Page:Sacred Books of the East - Volume 27.djvu/340

 there would be droughts in the states; vapours and fogs would shed abroad their gloom, and thunder would utter its voice. If those proper to autumn were observed, the weather would be rainy and slushy; melons and gourds would not attain their full growth; and there would be great wars in the states. If those proper to spring were observed, locusts would work their harm ; the springs would all become dry; and many of the people would suffer from leprosy and foul ulcers.

1. In the third month of winter the sun is in Wû-nü, the constellation culminating at dusk being Lâu, and that culminating at dawn Tî.

2. Its days are zǎn and kwei. Its divine ruler is Kwan-hsü, and the (attendant) spirit is Hsüan-ming. Its creatures are the shell-covered. Its musical note is Yü, and its pitch-tube is Tâ Lü.

3. Its number is six. Its taste is salt. Its smell is that of things that are rotten. Its sacrifice is that at (the altar of) the path; and the part of the victim occupying the foremost place is the kidneys.

4. The wild geese go northwards. The magpie begins to build. The (cock) pheasant crows. Hens hatch.