Show OLD ALMANAC HOME Great Boston Water Basin Cowers I Cow-ers Thomas Homestead Founder of Publication Started In 1792 and Long Familiar to All New England Got His Idea from Arithmetic Boston In the picturesque village of West Uoylstou which was swept away by the great storage basin of tho Metropolitan water board was lime house In which lived for many years Robert B Thomas founder of he original Farmers Almanack Time old homestead where Mr ThomttH lived tho greater part of his lifetime and many other homes churches stores and shops were destroyed de-stroyed Practically all tho town was offered up to the sacrifice and over the site of the hamlet now spreads a silvery stretch of water Upon Its placid page the records of tho changing Boa IIthe sunshine tho winds and Btoims the courses of tho sun muon and stars which the old almtmac maker loved to follow will be written for countless years to come The Farmers Almanack is the ttiu est In this country and tho name of Robert Bailey Thomas has become familiar to New Englund ears through Ma connection with this unpretentious little annual und his example still governs tho purpose of the book Ho was born on April 4 1766 Ills grandfather was a Cambridge university uni-versity man and his father was very fond of books Robert ginsped every opportunity to Improve his mind It Is rather curious to notice that he had no Instruction In mathematics until he was 20 years old The study of arithmetic seems to have had n determining Influence on his cal eel His father had many books and ho read them assiduously among them was Fergusons Astronomy As-tronomy and from this ho says he Imbibed the Idea of calculating an almanac al-manac He taught school for a few winters short terms that left the remainder re-mainder of tho year free for tho study of astronomy In time he becamo Interested i In-terested bookbinding then In bookselling book-selling and Ilnally utter studying mathematics for a time at a school In Boston kept by Osgood Carleton ho mado calculations for the first number num-ber of the Farmers Almanack Ho published tho first number In the latter part of 1792 for the year 1793 It was a significant time In American history only a few years after tho constitution of the United States had gone Into effect and was an era of energetic and intelligent effort ef-fort In all directions The development of a century maybe may-be followed step by step through time pages of this little book and a file of these old calendars would afford an abundance of curious Information and prove must Interesting reading Ono of the notable things about the Farmers Almanack Is that from the first K has excluded from Its pages the picturesque Image known as the Man of Signs or the Moons Man Tho llguio of a man surrounded by the 12 I signs of the zodiac each referring I to BOIIIO jiart of his body by means of a connecting line or a pointing dagger dag-ger Is Btlll seen In some almanacs and was once regarded as Indlspens able |