky Mountain states. Desert Southwest, and West Coast will be cooler than normal. Rainfall will be above normal from New England southward to the mid- Atlantic states, and JULY AND AUGUST will

Southwest and the northern tier from Minnesota to Washington. There is a possibility of a hurricane or two in August in the Northeast. Rainfall will be below normal, with a drought likely, from Texas and Oklahoma north through Kansas, Nebraska, and South Dakota, and east through much of the Ohio Valley and Great Lakes regions. in the Desert

SEPTEMBER AND OCTOBER will be

warmer than

normal. Rainfall will be above normal

from

New England southward to Florida,

in the Pacific Northwest,

Texas, Missouri, and

below-normal

and in portions of

Illinois.

Elsewhere,

rainfall is expected,

with

the drought continuing in the Midwest, the APRIL THROUGH JUNE will

be cool in the mid-

Atlantic states, Florida, the Pacific states.

120

Dakotas, Oklahoma, and portions of Texas, Wisconsin, and the Ohio Valley.

Old Farmer’s Almanac

1998

^Regions

;Weather

the

bar

of The forecasts.

each 122.

for page monthly graphs,

on office

bar

begin

post

region’s

with

by

ttiown

each abbreviations.

indicated

predictions,

regions represent

m two-letter

numbered

Weather

States

1998

Old Farmer’s Almanac

graphs

121

r REGION

NEW ENGLAND

FORECAST

SUMMARY: Cold periods ter is

in

November may

Despite a turn to below-normal cold will

will

some

to believe a severe win-

feature above-normal temperatures.

March, temperatures from November through March

in

average higher than normal. Precipitation and snowfall

best chances for heavy snowfall period during the winter

rial

lead

on the way, but January and February

will

April will

be cooler and

Day

make

will

in

occur

drier

will

also be

somewhat

mid-December, toward Christmas, and

in

late

in

early

higher than normal, with the

and

late

March. The coldest

January and early February.

than normal.

May will be

summer.

Temperatures from June through August will average 3 degrees above normal, with the best chance heat

in

and mid- and

mid-June, early and late July,

late August. August

punctuated by severe thunderstorms, alternating with brief

September will fall,

with

some

bring comfortable temperatures

chilly spells.

10-19 Sunny days. 20-25 Rainy, mild. 26-30 Rain southeast, flurries northwest.

will

waves

month.

have above-normal

rain-

Temp. 68° (2° above avg. west; 1° below east); precip. 4.5" (1"

Temp. 32°

above

above avg.); precip. 3" (avg.). 1-6 Rain and snow. 7-11 Periods of snow. 12-

JULY 1998:

(3°

cip. 2" (2"

(1°

avg.); precip. 3.5" (0.5"

above above

very cold. 19-22 Rain and snow. 23-28 Milder, few showers. MAR. 1998: Temp. 37° (2° below avg.); precip. 4.5" (1" above avg.). 1-5 Cooler, then rain. 6-10

Mild, then heavy snow. 11-14 Milder. 15-18 Warm, then cooler; showers. 19-20 Rainy. 21-24 Cool, then mild. 25-31 Rain, wet snow inland. APR. 1998. Temp. 48° (0.5° below avg.); precip. 2.5" (1" below avg.). 1-6 Sunny, warmer. 7-10

Rainy, raw, then milder. 11-15 Chilly rain, then warm. 16-19 Cool, then warm. 20-26 Cool, showers. 27-30 Mild, then a cold rain. (1.5°

above

avg.); precip.

hot,

cooler. 12-17 Hot, then thunderstorms,

cooler. 18-22 relief.

Hazy, hot, humid. 23-24 25-27 Record heat. 28-31

Thunderstorms, warm.

Hartfor

Snow, then very cold. 9-12 Milder, rain, snow interior. 13-18 Warm, rain to snow, then

Temp. 58°

humid. 5-8 Plot, thunder9-11 storms. Thunderstorms, then

Brief

avg.). 1-4 Sunshine, cold. 5-8

Warm with tliun-

Temp. 77° (4° above avg.); prebelow avg.; 1" above east). 1-4

Hazy, Boston

17 Partly sunny, chilly. 18-24 Milder, then cold. 25-3 1 Seasonable, flurries.

Temp. 30°

avg.). 1-7

derstorms, then cooler. 8-13 Cool, showers. 14-17 Warm, then damp and cool. 18-23 Hot. 24-30 Rain.

Burlmgton

Sunny, cold nights.

1998:

for a hurricane late in the

JUNE 1998:

Temp. 32° (avg.); precip. 3.5" (0.5" above avg.). 1-3 Heavy rain. 4-9 Flurries, cold. 10-14 Snow, then rain. 15-17 Seasonable. 18-22 Heavy rain coast, snow inland. 23-26 White Christmas. 27-31

MAY

Watch

2.5" (1" below avg.; avg. west). 1-3 Rainy, raw. 4-8 Sunny, warmer. 9-14 Showers, cooler. 15-21 Mild, showers. 22-28 Hot, dry. 29-3 Caribou Showers, then cooler.

DEC. 1997:

FEB. 1998:

for record

be a record month, with heat

and more-tranquil weather. October

(2° above avg.; avg. south3" (1" east); precip. below avg. northwest; 2" above southeast). 1-5 Showers, cool. 6-9 Rainy.

IAN. 1998:

will

pleasant spells between the rainy periods.

Temp. 47°

NOV. 1997:

Memo-

close to normal, but a heat wave beginning near

the month as a whole warmer than normal, a prelude to a very hot

AUG. 1998: Temp. 76° (4° above avg.); precip. 6.5" (3" above avg.; 8" above east). 1-3 Cool. 4-9

Heat wave, then thunderstorms. 10-14 Showers, cool nights. 15-18 Heavy rain. 19-20 Hot. 21-24 Possible hurricane. 25-29 Hot, then thunderstorms, cooler. 30-31 Showers, seasonable. SEPT. 1998:

2.5" (0.5"

Temp. 64° (0.5° above avg.); precip. below avg.). 1-9 Cool, then warmer

with showers. 10-14 Cool. 15-19 Cool, showers. 20-23 Sunny, hot. 24-27 Thunderstorms, cooler. 28-30 Rain, then chilly nights.

Temp. 57° (2° above avg.); precip. 4.5" above avg.). 1-5 Milder, rainy periods. 6-9 Mild days, crisp nights. 10-12 Rainy, warm. 1317 Sunny. 18-21 Heavy rain. 22-27 Showers, OCT. 1998:

(1"

mild, then cooler. 28-3 1 Sprinkles.

+5" CD

O

Normal 5+ 03 -5"

122

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Old Farmer’s Almanac

rJ 123

REGION

GREATER NEW YORK-NEW JERSEY e SUMMARY: The

period from

a

c

November through March

mild, with above-normal rainfall but a

good chance

normal. The best time for snowstorms ter

season, with

little

S

will

of winter.

relatively

snow than

for less

be early and

snow during the heart

be

will

late in

the win-

Temperatures

wil

average about a degree above normal but 2 to 4 degrees above normal during January

and February. November

will

be a

damp month,

with precipitation close

December through March. April will be somewhat drier than normal. Temperatures will be near or a bit above normal during April and May. The summer season will start out cool in June, but July and August will be much hotter than normal, with

to normal from

overall

temperatures 3 to 4 degrees above average. Especially hot weather

will

Day, the latter part of July, and mid- and late August. Rainfall during July and the

below normal, but heavy thunderstorms and tropical storms or hurricanes half of August.

in

Rainy, raw. 10-18 Sunny days, chilly nights 19-25 Rainy, mild. 26-30 Cooler, showers.

6-12 Cold, few

becoming

2.5" (1

"

(4°

and west. 12-16 Sunshine, seasonable. 17-19 Rain and snow. 20-25 Cold, dry. 26-3 1 Showers,

Temp. 35°

^

'

'

below avg.). 1-7 Thunderstorms, then

.

(1°

Rainy, turning colder, snow inland. 12-15 Becoming warm. 16-20 Showers, mild. 21-24 Seasonable. 25-27 Rain. 28-31 Mild, then cool. APR. 1998: Temp. 51° (avg.); precip. 2.5" (1"

above

avg.). 1-5

5-10 Heat wave. 11-13 Thunderstorms, then cooler. 14-18 Possible hurricane. 19-21 Hot, humid. 22-23 Possible hurricane. 24-26 Oppressive heat. 27-31 Mainly

Feb.

dry, seasonable.

above avg.); precip. 2" (1" below avg.). 1-3 Sunny. 4-10 Warm, few showers. 11-18 Mainly dry, seasonable. 19-24 Hot, afternoon thunderstorms. 25-26 Cooler. 2730 Rain, cool.

Temp. 70°

(2°

Temp. 60° (2° above avg.); precip. 5" above avg.). 1-4 Milder, some rain. 5-9

OCT. 1998:

be-

low avg.). 1-6 Sunny, turning warmer. 7-10 Showers. 11-15 Cool, then warm. 16-19 Showers. 20-27 Mild, mainly dry. 28-30 Rainy, raw. Jan.

(4°

AUG. 1998: Temp. 78° (3° above avg.); precip. 9" (5" above avg.). 1-4 Cloudy, com-

SEPT. 1998:

above avg.); precip. avg.). 1-5 Rainy, mild. 6-11

Dec:

below

fortable.

west. 22-28 Mild, then rain.

Nov.

Temp. 80.5°

Hot, scattered thunderstorms. 6-9 Stiand humidity. 10-20 Thunderstorms, then less hot. 21-27 Oppressive. 28-3 1 Some sun, a bit cooler.

Atiantirfrifu

above avg.); precip. 3" (avg.). 1-4 Sunny, cold. 5-7 Snow, very cold. 8-1 1 Milder, rain. 12-14 Very mild. 15-17 Rain to snow, colder. 18-21 Showers,

+5^

avg.); precip.

fling heat

(2°

Temp. 42.5°

below

avg.); precip. 2" (2"

flurries north

then colder with flurries.

(1°

very warm. 23-27 Hazy, humid, scattered thunderstorms. 28-30 Damp, cool.

avg.X 1-3 Rainy, quite mild. 4-7 Cloudy, rather mild. 8-11 Showers,

..

m

.OJ

rain,

+ 4"

2 o

126

3ari.

Some

heavy south. 6-8 Sunny. 9-12 Showers, warm. 13-16 Sunny, warm. 17-24 Rain, then cooler. 2531 Mainly dry.

avg.); precip.

+5°

Temp. 65° (1° above above avg.; avg. south).

n

Q. Normal "p*-

'

Old Farmer’s Almanac

1998

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B

127

r REGION

PIEDMONT & SOUTHEAST COAST :c

F' .,0 SUMMARY: Despite through March

will

-

A

S

::T

turn out relatively mild, with temperatures averaging

normal. The best chance for or early

February

occur

will

November

a below-normal start, the period from

2 degrees above normal. Precipitation and snowfall

vember

•

snow

is relatively early,

bring heavy

December can

snow

will

both be below

as storms

to the

No-

in late

interior.

January and

be milder than usual, with record high temperatures

most

likely to

mid- and late February.

in

Relatively mild

weather

will

continue

be wetter than normal, but May Precipitation

will

will

be

in April

and May, with temperatures 2 degrees above normal.

April

relatively dry.

continue below normal from June through August, with temperatures near or above normal.

be cooler than average, despite hot spells in the second week and again late in the month. July and August will be hotter than usual, with below-normal rainfall in most of the region. New record-high temperatures

June

will

will

be set July 19-22 and August 22-27. A hurricane

may

hit

coastal North Carolina

in

mid- to late August, but

more likely to make landfall farther north. September and October will be warmer than normal, with heavy rain in the south, especially The hottest temperatures will occur in early September, with hot spells later in the month. is

NOV. 1997:

Temp. 50°

(2°

below

avg.); precip. 3"

Cool, rainy episodes. 10-17 Sunny days, chilly nights. 18-24 Rainy, mild. 25-30 Rain, then cold. (avg.). 1-9

MAY

Temp. 69°

1998:

2.5" (1"

Sunny,

Temp. 40.5° (1° below avg.); precip. 3 below avg.). 1-8 Rain, then seasonable.

9-12 Rain, mountain snow, then cold. 13 16 Dry, chilly. 17-25 Rain, then cold. 26-31 Sunny.

Temp. 43° (4° above avg.); 3.5" (0.5" below avg.). 1-

5 Showers, mild. 6-10 Sunny,

warm. 11-15 Mild

south, rain

north. 16-18 Sunny, chilly. 19-

6-10 Sunny, hot. 11-15 Showers, cooler. 1620 Hot south, comfortable north. 21-30 Hot, humid, thunderstorms.

Temp. 45°

avg.); precip. 2" (1"

(3°

cooler. 26-31 Seasonably hot.

above

below avg.).

1-4 Sunny, colder. 5-8 Showers, mild, then colder. 9-11 Heavy rain. 12-14 Sunny, warm. 15-17 Rain, then cold. 18-26 Quite mild, mainly dry. 27-28 Rain.

MAR. 1998:

Temp. 54°

above avg.); precip. 3" (1" below avg.). 1-10 Warm, few showers. 1114 Colder, then milder. 15-17 Warm, then showers.

1

(2°

8-26 Damp north,

Temp. 8 1 ° ( l ° above avg.); precip. 4.5" (1" above avg. north; 1" below south). 1-3 Pleasant. 4-8 OpJULY 1998:

pressive. 9-14 Hot, afternoon thunderstorms. 15-18 Hazy, thunderstorms. 19-22 Very hot. 23-25 Thunderstorms, then

28 Rainy episodes, mountain snow. 29-31 Seasonable. FEB. 1998:

warm south. 27-3 1 Turn-

AUG. 1998: Temp. 78° (2° above avg.); precip. 2.5" (1" below avg.). 1-5 Seasonable, few thun-

derstorms. 6-11 Hazy, hot, humid. 12-21

Temp. 74° (2° above avg.); precip. below avg. north; 1" above south). 1-3

SEPT. 1998:

3.5" (1"

Sunny, hot. 4-9 Showers, cooler. 10-16 Hot, humid. 17-21 Rain south. 22-27 Sunny, hot. 28-30 Showers. OCT. 1998:

APR. 1998. Temp. 62° (2° above avg.); precip. 5.5" (2 above avg.). 1-5 Sunny, turning warmer. 611 Showers. 12-14 Pleasant. 15-18 Heavy rain. '

19-27 Sunny, warm. 28-30 Showers.

Warm,

mostly dry. 22-27 Very hot. 28-31 Cooler.

ing colder.

128

avg.). 1-7

avg.). 1-5 Cooler.

JAN. 1998:

precip.

(2°

JUNE 1998: Temp. 74° (2° below avg.); precip. 2.5" (1" below

DEC. 1997:

(0.5"

September.

above avg.); precip. Sunny, warm. 8-15 16-21 Thunderstorms, cooler. 22-24 Dry. 25-29 Rainy. 30-31 Hot.

below

hot.

in

5.5" (2"

Temp. 67°

(1° above avg.); precip. 1-6 avg.). Hot south, rain north. north, showers south. 11-17 Warm,

above

7-10 Warm mainly dry. 18-22 Cooler, few showers. 23-31

Warm days, cool nights.

Old Farmer’s Almanac

1998

.

and Look Better.

Peel

•

•

•

0 0 0

Colon Cleansing Herbal Food Combination #16 Nearly the

race

nearly half of

Waste matter

weeks

to three

When

retained, the

is

along

to

from the

weak-

into the

the

colon in

with

ening of

colon. is

kept

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J Old Farmer’s Almanac

129

r REGION

FLORIDA F

O

E. C

R

SUMMARY: Temperatures

in

the period from

November through March

The period will start with relatively below normal in November and cool temperatures, averaging about 3 degrees for a freeze into central Florida, will occur in midDecember. The coldest temperatures, with the best chance February, and March will be milder than normal, December, after the passage of a strong cold front. January, average near normal,

\A/ith

below-normal

with below-normal rainfall, especially

in

rainfall.

February.

^

,

*

.

'n

temperatures, except in the north, where temperatures will April and May will bring near- to below-normal although continued dry weather in the south average 2 degrees above normal. Precipitation will be near normal, will be a prelude to an unusually dry summer. precipitation will be relatively light, with While temperatures from June through August will be near normal,

The best chances for more widespread thunderstorms are the end of July, and in the middle and latter portions of August. in the latter half of June, in the beginning and at The hottest period for Florida as a whole will occur in the second week of August. will conSeptember and October will be warmer than normal, especially in the north. Relatively dry weather above normal. tinue in the south, but rainfall in central and northern parts of the state will be substantially less thunderstorm activity than usual.

NOV. 1997: Temp. 65° (3° below avg.); precip. 3" (avg.; 2" above south). 1-3 Showers, warm,

MAY

4-13 Mainly sunny, rather cool. 14-19 Rain. 2023 Sunshine, warm. 24-30 Rather cool, few showers.

8 Sunny,

DEC. 1997:

Temp. 59°

(3°

below

avg.); precip. 3"

(1" below Warm. 5-9 Cool, dry. 10-13 Showers, then freeze north. 14- 18 Mild, then showers. 19-21 Cool. 22-26 Showers, ^ avg.). 1-4

above

Temp. 62°

(2°

avg.); precip. 2.5"

below avg.). 1-13 Sunny, mild. 14-18 Showers, then cooler. 19-23 Frequent showers. 2426 Pleasant. 27-31 Rain, then colder. (1"

below

avg.; 2°

above

warm. 9-17 Hot

north, thunder south.

18-27 Frequent showers. 28-31 Sunny, hot.

Temp. 80° (1° below avg.); precip. 4" (2" below avg.). 1-5 Warm, few showers. 6-13 Sunshine, very warm. 14-17 Thunderstonns, heavy south. 18-23 Sunshine, daily thunder-

JUNE 1998:

storms. 24-30 Thunderstorms, hot north.

JUU1998: Temp. 83“ (1» below avg.); pre1 cip. 4" ( " below avg.). 1-7 Frequent showers. 8-12 Hot north, showers south. 13-19 Seasonable. 20-25 Hot north, showers south. 26-3 1 Heavy thunderstorms. AUG. 1998: Temp. 83° ( 1 ° above avg.), precip. 3.5" (3" below avg.). 1-6

Temp. 63°

(2° above avg.; avg. south); precip. 1" (2" below avg.). 1-5 Sunshine, chilly. 6-10 Warmer, few showFEB. 1998:

(1°

north); precip. 5" (avg. north; 2" below south). 1-

*iiCS^=^ck^ville JAN. 1998:

Temp. 76°

1998:

11-16 Thunderstorms, then cooler. 17-20 Turning warmer. 21-28 Pleasant north, show-

Miami

ers.

ers south.

Seasonable, few thunderstorms. 715 Hot, mainly dry. 16-19 Frequent showers. 20-24 Hottest north. 25-3 Hot, thunderstorms.

Temp. 82° (1° above avg.); 2" precip. 6" (avg.; above central). 1-3 Mainly SEPT. 1998:

warmer. 11-14 Showers, cooler. 15-25 Sunny,

4-14 Frequent thunderstorms. 15-22 Most rain north. 23-28 Showers south, hot north. 2930 Thunderstorms.

warm. 26-3 1 Rain, then

OCT. 1998:

Temp. 69° (2° above avg.); precip. below avg.). 1-10 Sunshine, turning

MAR. 1998: 2.5" (1"

chilly.

APR. 1998: Temp. 71° (1° below avg.; 2° above north); precip. 5.5" (avg.). 1-10 Rain, then warmer. 1 1-20 Seasonable, showers. 21-30 Sunshine, hot.

Temp. 75° (avg.; 2° above north); pre4" (2" above avg. north; 1" below south), cip. 1-10 Warm, frequent showers. 1 1 - 1 5 Thunderstorms, cooler north. 16-20 Sunny, cool nights,

21-22 Rainy. 23-31 Mild, mainly dry.

