Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1901-03-02

S55, which differed from the solar year
by ten and a fraction days, and to cor
rect this, Numa ordered that month
consisting of % and % days alternately,
be inserted every second year between
the BIRD and 2Jth of February so that
four years contained ,465 days, and the
mean length of the year was 1864 days
making the year one day too long. AS
the ei.or amounted ITO "a days in az
many years. it was ordered that every
eighth year instead of containing four
intermediary months, amounting to 80
days in all, should contain only three of
these months consisting of % days each.
The mean length of the year was then
reduced to 36oA days.
In 46 &. c., Julius Caesar abolished
the use of the lunar year and inter-
GALAXY months and regulated the civil
year by the sun. He fixed the mean
length of the year at 1854 days and de-
creed that every fourth year should have
366 days, the other years each 1865. In
the distribution of the days through the
month Caesar adopted a much simpler
arrangement than that which has since
prevailed. He ordered that the FIRST
third fifth seventh. ninth and eleventh
months should have 81 days each and
the others 80 days, excepting February
which, in common years, should have 20
days and every fourth year 30. This
order W as interrupted ITO CRAFTY the
vanity of Augustus by giving THE month
bearing his name (August) as many
days july. which was named aGter
Julius Caesar. One day was accord
ingly taken from February and given
to August and in order that three
months of 81 days might not come to-
gether, September and November We're
reduced to 80 days each and 81 given to
October and December. For so frivolous
a reason was the regulation of Caesar
abandoned and a capricious arrange
ment introduced which requires some at
tention to remember. The addi tiona1
day, which occurred every fourth year.
was given tic February, 1T being the short
month.
The Julian calendar was found to con-
tain an error of three days in 400 years,
and TO correct that, Pope Gregory or
dered that the extra day in leap year
be dispensed with in every century year
excepting those which are multiples of
400. Thus the three extra days in the
Julian year are disposed of by dfspens-
ing with a leap year three times in 400
years. every fourth century year beinG
a leap year. SiXten hundred was a leap
year. but 100, 1900 and 1900 are common
years. Two thousand will be leap
year.
The Gregory calendar was introduced
into Spain, Portugal and part of Italy
the same day as at ROme-March, 1852
and in France the same year. in the
month of December; in the Catholic
states in Germany THE year following.
while the Protestant states continued
the use of the Julian calendar until 1900.
Denmark and Sweden also adopted the
reformed calendar at this time. 1t is
remarkable that Russia still adheres to
the Julian reckoning.
In Great Britain the altera ton of style
was for a long time opposed by popular
prejudice. The Inconvenience, however,
of using a different date from that en-
ployed by great part of Europe in mat
ters of history 'and chronology began to
be felt generally. and in 1851 an act of
parliament was passed for the adoption
of the new style in all public and legal
transactions. At the same time the COM
mencement of the legal year was
changed from the 25th of April to JAM
uary 1.