194

ities of the farm for every month in the year. These
have never been changed. The prognostications about
the state of the weather were first made for the al-
manac by the "Blacksmith astronomer," Charles Flack
the art of prophecy is said to have remained in the
Flack family for many years. After the death of the
almanac's first weather prophet, calculations were
made for many years by Lawrence J. Ibach and his son,
Will R. Ibach.¹⁴

An English edition of the almanac was begun in
1822, and has continued ever since (1942). The German
edition became smaller and smaller, as the children of
Washington County's German settlers gradually adopted
the Biglish language; the publishers discontinued it
at the time of the first World War.¹⁵

Gruber's religious background was apparent in his
first published book - besides the almanac - the
Apocryphal Gospel of Nicodemus and the Testament of the
Twelve Patriarchs, published in 1796 or probably early
in 1797.¹⁶ Another religious publication was Sasse's
Geistliehe Licder, issued in 1799.¹⁷ In 1831, he pub-
lished the Psalms and Hymns of the German Reformed

14 Hagers-Town town and country almanack. 1859.

p. [9]

15 Evening sun. Baltimore. March 2, 1927.

16 Appendix A. Imprint bibliography, item 344.

17 Appendix A. Imprint bibliography, item 538.