OJ

+5°

+3"

CO

o CL Normal .CD

-5'

130

rw

CD

4^

1

Old Farmer’s Almanac

o_

1

Normal'S-’ 03

3"

199

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131

r REGION

UPSTATE NEW YORK O

W

,,R

-

SUMMARY: Temperatures and vember through March, but

precipitation

and

early

S

--A will

T

.

be higher than normal from No-

be below normal

sno\Arfall will

snows will occur in

lake-effect

"C

E-

late

December,

January. The best chances for more-widespread

and May

cipitation will

be a

will

bit

be normal or

the

first

weeks

snows

slightly

Temperatures will

mid-December,

occur

in

early February, after a relatively mild January.

will

temperatures

when

record highs

little precipitation until

will

may be

mid-August,

will

early

in

will

and mid-February, and

be on the cool side. Pre-

occur

July

in

and August. Heat waves are most

set. Rainfall will in

be

well

below normal, with July

July is during the latter half of the

when the remnants

of a tropical storm

month,

may bring heavy

the east. in

September and October

will

be below normal despite rainy periods at the

tober

mid- to late

below.

of both months,

many spots will have

rain, especially to

Heavy

in

not only very hot but also very dry. The best chance for substantial rain

but

in

warmer than normal, although Memorial Day weekend

After a near normal June, exceptionally hot likely in

of the region.

snowstorms are

toward the middle of March. The coldest temperatures April

most

in

with additional

make the month as

continue to be warmer than normal. Precipitation

start,

September

in

the middle, and the end of the month. Heavy rain

in

mid-Oc-

a whole wetter than normal.

12-

Temp. 41°

NOV. 1997:

(1°

above avg.); precip. 3.5"

showers. 6-8 Heavy rain. 920 Mainly dry, seasonable. 21-25 Rainy, quite mild. 26-30 Colder, showers and flurries. (avg.). 1-5 Cooler,

DEC. 1997:

above

Temp. 26.5°

(avg.); precip. 3.5" (0.5"

avg.). 1-3 Rainy. 4-11 Cold, lake

15 Rain and snow. 16-17

Snow,

rain south.

Some

23-26 Cold,

snows. sun. 18-22

below

(1"

coming

hot. 11-18 Cool, showers. 19-23 Sunny, hot. 24-30 Warm, showers east.

flurries, lake

Temp. 24.5°

(4° above avg.); above avg.). 13 Rain, then colder. 4-10 Turn-

snow north.

1

avg.); precip. 1.5" (2"

above

Temp. 24.5°

and humid. 9-11 Thunderstorms, then cooler. 12-14 Quite hot. 15-17 Cooler. 18-22 Hot, thunderstorms. 23-26 Hot days, cool nights. 27-31 Thunder-

(1°

storms, warm.

avg.); precip. 2.5" (0.5"

AUG. 1998:

above avg.^ 1-7 Snow, then very cold. 8-14 Milder, mainly dry. 15-21 Cold, snowy episodes. 22-24 Mild. 25-28 Rain to snow. MAR. 1998. Temp. 34° (avg.; 1° below east); precip. 4" (1" above avg.). 1-6 Mild, some rain. 7-

10 Snow, cold. 11-16 Milder. 17-22 Colder, 23-31 Chilly, rain and snow.

flur-

ries.

Temp. 47° (1° above avg.); precip. 2" (avg.). 1-6 Turning milder. 7-12 Rain, colder. 21 Warmer, rain. 22-30 Mild, then cooler, APR. 1998.

showers.

MAY1998:Temp. 59.5° (2° above avg.); precip. 3"

CD

rcu.

+5'

above below avg.). (4°

1-8 Sunny, hot,

1-

21 Seasonably cold, flurries, lake 13- snows. 22-24 Cold. 2531 Seasonable, lake snows. FEB. 1998:

Temp. 76°

JULY 1998:

precip. 3.5" (1"

ing milder, rain,

Becoming warmer, few

JUNE 1998: Temp. 67° (avg.); precip. 3" (1" below avg.). 1-5 Cooler, showers. 6-10 Be-

snows. 27-31 Milder. JAN. 1998:

avg.). 1-9

showers. 10-13 Showers, then cooler. 14-20 Warmer, sunshine. 21-25 Warm days, chilly nights. 26-31 Showers, warm.

Mpr.

Temp. 74°

(4°

above avg.); precip.

5" (1" above avg.; 3" above southeast). 1-7 Heat wave. 8-14 Thunderstorms, then cooler. 15-18

Heavy rain east. 19-26 Rather hot, thunderstorms east. 27-3 1 Cooler, few showers. SEPT. 1998: Temp. 62° (1° above avg.); precip. 3" (0.5" below avg.). 1-3 Rain. 4-13 Sunshine, pleasant. 14-18 Rain, some heavy. 19-23 Sunny, hot.

24-26 Cooler. 27-30 Rain, then colder.

Temp. 52° (2° above avg.); precip. 4.5" above avg.). 1-8 Mild days, crisp nights. 9-12 Rainy, warm. 13-16 Sunny, warm. 17-21 OCT. 1998:

(2"

Cooler, heavy rain. 22-3 1 Showers, seasonable.

May

June

Jul y

TO

>mua.

'

Sept.

Oct.

+3"

o CL Normal

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1

Normal^03

2

-5°

132

3"

Old Farmer’s Almanac

199

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Old Farmer’s Almanac

Name Address City State

ZIP.

133

"REGION

GREATER OHIO VALLEY r,

SUMMARY: The

R

/

;

:c %:A

period from

s

;

./

November through March

j-

be milder and

will

than normal, with snowfall below normal, except possibly

son

start on the cold side, with temperatures

will

grees below normal. start in the

west

Snow

and May

mid-December

will

in

will

will

November and December some 2 de-

last long

enough

for a white

Christmas, but a milder regime

region, with January temperatures

also be milder than normal, although

continue relatively

drier

the mountains. The sea-

December and then spread across the whole

in

above normal. February April

in

in

:

snow

in

midmonth

will

about 5 degrees

be heavy.

will

mild, with temperatures about 2 degrees above norma! and

rainfall

be-

low normal.

June

will

be on the cool side, and July and August

early

and mid-July and

west

in

in

June and

in

in

early

the east

and mid- to

in

will

be hotter than normal. Heat waves are most

late August. Rainfall will

be near normal, with the heaviest

August. The remains of a tropical storm could bring

some heavy

likely in

rain in

rain to

the

the east

mid- to late August.

September and October temperatures

will

occur

in

will

be about 2 degrees warmer than normal despite

September.

Rainfall will

chilly periods. Particularly

be near normal but below normal

in

hot

the west.

NOV. 1997: Temp. 44° (2° below avg.); precip. 2" (1" below avg.). 1-3 Showers, cooler. 4-9 Cold,

warm. 19-22 Sunny, warm. 23-27 Warm, rainy

showers and flurries. 10-21 Sunshine; mild, cold 22-24 Rainy, mild. 25-30 Colder, showers, mountain snow.

MAY1998:Temp 66° (2° above avg.); precip. 3.5" " below avg.). 1-8 Becoming warmer, more hu(1

nights.

Temp. 32°

(2° below avg.; 1° above below avg.). 1-3 Mild, showers. 4-11 Cold, flurries. 12-14 Rain and snow. 1517 Seasonable. 18-22 Rain and snow. 23-26 Cold, DEC. 1997:

west); precip. 2" (1"

snow showers. 27-31 Milder, then rain. JAN. 1998: Temp. 34° (5° above avg.); precip. 3" above avg.). 1-3 Rain, then colder. 4-10 Milder and rainy. 11-15 Seasonable, mainly dry. 16-19 Cold, snow showers. 20-24 Milder, (0.5"

periods. 28-30 Cooler. .

mid. 9-17 Showers, cooler. 18-22 Sunny, pleasant. 23-31 Showers, warm. JUNE 1998: Temp. 69° (3° below avg.); precip. 3.5" (avg.; 2" above west). 1-4 Cooler, showers. 5-9

Sunny, warmer. 10-18 Rainy, cool. 19-25 Sunshine, hot. 26-30 Cooler, few showers.

Temp. 78°

JULY 1998:

Temp. 35°

(2°

thunderstorms

above

AUG. 1998:

avg.); precip. 3.5" (0.5"

above

avg.). 1-3

Very

avg.); precip.

east.

Temp. 79°

(4°

above

avg.); precip. 4" (2" above avg. east; 1" below west). 1-8 Heat wave. 9-18

cold.

4-8 Snow, then very cold. 914 Turning milder. 15-17 Snow, colder. 18-24 Snow, then milder. 25-28 Rain, then colder.

above

10-12 Thunderstorms, cooler. 13-21 Hot, humid, mainly dry. 22-3 1 Progressively hotter, few

then cold with flurries. 25-31 Milder, then cold with snowy episodes. FEB. 1998:

(2°

3"(r' below avg.). 1-9 Hot, humid, mainly dry.

Warm, thunderstorms east. 19-26 Heat wave west, few thunderstorms east. 27-3 1 Sunny, very warm. Temp. 70° (2° above avg.); precip. 2" below avg.). 1-3 Hot, then thunderstorms. 4-13 Sunny, warm days, cool nights. 14-16 SEPT. 1998:

(1"

MAR. 1998: Temp. 44° (avg.); precip. 4" (avg.). 1-8 Mild, rainy. 9-12 Much colder. 13-18 Warm, few showers. 19-22 Showers, then colder with flurries. 23-24 Mild. 25-28 Rain, then colder. 29-31 Cold, flurries. APR. 1998. Temp. 56° (2° above avg.); precip. 3" (avg. west; 1" below east). 1-6 Sunny, turning warmer. 7-13 Quick changes. 14-18 Showers,

Thunderstorms, then cooler. 17-23 Sunny, hot. 24-30 Showers, then cooler.

above avg.); precip. 3" above below west). 1-7 Rain, then cool. 8-11 Rainy, warm. 12-15 Sunny, warm. OCT. 1998:

Temp. 58°

(0.5"

(2°

avg.; 1"

16-23 Showers, turning cooler. 24-3 1 crisp nights.

Warm days,

New Poetry Contest $48,000.00 in Prizes The National Library of Poetry

award 250

to

total prizes to

amateur

poets in coming months

Owings

-

Maryland

Mills,

The

National Library of Poetry has just

announced that $48,000.00 in prizes will be awarded over the next 12 months in the brand new North American Open Amateur Poetry Contest. The contest is open to everyone and entry is free. “We’re especially looking for poems from new or unpublished poets,” indicated Howard Ely, spokesperson for The National Library of Poetry.

“We

have a

ten year history of awarding large prizes to talented poets

won any

who have

never before

The National Library of Poetry publishes the work of in colorful hardbound anthologies like

amateur poets

The Coming of Dawn, pictured above. Each volume features poetry by a diverse mix of poets from all over the world.

must appear on the top of the page. “All poets

who

enter will receive a response

concerning their

artistry,

usually within

seven weeks,” indicated Mr. Ely.

type of writing competition.”

Possible Publication

How To Anyone may poem, any

Many

enter the competition

simply by sending in nal

Enter

ONLY ONE

subject,

any

origi-

style, to:

The National Library of Poetry

submitted poems will also be

considered for inclusion in one of The National Library of Poetry’s forthcoming

hardbound

anthologies.

anthologies published by the organization

have included

Owings Or

Poetry Plaza

Mills,

MD 21117-6282

enter online at

On

Threshold of a Dream, Days of Future's Past, Of Diamonds and Rust, and Moments More

Suite 6482 1

www.poetry.com

to

the

Go, among others.

“Our anthologies routinely

sell

out

because they are truly enjoyable reading,

The poem should be no more than 20 lines, and the poet’s name and address

and they are also a sought-after source-

book

for poetic talent,”

© 1987-1997 1998

Previous

Old Farmer’s Almanac

added Mr. Ely. The National Library

ot

Poetry

135

DEEP SOUTH O

r

R

A

C

E

T

S

SUMMARY: November through March m\\ be warmer than normal despite a cold start. Temperatures through mid-December will be 2 to 3 degrees below normal, and for the rest of the period.

2 to 3 degrees above normal and mid-December and first half

snow

December,

or ice are

April

May.

of

and May

Some

will

mid-January. Rainfall

early

early

in

in

will

in

mid- to late January, and

of the hottest temperatures of the year

Temperatures

in

July. Rainfall will

be

Tropical storms

will

June through August will be a slightly

will

bit

and mid- to

late February,

3 degrees warmer than normal,

be 2 to

be

will

in late

be less

likely,

late

more

activity in

warm and

in

occur during the

the Atlantic than dry, with

first half

of May.

activity will

7-18 Rain, then sunny and warmer. 19-25 Rainy periods. 26-30 Sunny, cool. chilly.

DEC. 1997: Temp. 41.5° (2°

below

avg.); precip. 4"

Some sun,

Temp. 46°

Nashville:^

quent thunderstorms. 23-31 Seasonable heat and thunderstorms.

(2°

AUG. 1998:

colder. 14-20

New

27-28 Mild. „

,

Ram

(l°

above above avg. north; 2" below

warm. 10-13 Rain, then

north,

warm

Heavy rain. 26-3 1 Showers, then .. 0/10 u ppiQQo.^ Are. 1998. Temp.

south. 21-25

quite cold.

a above avg.);X precip. 7.5" 1-3 Sunny, chilly. 4- 10 Warmer,

64

above avg.).

(

24-27

Warm, ram north. 28-30

Seasonable.

s?

^

*c3

+5

o.

£

Normal

Orleans

(1° above below avg.).

1-6 Hot north, thunder south. 7-10 Seasonably hot. 11-15 Unsettled. 16-21 Warm, mainly dry. 22-31 Hot, mainly dry.

SEPT. 1998: Temp. 76° (2° above avg.); precip. 1.5" (2" below avg.). 1-3 Few showers,

4-9 Sunny, seasonable. 10-14 Sunny, hot. 1518 Cooler. 19-26 Sunny, hot. 27-30 Hot south, rain north. /^o u OPT \ o" UbI.im Temp. 65° (2° above avg.); precip. 2" (1" below avg.). 1-3 Hot, humid. 4-7 Cooler north. 8-11 Thunderstorms, then cooler. 12-15 Sunny, warmer. 16-22 Showers, then cool. 23-27 Sunny, warm. 28-31 Seasonable.

'****#

'

OJ

Temp. 82°

avg.); precip. 2.5" (1"

Some sun, milder. 24-26 Heavy

.

afternoon thunderstorms.

15 Hot, with sunshine. 16-22 Fre-

1-5 Cold, then milder. 6-10 Rain, some heavy. 11-13 Mild. 14-17 Shrevepoil Showers, then colder. 18-23

^vg.), precip. 5 (1 south). 1-9 Some sun,

are at the start and

JULY 1998: Temp. 82° (1° below avg.); precip. 5.5" (2" above avg.). 1-11 Hazy, humid, few thunderstorms. 12-

(avg.).

MAR. 1998: Temp. 54°

rainfall

thunderstorms.

above avg.); precip. 4"

north.

mid- to late July.

below avg.); precip. 3.5" (avg.) 1-3 Cool. 4-8 Sunny, hot. 9-18 Showers, rather cool. 19-23 Sunny, hot. 24-30 Hot, few

above avg.); precip.

(3°

below avg.). 1-4 Heavy rain, then colder. 5-10 Cloudy, mild. 11-17 Rainy, then cold. 18-23 Rain, snow north. 24-31 Mainly seasonable.

snow

mid-

the Gulf.

in

2.5" (1"

rain,

in

JUNE 1998: Temp. 76° (3°

below avg.). 1-7 Rain, then colder. 8-16 Rainy, cool north. 17-20 Cold, then milder, 21-31 Showers, then warm.

FEB. 1998:

in

occur

temperatures averaging about 2 degrees above

24-3 1

(1"

Temp. 43°

be

will

MAY 1998: Temp. 77° (3° above avg.); precip. 5" (avg.). 1-14 Mainly dry, hot. 15-18 Humid, showers. 19-23 Warm, thunderstorms south.

Temp. 50.5° (2° below avg.); precip. 3" below avg.). 1-3 Showers, cool. 4-6 Sunny,

JAN. 1998:

in

mid-October.

N0V.1997: (2"

the

February.

normal and precipitation about half of normal. The greatest chances for significant

end of September and

likely in

March. The best chances for

cooler than normal. Hottest temperatures

relatively

with

early

with a wet April followed by near-normal rainfall

above normal. The most widespread thunderstorm

September and October will be

in

be well below normal, with the rainiest periods most

and mid-January, early and

December,

The coldest spells

/%•

+3"

i

CD

O

f Old Farmer’s Almanac

Normal^-

1998

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Old Farmer’s Almanac

^

137

E REGION

I

CHICAGO & SOUTHERN GREAT LAKES

ORE

F

A

C

SUMMARY: November through March

will

T

S

be 1 to 2 degrees warmer than

normal, mainly because of a warmer-than-normal January.

and February

will

December

both be colder than January, with coldest temperatures

and mid-February. Precipitation overall will be close to normal, although twice the norm in January. The best chances for heavy snow are

expected

in

in

early

mid-December and just after the new year. April and May will be warmer and drier than normal, a trend that will carry through most

of the

summer. Temperatures

Rainfall

actually

will

be quite hot

from June through August

be cooler than normal, with

will

in

early May.

be well below normal, with well-above-normal temperatures. June

rainfall

only a bit below normal. July and August

with infrequent cooling thunderstorms. Especially oppressive heat July,

and

spread

in

the

first

week and through much

rain are in late July

and

in

in

early

of the latter half of August.

occur

in

bring several heat waves,

will

the

first half

The best chances

for

and

final

week

of

much-needed wide-

mid- and late August.

Warmer, drier-than-normal weather followed by a cool-down

will

will

will

continue

in

September and October, despite heavy thunderstorms,

September. Other periods

likely to

experience significant rain are mid-Septem-

ber and mid- and late October.

NOV. 1997: Temp. 42.5° (1° above avg.); precip. 2" (1" below avg.). 1-8 Turning colder, showers to

9-21 Sunshine, rather mild. 22-25 Rain, then colder. 26-30 Windy, showers. flurries.

DEC. 1997:

Temp. 28° (avg.); precip. 2" (1" below snow showers. 10-11 Sunny,

avg.). 1-9 Colder,

cold. 12-14

Rain and snow. 15-23 Cold, 24-3 1 Cold, then milder with rain.

flurries.

MAY1998:Temp. 62° (2° above avg.); precip. 2.5" (1" below avg.). 1-7 Sunny, becoming hot. 8-17 Cooler, few showers. 18-25 Sunny, warmer. 263 1 Thunderstorms, warm. JUNE 1998: Temp. 69° (2° below avg.); precip. 3" (1" below avg.). 1-6 Cool, mainly dry. 7-17 Warm, then cool, frequent showers 18-24

Sunny,

hot.

Some

sun, cooler.

JULY 1998:

Temp. 79°

25-30

Temp. 28° (5° above avg.); precip. 3.5" above avg.). 1-3 Heavy snow. 4-9 Milder with heavy rain. 10-15 Sunny, mild. 16-18 Flurries. 19-24 Mainly dry, seasonable. 25-3 1 Periods of snow, then cold. JAN. 1998:

(2"

avg.); precip. 2" (2"

below

storms north. 9-13 Hot, thunderstorms west. 14-17 Sunny, warm. 18-22 Warm, thunderstorms. 23-26 Sunny, hot. 2731 Thunderstorms, oppres-

Temp. 28° (1° above below west); precip. 2.5" (0.5" above avg.). 1-3 Cold, flurries. 4-13 avg.; 1°

sively hot.

Light snow, then milder. 1417 Rain to snow, then cold. 18-23 Milder. 24-28 Rain.

AUG. 1998:

Temp. 79.5°

avg.); precip. 1.5" (2"

MAR. 1998: Temp. 37° ( 1 ° below avg.); precip. 3" (avg.; 1" above east). 1-4 Rainy episodes. 5-7

below

Warm west, Much

SEPT. 1998:

Temp. 69°

(3°

above

avg.); precip.

warmer. 18-23 Rain, then cold. 24-31 Rain

then sunny, cooler.

changing

Sunny, hot. 24-30 Showers, cooler.

snow.

APR. 1998: Temp. 53° (3° above avg.); precip. 2" (1" below avg.). 1-6 Sunny, turning warmer. 71 1 Rain, then cooler. 12-14 Sunny, warmer. 15-

18 Showers. 19-24 Sun, then rain. 25-30 then rain, cooler.

138

above

avg.). 1-8

derstorms, then cooler east. 2.5" (1"

Dec-

(6°

Heat wave. 9-17 Thunderstorms, then seasonable. 1 8-25 Another heat wave. 26-3 1 Thun-

rain east. 8-11 Colder, flurries. 12-17

-te

avg.).

