Oct. 19, Monday - St. Luke's Little Summer. Amy Carter born, 1967.
Oct. 20, Tuesday - New Moon. Moscow soccer disaster, 340 fans killed, 1982.Oct. 21, Wednesday - Guggenheim Museum of Art, New York City, opened 1959.
Oct. 22, Thursday - Metropolitan Opera House opened, 1883. Annette Funicello (Mickey Mouse Club member) born, 1942.
Oct. 23, Friday - Swallows leave San Juan Capistrano, Calif.
Oct. 24, Saturday - Anna Edson Taylor went over Niagara Falls in barrel, 1901.
Oct. 25, Sunday - Daylight-saving time ends, 2 a.m. Pablo Picasso born, 1881.
Ask the Old Farmer's Almanac: For a home economics class I'm teaching, can you list the household superstitions for me?
- B.P., Mansfield, La.
Answer: Glad to! Many of them seem to center around brooms, for starters. Sweep out the door and you sweep away your luck. Stepping over a broom results in bad luck, as does leaning one against a bed. Always sweep toward the interior, never out the door, especially after dark. But then again, stepping over a broomstick was a symbol of marriage, to some. Go figure.
No furniture or supplies should be carried into a new house or apartment until the salt and pepper are on the shelf. Always start off in a new house with a new broom; never an old one. Mopping the floorboards crossways will lead to drunkenness in your spouse. Don't pivot a chair on one foot; it will lead to squabbling. Turn your featherbeds to make them smooth during the waning moon; a waxing moon attracts the feathers too strongly. Rocking an empty rocking chair brings bad luck. Creaking furniture means ghosts are present. Turning a picture toward the wall brings bad luck. Sitting on a table will prevent you from marrying. Good luck!
Ask the Old Farmer's Almanac: Is it true that sage is good for the teeth?
- P.Y., Aberdeen, Md.
Answer: Chaucer, in his "Knight's Tale" wrote: "To use on . . . wounds and broken arms / Some had their salves and others worked their charms, / And sage they drank, and likewise remedies / Of herbs, for they would save their limbs with these."
Of course, he didn't say what the sage was good for, but the 16th century herbalist, Nicholas Culpeper (1652), and "W.M." of The Queen's Closet (1658) agreed on sage for the teeth and mouth. Whether in a hot infusion or a gargle, a leaf for rubbing the teeth after meals, or a dried stem to use as a toothpick, sage was the dental herb.
"If you will keep your teeth from rotting, or aching, wash the mouth continually every morning with juyce of Lemons, and afterward rub your teeth with a Sage-leaf, or else with a little Nutmeg in powder; also wash your mouth with a little fair water after meats," advised Culpeper. For a toothache, colonial American superstitions also included packing the hollow with gunpowder or powdered cloves. If that didn't work, you could try chewing garlic, tobacco or hops. A spider enclosed in a nutshell was prescribed as a helpful amulet. Still desperate? John Wesley (1776) had tried being electrified through the teeth, which he recommended. But, personally, we prefer prevention.
Ask the Old Farmer's Almanac: Are you familiar with how to make fireplace flames burn more colorfully?
- N.L., Soda Springs, Idaho
Answer: It was once customary to add bits of treated wood to the fire to make it burn more colorfully. Chemicals, sometimes mixed with shellac, were often painted on blocks and kept at the fireside. Here's a primer: violet (potassium chlorate); yellow (potassium nitrate or salt); orange (calcium chloride); red (strontium nitrate); emerald (copper nitrate); green (borax).
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
This week with The Old Farmer's Almanac
October 19-25, 1998
Daylight Saving Time ends, Oct. 25.
St. Luke's Little Summer
St. Luke's Little Summer is an early version of unseasonably warm weather, a next-to-last gasp of the summer's warm breath before the real Indian Summer arrives in November. St. Luke was the patron saint of painters and physicians. He's described as a physician himself, who painted a portrait of the Virgin Mary. He's usually depicted with an ox (for sacrifice) and artist's tools. The French call St. Luke's Little Summer l'ete de S. Martin, or speak of l'ete de la S. Denis a la S. Martin, wich spans the period between October 9 and November 11.
On St. Luke's Day, the oxen have leave to play.
Tip of the week
Be sure your perennials and herbs are well-mulched now.
CRAN-APPLE CRISP
2 cups fresh cranberries
3 cups coarsely diced, peeled apples (`Granny Smith', `Braeburn', or other)
1 cup white sugar
1-1/2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup maple syrup
Freshly grated nutmeg
Butter a 2-quart baking dish and pour into it the cranberries, apples, and sugar, mixing well. In a separate bowl, mix together the oats, butter, and salt. Stir in the maple syrup and pour the oat mixture over the fruit. Grate nutmeg over the top and bake at 350 degrees F for 1 hour, or until fruit is tender.
Makes 4 to 6 servings.
The Old Farmer's Weather Proverbs
If the first snow falls on moist, soft earth, it indicates a small harvest for the following year; if upon hard ground, a good harvest.
For every fog in October, a snow in the winter, heavy or light, as with the fog.
First Sunday in the month rain, and it will rain every Sunday of the month.