Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 20.djvu/844

822 have new buds and fresh leaves. The randoe fruits are ripe, the cotton appears and begins to fall. The sun rises in the east and casts no shadow at noon. Harvest begins.

Fifth month (Kelima), twenty-seven days, from the 12th of October till the 7th of November. The medical plants called lempoeygang begin to put out new roots. The swallows called maog terrik collect on the slopes of the mountains to feed upon the winged ants that fly out at that time. The chirping birds called tjekithoets sing more than usual. The iwak bettik has five spots. A man's shadow measures a foot north. Plant maize.

Sixth month (Kanem), forty-three days, from the 8th of November till the 20th of December. Heavy rains begin. Plant rice. Orion is visible in the eastern horizon immediately after sunset. Woodcocks appear and resort to the ponds for food. The beetles (kowangaus), which were not visible before the rainy season, come down from the mountains to lay their eggs on the green herbage which is half covered with water. The spiders called kemlandingaus, which before this time of the year spun their webs horizontally, spin them now vertically. The fruits begin to ripen. The iwak bettik has six spots. The sun advances toward the south, and a man's shadow measures two feet north.

Seventh month (Kepitoe), forty-three days, from the 21st of December till the 2d of February. Orion and the Pleiades are respectively 25° and 45° above the eastern horizon. Rice-planting is continued. The distillable herb, wood-ivy (ouvi), is ripe. The eggs of the beetles open. The iwak bettik has seven spots. The sun turns back toward the north, and the shadow measures nearly three feet north.

Eighth month (Kerraloe), twenty-six days, from the 3d to the 28th of February. Orion is in the zenith, the Pleiades are 70° above the west. Rice-planting is completed. The iwak bettik has eight spots. The glagahs begin to bloom. The sun rises in the east.

Ninth month (Kesauga), twenty-five days, from the 1st till the 25th of March. Orion is in the zenith at six o'clock in the evening, the Pleiades 70° up in the west. The iwak bettik has nine spots. The flowers of the glagah fall. The sun crosses the equator.

Tenth month (Sepoeloch), twenty-four days, from the 25th of March till the 17th of April. The Pleiades are 45°, Orion 65° up in the west. The spots of the iwak bettik have disappeared. The rice is ripe and the harvest begins. The sun is in the north, and the shadow measures from one to two feet south.

Eleventh month (Destha), twenty-three days, from the 18th of April till the 10th of May. The rice-harvest everywhere. The nights are cold and the days are the shortest in the year. Orion is visible 16° up in the west at half past six in the evening. The Pleiades are invisible. The randoe-trees begin to bloom. The sun goes toward the north and the shadow measures three feet south.