1-8 Hot, mainly dry, thunder-

FEB. 1998:

to

above

(4°

Warm,

below

Heavy thunderstorms, 1-18 Quick changes. 19-23

avg.). 1-10 1

OCT. 1998: Temp. 54° (3° above avg.); precip. 3.5" (1" below avg.). 1-7 Showers, then sunny.

8-11 Rain. 12-15 Sunny, warm. 16-22 Showers, turning cooler. 23-26 Mild. 27-31 Rain, then warm.

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1998

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© I

05491

I

J

139

REGION

I

NORTHERN GREAT PLAINS-GREAT LAKES

10

F> On'R

'tE

-I

C

S:.,T

,:a

SUMMARY: Another tough winter is likely, especially in the western part of the region. Although November will be quite mild, temperatures from November through March

average 2 degrees below normal

will

only 1 degree above normal

in

the west and

the east. February will be especially harsh, with

in

strong winds and temperatures well below normal. The coldest weather likely

from the

latter half of

January through February. Precipitation

be

will

normal, with snowfall near to slightly above normal. The best chances early

for

most

slightly

below

heavy snow are

in

December, mid-February, and the second week of March.

The change from March

to April

will

be dramatic, with both

than normal. Precipitation during these months

Temperatures

in

pecially in the south,

early

is

and

late July,

June will

be

will

will

and May expected to be quite a

April

relatively cool, but July

and August

will

be

be less than normal, with drought a possibility.

and the

first

week and second

bit

milder

be below normal.

half of August.

far hotter

than normal. Rainfall, es-

The hottest temperatures

The best chances

for

will

widespread

occur

in

rain are in

mid-June, late July, and mid-August.

Warm and

dry weather

expected to continue

is

in

September and October, with temperatures about 4 de-

grees above normal and precipitation half to two thirds of normal.

NOV. 1997: Temp. 38° (5° above avg.); precip. 1 (1" below avg.). 1-6 Colder, showers and flur-

7-17 Sunny, mild days. 18-27 Clouds, mild. 28-30 Colder, flurries.

ries.

still

Temp. 20° (1° above avg.); precip. T' below east). 1-6 Periods of snow. 7-12 Mainly dry. 13-20 Snow showers. 21-27 Milder, sprinkles and flurries. 28-31

MAY 1998: Temp. 63° (5° above avg.); precip. 2" (1" below avg.). 1-6 Sunny, hot. 7-13 Showers, then cooler. 14-23 Sunny, very warm. 24-31 Hot and humid, then showers, cooler.

DEC. 1997:

JUNE 1998:

(avg.; 1"

(1"

below

Temp. 66°

(2°

above

warm. 21-30 Show-

\

above avg.); precip. 3.5" (avg.; 1" above north). 1-8 Hot, few thunderstorms. 9-11 Sunny, hot. 1216 Thunderstorms east, hot west. 17-21 Cooler. 22-26 Sunny, hot. 27-31 Quick changes.

'

Rather mild, sun. 11-19 Colder,

snow showers. 20-23 Sunny, quite cold. 24-31 Cold, occasional flurries. FEB. 1998:

Temp. 12°

(6°

east); precip. 1.5" (0.5"

AUG. 1998: Temp. 76° (6° above avg.); precip. 3" (1" below avg.; avg. north). 1-7 Heat wave. 8-

below avg.; 2° below above avg.). 1-5 Very

Snowy episodes. 14-18 Frigid. 19-24 Milder, then snow. 25-28 Cold, flurries. cold. 6-13

Temp. 28° (3° below avg.); precip. 1" (1" below avg.). 1-7 Somewhat milder. 812 Snow, then cold. 13-18 Milder, showers.

MAR. 1998.

19-25 Cold, occasional snow. 26-31 Milder, then very cold. APR. 1998.

Temp. 50°

(4°

above avg.); precip. 1 (1.5" below avg.). 1-6 Much wanner. 7-lOShowers, cooler. 1 1-20 Sunny, warm. 21-24 Showers. 25-30 Sun, then showers.

140

Temp. 76°

(3°

(avg.). 1-10

some

then cooler.

JULY 1998:

east); precip. 1"

Warm,

storms. 16-20 Sunny, ers,

below avg.; 3°

5-15

then cool with thunder-

Temp. 11°

JAN. 1998:

avg.); precip. 3"

avg.). 1-4 Sunshine, mild.

Colder.

(2°

below

13 Cooler, few thunderstorms. 14-19 Sunny, warm. 20-24 Heat wave. 25-31 Hot, scattered

thunderstorms.

Temp. 64.5° (4° above avg.); precip. below avg.). 1-7 Warm, sunny. 8-15

SEPT. 1998:

1.5" (1"

Turning cooler, mainly dry. 16-21 Showers, then hot. 22-26 Cooler, few showers. 27-30 Frequent showers east. OCT. 1998: Temp. 53° (4° above avg.); precip. 1 (1" below avg.). 1-4 Sunshine, warm. 5-9 Showers,

warm. 10-12 Sunny, cool. 13-15 Sunny, warm. 16-22 Showers, then cooler. 23-3 and down temperatures.

quite

Up

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1998

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Old Farmer’s Almanac

141

~ REGION!

CENTRAL GREAT PLAINS 11

FORE

C

A

T

S

SUMMARY: Temperatures from November through March

m\\ vary quite a bit

through the region. Western and central areas will be well above normal in November but well below normal thereafter, with temperatures about 2 degrees below

av-

erage overall. The east will be near normal in November and December but warmer than normal thereafter. Precipitation and snowfall will be near normal, although the central area will have more than usual. Heavy snow is most likely in mid- and late January and late February in the west, and in late November and mid- to late February in the east.

and May will be milder than usual, with below-normal rainfall, especially in the southwest. Temperatures be about 3 degrees above normal during each month. Although June will be cooler than normal, July and especially August will be quite hot. Rainfall will be below April

will

normal

all

three

months

in

most of the

region.

The

of low corn and soybean yields. Hottest periods

possibility of a

will

be

in

drought

is

rather high, with a significant

mid- and late July, and

in

the

first

week

in late July and mid-August. September and October will be about 4 degrees above average. Although below normal, soaking rains will occur in late September and early October.

of

chance

and mid-

to

August. The greatest chances for significant rains are

late

Temperatures

in

Temp. 43° (5° above avg.; avg. east); precip. 1.5" (1" below avg.). 1-8 Cooler, showers east. 9-20 Sunny, warm. 21-24 Turning cooler, showers. 25-30 Mild west, chilly east. NOV. 1997:

DEC. 1997: Temp. 23° (1°

below avg.); precip. 1.5" above avg.; " below east). 1-4 Chilly, showers and flurries. 5- 1 1 Dry. 12- 16 Mild southwest, flurries northeast. 17-20 Mild. 21-25 Rain and 1

(0.5"

snow, cooler. 26-3 1 Milder. JAN. 1998:

Temp. 17°

(4°

19-22 Hot. 23-30 Thunderstorms

Omalw

JULY 1998:

Rain east, then mild. 7-10 Rain, snow west. II- 15 Mild east, cold milder. 22-28 Snow west, flurries east. 29-31 Very cold.

Temp. 19° (5° below avg. northwest; 1° above southeast); precip. 2" (0.5" above avg.; 2" above central). 1-4 Flurries, then milder. 5-11 Snow and rain, then colder. 12-16 Mild, then cold. 17-21 Cloudy and mild east, cold northwest. 2226 Rain to snow, colder. 27-28 Flurries. FEB. 1998:

precip.

east; 3°

below west); 1-4 Rain east, flurries

west. 5-7 Milder, then thunderstorms. 8- 10 Sunny, cold. 11-15 Sunny, warm. 16-23 Colder,

showers.

24-26 Rain to snow. 27-31 Turning cold. APR. 1998. Temp. 53° (3°

above avg.); precip. 2" (1 Sunny, warmer. 7-1 1 Thunderstorms, cooler. 12-18 Warm, thunderstorms.

below

avg.). 1-6

east.

Temp. 79°

(3°

above avg.); precip. 3.5" (avg.; 2" below south). 1-

west. 16-21 Flurries, then

Temp. 34° (avg. 1 (1 " below avg.). "

warm

25-30 Thunderstorms.

I- 6

MAR. 1998:

east.

storms west, jf

remain

MAY 1998: Temp. 65° (3° above avg.); precip. 2" (2" below avg.; avg. central). 1-10 Warm, thunderstorms. 11-17 Cooler, showers. 18-21 Sunny, warm. 22-25 Cooler. 26-3 1 Thunderstorms. JUNE 1998: Temp. 69° (3° below avg.); precip. 3" (1 " below avg.; 2" below centrd). 16 Warmer, thunderstorms. 7-16 Cooler, showers. 17-24 Thunder-

below

avg. west; 4° above east); precip. 2" (1" above avg.).

rainfall will

7 Some sun, turning hot. 810 Cooler, thunderstorms. 11-17 Hot, thunderstorms. 18-22 Warm, mainly dry. 23-27 Hot, few thunderstorms. 28-3 1 Heat wave. AUG. 1998: Temp. 82° (6°

above avg.); precip. 2" (2" below avg.). 1 -8 Heat wave. 9-14 Thunderstorms, cooler. 15-20 Warm. 21-24 Heat wave. 25-26 Thunderstorms. 27-31 Oppressive. SEPT. 1998: Temp.

69° (4° above avg.); precip. 2.5" below avg.). 1-2 Hot, then thunderstorms. 37 Sunny, warm. 8-12 Very hot. 13-17 Thunderstorms, then cooler. 18-21 Hot. 22-30 Cooler. (1"

Temp. 58° (4° above avg.); precip. 2" below avg.; 2" above southeast). 1-7 Rain south and east. 8-11 Showers, warm. 12-14 Sunny, warm. 15-18 Warm. 19-26 Warm, showers east. OCT. 1998:

(1"

27-3 1 Dry, mild.

Old Farmer’s Almanac

1998

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Old Farmer’s Almanac

State:

np

j 143

REGION!

TEXAS-OKLAHOMA

12

RECAST

O

F

SUMMARY: Although temperatures from November through March will be about 1 degree warmer than normal in the northwest and 2 degrees warmer in the southeast, there will be a few cold periods. Cold air will even reach all the way down to the Rio Grande Valley in mid-December or early January. Precipitation will be near normal, with a drier-than-usual November and March, but with wetter weather in between. The best chances for snow and ice across the northern and perhaps the central regions are in the first half of January and again in early February.

and May

April

will

Though June first half

ley

of July

will

drier than normal. April will be particularly dry, especially in the south and more frequent showers and thunderstorms in May. showery and cool, hotter temperatures will prevail, with scattered thunderstorms. The

be warmer and

east, while Gulf moisture start

will

bring

be hotter and

will

drier

by midmonth. The remainder of July

than usual. The combination of

activity

than usual, but a possible tropical storm will

be hot and humid. August will be

summer heat and below-normal

will

bring heavy rain to the Val-

typically hot, with less

rainfall will result in

thunderstorm

a significant drought

by the end of August.

The will

be

first half

September

of

distinctly cooler.

will

October

be rather hot despite

will

feature a couple of

some thunderstorms,

much-needed

but the latter half of the month

rainy periods.

NOV. 1997:

Sunny, hot. 24-30 Hot, cooler northwest,

precip. 1.5" (1"

MAY

Temp. 57° (avg.; 2° above northwest); below avg.). 1-3 Rain south and east. 4-6 Sunny, chiUy. 7-9 Turning warmer, some rain. 10-12 Sunny warm. 13-17 Sunny rain south. 18-21 Showers. 22-30 Sunny, warm. DEC. 1997: Temp. 49° (1° above avg.); precip. 2.5" ,

,

above avg.; avg. east). 1-6 Dry. 7-12 Sunny, cool. 13-16 Rain. 17-22 Sunny, cool. 23-27 Rain. 28-3 1 Rain east. (1"

Temp. 45° (avg. west; 2° above east); precip. 3" (1"

JAN. 1998:

(i"

Temp. IT (3° above avg.); precip. 4" below avg.). 1-9 Mainly dry, warm. 10-15 1998:

Cooler west, thunderstorms hot southeast. 1 6-20 Sunny, hot. 21-24 Thunderstorms. 25-31 Hot. ,

JUNE 1998: Temp. 80° (2° below avg.); precip. 2.5" (1" below avg.). 1-6 Showers, then cooler. 7-12 Thunderstorms, then hot.

13-17 Hot south, showers north. 18-21 Seasonable. 22-30 Hot, thunderstorms.

AmarilNo

Temp. 86° (avg.); precip. 2.5" (avg.; 1" below northeast). 1-11 Sunny, hot. 12-14 Possible Gulf hurricane. 15-23 Thunderstorms. 24-3 1 Hot, few thunderstorms.

JULY 1998:

above avg.). 1-5 Snow north and west, cooler. 6-10 Warm south, ice to rain north. 11-15 Milder.

16-20 Rain east. 21-25 Warm south, rain northeast. 26-31

AUG. 1998:

Mainly dry, seasonable. FEB. 1998:

Temp. 49°

Temp. 86°

avg.); precip. 1" (2"

(2°

below

1-6

storms. 27-3

snow northwest. 10-13 Sunny, warmer. 1417 Showers, then colder. 18-21 Sunny, warmer. 22-28 Showers, then sunny and colder. .

^ °^®^’^g-);precip.2"(l" ra./rr \ 1 o cu belowav'pi below avg.). 1-8 Showers, then sunnv. warmer. 9Rrirthin in Sunny, c™ 12 Rain, then cooler. 13-20 turning warm. 2 1 -25 Hot south, rainy north. 26-3

Tf

1

north 11-17 north. iTi 7 Drizzle south,

Sunny, chilly. ^

bdow^avI^i^T 3^Siiin

ram

avg.).

hot.

Thunderstorms south. 23-26 Thunder-

Warm southeast,

^

below

above

7-10 Thunderstorms. 11-15 Sunshine, hot. 16-22

avg. northwest; 2° above southeast); precip. 2.5" (avg.; 1" above northwest). 1-5 Sunny, warmer. 6-9

MflR IQQR-Torv,.,

Sunny and

(1°

north. 18-23

1

Sunny,

hot.

Temp. 82° (2° above avg.; avg. south); precip. 3.5" (avg.; 2" below south).

SEPT. 1998:

1-3 Unsettled. 4-12 Sunny, hot. Gulf thunderj- 119 ^^uojici storms. lus. 113Cooler, ic few w soowers. showers. ZU-Z 20-23 Sunny, ,

hot.

24-30 Thunderstorms, then cooler. ^4-30

0CT.1998: Temp. 70.5° (2° above avg.); precip. 3" (1" above avg. west; 1" below east). 1-4 Warm, dry. 5-9 Hot, rain ram west, west. 10-13 cooler, Cooler, thundermunder-

stormseast. 14-20 Sunny, warmer. 2 1-27 Cooler, then hot. 28-3 1 Sunny, cooler.

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1998

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Old Farmer’s Almanac

CALL

919-554-4014 145

* REGION

ROCKY MOUNTAINS

RECAST

FO

13

SUMMARY: The winter season looks like it will be a nasty one, even by Rocky Mountain standards. November will be relatively mild with above-normal temperatures and below-normal precipitation. However, the period from November through March will be about 4 degrees colder than normal, with above-normal snowfall. A mid-December snowstorm will bring a white Christmas to most of the region. Other widespread snowstorms will occur early in the new year, in the beginning and end of February, and

in

Coider-than-normal temperatures

the north

in

mid-April

early March.

occur

will

and early May, but there

The period from June through August Look

for

heavy

will

in April

will

and May. Heavy snow

also be

some warmth,

especially

first

will

in

mid- and late May.

and

in

the south

in

midmonth.

pop up on most days. Hottest temperatures are most

Rainfall in July

activity will

be

likely in late

rainfall.

and August

in late July,

will

but a few

June, mid-July, and the

part of August.

The

first

part of

September

mountain snow ends

in

will

be especially hot and

September, October

will

be

dry,

but wet and cooler weather

will follow.

After

heavy

relatively tranquil.

NOV. 1997: Temp. 43° (2°

above avg.); precip. 0.5" (0.5" below avg.). 1-5 Sunny, cool. 6-7 Few showers. 8-12 Sunny, warm. 13-22 Rain, mountain

showers, mountain snow. 7-10 Sunny, warmer. 1114 Showers, cooler. 15-17 Sunny, warm. 18-22 Sunny south, rain and snow north. 23-27 Dry,

snow. 23-27 Sunny, mild. 28-30 Showers, flurries.

warm. 28-3 1 Showers,

Temp. 28° (3° below avg.); precip. below avg.). 1-8 Colder, snow show- , ers. 9-12 Milder. 13-17 Snowstorm. 1820 Flurries. 21-25 Sunny, cold. 26-31 /

JUNE 1998: Temp. 67° (2° below avg.); precip. 2" (1" above avg.; 0.5" below north). 1-

DEC. 1997:

1

(0.5"

snow showers, very cold. JAN. 1998: Temp. 24° (3° below avg.; 8° below central); precip. 1.5" (avg.). 1-9 Snow, occasionally

JULY 1998: Temp. 74° (4° below avg.);

precip. 0.8" (avg.). 1-15 Cool, thunderstorms north. 16-18 Sunny, hot. 19-24 Hot north, thunderstorms south. 25-28 Thunderstorms. 29-31 Sunny, cool.

heavy. 10-18 Frigid, mainly dry. 19-25 Cold, occasional snow. 2628 Cold north, milder south. 293 1 Sunny, cold. FEB. 1998:

Temp. 26°

avg.); precip.

1

(8°

below

below avg.). " I- 3 Sunny, cold. 4-7 Heavy snow. 8-10 Frigid. 11-13 Milder. 14-19 Sunny, bitter, then milder. 20-23 Snowy. 24-28

Snow showers,

AUG. 1998: Temp. 76° (avg.); precip. 1" (avg.). 1-7 Sunny

(0.5"

cold.

MAR.1998. Temp. 37° (5° below avg.); precip 1 5" (1" below avg.). 1-6 Blizzard. 7-10 Sunny, cold. II- 17 Milder, showers, mountain

snow. 18-25 Sunny, cold. 26-31 Milder, mountain flurries. APR.1998. Temp. 46° (4° below avg.); precip 1 5" (1" below avg.; 1" above north). 1-6 Milder. 71 2 Cold, then milder 13-18 Cooler, rain and

snow

.

iviiiu. 23-30 Kam Rain and snow nor north. A^'22 Mild. ZO-.3U MAY 1998: Temp. 65° (4° below avg.); " precip. 2 (0.5 below avg.; 1" above north). 1-6 Co* Cool, ..Will..

Nov.

Dec.

Jan. " Feb.‘

^

cooler.

7 Showers, rain central. 8-14 Sunny, cold nights. 15-20 Mainly dry north, rain south. 21-27 Sunny, hot. 28-30 Cooler, showers.

Milder, then

146

the mountains and across

be about 2 degrees cooler than normal, with near-normal

rain in central regions in early June,

be more showery than widespread. The most concentrated thunderstorm thunderstorms

will fall in

Mar.

and hot north, thunderstorms south. 8-15 Dry and hot, thunderstorms south. 16-22 Hot, thunderstorms south and central. 23-27 Sunny, thunderstorms south. 28-3 1 Showers, cooler. SEPT. 1998: Temp. 72° (1° above avg.); precip. 1.5" (avg.; 1" below east). 1-11 Sunny, hot. 12-

15 Thunderstorms, then cooler. 16-21 Warm, then heavy rain, cooler. 22-26 Sunshine, seasonable. 27-30 Showers, mountain snow.

Temp. 54° (2° above avg.); precip. 1" below avg.). 1-6 Sunny, warm. 7-9 Few showers. 10-13 Sunny, warm. 14-16 Rain north. 17-22 Sunshine, warm. 23-31 Cooler, showers. OCT. 1998:

(0.5"

1

Old Farmer’s Almanac

1998

• REGION

SOUTHWEST DESERT

FORECAST

14

SUMMARY: The

normal with below-normal mal, the

frigid air will

rainfall.

have a

early March.

Most places

difficult

November, the April

of May.

first half

and May

Temperatures

will

rainfall,

occur

in

in

will

warmer than

bit

be much colder than nor-

time pushing farther south. Cold incursions early

little

and

late February.

