all three seen clearly, one could depend on the weather not to spoil any plans for that particular evening.
though faint, their Manger, ocean proves serene."
—Idylliums of Theocritus (Fawke's Trans.)
In the days of Aratus, 270 B. C., this advice as to how to judge the weather by means of the tiny cloud on the back of Cancer, the Crab, was taken so seriously that he gave it in quite extensive detail in his poem Phenomena:
"Watch, too, the Manger. Like a faint mist in the far North it plays the guide between Cancer. Around it are borne two faintly gleaming stars, not very far apart, nor very near but distant to the view a cubit's length, one on the North, while the other looks toward the South. They are called the Asses and between them is the Manger. On a sudden when all the sky is clear, the Manger wholly disappears, while all the stars that go on either side seem drawn to one another: not slight then is the storm, with which the fields are deluged. If the Manger darken and both stars remain unaltered, they herald rain. But if the Ass to the North of the Manger shine feebly through a faint mist, while the Southern Ass is gleaming bright, expect a wind from the South: but if in turn the Southern Ass is cloudy and the Northern bright, watch for the North Wind."
—English trans., by G. R. Mair.
In English folklore, Præsepe is called the Beehive, although this name was likely given it after telescopes were invented and it was seen that the dim light was resolved into a multitude of little flecks, like a hive of golden bees.
Præsepe passes the meridian about 9 P. M. on March 15th or 2 o'clock A. M. on the morning of January 1st. It is best seen on a clear night when the moon is absent from the sky, and a glass of any kind will make it more interesting.
Both the Crab and the Hydra, who also has a constellation in the sky, are quaint ways of commemorating the adventures of Hercules, but his fierce Nemean lion is the most important just at this instant, so on with the line of floats!
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