JUNE 3, MONDAY: Chicago World's Fair exhibits a brick ship, replica of the battleship Illinois, 1893.

JUNE 4, TUESDAY: White House completed, 1800. Guitarist Andre Segovia died, 1987. Henry Ford made first trial run in a car, 1896.JUNE 5, WEDNESDAY: Robert F. Ken-nedy assassinated, 1968. Socrates born, 469 B.C. World Environment Day.

JUNE 6, THURSDAY: D-Day, Normandy, 1944. Nathan Hale born, 1755. "I have but one life to lose for my country."

JUNE 7 FRIDAY: Television debut of "The $64,000 Question," 1955. Painter Paul Gauguin born, 1848.

JUNE 8, SATURDAY: Last quarter moon. Architect Frank Lloyd Wright born, 1869.

JUNE 9, SUNDAY: Composer Cole Porter born, 1893. Laurel in bloom. New Hampshire federal income-tax withholding began, 1943.

Ask the Old Farmer's Almanac: There's a rhyme about the best days to marry that reads something like the birthday rhyme, "Sunday's child is fair of face." Do you know it?

- L.S., Old Chatham, N.Y.

Answer: Absolutely. Seems it was written before Sunday was considered a possibility, though. Here it is, and we guess if you marry on a Sunday, then you're on your own. Good luck!

Monday for health,

Tuesday for wealth,

Wednesday the best day of all,

Thursday for losses,

Friday for crosses,

And Saturday no day at all.

Like many superstitions, ones that revolve around marriage tend to be contradictory. For instance, some say if the day you marry is a stormy one, then your married life will be stormy. Others say it's a sign of good luck to come. "A lowery day, a lowery bride," is one warning, but others say if you marry in a snowstorm (in June? Well, it HAS happened . . . ) it's a sign that you'll be rich.

In case you're still seeking your mate, wear some yarrow in your buttonhole; the next person of the opposite sex that you see will be your future spouse.

Ask the Old Farmer's Almanac: Was Henry Ford's "Peace Ship" an effective strategy?

- B.P., Rocky Ford, Colo.

Answer: Well, he didn't think so, although it's always possible that it made some small inroads toward a peaceful outcome. The "Peace Ship" was a chartered ship called the Oscar II, which sailed from Hoboken, N.J., on Dec. 4, 1915. Henry Ford had read a tragic account of more than 20,000 men being killed in the trenches of World War I in one day alone. The overwhelming senselessness of it spurred him into action and he claimed he'd be willing to commit half his fortune to end the war even one day sooner.

Pacifists, especially Mme. Rosika Schwimmer and Jane Addams (founder of Chicago's Hull House and later a Nobel peace prize recipient), convinced Ford to sail for Norway and tour other neutral countries in hopes of a chance to personally mediate a settlement. A fleet of reporters, newsreel producers, and aides sailed with them, and by the time the ship landed in Norway, just over two weeks later, Ford found himself ill and discouraged.

Evidently, the pacifists and reporters on board had had a near-mutiny over political issues. By Christmas Eve, 20 days after he left, Henry Ford secretly departed for home, seeking peace and quiet.

His one positive discovery from the trip, reportedly, was recognizing a business opportunity: "Russia is going to be a great market for tractors," predicted Ford. So you might argue that the "Peace Ship" was an effective marketing tool.

Ask The Old Farmer's Almanac: How did cabbage come to get such a bad name?

- G.N., Adairsville, Ga.

Answer: Probably the same way turnips did ("I didn't just fall off the turnip truck, you know . . .") - through their inexpensive availability.

Cheap eats, in other words, and what's abundant tends to become devalued.

Cabbage, one of the few green vegetables to store well, is also highly versatile, and its various forms have been mainstays in many peasant populations. Stuffed, boiled, made into slaw or turned into sauerkraut, cabbage is both low-calorie and highly nutritious. Laborers on the Great Wall of China in 200 B.C. received sauerkraut rations, probably for its vitamin C.

Brussels sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower, collards, Savoy, bok-choi, kale, Swiss chard, and Chinese cabbage (pe tsai) are all relatives of the cabbage, though few of them carry the "bad rap" of the common green cabbage. Mark Twain (1835-1910) was disdainful of the differences, however, claiming that "Cauliflower is nothing but cabbage with a college education." Recently, the ornamental purple and pink cabbages have seen a resurgence of interest, both for garden borders and on restaurant platters as a garnish. They are edible, but discriminating cooks consider them more novelty than nourishment.

Folklore considers the cabbage another marital prognosticator. If a girl pulls up a cabbage and only a little earth clings to the roots, she is destined to marry into poverty. But if the cabbage roots carry a large clod of soil, she will marry a rich man - or, as they say, someone "with a lot of cabbage."

*****

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

This Week With The Old Farmer's Almanac

June 3 - 9, 1996

World Environment Day, June 5.

How Now, Brown Cow?

June has been designated National Dairy Month since 1937. Long before then, cows were known as weather prognosticators, especially in predicting rain. Old-timers expected rain when cows didn't give milk, when cattle wanted to lie down on going out to pasture, when cows stretched their necks in their milking stalls or were generally restless. Cheesemakers went by this rule of thumb: "If you will have a good cheese and hav'n old, you must turn'n seven times before he is cold." Successful dairy farmers knew, "Cheese and money should always sleep together one night." (As in, payment comes before the cheese leaves the larder!)

The cow knows not what her tail is worth until she has lost it.

Tip of the Week

For the longest-lasting tulips, cut as soon as their color is visible, and keep them cool.

SWEET & SOUR STRAWBERRIES

8 ounces cream cheese, softened (not whipped style)

1 cup sour cream

4 tablespoons honey

1 quart strawberries, rinsed

1/4 cup granulated sugar

orange liquor or brandy (optional)

Mix the first three ingredients together and refrigerate for 24 hours, either in individual custard cups or in a glass serving bowl. When ready to serve, mash the strawberries just slightly with the sugar, then serve over the sour cream cheese mixture. Garnish with unhulled strawberries and a dash of liquor, if desired.

Makes 6 servings.

The Old Farmer's Weather Proverbs

View Comments

Gnats galore, screen the door.

Fickle drops sprinkle crops.

If the white chickweed blossoms are open, it will not rain for at least three hours.

If on the eighth of June it rain, it foretells a wet harvest, men sain.

Join the Conversation
Looking for comments?
Find comments in their new home! Click the buttons at the top or within the article to view them — or use the button below for quick access.