Other cool periods

rain during the period, with

be a

will

bit

below normal, despite a hot

June, July, and August

the second

week

of July.

downpours most

will

be a

hottest time of the year. The second half of

be much cooler, though

still

bit

spell in

of

in late April

above (0.5"

below

still

avg.). 1-3

25 Cooler, showers. 26-28 Sunny, warmer. 293 1 Cooler, showers east. avg.); precip. 0.2"

below Sunny, cool east, warm west. 6- 10 Seasonable. 11-16 Sunny, cool. 17-21 Sunny, hot. 22-26 Showery. 27-30 Sunny, warm. avg.). 1-5

below below below avg.). 1-4 Sunny, warm. 5-7 Cool, showers. 8-1 1 Sunny, hot. (3°

^98

be

hot,

perhaps the

Then October

will

above avg.). 1-10 Sunny, seasonably hot. 11-14 Sunny, quite hot. 15-22

MAR. 1998: Temp. 62° (1° above avg.); precip. 0.5" (0.5" below avg.). 1-2 Showers. 3-5 Sunny, cool. ^13 Sunny, warmer. 14-20 Sunny, seasonable. 21-

Temp. 76°

to

JULY 1998: Temp. 92° (2° below avg.); precip. 2.8" (2"

Hot, thunderstorms,

avg.; 1°

some

heavy. 23-31 Cooler, heavy thunderstorms.

(avg.); precip. 0.2" (0.5" be-

east); precip. 0.1" (0.2"

bring greater-than-normal

derstorms. 19-22 Sunny, hot. 23-30 Very hot, thunderstorms east.

»

low avg.). 1-3 Sunny, warm. 4-11 Showers, then colder. 12-20 Sunny, turning warmer. 21-26 Showers, then colder. 27-28 Sunny, milder.

1998:

The hottest tempera-

cooler. 7-13 Sunny, hot. 14-18 Scattered thun-

(avg.); precip.

° (1

end

May.

JUNE 1998: Temp. 86° (2° below avg.); precip. 0.5" (0.5" above avg.). 1-2 Hot. 3-6 Showers, then

Rain, heavy west. 13-16 Cool, mainly dry. 17-23 Frequent rain. 24-3 1 Sunny, turning warmer.

MAY

will

hot.

in

12- 15 Clouds, a shower. 16-18 Sunny, hot. 19-28 Sunshine, cool, then hotter. 29-31 Few showers.

0.2" (avg.). 1-5 Turning milder. 6-12

below

mid-

rainfall in

or the middle or

to normal or a bit below.

Sunny, warm. 4-14 Warm, showers. 15-21 Sunny, seasonable. 22-28 Sunny, warm. 29-3 1 Turning colder.

(0.2"

November and

warmer than normal.

(1° avg.); precip. 0.5"

APR. 1998: Temp. 69°

early

mid-April and a few hot periods

September will continue

September will cool down

Temp. 55°

Temp. 58°

in

and through August.

first half

above avg.); precip. 0.3" (0.5" below avg.). 1-5 Cool, then warmer. 6-12 Sunny, cool. 13-16 Sunny, warm. 17-22 Some clouds, seasonable. 23-30 Sunny, warm.

FEB. 1998:

come

the best chances for significant

below normal, but that’s

likely in late July

NOV. 1997: Temp. 64° (2°

53°

will

The period from June through August

Despite clouds and scattered thunderstorms, the

JAN. 1998: Temp.

occur

will

of December, mid-January, early and late February, and early and late March.

with locally heavy

DEC. 1997:

be a

continue drier than normal, with the best chances for rain

will

Temperatures

have

will

will

Although the Rockies

December, mid-January, and

in late

tures

November through March

period from

AUG. 1998:

Temp. 91°

(1°

below avg.); precip. 2" (1" above avg.). 1 -7 Cooler, few thunderstorms. 8- 1 Rather hot, local downpours. 18-24 Cooler, clouds, thunderstorms. 25-31 Hot, scattered thunderstorms. SEPT. 1998: Temp. 86° (1°

(0.5"

below

above avg.); precip. 0.5"

avg.). 1-3 Scattered thunderstorms.

4-14 Sunny, very hot. 15-18 Quite hot, thunderstorms east. 19-22 Few thunderstorms. 23-30 Sunny west, thunderstorms east. OCT. 1998:

Temp. 77.5°

0.7" (0.3"

below avg.).

(3°

above

avg.); precip.

1-5 Sunny, hot. 6-8

Thun-

derstorms, some heavy. 9-16 Sunny, very warm. 17-24 Sunny, hot west, cooler east. 25-28 Sunny, warm. 29-3 1 Sunny, cooler.

Old Farmer’s Almanac

147

E

REGION

I

PACIFIC

FOR

15

NORTHWEST E

C

SUMMARY: November through March

will

A

S

T

probably not be as cold as

in

the

previous year but will again be wetter than normal. Novemberthrough January will be warmer than normal near the coast, with below-normal temperatures inland,

re-

inland. The stormiest periods will occur in mid- and late November, with the best chance for coastal snow in mid-Januaiy. Febmid-January, and mid- and late December, and early ruary and March will be colder than normal but with below-normal rainfall and storminess. Most precipitation in February will fall across the north. In March, precipitation will be more evenly distributed, and snow early in

sulting

in

above-normal

the month

will

in

much

and heavy snow

of the area.

damp and cool, with heavy rain to start the month. Fleavy rain will occur in the northern and midmonth but in the south later on. May will be on the cool side, with below-normal rainfall.

April will

areas

cover

rainfall

be

central

The period from June through August will be nice overall, with cooler-than-normal temperatures and generally rainfall. The rainiest weather will be across the north and in the mountains.

below-normal

September

will

be a

bit

warmer than normal,

despite heavy rain midmonth. October

will

with dry weather

NOV. 1997: Temp 48° (4° above avg. north;

1°

above above north). 1 -5 Sunny, warm. 6-8 Rain north. 9-13 Mild, heavy rain. 14- 19 Stormy. 20-23 Mild south, rain north. 24-27 Mainly dry. 28-30 Rain. .

south); precip. 6" (avg. south; 2"

most days.

be stormy, with frequent heavy

Rainfall will

average near normal,

rain.

showers south. 23-30 Sprinkles north, rain south and central. 1998: Temp.

55° (2° below avg.); precip. 1.5" (0.5" below avg.). 1-8 Cool, rain south, sprinWes north. 9- 16 Rain north, warm elsewhere. 17-

MAY

^ REGION

I

CALIFORNIA

16

’

-E 'C

SUMMARY: The period from Novemberthrough March will be milderthan normal with near-normal precipitation. A storm expected in the middle of November will bring heavy thunderstorms to much ofthe region and snowtothe mountains. Decemberwill bring some rainy periods, especially in the north. The heaviest rain and mountain snow will occur during the month’s second week. January will be the most unsettled month ofthe season, with a storm at the beginning and two more in midmonth. Although February and March will each start with a storm, the weather overall will be more tranquil, with warm periods in late February and in mid- and late March. April and May will be cooler and wetterthan normal, with a great deal of cloudiness. The heaviest rain will be in late April

and early May.

Temperatures from June through August will be coolerthan normal, although there will be hottest periods

in

The Valley will occur

in

hottest weather

in

coastal sections

wait

Angeles. October will start on the

NOV. 1997:

Temp. 57°

(2°

(avg.). 1-7 Sunshine,

warm

Sunny,

will

warm

the second until

week

Showers

warm, then

cooler. 8-11

south. 12-19 Stormy, thunder-

MAY

above

avg. north; 0.5"

below

above

Temp. 48°

(1°

below

\

warm,

0

'''

avg.); precip. 1"

inland,

warm, then cooler 19-26 Sunny,

sprinkles north. 27-30 Seasonable.

Temp. 61.5° (3° below avg.; avg. south); precip. 0" (avg.). 1-8 Cool,

Sunshine, hot inland, cool coast. 8-15 Sprinkles, then warm with some sun. 16-25 Sunshine, hot

54° (avg. south; 3° below north); precip. 2" (0.5" above avg.). 1-3 Cooler, showers north. 4-8 Sprinkles. 9-12 Sunny, warm. 13-16

Mar.

inland. 26-3 1

Sunny, warm, sprinkles northwest.

Temp. 65.5° (1° above avg.); precip. below avg.). 1-3 Sunshine. 4-1 1 Santa Ana wind. 12-16 Cool coast, hot inland. 17-20 Showers north, warm south. 21-30 Cool coast, sunny and warm inland.

SEPT. 1998:

0.1" (0.2"

APR. 1998: Temp.

Feb.

Hot

(avg.). 1-7

Temp. 54° (1° above avg.); precip. below avg.). 1-4 Windy, heavy rain, mountain snow. 5-11 Sunny, turning warmer. 12-15 Windy, showers. 16-27 Sunny, seasonable. 28-31 Sunny, warm.

m

below

AUG. 1998: Temp. 61.5° (3° below avg.; 1° above south); precip. 0"

1.5" (1"

Apr.

OCT. 1998:

0.5" (0.5"

Temp. 60° (1° below avg.); precip. below avg.). 1-6 Warm, some sun. 7-

9 Cooler. 10-15 Warm, then showers. 16-21 Sunshine, warm. 22-27 Cooler, few sprinkles. 28-31 Showers.

May

June

July

+5^

Normal

(2°

19-25 Sunny, warm, cool northwest. 26-31 Cool.

MAR. 1998:

o Q. E

27-28 Cool. 29-30 Rain.

sprinkles. 9-18 Sunshine, hot inland.

then cooler. 25-28 Sunny, pleasant.

CC

rain.

JULY 1998:

avg.);

Temp. 51° (avg.; 2° below inland); precip. 2" (1" below avg.). 1-4 Windy, showers. 512 Sunny, cool, then milder. 13-19 Showers north, then sunny and seasonable. 20-24 Show-

Jan.

south. 17-19 Sunshine,

coast. 14-18 Cool, coastal fog.

FEB. 1998:

Dec.

month’s end.

Temp. 60.5°

coast. 6-13

above avg.). 1-5 Rainy, snow. 6-10 Sun, then mountain cool, showers. 11-12 Chilly. 13-14 Showers. 1518 Seasonable. 19-23 Heavy rain, mountain snow. 24-3 1 Sunshine, turning warmer.

o

bring record highs to Los

(avg. south; 2° below north); precip. 0" (avg.). 1-5 Cool, sprinkles

precip. 4.5" (1"

ers,

and mid-August. The

early

will

warm

Temp. 56°

1998:

JUNE 1998:

south). 1-4

Sunshine, seasonable. 5-13 Windy, rains, some heavy. 14-19 Sunny, cool, then showers. 20-26 Warm south, cool north, mountain snow. 27-31 Sunshine, mountain snow. JAN. 1998:

in

The

above avg.; avg. north). 1-6 Showers, locally heavy. 7-9 Dry. 10-11 Showers. 12-21 Coastal fog, sunny inland. 22-23 Hot. 24-3 1 Warm inland, clouds and sprinkles coast.

(2

avg.); precip. 3" (2"

and

any, rain.

(1"

San Francisco

Temp. 51.5°

north,

cool. 20-26 Chilly,

storms. 20-26 Sunny, cool north hot south. 27-30 Sprinkles

DEC. 1997:

mid-July,

in

side, but cooler temperatures will prevail by

above avg.); precip. 2.5"

north, cooler south.

of June,

September, when a Santa Ana wind

little, if

Aug.

Sept.

Oct.

+2

m3

"

CD

O Normal

-5°

-

Old Farmer’s Almanac

"

2

03

O 3

149

WOOLLY BEARS As moths

of 1948, Dr. C. H. Curran, curator of insects at the Amer-

'n the fall

ican

Museum of Nat-

—

to forecast the severity of the

— had long

coming win-

fascinated the entomologist.

Dr. Curran proposed a scientific study. He collected as many caterpillars as he

could in a day, determined the average number of reddish-brown segments, and forecast the coming winter weather through a reporter friend at The New York

Herald Tribune. His experiment, which he continued over the next eight years, attempted to prove scientifically a weather rule of thumb that was as old as the hills around Bear Mountain. The resulting publicity

made

much

to

compared with some of the other 11,000 species of North American moths, but its immature

look

mral History in New York City, took his wife 40 miles north of the city to Bear Mountain State Park to look at woolly bear caterpillars. The woolly bears’ variable bands, made up of 13 distinct segments of black and reddish-brown and their reputed ability ter

go, the Isabella isn’t

the woolly bear the

mous and most recognizable

most

at

larva, called the

black-ended bear or the woolly bear (and, throughout the South, woolly worm) is one of the few caterpillars most people can identify by name. Woolly bears do not actually feel much like wool they are covered with short,

—

stiff bristles

of hair. In field guides, they’re

found among the “bristled” species, which include the all-yellow salt marsh caterpillar and several species in the tiger moth family. Doug Ferguson, an entomologist at the National

Museum

of Natural History in

Washington, D.C., says, “I’ve heard people call different cater-

pillars

fa-

caterpillar

North America. The caterpillar Curran studied, the true woolly bear, is the larval form of Pyrrharctia Isabella, the Isabella tiger moth. This medium-size moth, with yellowish-orange and cream-colored wings in

Zwicker

Mintz

Sara

by

spotted with black,

ern illustrated

is

common from north-

Mexico throughout the United

and across the southern

third of

States

Canada.

-

150

Old Farmer’s Almanac

1998

‘woolly bears,’ even ones that are all

brown, yellow, or gray.

ness they’re referring better

to. I

It’s

all

black,

the hairi-

guess you’d

be careful about which

caterpillar

Conversely, a narrow brown band is said to predict a harsh winter. Between 1948 and 1956, Dr. Curran’s ter will be.

average brown-segment counts ranged

Does Mother Nature use the bands on the woolly bear caterpillar to signal a hard winter?

and not-so-scientihc opinions, by Jim Collins

scientific you’re looking

at

before you

make your

prediction.”

Woolly

bears, like other caterpillars,

hatch during

Here are a few

warm weather from eggs laid

by a female moth. After feeding on dandelions, asters, birches, clovers, maples,

from 5.3 to 5.6 out of the 13-segment total, meaning that the brown band took up more than a third of the woolly bear’s body. As those relatively high numbers sug-

weeds, and other vegetation, mature woolly bears disperse and search for over-

gested, the corre-

sponding winters were milder than average. But Cur-

wintering sites under bark or inside cavi-

of rocks or logs. (That’s why you see so many of them crossing roads and side-

ties

walks in the fall.) When spring arrives, woolly bears spin fuzzy cocoons and transform inside them into full-grown moths. Typically, the bands at the ends of the caterpillar are black, and the one in the

middle is brown or orange, giving the woolly bear its distinctive striped appearance. According to legend, the wider that middle brown section is (i.e., th^ more brown segments there are), the milder the

1998

of

History

Natural

Rice/Department

of

Museum

H.S.

ran was under no scientific illusion:

American

Photo:

He knew 270210

that his data

sam-

were small. Although the experiments popu-

ples The

scientific

experiments

of Dr. C. H. Curran

popularized the folklore of

larized and, to

the woolly bear’s

some

ability to

forecast winter weather.

coming win-

Old Farmer’s Almanac

people,

le-

gitimized folklore, they were

Services,

no.

Library

Neg. -

compare woolly bear fore-

simply an excuse for having fun. Curran, his wife, and their group of friends, who called themselves The Original Society

nal, regularly

of the Friends of the Woolly Bear, es-

caped New York each fall for the glorious foliage and the meals at the posh

For the past ten years. Banner Elk, North Carolina, has held an annual “Woolly Worm Festival” each October,

Bear Mountain Inn. The naturalist Richard Rough was a member, as was

highlighted by a caterpillar race. Retired mayor Charles Von Canon inspects the

Hunter, the actress who starred in the movie Planet of the Apes.

champion woolly bear and announces his winter forecast. His method differs from the more common number-of-

Kim

Morton

Jim

courtesy

-

Preparing for the “Woolly

and caterpillar race, Banner

Elk,

Worm

Festival”

North Carolina.

Thirty years after the last meeting of

Curran’s society, the woolly bear brown-

segment counts and winter forecasts were resurrected by the nature museum at Bear Mountain State Park. The annual counts have continued, more or less tongue in cheek, since then. This

fall,

museum di-

rector Jack Focht will gather a

dozen or

so caterpillars, as he has done since 1988, and spread them out on the kitchen table

of his “folklore consultant,” Clarence Conkling. The two men will count the brown segments, average them, and declare another forecast from Woolly Bear Mountain. “We’re about 80 percent accurate,” he says.

Their forecasts have rekindled interest in the woolly bear. Elementary school classes, like the third grade in Pine Plains, New York, have made

woolly bear forecasting into annual science projects. Outdoor columnists, like Dennis Kipp of the Poughkeepsie Jour-

152

casts against other predictions, both scientific

and

not.

brown-segments method. Counting each of the 13 segments as a week of winter. Von Canon correlates the black segments at the front and rear of the caterpillar with the beginning and end of winter. The more black segments, the worse the winter, and vice versa, with the harshest weather occurring during the black-segment weeks. His predictions, locally famous, are said to be 70 percent accurate. But most scientists discount the folklore of woolly bear predictions as just that, folklore. Says Ferguson from his office in Washington, “I’ve never taken the notion very seriously. You’d have to look at an awful lot of caterpillars in one place over a great

many years in order to

say there’s something to

it.”

Randy Mor-

gan, from the insectarium at the Cincin-

Zoo, declares, “In my opinion, woolly bears and other so-called weather indicators how thick the com husks are, how high above the ground wasps nati

—

build their nests

Mike

—

are simply myths.”

Peters, an entomologist at the

University of Massachusetts, doesn’t disagree, but he says there could, in fact,

be a link between winter severity and the brown band of a woolly bear caterpillar. “There’s evidence,” he says, “that the number of brown hairs has to do with the age of the caterpillar in other words, how late it got going in the spring. The [band] does say something about a heavy winter or an early spring. The only thing is ... it’s telling you about the

—

previous year.”

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Old Farmer’s Almanac

153

Heres everything you need to gardener

who

definitely

know

M

Although we might ap-

pear quite typical as

we go

Now we side

by

forage at will, kids and adults

side.

fill

of peas right in

whenever the craving

the garden

never,

And in the evening, when my father finally sits down to watch the news, he brings

We always eat them raw.

along an enormous bowl of peas, which he

is

that

we

—

the

shells

and devours

my father planted two long rows of peas. On clear June mornings, we started

the

to find ourselves in the garden, just as the

our peas the

dew was

the shell.

drying, nibbling the peas “to see

they were ready.”

A few years later,

the pea crop expanded

we dropped

from two rows this pretense

It’s

our conviction that we’ve done

weight

to

eral

is

way they taste best, right from

About one quarter of a pea’s sugar,

hours after

which turns it’s

picked.

to starch sev-

We think peas

are better than candy. This justifies our

-

— and

openly started grazing. That same year,

right-from-the-vine obsession

my

fretting that there

tells

left for

stand are so sadly lacking in flavor.

mother stopped

illustrated

wouldn’t be any peas

dinner.

all

work of growing them and we’ll enjoy

as

and

in his easy chair.

Beth

by

hits us,

mulch.

year

four rows,

We eat our

weeding, and watering our

Our dementia began decades ago

if

too).

dropping the pods between the rows for

ever cook them.

first

— from a

about planting, supporting,

garden peas, the truth

Krommes

then some

knows her peas (and fs,

y family harbors a deep, dark secret.

— and

also

you why peas you buy even at a farm-

BY GEOBGIA ORCUTT 154

Old Farmer’s Almanac

1998

PEA-CROWING

BASICS P

eas aren’t

EARLY PEAS

diffi-

cult to grow.

Once they come

up,

they exhibit terrific

Plant peas

growth spurts and can

make

the North as

soon as the ground can be

a lovely wall

worked

of green in the gar-

They

den.

in

minate in

ger-

Patrick’s

soil as

many

the spring. St.

in

Day

might have to

and they

soil to

two months of weather with daily temperatures below 70° F least

traditional in

areas, although you

cool as 40° F and as warm as 85° F, like at

is

put

holes

drill

them

in

the

in this eariy.

To get the best head

start,

turn over your pea-pianting

beds

in

the

fall,

add manure or

compost, and mulch well.

I

n the North, spring plantings have a better chance than

fall

better than

plantings of

or hand-watering

pods form.

