The Red Cloud chief., 1896-02-28
CALENDAR CURIOSITIES.
No Moro Lenp Years for Seven
Years After tho Present
A Thing That Happens Once In Every
Ose Hundred Yesr - Curious
Fsets Gle~ned from Old
Almanncs.

-
The introduction Of MI additional
day into the calendar once in four
years Is necessary to prevent the av.
crage year from being too short. At
the same time IT. makes the average
yenr n little too long. This additional
length Is ~ slight that II accumulatcs
very slowly. Nevertheless, II does NC.
cumulate. and by the end OF II century
II amounts to nearly n day. For that
reason once in q hundred years the nd.
ditionnl day which mnrks u year rs
leap year IL omitted. and the average
length Of the year is reduced.
The English law determined In 1881
on reforms In this calendar. and from
those we draw and use. The original
determination Of the calendar was made
by the pope. and afterward it was
adopted by all the countries except
Russia and the east. From January
IL, 1852 the civil year was made To he.
gin On that date, and not on March l.,
as many had it. In the same year II
days were dropped from the calendar.
from the 81 to the l3th, inclusive, so
that what would, have been the 18th be-
came the Sd.
With this change effected, the rc-
maindcr of the calendar followed its
usual course. by this change the day
which would have been December -
became January 5. 1t was from this
that the latter derived its name of Old
Christmas day.
The further regulation Of the calcn.
dar occurred in emitting the year 1900
from the number of leap years. There
fore, in 1901, Old Christmas day fell on
January6, and from that time until this
that is the day of the month called by
that name.
In Riders british Merlin" for 1901
we find IL stated that 1900 is not to he
n leap year. while 1901 is to bc the fifth
leap year biscxtilc. or leap year, and
the first year OF the Goth century. For
this century the first leap year was
1904, which is described as such in the
almanacs which were then current.
One old almanac for $500 (Moorc's)
names the year as the fourth after hi
sextile, or leap year. and then states
that, In spite Of its being the fourth
year from leap year, 1896, the month OF
February had only % days. Follow
ing this fashion, 1902 is called the sixth
year after biscxtile. and 1903 tn,
seventh.
Curious as all this appears to u.s., i
Is precisely what we will soon do
Throughout seven years there Will b'
40 J'nlr,,npu % nftnr SOE All nf fh,
births and other events which occur OF
that unfortunate day of the month viii
have no opportunity to celebrate thci
anniversary. That eccentric date, Feb
ruary 20, will then have an opportunit..
for brought On by its absence.
The calendar adjustment by whicI
these matters were arranged reache
forward to a distance that is startlin
to one whose term of life is the 20 year
Of man. It declared that the year
1900, 1900, 200, 220O, or any hundredt
year in time to come, shall consist @
1865 days and no more. But the fact ais
remains that this adjustment of tn
calendar was not quite accurate. TIL
one day omitted once in n century mad
the average year a very little to
short.
To remedy this defect the adjuster
made the following exception to tn
rule making the hundredth year of &c
days, except every fourth hundredt,
year beginning with the year 20oC
These years will be leap y~cars-that is
the years 1000, 240O, $500, 5000 will hav
4, Eobr,ary, 90 Ruf their 1nye nrC no
of great concern TO us.-N. Y. Herald.