The Indians in general have lunar months named from natural occurrences, but not so the Luiseño of Southern California. According to P. S. Sparkman in his unpublished Dictionary of their language the Luiseño year was divided into 8 periods, each of which was again divided into two parts, distinguished as ‘large’ and ‘small’ or ‘lean’. These divisions did not represent periods of time but merely indicated when certain fruits and seeds ripened, grass began to grow, and trees came into leaf in the valley or on the mountain. The native names are given but are unfortunately not translated. Du Bois, to whom we are indebted for this information, names the parts ‘months’ (in inverted commas), and adds that the names are all taken from the physical features of different seasons. _Tausunmal_, about August, means that everything is brown and sear. _Tovukmal_ refers to the little streams of water washing the fallen leaves. _Tasmoimal_ means that the rain has come and grass is sprouting. In _nemoimal_ the deer grow fat. The ‘months’ are marked by the rising of certain stars. The seasons have here developed into a regular calendrical cycle[307]. In reality this cycle is in no way distinguished from the succession of seasons given above: it has only been improved and regulated. This happens more particularly under the influence of agriculture; one can speak of an agricultural year the seasons of which are determined and named in accordance with agriculture. Of the Fanti of the Gold Coast it is said that they divide the year, according to the changes of the climate, into nine parts with distinct names, beginning with the harmattan wind in January and ending with the small tornadoes in December[308]. The periods however are related to agriculture, as appears from a detailed description for the countries around the Niger. The end of the rainy season and the beginning of the dry (about November) forms a kind of season by itself, and is called _odun_ (year). The farmers go on weeding their farms to give the crops of their second harvest a chance. The dry season is divided into two sections of two months each. During the day it is very hot. The cold wind blowing from the east is called _harmattan_ by Europeans, _oye_ by the natives. The second crops of corn, beans, and guinea-corn are now gathered. The land is cleared for the next season’s crops, and the bush already felled is burnt. This is also the fishing season. The dry season (_erun_) continues for the next two months, but during the latter part of the second month the rumbling of thunder is heard and small rains fall. The preparation of the ground is continued and yam-planting begins. The rainy season may be divided into two parts separated by a little dry season: the first section consists of five lunar months of rain, the latter of two lunar months, one nearly dry month intervening. The first two months of this section of the rains are called _asheroh ojo_: it is the tornado season.