T

it;

If

is

When

you’re ready

In

the early

vines resist frost

pods do, and spring rains usually provide

the moisture peas need. fall

making

The most critical time for rain-

spring, pull

back the mulch

and plant your seeds (make

when peas blossom and when

peas dry out, they will stop producing.

hough adding compost won’t

hurt,

need heavy doses of fertilizer. They

peas don’t like

phos-

phorus and potassium and appreciate a good sprinkling of

wood

*«

A you

S

rg4

>

sary).

—»—

neces-

The planting won’t be

33:

gen-fixing bacteria, which enrich your

are planting peas for the first time, start

become

inoculant

unne: essray.

is

you can get in

billions of teem-

ing nitrogen-fixing bacteria. After the the bacteria

soil. If

by shaking the seeds

powdered inoculant that contains

1998

if

perfect, but you

can always

add more seeds

later

with other legumes, pea roots support nitro-

everything off to a good a

holes with a dibble,

ashes before planting.

first

discover spaces where don’t germinate.

snow won’t

A

if

you

some

bianket of

hurt emerging pea

pea year,

established in your soil and the

plants, but several days with

(continued on next page)

Old Farmer’s Almanac

155

temperatures

the teens

in

TO STAOOER

Be prepared to plant

could. again.

Some Southern gardeners follow a different schedule. ‘The trick

here

in

the hot country

is

to

putting

gardeners prefer to stagger their plantings,

peas

in

the ground at ten-day or two-week

inter-

vals for a steady harvest. But late crops of

peas often

catch up with early Crops and are ready at the

same time

anyway. Mother Nature

will ultim.ately

make

the

call.

1

plant on

New

Depending on the

Year’s Day and

variety,

peas ripen

in

response to

a measurable “temperature sum” {based on average pray mightily

it

doesn’t freeze,”

I

explains Texas gardening col-

daily temperature)

W

peas

F,

once the plants begin to grow. Below

virtually

do not grow, so these days don’t

I

umnist Doreen Howard.

I

“If it

count And

if

temperatures get well above 70° Ffor sev-

eral consecutive days,

freezes before the peas are up, that’s OK. But

nipped,

it’s

if

replant!

can

all

Rather than staggering a planting of one variety, plant several different varieties

and observe how they respond

to your weather. Note the “days to maturity"

I

harvest peas usually until Tax

Day

— then

it’s

too hot and

early variety (such

pea seeds moist between two

damp paper towels

for three or four

days

until

they

germinate, and then plant

them

carefully. Or, before plant-

an

try

little Marvel’ or ‘Cascadia’I, or

a late

as ‘Green Arrow’ or ‘Super Sugar Snap’).

PEA PUNTING

To get them jump-started, keep

pieces of

and

as ‘Alaska’ or ‘Daybreak’), a midsea-

son variety (such as variety (such

the plants do nothing.”

begin to

tlower simuitaneously.

they get

We

mature plants may

T

he

late

Jim Crockett was fond of saying,

are stingy with

your peas,

they’ll

“If you

be stingy with

you.” Plant peas thickly in wide rows so they can

climb up both sides of a fence. Use a hoe to

make

a two-inch trench and sprinkle in

the seeds, leaving about an inch being, in

soak pea seeds overnight

warm water

weed

or a

weak

sea-

solution to encourage

tween them. Cover with

soil

and

tamp down with a hoe or (gently) with your foot. If you are planting a

germination.

new

garden,

make

the

trench three inches deep, add a

one-inch layer of well-rotted manure, cover with soil, and then

plant the peas.

weather stick is

156

Old Farmer’s Almanac

if

the

Poke in any wash out. (A chop-

is

seeds that

Water well

dry.

an ideal tool for

this.)

1998

SUPPORT YOUR

PEA-PICKIN’

PRIllPLES

LOCAL PEAS

D

on’t pay attention to

don’t need support.

all

Keep your peas

the hoopla about bush peas that

They

form a low tangle no pea picker will enjoy. Plant the peas first and wait for them to come up before putting up your fence. Don’t construct a permanent wall or structure;

it’s

will

weii picked to en-

courage more pods to deveiop. Engiish, or garden,

peas are

ready to pick

when

best to rotate your pea crop every year

We’ve heard of all sorts of creative ideas for pea fencing, among them old metal bedsprings. Here are three of the most common. or two.

Pea Stakes

It’ s

easy to imagine pre-hard-

ware-store gardeners using twiggy brush to all

you can feei the peas in the pods

way

with gentie pres-

support their pea crops. That’s just about they had. In fact, this can be a charming

up your vines, especially if you’re growing a two-foot “bush” variety such as

to hold

From

on your property, cut thin branches at least a foot taller than you expect your peas to grow. Leave all the little twigs on to give pea tendrils a lot of places to grab. Push the branches about six inches into the ground, forming an overlapping row alongside your pea seedlings. ‘Knight’.

trees or shrubs

Vermont seedsman Shepherd

Twine

Ogden swears by growing peas on trellis,

a twine

a method he learned as a market gar-

dener. Set

two posts eight

feet apart, with a

crossbar along the top. Tie a taut string be-

tween the two posts

and

at "ground level,

weave a grid of untreated, biodegradable twine between the two posts and between the crossbar and the ground-level string. Let your peas ramble at will on the web. When the season is over, ::ut down plants and twine and toss them in the compost pile. (Ogden’ s company. The Cook’s Garden, sells a 420-foot roll of untreated twine for $4; three rolls for $10.95. Call 800-457-9703.)

down

1998

This

Chicken Wire

our favorite.

Buy

if

they’re wrin-

faded,

kied,

or

buiging, they are

past their prime.

Snow peas are ready five to

seven days

af-

ter the piants flower;

they shouid be

fiat

with oniy tiny seeds.

And snap peas are ready to pick when the round pods are fiiied

with peas.

Aiways use two hands when you pick peas. Secure the vine with one hand

and

puii

the pea

off

with your other hand. It’s

never too early

to teach kids

how to

do this properly. Since both your

two-inch mesh in 48- or 60-inch width, and

hands are busy,

by nailing it to wooden posts driven into the ground about six feet apart. (We use metal posts and weave them through the

peas in a container with a

support

mesh.) the vines

is

sure;

and

roll

it

When

colI

lect the

|

wide top and a

flat |

bottom.

the pea harvest

up the wire

is

over, peel

for another year. ( continued)

Old Farmer’s Almanac

157

WHICH VARIETY

NORTHEAST Lee Reich, garden writer and researcher S- ‘Green Arrow’ (62-70 days) S- ‘Lincoln’ (65-70 days) S- ‘Maestro’ (55-60 days)

Peas

fall into

two main

SOUTHEAST cateJeff

gories:

EP- ‘Sugar Snap’ (53-72 days)

EDIBLE PODDED PEAS: This group

Snow

peas.

very

S- ‘Maestro’ (55-60 days)

snow peas and snap

includes

thin,

S-‘Wando’ (64-72 days)

peas are crisp and

NORTH CENTRAL

with tiny peas inside

Jim Schmidt, extension specialist.

whole raw in salads or barely

the pods.

—

cooked

They

are eaten

in stir-fried dishes.

University of Iliinois

EP- ‘Oregon Sugar Pod IT (60-68 days)

By

EP- ‘Super Sugar Snap’ (70 days)

snow breeders have come up

crossing English peas and

peas,

McCormack, Southern Exposure Seed Exchange

S- ‘Alaska’ (50-60 days) S- ‘Green Arrow’ (62-70 days)

with the revolutionary snap pea,

S- ‘Little Marvel’ (58-64 days)

which yields a crunchy three- to four-inch pod with small, round,

SOUTH CENTRAL

very sweet peas.

It’s

meant

Doreen Howard, gardening coiumnist to

EP- ‘Super Sugar Snap’ (70 days)

be eaten whole, not shelled.

Some string

varieties

S- ‘Little Marvel’ (58-64 days)

develop a thick

NORTHWEST

down the back, which you

Rose Marie Nichols, Nichols Garden Nursery

may want to remove before eating.

EP-‘Cascadia’ (58-70 days)

Snap peas often put out vig-

EP- ‘Oregon Sugar Pod IF (60-68 days)

orous growth, reaching six feet or more.

S- ‘Oregon Pioneer’ (61-70 days)

Be sure to supply them

MOUNTAINS

with a good high fence. Bill

SHELLING PEAS: Also called English, garden, or green peas, these are sweet

enough

McDorman, High

Altitude Gardens

EP-‘Cascadia’ (58-70 days)

EP- ‘Oregon Sugar Pod IF (60-68 days)

raw but are meant for The plants grow up to seven

EP- ‘Super Sugar Snap’ (70 days)

depending on the variety, and the pods are usually tough and not very tasty.

S- ‘Montana Marvel’ (64 days)

shelling. feet

to eat

tall,

We

asked experienced pea growers throughout the country to recommend their favorite varieties

— those

that

have

S- ‘Maestro’ (55-60 days)

SOUTHWEST Wendy

Krupnick, field

EP- ‘Super Sugar

MeF

trial

manager

(70-80 days)

EP- ‘Super Sugar Snap’ (70 days)

great flavor and perform well in the face

S- ‘Knight’ (56-62 days)

of spring weather that can swing from 40° to 80° E and back again. Here are

AUTHORS CHOICE

their suggestions, along with the

average

range of days to maturity after planting.

158

Western New York State S-‘Freezonian’ (60-63 days)

S-‘Wando’ (64-72 days)

Old Farmer’s Almanac

1998

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Old Farmer’s Almanac

1997

159

Natiue’s Itchy Revenge Misconceptions about poison ivy

some pretty bizarre (and totally a substance that may help

minding the old saying,

and poison oak have

useless) cures.

— some of

led desperate sufferers to adopt

Finally researchers have found

the time.

But the

best

” “Leaflets three, let it be.

way

to foil the itch

is

by

by Susan Carol Hauser

chnine, bleach, or ammonia.

merican Indians knew the hazards of poison ivy and poison oak, and so did Captain John

stiy

Smith, the leader of the colony

fingernail polish to poison iv\ and poison

at

Jamestown, Virginia.

In

an

Contemporary sufferers have been known to apply hair spray, decxJorant, and hopes of stiffcKating a recent coinersant on the

oak rashes

in

the itch.

early 17th-century personal journal, he

And

described a plant that resembled English

recommended scRibbing with

ivy but that “causeth redness, itchynge,

cleanser and rubbing alcohol until the skin

and

turns nicely pink!

finally blysters.”

Today we know'

that

an

called uru-

oil

shiol (yoo-ROO-she-ol), found in virtually parts of the plant, causes the poison re-

all

action in humans. According to the

ican

Academy

Amer-

All these efforts to

Internet

a mixture of

confound

the natural

metabolic prtK'ess are more likely to cause trouble than to cure irritated skin is

it.

When

the already

subjected to abuse from

of Dermatology, approxi-

mately 85 percent of the population sensitive to umshiol, mtiking

it

is

one of the

most potent allergens on Earth. Once uaishiol has bonded chemically with the skin in the

tirst

hours alter exposure, nothing can

stop the allergic prcx:ess, which can last up to three weeks or longer. Victims are left

with tormenting symptoms

— weeping

blisters, swelling,

and an infuriating itch. It has been a long and scratchy journey to

any reliable treatment ot the dermatitis caused by contact with Rhus vudiccuis (poison ivy) and Rhus toxicodendron (poison oak).

The road

home

remedies,

is

littered

many

with herbal and

Carlson

which do reduce

Johnston

swelling and itching, such as the teas and poultices that American Indians

ot

by

illustrated

-

iiry

(

or as a vine blisters

Rhus

radiains)

and contains

and itching,

grows as a low shrub

urushioL which causes

in nearly all

its parts.

and pio-

neers prepared fromjewelweed, Susan

Poison

chamomile

gumweed, goldenseal, and Solomon’s seal. But home remedies also included futile treatments concocted by desperate souls: bathing in horse urine, scrubbing with kerosene or gunpowder, and soaking in

160

“healing” potions,

it

is

vulnerable to sec-

ondary infections that can long outlast the original problem. One of the myths about poison ivy and poison oak is the notion that weeping blisters can spread the rash on the body days

Old Farmer’s Almanac

1998

after the original outbreak. Actually, the

timing of a urushiol reaction is driven by the quantity of the exposure. Areas with

most urushiol

the

will

show

the reaction

areas with less exposure will take longer to develop. The clear fluid at blisfirst;

ter sites is

blood serum and

Block Tliat

is

Do

not scour the skin, even

if self-fla-

seems momentarily appealing. Check your house, car, and garage for objects and clothing that may still carry active urushiol, and wash everything in abundant amounts of water. gellation

harmless.

Itch!

Preventive barrier creams seem to be the hope of the moment. IvyBlock, a new over-the-counter lotion, has

now been ap-

proved by the FDA. Spread over exposed parts of the it

body before venturing

outside,

prevents urushiol reactions about 68

percent of the time and lessens the severity

of reactions that do occur. In spite of

the best efforts of science,

should

march

still

“Leaflets three,

What

woods-goers

to the traditional chant,

let

it

be.”

Do

You’ve Touched Poison to

if

Like poison dron)

is

ivy,

poison oak (Rhus toxicoden-

widely distributed in the United States

ft

it’s

If

within the

ter exposure:

Swab

first

three to four hours

and is permeated with

the skin as soon as pos-

with rubbing alcohol, and wash with

sible

copious amounts of water. The key word is copious. The more water, the more the urushiol is diluted. Water also works for affected clothing, and water or alcohol can be

used on objects such as garden tools and bicycle tires. Harsh yellow laundry soap is no more effective than other kinds of soap, but

soap alone won’t do

it

— water

is

the key.

The has bonded to your skin and all you can do is treat the symptoms. Use over-thethe rash has broken out:

If

urushiol

counter cortisone creams to relieve minor itching. The traditional calamine lotion or a compress made with Burrow’s Solualso bring temporary relief, as will long, hot showers. Prescription cortisone gels are needed in many cases, estion

may

the sores are in the weepy stage. In severe cases, systemic prescrip-

pecially

when

tion cortisone treatment

1998

urushiol.

af-

is

warranted.

How to Get Rid of Poison

Iv}"

and Poison

Oak Plants Because urushiol molecules are carried in smoke, it is never safe to bum poison ivy or poison oak in an effort to eradicate it. The plants can be pulled, but broken-off rootlets

may sprout again the next year. Some of the worst cases of poison ivy and poison oak dermatitis come from grubbing out the plants

and

roots.

Even the environmentally

conscientious usually resort to chemicals;

and garden stores carry a number of commercial products that destroy R. radicans and R. toxicodendron. plant

Susan Carol Hauser

is

the author of Nature’s Re-

venge: The Secrets of Poison

Ivy,

Poison Oak,

Poison Sumac, and Their Remedies (Lyons

&

Burford Publishers, 1996).

Old Farmer’s Almanac

161

OlITDOOK Pi ANTIN(i

19

T

he best time to plant flowers and vegetables that bear crops

during the light of the

above ground

Moon;

is

9 8 the

Mtx)n

again.

Beth

is full

The

to the

day before

is

it

new

dates given here are based on the

safe periods for planting in areas

that

between the day the Moon is new to the day it is full. Flowering

that receive frost,

bulbs and vegetables that bear crops below ground should be

for dates of frosts

and the Mcx)n’s phases for 1998. Consult page 164

is,

Krommes

TAItl.R

and length of

planted during the dark of the

growing season. See calendar pages 60-86 for the exact days of the new

Moon;

and

that

is,

from the day

after

E means Early

Above-Ground Crops Marked (^)

full M(X')ns.

L means Late

Planting

Moon

Planting

Moon

Planting

Moon

Dates

Favorable

Dates

Favor abte

Dates

Favorable

5/15-6/a

5/2S-6A0

3/154A

VTlAn

2/15-3/7

2/26-3/7

(E)

5/7-6/a

5/7-11,

4/15-30

4/25-30

3A54/7

3/274A

(L)

6/15-7/15

6/23-7/9

7A-a

7A-9

8/7-a

8/7,

5A-15

5/12-15

3A54/3

3A5-26

m-n

2/12-25

7/1&-8/15

7/15-22, 8/8-15

8A5-a

8/15-20

9A-30

9A-19

5/15-a

5/25-a

3/7-a

3/7-12,

2/15-3/15

2/26-3/12

6/15-7/7

6/23-7/7

8A-20

8A-7

9/7-30

9/20-30

*Brussels Sprouts

5/15-a

5/25-a

3/74/15

3/7-12,

3/274A1

2/11-3/20

2/11,2/26-3/12

*Cabbage

5/15-a

5/25-a

3A4/15

3/7-12,

3/274/11

2/11-3/20

2/11,2/26-3/12

5/15-a

5/15-24

3A-a

3/13-26

2/15-3/7

2/15-25

6/15-7/a

6/15-22,

7A-a

7AQ-22

8A-9/7

8/8-20,

5/15-a

5/25-a

3/154/7

3/274/7

2/15-3/7

2/26-3/7

6/15-7/a

6/23-7/9

7A-8/7

m-%l/2i-¥l

8/7-a

8A, 8/a-a

5/15-6/30

5/25^A0, 6/23-30

3/7-a

3/7-12,

2/15-28

2/26-28

7/23-8/7

8/15-9A

8/a-9/6

9/15-30

9/20-30

5/25-a

3/74A

3/7-12,3/274/7

2/11-3/20

2/11,2/26-3/12

7A-9, 7/23-8/7

8/15-a

8/a-a

9A-30

9/20-30

4A-15

4A-11

3/15-a

3/Z7-a

6/23-30

7A-a

7/7-9

8/7-a

8A, 8/a-a

5/7-11,

4/7-5/15

4/7-11,

4/26-5A1

3/74/15

3/7-12,3/274/11

6A-10, 6/23-30

4A-5/15

4A-11, 4/26-5/11

3/74/15

3/7-12,3/274/11

5/25-a

4/7-5/15

4/7-11,4/26-5/11

2/15-3/20

2/26-3/12

6/7-10, 6/23-30

7/15-8/15

nmn

8/15-9/7

8/a-9/6

4/15-30

4/26-30

3/154/7

3/274A

¥14/1

3/7-12,

2/11-3/20

2/11,2/26-3/12

*Barley

*Beans

Beets (E) (L)

*Broccoli (E) Plants (L)

Plants

Carrots (E) (L)

*Cauliflower (E) Plants

(L)

*Celery Plants (E) (L)

*Collards (E)

5/15-a

(L)

7A-8/7

*Corn, Sweet (E) (L)

*Cucumber *Eggplant Plants

*Endive

(E) (L)

*Flowers *Kale

(E)

(All)

7/15-8/15

5A0-6/15 6/15-30

5/7-6/20 6/1-30

5/15-a 6/7-30

5/7-6/a 5/15-a

5/25-6A0

5/10-11,

5/7-11,

7/10-a

5/25’6A0

5/25-6A0

5/25-6A0

5/25-a

Old Farmer’s Almanac

3/Z7-a

3/27-a

3/274/7

8/a-a

9A

1998

Planting

Moon

Planting

Moon

Planting

Moon

Dates

Favorable

Dates

Favorable

Dates

Favorable

7A-8/7

7/1-9,7/23-8/7

8/15-31

8/21-31

9/7-30

9/20-30

5/15-31

5/15-24

3/74/7

3/13-26

2/154/15

2/15-253/B-26,4/12-15

Lettuce

5/1S-6/30

5/25-6A0, 6/23-30

3A-31

3/1-12,3/27-31

2/15-3/7

2/26-3/7

Muskmelon

5/15-6/30

5/25-6A0, 6/23-30

4/15-5/7

4/26-5/7

3/154/7

3/274/7

5/15-6/7

5/15-24

3/1-31

3/13-26

2/1-28

2/12-25

5/15-31

5/25-31

3A-31

3/1-12,3/27-31

2/20-3/15

2/26-3/12

4/1-30

4/12-25

3/7-31

3/13-26

1/15-2/4

1/15-27

(E)

4/15-5/7

4/26-5/7

3/7-31

3/7-12,3/27-31

1/15-2/7

1/28-2/7

(L)

7/15-31

7/23-31

8/7-31

8/7,8/21-31

9/15-30

9/20-30

5/15-6/30

5/25-6A0, 6/23-30

4A-30

4/1-11,4/26-30

3/1-20

3/1-12

5/1-31

5/12-24

4/1-30

4/12-25

2/10-28

2/12-25

Pumpkin

5/15-31

5/25-31

4/23-5/15

4/26-5/11

3/7-20

3/7-12

Radish

(E)

4/15-30

4/15-25

3/7-31

3/13-26

1/21-3/1

y21-27, 2/12-25

(L)

8/15-31

8/15-20

9/7-30

9/7-19

10/1-21

10/6-19

(E)

5/15-31

5/25-31

3/154/20

3/274/11

2/7-3/15

2/7-11,2/26-3/12

(L)

7/15-9/7

7/23-8/7,8/21-9/6

8/1-9/15

8/1-7,8/21-9/6

10/1-21

10/1-5,10/20-21

5/15-6/15

5/25-6A0

4/15-30

4/26-30

3/154/15

3/274/11

5/15-6/15

5/15-24,6/11-15

4/21-30

4/21-25

3/234/6

3/23-26

Swiss Chard

5/1-31

5/1-11,5/25-31

3/154/15

3/274/U

2/7-3/15

2/7-11,2/26-3/12

Tomato

5/15-31

5/25-31

4/7-30

4/7-11,4/26-30

3/7-20

3/7-12

4/7-30

4/12-25

3/15-31

3/15-26

1/20-2/15

1/20-27,2/12-15

7/1-8/15

7/10-22,8/8-15

8A-20

8/8-20

9/1-10/15

9/7-19,10/6-15

Watermelon

5/15^/30

5/25-6/10,6/23-30

4/15-5/7

4/26-5/7

3/154/7

3/274/7

Wheat,

8/21-9/6

9/15-10/20

9/20-10/5,10/20

10/15-12/7

8/U-9/15 4/7-30

4/7-11,4/26-30

3/1-20

3/1-12

2/15-28

*Kale

(L)

Leek Plants

Onion Sets

Parsley Parsnips

Peas

Pepper

Plants

Potato

Spinach

Squash Sweet Potatoes

Plants

Turnips (E) (L)

Winter

Spring

1998

Old Farmer’s Almanac

2/26-28

*

163

Frosts and Growing Seasons Courtesy of National Climatic Center

D

ates given are

raphy

normal averages for a

light freeze (32° F); local

weather and topog-

may cause considerable variations. The possibility of frost occurring

after the

50 percent. The classification of freeze temperatures is usually based on their effect on plants, with the following commonly accepted tender plants killed; little destructive effect on other categories: Lightfreeze: 29° F to 32° F widely destructive effect on most vegetation; vegetation. Moderate freeze: 25° F to 28° F heavy damage to fruit blossoms and tender and semihardy plants. Severe freeze: 24° F and colder heavy damage to most plants. spring dates and before the

fall

dates

is

—

—

—

CITY

Growing

Last

Hrst

Season

Frost

Frost

(Days)

Spring

Fall

Mobile,

AL

272

Feb. 27

Juneau,

AK

133

May

AZ Tucson, AZ Phoenix,

AR Eureka, CA Sacramento, CA San Francisco, CA Denver, CO Pine Bluff,

CT

Hartford,

Wilmington, Miami, FL

DE

16

308 Feb. 5 273 Feb. 28 234 Mar. 19 324 Tan. 30 289 Feb. 14 *

167 198

Apr. 25

Oct. 10

Apr. 13

Oct. 29 *

Hi

May

Chicago, IE

187

Springfield, IL

185 180

Apr. 22 Apr. 17 Apr. 22

Boise,

ID

IN South Bend, IN Atlantic, lA Cedar Rapids, lA Indianapolis,

Topeka,

KS

Lexington,

Monroe,

New

KY

LA

Orleans,

Portland,

LA

ME

Baltimore,

Worcester,

MD MA

MI Marquette, MI Lansing,

MN Willmar, MN Duluth,

MS Vicksburg, MS Columbus,

Jefferson City,

Jan.

8

’

Oct. 9

OK Tulsa, OK Pendleton, OR Portland, OR Lawton,

PA

Frost

Frost

(Days)

Sprii^

Fall

136

May

259

Mar. 7 May 23

121

219 223

Apr. 4

Mar. 29

144

May 8 May 7

170

Apr. 28

212

Apr. 2

129

May 14 May 3

157

168

195

217 218 188

217 182

Apr. Apr. Apr. Apr.

253

Mar.

Apr. 4

Oct. 7

175

Apr, 29 Apr. 21

211 145

190

Apr. 17

228 207

242 288

Mar. 9 Feb. 20

143

May

231 172 140 159 122 152 215

Mar. 26 Apr. 27

TN Nashville, TN Amarillo, TX Denton, TX San Antonio, TX Cedar City, UT Spanish Fork, UT Burlington, VT

141 161

173

10

May 13 May 12 May 21 May 4

Sept.

28

Oct. 14 -

Oct. 25 Nov. 7

Dec. 5 Sept.

30

Nov. 13 Oct. 17 Sept.

30

Oct. 19 Sept. 21

165

Apr. 27

Nov. 5 Nov. 4 Oct. 21

""

29

Nov. 7 Oct. 20 Oct. 15

May 8

^

1

May 7 Mar. 23 Apr. 5 Apr. 14

^ *

30 Nov. 20 Nov. 2 Sept. 29 Nov. 7 Oct. 29 Oct. 29 Nov. 12 Nov. 24 Oct. 2 Sept.

239

Mar. 23

198

Apr. 10 Mar. 24

Nov. 17 Oct. 26 Nov. 11

May 4

Oct. 5

Nov. 18 Oct. 16

Green Bay,

Sept. 28

Janesville,

Sept. 18

Casper,

153 175 143 164 123

Oct. 10

WY

1,

Oct. 12

232

WI WI

Oct. 27

Mays May 11

WA Spokane, WA Parkersburg, WV

Oct. 29

NE

VA Richmond, VA Norfolk,

20

197 231 265 134 156 142

Seattle,

Oct. 4

Mar. 27 Mar, 13 Apr. 26

122

Memphis,

Sept.

Oct. 18

20

SC Columbia, SC Rapid City, SD Charleston,

29

Oct. 31 s;:

3

Oct. 18

Sept.

Oct. 16

15

May t May 9

169

i

Mar. 30

Kingston, RI

168 144

Oct. 13

Apr. 14 Apr. 1

Oct. 20

PA

Sept. 24 Nov. 21 Sept. 22 Nov. 10 Nov. 7

11

Carlisle,

May 5‘ May 18

164

^

NY Syracuse, NY Fayetteville, NC Bismarck, ND Akron, OH Cincinnati, OH Albany,

Season

Williamsport,

146

Blair,

Nov. 8 Nov. 15

NM Los Alamos, NM Carlsbad,

Rrst

Oct. 19

MT Helena, MT Fort Peck,

Jan. 3

North Platte, NE Las Vegas, NV Concord, NH Newark, NJ

Last

Oct. 26

250

MO

*

Oct. 8

153

GA GA

Dec. 15 Dec. 1

May 3

28 Mar, 28 Mar. 10

Savannah,

Nov. 29 Nov. 8

iiJIBU®

338 224 250

Athens,

Dec. 15

157

*

Tampa, FL

Nov. 26 Sept. 26

CITY

Growing

Mar. 25 Mar. 3 May 20

Oct.

''

1

Apr. 25 May 12^

Oct. 18

Apr. 28

Oct. 10

May 22

Sept.

Oct. 2

22

*Frosts do not occur every year.

Old Farmer’s Almanac

199 ^

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Old Farmer’s Almanac

165

A Month-by-Month Astrological Timetable for

1998

Herewith we provide the following yearlong chart, based on the Moon signs, showing the most favorable times each month for certain activities, by Celeste Longacre JAN.

FEB.

MAR.

Give up smoking

13, 18

20,24

14, 19

10,

Begin diet to

13, 18

20,24 14,19

10,

OCT.

NOV.

17

13, 18

10, 15

7,

17

17

13, 18

10, 15

7,

17

MAY

JUNE

JULY

AUG.

20

17,21

14, 18

11, 15

11,20

8,

20

17,21

14, 18

11, 15

11,20

8,

1,28

7,25

3,21

1,28

1,2,

25,26

21,22

30,31

APR.

SEPT.

DEC.

lose weight

Begin diet to

1,5

9

1,5

5

2, 7,

26

7,8

3,4

2,3

26, 27

7,8

4,5

28,29

encourage growth Cut hair to

2,

29

22, 26

30

gain weight

Cut hair to

4,

3,

1,2,

27, 28

29, 30

22,23

24

20,21

17, 18

13, 14

10, 11

18, 19

14, 15

12, 13

8,9

5,6

5,6

26, 27

22, 23

18, 19

16, 17

12, 13

9,

24, 25 26, 27

24, 25

23,24

22, 23

21,22

21,22

18, 19

18, 19

17, 18

16, 17

27, 28 29,

30

27,28

26, 27

25,26

24, 25

24, 25

21,22

21,22

20,21

19,

13, 14

10, 11

9,

10

5,6

2,3

26, 27

24, 25

20,21

16, 17

13, 14

10, 11

23,24

20,21

19,

20

15, 16

12, 13

6,7

2, 3,

26, 27

23,24

19,

20

17, 18

24

21,22

17, 18

14, 15

24, 25

16 14, 15

18, 19

15,

Have dental care

16, 17

12, 13

End old projects

26, 27

29,30

Entertain

Go fishing

discourage growth

Start a

new project

11, 12

9,

10

10

20

7,8

30,31 Breed

Plant above-

ground crops

21,22

2,3,4, 11,12,

17, 18

7, 8,

26,

27

16, 17

13, 14

Plant below-

1 1

21,22

5,6

3,4,

1,

31

27, 28

23,

3,4,

1,10,

6, 7,

3,4,

1,

5,6,

3,4,

18,

8

30

11,27,

24, 25

5,31

27, 28

23, 24,

21,22,

27, 28

25

30,31

28,29 17, 18

ground crops

Destroy pests /weeds

6,7

6, 7,

30,31

1

10, 11

1,2,

16, 17,

12, 13,

18, 25,

14, 22,

26

23

27,28

24, 25

19,20

15, 16,

13, 14,

9, 10,

17

21,22

17,18,

14, 15

11,

12

Prune to encourage

11, 12

5,6

growth

7,8

growth

13, 14,

23,24

17

14,15,

21,22

18, 19

15, 16

11, 12

16

7,8

5,6

1,2,

29, 6, 7, 8,

3,4,

25,26

30

1,2,

1,9,10,

5,6

9, 10,

27,28

19, 20, 19,

20

21

19,

20

2,3, 4,

11,28

Prune to discourage

5,6,

19

28 Graft or pollinate

7, 8,

16, 17,

13, 14,

9, 10,

24, 25

21,22

18,

8,9,

6,7,

10,

26

30,31

27

15, 16,

12, 13,

18, 19

24, 25

14,

2,

30

14, 15

11, 12

7,8

5,6

26, 27

5,23,

1,2,19,

18,

24, 25

20,21, 26, 27

19

3,4,

23, 24,

21,29,

25

30,31

16

26, 27

29,

30

11,12,

7,8,

6,13,

9,10,

7, 8,

20

16, 17

14, 15

11

17

26, 27

5,6

28,29

26, 27

3,4

28, 29

15,

21,22 Harvest above-

7,8

3,4

ground crops Harvest root crops

Cut hay

2,3,

8,9

5,6

26, 27 26, 27

12, 13

5,6

1,2

1,2,

28,29

21,22

27, 30

15, 16

20,21

17, 18

13, 14

18, 19

16, 17

12, 13

20

24, 25

12, 13

18, 19

15, 16

11, 12

7,8

5,6

1,

19,

29,

Begin logging

26, 27

22, 23

21,22

18, 19

Set posts or pour

26, 27

22, 23

21,22

18,

21,22

17, 18

16, 17

13,

13, 18

20,24

14,

28,29

24, 25

23,24

9,

10

26,27

30

16

11, 12

8,9

5,6

28,29

26, 27

22, 23

19,20

19

15, 16

11, 12

8,9

5,6

28,29

26,

27

22, 23

19,

14

10, 11

6,7

3,4,

1,

24

21,22

17, 18

14, 15

31

27,28 17

13, 18

10, 15

7,

1,2,

24, 25

15,

20

concrete Slaughter

Wean Castrate animals

19

20

17,21

14, 18

11, 15

11,20

20,21

17, 18

13,

14

11, 12

7,8

10,

23,

8,

3,4

17

22, 23

28, 29

166

Old Farmer’s Almanac

1998

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Old Farmer’s Almanac

167

Gardening by the Moon’s Sign I

sect pests

important to note that the placement of the planets through the signs of t

is

Transplanting and grafting are best done under a Cancer, Scorpio, or Pisces Moon. Pruning is best done under an Aries, Leo, or

not the same in astronomy and astrology. The astrological placement the zodiac

is

Moon, with growth encouraged during the waxing stage (between new and full Moon) and discouraged during waning (the day after full to the day before new Moon). (The dates of the Moon’s phases Sagittarius

of the Moon, by sign, is given in the chart below. (The astronomical, or actual, placement is given in the Left-Hand Calendar

Pages 60-86.) For planting, the most fertile signs are the three water signs: Cancer, Scorpio, and Pisces. Taurus, Virgo, and Capricorn are good second choices for sowing. Weeding and plowing are best done

can be found on pages 60-86.) Clean out the garden shed when the Moon occupies Virgo

work will flow smoothly. Fences or permanent beds can be built or mended when Capricorn predominates. Avoid indecision when under the Libra Moon. so that the

when the Moon occupies the signs of Aries, Gemini, Leo, Sagittarius, or Aquarius.

Moon’s Place

1

1

2 3

4 5

6 7

8 9 10 11

12

13 14 15

16 17

18

FEB.

MAR.

APR.

MAY

JUNE

JULY

AUG.

SEPT.

OCT.

NOV.

DEC.

97

97

98

98

98

98

98

98

98

98

98

98

98

98

CAP CAP CAP

AQU

CAN VIR

LIB

LEO VIR LEO LIB LEO LIB

LIB

SCO SAG SAG SAG CAP CAP

CAP CAP

AQU AQU

ARI ARI

TAU TAU

SCO SAG SAG CAP CAP CAP

AQU AQU PSC PSC ARI ARI

AQU AQU PSC PSC ARI ARI

24

LIB

25

LIB

26

LIB

SCO SCO SCO SAG SAG CAP CAP

28 29 30 31

168

ARI

TAU CAN CAN TAU CAN CAN GEM LEO LEO

GEM LEO LEO CAN LEO VIR GEM CAN VIR VIR TAU GEM LEO VIR VIR TAU GEM LEO LIB LIB GEM CAN VIR LIB LIB GEM CAN VIR LIB SCO CAN LEO VIR SCO SCO CAN LEO LIB SCO SCO

23

27

PSC PSC PSC ARI ARI

GEM TAU GEM TAU TAU CAN TAU GEM CAN GEM GEM LEO GEM CAN LEO ARI ARI

TAU TAU

LIB

22

|

JAN.

VIR VIR

21

the Astrological Zodiac

DEC.

VIR VIR VIR

20

In-

NOV.

LEO LEO LEO

19

in

can also be handled at these times.

SCO SCO SAG SAG

—

LIB

AQU

SAG LIB SAG SCO SAG SCO CAP SAG CAP SAG AQU CAP AQU CAP PSC LIB

AQU PSC AQU ARI AQU — PSC PSC

— —

SAG SAG CAP CAP

AQU AQU

VIR VIR

LIB

SCO VIR LIB SCO VIR LIB SAG VIR LIB SAG LIB SCO SAG LIB SCO CAP SCO SAG CAP SCO SAG AQU SCO SAG AQU SAG CAP PSC SAG CAP PSC CAP AQU PSC CAP AQU ARI CAP PSC ARI

AQU PSC AQU ARI PSC PSC ARI ARI

ARI

TAU TAU

SCO SCO SCO SAG SAG CAP CAP

AQU AQU AQU PSC PSC ARI ARI

VIR

TAU

CAN LEO VIR

LIB

GEM

LEO

SCO

—

PSC PSC ARI ARI

TAU TAU

GEM GEM LEO VIR LIB TAU CAN LEO VIR SCO TAU CAN VIR LIB SCO GEM CAN VIR LIB SAG TAU GEM LEO VIR LIB SAG TAU CAN LEO LIB SCO SAG GEM CAN VIR LIB SCO CAP GEM LEO VIR SCO SAG CAP CAN LEO LIB SCO SAG AQU CAN LEO LIB SCO SAG AQU LEO VIR LIB SAG CAP AQU

GEM TAU GEM TAU CAN LEO GEM CAN VIR TAU GEM CAN VIR

PSC PSC ARI ARI

AQU AQU

AQU PSC TAU AQU PSC TAU PSC ARI GEM PSC ARI GEM ARI TAU CAN ARI TAU CAN TAU GEM LEO TAU GEM LEO TAU CAN LEO GEM CAN VIR GEM LEO VIR CAN LEO LIB CAN LEO LIB

—

LIB LIB

Old Farmer’s Almanac

SCO SCO SAG SAG SAG

GEM GEM CAN CAN LEO LEO VIR VIR VIR LIB LIB

SCO SCO SCO SAG SAG CAP CAP

AQU AQU AQU PSC PSC ARI ARI

SAG CAP PSC CAP AQU PSC TAU CAP AQU ARI TAU CAP PSC ARI TAU

—

PSC

—

GEM 1998

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$37.25;

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To order, send check or money order Dairy Assoc. Co.,

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Old Farmer’s Almanac

1 Parkton Avenue Greenwood SC 29647-0001

j 169

Secrets oe the Zodiac

A they

ncient astrologers associated each of the signs with a part of the body over which felt

some influence. The first

the sign held

sign of the

zodiac — Aries — was

attributed

to the head, with the rest of the signs moving down the body, ending with Pisces at the feet. Aries, head. ARI Mar. 21-Apr.

b

Taurus, neck.

TAU

II

Gemini, arms.

GEM May 21-June 20

®

Cancer, breast

Si

Leo, heart LEO July 23-Aug. 22

ttl

Vii^o, belly. VIR Aug.

SI

Libra, reins. LIB

tr^

Scorpio, secrets.

/

Sagittarius, thighs.

VS

Capricorn, knees.

~

Aquarius, legs.

X

Astrology and Astronomy

A

strology

is

a tool

we use to time events ac-

cording to the astrological placement of

two luminaries (the Sun and the Moon) and eight planets in the 12 signs of the zodiac. Astronomy, on the other hand, is the charting of the actual placement of the known planets and constellations, taking into account prethe

cession of the equinoxes.

As a result, the place-

ment of the planets in the signs of the zodiac are not the same astrologically and astronomically. (The Moon’s astronomical place is given in the Left-Hand Calendar Pages [60-86]

and

its

astrological place

ing by the

Moon’s

given in Garden-

Sign, page 168.)

Modem astrology is nicities.

is

a study of synchro-

The planetary movements do not

cause events. Rather, they explain the “flow” or trajectory that events will tend to follow.

Because of free will, you can choose to plan

harmony with the flow, or you can choose to swim against the current. The dates given in A Month-by-Month a schedule in

Astrological Timetable (page 166) have been

chosen with particular care to the astrological passage of the Moon. However, since other planets also influence us,

it’s

best to

take a look at all indicators before seeking ad-

vice on major

life

decisions.

A qualified as-

trologer can study the current relationship of

170

20

T’

Pisces, feet

Apr. 21-May

CAN June

20

22

21-iuly

23-Sept 22

Sept 23-Oct 22

SCO Oct 23-Nov. 22 SAG Nov. 23-Dec. 21

CAP

AQU

Dec. 22-Jan. 19

Jan..

20-Feb. 19

PSC Feb. 20-Mar. 20

and your own personal birth chart in order to assist you in the best possible timing for carrying out your plans. the planets

Planet Mercury Does What? ometimes when we look out from our perspective here on Earth, the other planappear to be traveling backward through

S ets

the zodiac. (They’re not actually

backward,

it

just looks that

way

moving

to us.)

We

call this retrograde.

Mercury’s retrograde periods, which occur three or four times a year, can cause travel delays and misconstrued communications. Plans have a way of unraveling, too. However, this is an excellent time to be researching or looking into the past. Intuition

high during these periods, and coincidences can be extraordinary. is

When Mercury

is

retrograde, astrologers

advise us to keep plans flexible, allow extra

time for travel, and avoid signing contracts. It’s

OK and even useful to look over projects

and plans, because we may see them with different eyes at these times. However, our normal system of checks and balances might not be active, so it’ s best to wait until Mercury is direct again to make any final decisions. In 1998, Mercury will be retrograde from March 27 to April 20, August 2 to 22, and November 2 1 to

December

Old Farmer’s Almanac

11.

- Celeste Longacre

1998

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Old Farmer’s Almanac

No COD’s)

171

INY DAY amusement;

Answers on page 188. 2. 3. Play Word 4. .

an you think of English words that meet C the following requirements? 5.

T Each

person

is

moving

horses.

to a different

and they want to divide horses evenly among them, without

part of the country,

One that has three y ’s in it. One that contains four consecutive

L

Horse Sense wo fathers and two sons own 21

their

resorting to surgery. Is

it

possible?

How?

vowels.

One with three double letters in a row. Four one-syllable words of eight letters each.

Do not use plurals, or verbs in

Find a number that, when multiplied by 19, gives a product whose digits add up A.

the past tense that just add ed.

One that has the

all

five

vowels plus y

in

to 19.

same order as their alphabetic

position (that

is,

in the order a, e,

i,

o,

B.

Find a number whose digit sum equals

the difference

u, y).

One containing the letter i five

6

Number Fun 1

- Norman

E.

times.

between its forward and re-

verse reading.

- David A. Edgar

Duggan

Earthy Anagrams 1

nagrams are words whose

letters,

when

rearranged, form different words. Us-

iling the clues, rearrange each four-letter noun into a land area. Example: Rearrange

a speed competition into 43,560 square feet of land.

RACE, ACRE. - John A. Johnston

Rearrange: 1.

2. 3.

4. 5.

111

A

rate of speed into a

promontory. A metal into a small valley. A cart into house grounds. Enthusiasm into a narrow road. A building division into a heath.

6.

7.

8. 9.

10.

A

commercial transaction into meadows. garment edge into a plateau. groove into ground areas.

A A A class of things into An

rocky

hills.

unclothed body into a seashore hill.

Old Farmer’s Almanac

1998

Spelling Lessens

number of letters in the answer T words lessens with each consecutive step. The top word in the inverted pyramid contains seven letters. Drop one letter, rearrange what remains, and you will form the word that fits the next clue. Continue on to the bottom of the pyramid. We’ve numbered the clues according to how many letters are in the answer. (Hint: If you can’t figure out the first word, try one of the shorter ones and work up instead of down, adding a lethis puzzle is called “Spelling Lessens” because the

ter

with each

- Teresa M. Hackett

step.)

C

c.

B.

A.

with Charley

7:

7:

Monarchs’ chairs

7:

Book division

6:

4:

Floor covering Slender candle Bose

3:

Primate

2:

Ma’s mate

1:

Softly, in

6:

Gent’s gents

6:

Wasp

5:

5:

Caruso,

4:

2:

Blackboard material Endure College entrance exam Word of comparison

2:

Actor Rip Balderdash 26th president

1:

Crooked

1:

Hid

4: 3:

3:

letter

Number Fun 2 A.

An old music group reunites to put out

new recording. The compact disc they make sells 379,836 copies. If each CD costs $14, what’s the name of the group? a

6

.

Using

highest

Roman

number

numerals, what is the you can construct that

5:

e.g.

music

do not rearrange the letters. Proper names, slang, and obsolete words are not allowed. - Monty Gilmer 1.

2. 3.

4

.

MOON to BUCK (4 steps) MOON to WOLF (4 steps) MOON to SNOW (5 steps) MOON to PINK (6 steps)

forms an English word? (It must be a proper Roman numeral and form a com- Rand Higbee mon word.)

Changing Moon

MOON

inio the an you change the word C second word in each set in the number of steps indicated? Change only one letter at a time, making a word each time, and

1998

Old Farmer’s Almanac

173

Favorlles FROM THE

The

Pacific

Northwest has more topographical and geological variety than any other area of the country:

smoking volcanoes, snowcapped mountains, sparkling rivers and alpine lakes, plateaus, deserts, and endless evergreen forests. This spectacular land

game

— that pioneers and miners risked

dangerous the

fertile

trip

to this frontier. Native

is

so

rich in natural

resources

their lives for a piece of

Americans

it.

— Makah, Quinault,

— timber, minerals,

fish,

and

But long before explorers

made the

Skagit, Chehalis, Puyallup

— fished

estuaries for clams and oysters, hunted deer and antelope, and harvested berries and salmon

galore. Pacific Northwesterners

the only thing that

rivals their

still

put indigenous ingredients to use

scenery

is

in local

specialties. In fact, they say

their food. Here’s just a sampling.

BY POLLY

BANNISTER

- illustrated by Renee Quintal Daily

ernes an The Northwest

is

Ederi for berry lovers.

In

the temperate climate of Oregon’s prized Willamette Valley, you’ll

find blueberries, strawberries, lingonberries, raspberries, gooseberries, huckleberries, cranberries, all

sorts of caneberries

— blackberries, boysenberries, and loganberries. Nearly

the United States are grown

in

all

and

the hazelnuts used

in

this area, too.

Blueberry Pie with Graham Hazeenut Crust Piecrust:

3 tablespoons

flour

for a 10-inch pie pan. Put bot-

2 cups

1/8 teaspoon

salt

tom

flour

1/2 cup sugar

^ For

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

sugar, and cinnamon.

1/2 cup crushed graham-

graham-cracker crumbs and hazelnuts. Cut in butter until

cracker crumbs

1/2 cup hazelnuts, finely ground 2/3 cup butter, chilled and cut into small pieces

Mix together flour,

vanilla

2 tablespoons water sugar Filling:

4 cups fresh blueberries 2/3 cup sugar

Add

mixture resembles small peas. In a separate bowl, beat egg

yolks with vanilla, then add

Add

water dough holds to-

to flour mixture.

2 egg yolks

1 teaspoon

crust:

and stir until gether. Form into a ball (dough will be stiff; do not overwork it). Cut dough into 2 equal parts and refrigerate. After dough

is chilled,

place

each ball between 2 sheets of waxed paper and roll out to form top and bottom crusts

(continued

on

layer in pie pan.

Com-

bine filling ingredients in a

bowl and pour into pie pan. Place top layer on pie, and crimp top and bottom separate

crusts together.

Make several

knife cuts in crust. Sprinkle

top crust with a

little

sugar.

Cover edge of crust with foil and bake in a preheated 350° F oven for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake 20 minutes longer, or until golden

brown

and bubbly.

Makes 8 (Recipe courtesy

next page)

servings.

ofBerry Works,

Corvallis,

Oregon)

Lemon-Blueberry Sour Cream Coffee Cake 2 eggs 2 cups sour cream 1/4 cup lemon juice

Topping:

1-1/2 cups fresh blueberries

3/4 cup sugar 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1 cup pecans or walnuts,

2 cups

of the batter into a buttered 10/2-inch springform pan.

flour

Sprinkle with half of the top-

Cake:

ping. Fill with remaining batter,

^ Preheat oven

375°

to

F.

Gently mix topping ingredients in a bowl and divide in half. Cream butter with lemon

1 cup butter, softened 1 tablespoon grated lemon peel

peel, sugar,

1-1/2 cups sugar

2 teaspoons

in

1/2 teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon baking powder

chopped

fluffy.

vanilla

and vanilla

until

Add eggs, sour cream,

and lemon juice.

and baking powder; fold batter lightly. Pour a third

salt,

and sprinkle with remain-

ing topping, pressing into the batter a bit.

Bake

for 55 to

60

minutes, or until toothpick

comes out

clean.

Makes 16

servings. (Recipe courtesy ofPaisley s Restaurant, Portland, Oregon)

Sift in flour.

Hazelnut-Stuffed French Bread 1 tablespoon

Filling:

2 cloves

garlic,

butter,

cornmeal

minced

1 egg white with 1 tablespoon

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard 3/4 cup hazelnuts, finely

water

^ Thoroughly mix

chopped

1/3 cup olive oil 1/2 cup chopped

melted

all filling

ingredients and set aside. sun-dried

To make bread, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add flour,

tomatoes

1/4 cup butter, softened 1 cup grated Swiss cheese

salt,

and

Knead

butter,

until

and mix

dough

well.

is elastic

and smooth, about 10 minutes. Bread:

Place dough in a greased bowl,

2 packages

or

2 scant

cover, and

tablespoons dry yeast

flour

1 tablespoon

salt

dou-

bled, about an hour. Divide

2-1/2 cups warm water 7 cups bread

let rise until

dough into 2 parts and roll into oblong pieces, about 15x12

margins on long sides, 2 inches

on ends, and roll up, seahng as you go. Place seam side down on greased baking sheets that have been dusted with commeal. Cover with a towel and let rise for

an hour, or until dou-

bled.

Make

each 450°

loaf.

3 diagonal cuts

Bake

on

in preheated

F oven for 25 minutes. Remove, bmsh with egg-white wash, and bake for another 5 minutes. For best results, keep

oven very hot and place a pan with 1 inch of water on the bottom oven rack. Makes 2 loaves. (Recipe courtesy

inches each. Spread each with

ofHazelnut

Marketing Board, Tigard, Oregon)

half the filling, allowing 1-inch

HI.ears Ninety-five percent of the nation’s

commercially grown pears

gon, and California. ‘Bartlett’ production

is

centered

in

come from five

regions

in

Washington, Ore-

Washington’s Yakima and Wenatchee valleys;

winter pears (‘Cornice’, ‘Anjou’, and ‘Bose’) are grown

in

Oregon’s Hood and Medford

river valleys.

Pear-Mince-Oatmeal Bars 3/4 cup

butter or margarine,

softened

3/4 cup brown 1-1/2 cups

sugar, packed

flour

1-1/4 cups quick

rolled oats

1/2 cup chopped walnuts 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 2 winter pears, peeled, cored and chopped

Old Farmer’s Almanac

1 cup prepared mincemeat 1 teaspoon lemon juice 1/2 teaspoon grated lemon peel

^ Cream butter and

sugar.

9xl3x2-inch pan. Combine

Stir in flour, oats, walnuts,

pears, mincemeat,

1

juice,

salt,

and baking soda

consistency

%

is

until

crumbly. Press

of crumb mixture into a

pat lightly.

lemon

Bake at 375° F for

25 to 30 minutes, or until

and peel; spread over crumb crust. Top with remaining crumb mixture and

crust

is

golden.

Makes 20

to

25

bars.

Curried Pears and Lamb medium

1

onion,

ciove garlic, minced

3 tablespoons vegetable

or

olive oil

1 pound boneless lamb, cut

tomato paste, spices, sugar, and salt. Gradually add chicken broth. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Core and shce pears (do not peel); add to lamb and cook, uncovered, 15

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger 1/4 teaspoon chili powder 1 teaspoon sugar 1/2 teaspoon salt

chopped

flour,

2 cups chicken broth

in

2

1-inch cubes 3 2 tablespoons flour

fresh pears

scallions

2 tablespoons tomato paste

^ Saute onion and garhc in

1 tablespoon curry powder 1 teaspoon paprika

minutes longer. Serve over hot

and chutney for garnish

until soft.

brown on

and garnish with chopped scallions and chutney.

rice, oil

Add

lamb, and sides. Blend in

all

Makes 4

servings.

(Pear recipes courtesy ofOregon-Washington-California Pear Bureau, Portland, Oregon)

Washington grows over Delicious’

five biiiion

appies a year, producing the largest supply of this country’s ‘Red

and ‘Golden Delicious’ apples. The state’s four newest apple varieties are ‘Jonagold’

blend of ‘Jonathan’ and ‘Golden Delicious’), ‘Braeburn’, country

in

sweet cherry production; here the two

fruits

‘Fuji’,

and

team up

‘Gala’.

for a

(a

Washington also leads the

winning combination.

Washington Apple-Cherry Fruit Spread ‘Jonagold’ or other sweet Remove cinnamon stick ^ In a medium saucepan, lemon peel. Puree in variety appies, peeled,

combine apples,

cored, and coarsely

juice,

chopped

and bring

1/2 cup dried sweet cherries 1/2 cup apple juice or water 1 cinnamon stick 1/2 teaspoon grated lemon peel

and add

cherries,

a blender or food processor

and cinnamon. Cover

medium

to a

heat.

mixture becomes a chunky spread. Chill before serving. Makes about 1 cup. until

simmer over

Cook

15 min-

Unand cook

utes, stirring frequently.

cover, reduce heat, 1

(Recipe courtesy

5 to 20 minutes longer, or un-

til

of Washington Apple

Commission, Wenatchee, Washington)

apples are soft but retain

continue

d

0

n

n

e

X

t

Old Faemer’s Almanac

page)

2

Apple-Cherry Crisp cups

pitted fresh

cherries (or

1/2 cup flour 1/2 cup rolled oats 1/4 cup almonds, chopped 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed

sweet

2 cups

canned, drained and rinsed)

6 tablespoons butter

2 cups peeled, cored, and

^

sliced apples

1 tablespoon lemon juice 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1/2 cup sugar

Washington’s ters.

chilly Pacific

after the

in

flour, rolled oats, al-

monds, and brown sugar. Cut in butter until mixture is and bake for 30 to 35 minutes. Serve warm with whipped cream. Makes 6 to 8 servings. ping over

fruit

C^^ivali C^^rinv ^^Jivaives

waters and calm bays

make

There are dozens of varieties of these bivalves,

and “seeded”

Mix

a coarse meal. Spread top-

Preheat oven to 375° F.

Toss cherries and apples with lemon juice, cinnamon,

ose Ti,lose

and sugar. Place in a buttered 2-quart baking dish.

for excellent

some

of which

clams, mussels, and oys-

were brought from Japan

the 1920s. This recipe calls for Pacific oysters and Dungeness crab,

town on the Olympic Peninsula where

this hard-shell crab

was

first

named

harvested.

Baked Oysters Stuffed with Dungeness Crab 2 tablespoons grated

Crabmeat sauce:

Parmesan cheese

2 tablespoons butter 2 tablespoons

pepper to

1/4 cup

flour

butter,

Place oysters in their half

on a baking sheet or shallow roasting pan, and shells

melted

1 cup milk 2 tablespoons minced chives

^ Preheat oven to 450° F. In

1 tablespoon

a small saucepan, melt but-

dry sherry

ter

1 pound cooked crabmeat, and pepper, to taste

Oysters:

24

Add flour

and blend well, cooking for 1 to 2 minutes. Slowly stir in milk, whisking until sauce is smooth and thickened. Stir in chives, sherry, and

flaked salt

over low heat.

oysters, shucked, and

placed on half shell

crabmeat.

1 cup bread crumbs

Add

salt

taste.

and

each oyster with crabmeat sauce. Mix bread crumbs with Parmesan and moisten with melted butter. Top each oyster with a teaspoon of bread crumbs. Place in oven and bake for fill

10 minutes; then brown tops

under the

broiler.

Makes 6

to

8 servings.

'aimon This fish

is

considered by most to be the ultimate Northwest food. Of the four varieties

(or Chinook),

Sockeye

(or Red),

Coho

(Silver),

and

Chum

— King

— most Washingtonians prefer King

for its intense flavor.

Savory Salmon Steaks 3 tablespoons

olive oil

1/3 cup finely chopped onion 1/3 cup grated carrot 1/3 cup finely chopped celery 4 salmon steaks

1/2 cup

dry white wine

1 eight-ounce can tomatoes, chopped chopped fresh

^ Heat

oil in

dill

for garnish

a large skillet

and saute the onion, carrot, and celery until soft. Add

salmon steaks and brown

178 P.

Old Farmer’s Almanac

lightly

on both sides. Pour in

wine and tomatoes and cover pan. Simmer salmon over low heat for 10 minutes, or until fish flakes eas-

Garnish with dill and serve with buttered new potatoes. Makes 4 servings. ily.

1998?

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Old Farmer’s Almanac

179

Winning RECIPE C aC 1997 RECIPE CONTEST 3

1

FIRST PRIZE

SECOND PRIZE

Salmon Wonlons

Tuscany Cheese Tortas tablespoons olive

Filling:

oil

1/4 cup shredded carrot 4 scallions, chopped 1/2 cup alfalfa sprouts

1/2 cup diced red onion 1 clove garlic, minced 1/4 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes (not In oil), softened In warm water 10 minutes and drained

1-1/2 tablespoons soy sauce

2-1/2 cups grated zucchini

1

5 large eggs,

can salmon (6 to 7-1/2 ounces), or equivalent fresh salmon, poached

to 2 teaspoons grated fresh gingerroot,

2 cloves

garlic,

crushed

about 30 wonton wrappers oil for

1-1/2 cups grated Cheddar cheese

deep-frying

1-1/2 cups grated Jack cheese

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese 1/2 teaspoon salt

Dipping sauce: sweet-and-sour sauce, plum sauce, or a

pepper, to taste

1 cup duck sauce, 1 to 2 tablespoons soy sauce, 1 teaspoon hoisin combination of

sauce, and a dash of

1/4 cup toasted sesame seeds

chili oil

C

medium bowl, combine salmon,

soy sauce, ginger, and garlic, and toss together until crumbly. carrot, scallions, sprouts,

Heat

oil for

deep-frying. Moisten the edges of

wonton wrapper with a few drops of water, and drop about 1 teaspoon of the salmon filling on the center. Fold the wonton wrapper a

diagonally to

on the edges

make a triangle, and press down to seal. (Fill about 15

wontons

at

a time, keeping the unused wrappers covered to prevent

them from drying

Deep-fry in hot oil on one side; then flip over and fry on the other side until golden brown. Drain on brown paper bags or paper towels, and serve hot with dipping sauce.

out.)

H

high heat.

about 3 minutes. Add zucchini and cook until crisp-tender, about 3 minutes, and remove from heat. In a large bowl, blend eggs, bread crumbs, oregano, basil, cook,

cheeses, ture.

stirring, for

salt,

Spread

pepper, and the zucchini mixin a greased

9x1 3-inch baking

pan. Sprinkle with sesame seeds.

preheated 325°

F oven

Bake

in a

30 minutes, or until set when lightly touched in the center. Cool on a rack for 15 minutes. Cut into 1-inch squares and serve warm or at room temperature. Can also be refrigerated and served cold. Makes 9 to 10 dozen. Kathy Lee, Valley Center, California for

Makes about 30.

Anne

180

pan over mediumAdd onion, garlic, and tomatoes;

eat oil in a large frying

lean bones and skin from salmon, if necessary. In a

beaten

1/3 cup dry, Itallan-bread crumbs 1 teaspoon dried oregano 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

1/2 teaspoon powdered ginger

or

lightly

for

Dirksen, Hastings, Minnesota

Old Farmer’s Almanac

1998

THIRD PRIZE

crowave

at

50-percent power for 8 to 10 min-

Serve hot.

utes.)

Clam-Med Mushrooms

Makes about 24.

Susan Straney,

Saline,

Michigan

1/4 pound bacon

Special thanks to Sylvia Wright and Rich Roth for

2 teaspoons reserved bacon drippings 1/2 cup fineiy chopped onion

help with recipe judging and testing.

1/2 cup fineiy chopped green pepper 1 ciove gariic, minced 1 tabiespoon minced fresh parsiey 1 teaspoon dried oregano

1998 RECIPE

- Ed.

CONTEST

and pepper

sait

Chicken

one 6-1/2-ounce can chopped ciams, drained 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

For 1998, cash prizes

12 ounces

prize,

fresh

mushrooms, stems removed

ry bacon until crisp. Drain and crumble into

mixing bowl, reserving 2 teaspoons of drippings. Saute onion and green pepper in bacon drippings until onion is opaque. Remove from heat and stir in garlic, parsley, oregano, salt, and pepper. Mix well and add to crumbled bacon in bowl. Stir in clams and cheese. Spoon into mushroom caps, rounding the filling. Place on baking sheet and bake at 350° F for about 20 minutes, until mushrooms are tender. (Or mi-

F

$25; third

prize,

(first prize,

$15)

wiii

$50; second

be awarded

for

the

best originai recipes using chicken as a main gredient. Aii entries

become the

in-

property of Yan-

kee Pubiishing Incorporated, which reserves rights to the materiais submitted.

aii

Winners wiii be

1999 edition of The Old Farmer’s Almanac. Deadline is March 1, 1998. Please type announced

in

the

recipes. Address: Recipe Contest, The Old

all

Farmer’s Almanac, P.O. Box 520, Dublin,

or send e-mail (subject: Chicken Contest)

03444; to

NH

[email protected].

INNING E; CONTEST

1997 ESSAY

Best Cures for Picky Eaters FIRST PRIZE

W

hen I was a child, my mother used her own bit of child psychology to introduce new foods to me and my two

may not have actually liked what we were trying, but we never refused new foods outright when presented in this manner. Laurel Parker, Ithaca,

siblings. After fixing us our spaghetti, or

New

York

SECOND PRIZE

hot dog, or peanut-butter sandwich, she

would serve

herself and

my father some-

he best cures for picky eaters? I consider the question with narrowed, gleaming eyes. I know picky eaters. As

thing completely different and casually sit down to eat. Our curiosity piqued, we’d

T

“Ooh, what’s that?” “Liver,” she’d say, for example, “but it’s only for grownups.” Naturally, we had to have some! We

a waitress,

ask,

1998

meet a million people. Many are cheerful and easy to please, but some are

.

.

.

I

not.

Old Farmer’s Almanac

(continued)

181

more murmur-

I’ve tried everything: smiling

widely, frowning

more

fiercely,

ing soothingly, and speaking firmly, as it to a spoiled child. I’ve raised the price and

lowered the price: once, (quietly). I’ve

I

even began to cr>'

watched balding adults

all

but hurl themselves to the floor, kicking

We

no longer have picky eaters at our we changed our entire way of house

—

looking

at

Everyone

individual food preferences.

now allowed

is

food items, w

ith

no

to hate three

tasting required. Dis-

criminating palates are easier

to educate

than picky eaters are to eliminate.

and screaming, because smoked trout was not on the menu. Life is so hard and unfair. The best cure I’ve found is to threaten

Marianna

Csizrnadia, Cincinnati, Ohio

perpetrators with something infinitely

worse. They

become more amenable

most immediately. Losing their options seems to clear their head. You don’t like whole wheat? What a shame. I’ll have to bring pumpernickel.

You

sympathize you’re going to love Blue Moon whirled up with milk. Turn turkey can’t live with vanilla malt?

I

—

into pickled loaf, substitute

smoked

KSSAY CONTEST

.-77/C

al-

The Most Useful Invention the 20th Century For 1998, cash prizes

$25; third

(first prize,

$50; second

$15) will be awarded for the best 200-word essay on this subject: “The prize,

prize,

Most Useful Invention of the 20th Century." All entries become the property of Yankee Publish-

jalapeho Swiss cheese for cheddar, or switch cream of asparagus with whole-

the materials submitted. Winners

beet borscht, and you’ve got a sure cure.

nounced

Ellen Airgood,

Grand Marais, Michigan

ing Incorporated,

N

the

In

which reserves

1999

Almanac. Deadline type

THIRD PRIZE

of

rights to

all

will

be an-

edition of The Old Farmer's is

March

1,

1998. Please

essays. Address: Essay Contest, The

all

Old Farmer's Almanac, P.O. Box 520, Dublin, NH

o picky eaters would be tolerated at our house, we decided when the first of our

03444;

or

test) to

[email protected].

send e-mail (subject: Invention Con-

five children

Our

rule

began to grace our table. was, “Take three bites and then

Conlesl Winners Announced

decide.” ”1 hate

green food,” said David. Mother, you know don’t like mixedup food!” cried Anne, as the beef

Can You Predict

by the

I

touched the vegetables

in

cubes the Hungarian

goulash.

Ugh. Rice

again.

It looks like crawly white bugs,” complained Marti. I can t eat tuna fish; it smells like cat food,” declared Katie.

How

did

all

these

little people form such definite opinions about food? Then Frankie asked, “How come you never make spinach. Mom?”

Before

“Your

I

mom

could stop him. Dad said doesn’t like spinach;

minds her of seaweed.”

it

re-

Presidential Elections

c received

W

Moon?

many wonderful

entries

our Presidential Lunations Contest from the 997 edition of The Old for

1

Fanner's Almanac.

We

mar\'eled

at the

amount of time our readers devoted tabulating and analyzing the data!

to

We

were so impressed by the work of Mary Donovan’s fourth grade class at the Crocker Farm Elementary School in Amherst, Massachusetts, that we are pleased to award them First Place and the prize of $

1

Dominga,

Jill,

(X).

Congratulations Caitlin, Anjali, B.

to Stew, J.,

Mea-

gan, Kelly, Alex, Daniel, Teddy, Deb,

Oi

l)

Fakmkr’s Almanac

1998

Nicholas, Adrian, Ryan, Hanna, Orien-

and Sungha. Ms. Donovan’s students were divided into five groups to determine the Moon phase when each president was elected (new, waxing, full, or waning). They tallied, graphed, and charted their findings and concluded: “When the Moon was waxing, the Republicans and the Democrats seem to have had an equal chance of winning (10 and 7); when the Moon was waning, the Republicans and the Democrats seem to have had an equal chance of winning (9 and 8). We do not

thia,

think that the

Moon

come of presidential

influences the out-

almost half of you came to the same conclusion, although Janet Hughes, In fact,

best:

it

Our

“Ac-

Through All

the Luna-

all

the statisticians

(and there were several)

who

analyzed the data. The detailed submissions (complete with mathematical formulas and footnotes) we received from Michael Slattery of Denver, Colorado, and Paul Catalano of Reading, Massachusetts, earned each of them an Honorable Mention. Also receiving an Honorable Mention for his creative and unique “Hypothesis on Pres-

Lunacy”

is

James O. Brown of

New Jersey. We

Llemington,

are posting

these and a sampling of other entries on

our

Web

www.almanac.com. resist sharing a few excerpts

site at

We can’t

cording to the Chart of Outcomes of Presidential Elections

hats are off to

idential

elections."

of Forks, Washington, said

Voting Days, there is proof the Moon is for lovers and should be totally eliminated in politics; however, it is said both lovers and politicians are fools.” tions of

from our readers’

entries:

“Entertaining a more complicated model such as

log

— 1

-

-

=

a

Moon’s age + Bo Moon’s age-

-t-

Pr(D)

= 0.31) and -0.00492 (p = 0.29), respectively, a result between the Moon’s that, again, does not provide any statistical evidence of a significant relationship (Paul Catalano, Reading, Mass.) age and the election outcome.”

and

yields estimates of /3i

“There

is

0-136

fjy

the ‘Lincoln Principle,’ during which

experiencing great strife and needs strong leadership, versus the ‘Coolidge-Hoover Counterhypothesis’ during mediocre times and/or

the country

Moon

is

waxing, the incumbent wins.” (Kirk

is

leadership. To be within the Lincoln times, one has to be elected between the first-quarter Moon

(9th lunar day) and the last-quarter Moon (23rd). To be within the Coolidge-Hoover phase, one has to be elected

between the

last-quarter

Moon

(24th) and the first-quarter Moon (7th). As luck would have it, no one ever gets elected on the 8th lunar day.” (James O. Brown, Flemington, N.J.)

“The Whigs waxed

well, but only twice.”

(A. Attura, Arlington, Va.)

“The president entering or elected to office on not the first day after a new or full Moon would be in office the next term.”

(David Mougakos, Vineland, N.J.) “Sixty-three percent of the time that the elec-

when the Moon is waning, the new candidate wins. And 78 percent of the time

tion takes place

1998

that the

Mona,

St.

“Republican incumbents lose is

close to the

if

it’s

first-

or last-quarter

new

if

Paul, Minn.)

the election

Moon. They win

Moon.” ( Gary Di Giuseppe, Fort Dodge, Iowa)

closer to the

or

full

on an even-numbered day of the Moon’s age, the major parties should

“When

election day

is

nominate a candidate with a long

last

name and

an even number of letters In the last name.” (Doug Ward, Battle Ground, Wash.)

“More Republicans were elected to, or took oaths of, office during the waning Moon. More Democrats were elected to, or took oaths of, office during the waxing Moon.” (Charlotte Robinson, New Concord, Ky.) observed that determined from what rather than the Moon having an effect on an elecsomewhere toral outcome, maybe the answer lies “I

in

the stars.” (John Dallal,

Old Farmer’s Almanac

I

Howard Beach,

N.Y.)

183

.

IS

THERE ANYTHING BETTER THAN

Southern-Fried Chicken, That

(The

Some

might mention barbecued chicken as a

people

all

over the country these days

how

to

A

heavy, black

skillet

passed

from grandmother to granddaugh

A

ter.

But to Southerners

make

down

it

correctly

.

Fried chicken

is

over .America, in

many

fast-fcxxJ brethren.

But Southerners created the dish in all its finger-licking fomis, whether it be Kentucky-fried, Marylandfried. Creole-fried, or

I I W

call the

I

South-

I

erners who harbor memories, of course.

184

all

Midwest, and

Colonel Sanders and his

wishbone.

To

here’s

parts of the world, thanks to the efforts of

meated piece of the chicken that most

isn’t just

sen ed

particuku'ly in the

pully bone, the juicy-

It

in fact, to

.

slippery tussle over the

Americans

—

— nothing else even comes close. So

Mention fried chicken to a Southerner and you’re likely to be met with dreamyeyed remembrance. The preacher coming over for Sunday dinner. A wicker basket of cold chicken on a hot Fourth of July.

rival.

Is)

any of the multitude of styles and cooking

A

techniques.

I

The

first

pub-

I

lished fried-chicken

I

recipe appeared,

I

tingly, in the

" w

fit-

lirst

southern cookbook.

know about fried chicken, you have to have been weanc Old Farmer's Almanac

1998

Mary Randolph, ferson, wrote

a relative of Thomas Jef-

The Virginia Housewife

in

1824 but didn’t include her fried-chicken recipe until the third edition four years

PICKING PRIVILEGES

later.

Her technique of dredging chicken parts in flour and frying them in fat remains the standard 170 years

Not

I

of The New York Times, chicken makes him think

later.

of Blanche, the cook

every southern cook is in agreement about the method. Only barbethat

First, there’s the

privileges,” allowing

him

coating as the chicken

boardinghouse where

him “picking

to nibble crisp bits

of fried

came hot from the

skillet.

matter of the bird.

say that only a tender young fryer thor of Fearless Frying Cookbook, a vol-

under three pounds will do. Others hold that the size of the bird matters less than buying it fresh and whole and cutting it up yourself. “Frozen chicken tastes bloody and turns dark at the bone when fried,” North Carolina restaurateur Bill Neal

ume

wanted to call The Fryble. As for what to fry it in, people use everything from lard and vegetable shortening to sesame and canola oils. Taylor prefers peanut oil or

serve the chicken.

how

to

Cooks usually make

a

—

—

rice, grits,

in-

or

mashed

many Southerners

volved preparations, a three-day process day-long baptisms

in

cream gravy with the pan drippings, milk, notably and flour. In some places this gravy is poured over the Maryland chicken. Across most of the South, the gravy is instead served on the side with

pepper, paprika, or anything else that seems to make sense. Atlanta chef Scott

that starts with

unwavering

Finally, there’s the question of

salt,

Peacock perfected one of the more

other neutral-

their support of lard.

everything from bourbon to buttermilk, then dip it in flour, cornmeal, potato flour,

some

some

tasting agent. Purists are

in

other batter seasoned with

about Southern-fried foods that he

originally

wrote in his Southern Cooking. “If you find yourself in the possession of one, stew it or bury it.” Then there’s the batter and seasonings. People have been known to soak the bird

or

at the

he grew up in Mississippi. She gave

cuing rivals frying as a source of debate among the region’s cooks.

Some

For Craig Claiborne, the longtime food editor

potatoes. Indeed,

find the pouring of

gravy over chicken a vaguely alien and

in salt

water and then buttermilk.

Next comes the frying. Most recipes call for cooking the chicken in an inch or less of oil, using a heavy cast-iron skillet to distribute the heat evenly.

rant chicken, however,

is

fried, like potatoes, in vats

AFTER CHURCH EVERY WEEK

Much restauFor Johnnetta Cole, the former president of

actually deep-

of hot

oil

—

Atlanta’s

a

Spelman College, chicken

recalls

Sundays

where

Mama

John Martin Taylor of Charleston, South

Zone, her great-grandfather’s second wife,

fried a

Carolina. “Deep-frying in really hot fat acIt tually makes the chicken less greasy.

bird afrer church every week in a large

method most

makes

traditionalists dislike.

Not

home

with olive

in Jacksonville, Florida,

pan sizzling

oil.

aua crispier crust, too,” says the

nd reared on

It

in

^ Atthe South. Period. - James

1998

back

Vittas,

w

the food editor of Town and Country magazine and native of North Carotina

Old Farmer’s Almanac

185

threatening practice. Henrietta Stanley Dull, an Atlanta food editor

whose 1928

book Southern Cooking taught generations of

home economists how

was quite firm on the matter: “Never pour gravy over chicken if you wish Georgiafried chicken.”

And

if

you’re wondering whether

—

it’s

you have to ask So, you see. Southern-fried chicken

jazz: “If

EVER ATE

For Vertamae Grosvenor, the National Public

Radio commentator, chicken evokes memories

to

home from New York

South Carolina and popped in on her Aunt Car-

well, rerie.

member what Louis Armstrong said about

“Child,

niece,

1

know

you’re hungry,” aunt told

and proceeded

to kill a chicken, boil

and

.

more complicated than

pluck it, and

women

fix a full

dinner in a house that lacked

is electricity

the old white-

meat or dark-meat quandary. The whole

chicken

I

and running water. “The best

fried

ever ate,” Crosvenor concluded.

of the North cannot fry a chicken.”

Here are two different approaches to Southern-fried chicken fried.

I

of the day her family drove

correct to use your fingers

“The

THE BEST

to cook,

— the

first pan-fried,

- Mark Twain

the second deep-

The former recipe combines classic techniques set forth by food writers Craig Claiborne and James

Villas.

The

latter is

adapted from the recipe of Charleston cookbook author John Martin Taylor.

Basic Southern-Fried Chicken 1

fryer

(24/2 to 3 pounds), cut

serving pieces

into

Rinse chicken pieces under running water. Pat dry and place in a casserole dish. Cover

buttermilk to cover

1 cup salt

with buttermilk and soak at least 2 hours

all-purpose flour

in the refrigerator.

Remove from

and black pepper, refrigerator,

to taste

come

vegetable shortening

to

and

let

chicken

room temperature

before cooking.

1 tablespoon bacon grease

“If

186

you’re that worried about fat,

why are you thinking of frie

Old Farmer’s Almanac

1998

THE

subject can plexity.

seem bewildering

Perhaps

it’s best,

in

then, to

comend with its

an existential thought.

MAN WHO MADE

IT

FINGEE=UCnF

Reynolds Price, the North Carolina novelist, tells

at

who

a story about a tourist

stopped

a roadside cafe that brashly advertised hav-

ing the best fried chicken, guaranteed.

He

and sure enough, it was good. So he called the owner out and asked him his secret. “How do you prepare your chickens?” “Nothing special,” the man replied. “We tried

was

Colonel Harland Sanders

neither a

true colonel nor a native Kentuckian, but

it

it,

seem to

didn’t

matter to the people

who tried

the chicken at his cafe and tourist court

in

’em they’re gonna die.” Too bad he didn’t tell them they were go-

just tell

ing to be immortalized.

brown paper bag, combine and pepper, and shake until

In a heavy, flour, salt,

blended. Place a 12-inch or larger skillet (cast

iron or

enameled cast iron

medium-high

heat.

is

best) over

Melt vegetable shorten-

ing to a depth of Vi to

1

inch,

add bacon

grease, and heat to the point that a drop of water flicked into the oil sputters.

Remove

When

Corbin, Kentucky.

his

business was

bypassed by interstate highway construction

in

the 1950s, he took to the road with

and neat goa-

his white linen suit, string tie,

tee and sold chicken franchises with the pitch that folks

ought to be able to have Sun-

day dinner seven days a week.

chicken from dish, letting excess buttermilk

Today, there are more than 5,100 Ken-

drip off, and place each piece in the bag,

tucky Fried Chicken outlets around the na-

shaking until coated evenly. Arrange pieces

tion,

in skillet, skin side to

down, being careful not

overcrowd. Fry 15 to 20 minutes on one

side, until the skin is crispy

and golden; then

turn each piece with tongs. Fry 15 minutes

other side. Drain on

on

brown paper bags.

and hundreds more

like

it

run by

Church’s, Popeyes, and other competitors.

The strangest

bird in the

barnyard

may be the

Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant etta, Georgia,

chicken with

which

rolling

is

in

Mari-

marked by a 56-foot

eyes and a moving beak.

But a funny thing happened. As Ameri-

cans became more health-conscious,

(CONTINUED ON

NEXT PAGE)

foods

- Damon Lee Fowler,

1998

the fiiet defenf''..

lsI

iarc

end author

grilled poultry to

and the chicken

cut the grease. To pro-

mote

its

Fried

Chicken renamed

tains

^ Classical Southern Cooking.

into disfavor

chains frantically experimented with roasted

and

liicken in

fell

fried

it

variety of

is

cooked chicken, Kentucky

“selling

itself

more

fried

KFC but mainchicken than

ever before.”

Old Farmer’s Almanac

187

To raise a cream gravy:

1 teaspoon

freshly

ground black pepper

pinch of paprika and cayenne

Discard

all

but 2 tablespoons of fat

1 cup

from the skillet, being careful to leave the brown flour drippings in pan. Over high heat,

Rinse chicken well in cold water, drain,

add 2 tablespoons of flour to the fat,

stirring until

adding

salt

Serve on the side if

you want to do

ind pepper

— or over

it

dry. In a cast-iron oil

per, seasonings,

and shake

until

Dutch

3 inches deep and

heat at medium-high. Place the

gravy

comes to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 2 minutes, until it reaches a creamy texture,

and pat

oven, pour peanut

whisking until the roux browns. Gradually

pour in 2 cups of milk,

all-purpose flour

salt,

pep-

and flour in a paper bag

mixed.

Add the chicken

pieces one at a time, shaking to coat.

to taste.

When

the chicken,

the oil has reached 365° F,

place the chicken in the Dutch oven,

Maryland-style.

skin side down, and cook with the lid on

Stovetop Deep-Fried ^ Chicl&n 1

fryer [ZVz to

3 pounds), cut

for 5 to 7 minutes.

into serving

and fry for another 5 to 7

place the

lid,

minutes.

Remove

until

oii

1 teaspoon

re-

the cover and con-

tinue cooking for another 15 minutes,

pieces

peanut

Turn the chicken,

chicken is crisp. Drain on wire rack.

salt

ANSWERS TO

RAINY DAY AMUSEMENT On pages

3.

syzygy queue bookkeeper

4.

straight, strength,

1.

2

.

54.

B.

Word Play

5

172-173.

-h

Number Fun 2

4 = 9 = 54

-

45 A.

Earthy Anagrams

2.

PACE, CAPE LEAD, DALE

facetiously

3.

DRAY, YARD

6 . individualistic

4.

ELAN, LANE

scrounge, 5.

brougham

1.

5.

ROOM, MOOR SALE, LEAS

Horse Sense

6.

Yes,

there are three gener-

7.

ations: grandfather, father,

8.

SEAM, MESA SLOT, LOTS

and son. Each person will

9.

SORT, TORS

take seven horses.

10.

NUDE, DUNE

if

The

Hollies. (Multiply

379,836 by 14 on a calculator, and turn the calculator upside down to read the answer.) B.

MIX =1,009

Changing Moon 1.

Moon, boon, book, bock, buck.

2.

Moon, mood, wood, woof, wolf.

3.

Moon, soon,

soot, shot,

show, snow. Number Fun 1 A.

46.

4.

Spelling Lessens A:

Travels, valets, slate,

46xl9 = 874;8-i-7-h4=19.

last,

With occasional exceptions,

B:

adding 1 to a multiple of 9 gives sequential solutions.

Tom, C:

S.A.T, as, 5. Thrones, hornet, tenor, rot,

T. R.,

Moon,

loon, look, lock,

lick, link, pink.

(Other answers with the same number of steps may be possible for each

set.)

r.

Chapter, carpet, taper,

pear, ape, pa, p.

188

Old Farmer’s Almanac

1998

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