Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1903-12-31

-catuTuay tOntuTnD, buuuay kSunJ,
Monday tMoon), and four through the
Saxon names for the Others: Tuesday
iTuesco-Mars), Wednesday (Woden
Mercury. Thursday (~Thor-Jupi-
teri, and Friday (Friga-Venus).
h month. no doubt, originated
from the phases of the moon. These.
sharp and well-defned, are four In
number: the new moon. FIRST quarter.
full moon and last quarter. Each Of
these phases occupies about seven
days, so that from new full moon to
nsw full moon, there 10 something
more than tw~enty-nine days, which is
called a synodical month, Or lunation.
No nation up TO the present time
has devised a system OF absolute &C
curacy In the measurement OF the
collar year. Some ancient nations, such
as the C~haldesns, reckoned the year
as $50 days. This is the principle of
that most ancient astronomical term,
the Zodiac. The Zodiac Is a belt en-
circling the heavens on each side OF
the ecliptic, within which the planets
known to the ancients always ~revolve,
II extends eight degrees on each side
OF the ecliptic. 1t is divided into
twelve equal parts, called signs OF the
Zodiac. 1t il a great cycle, and ss d.
vided into SEQ degrees, like all cir
Giles; hence $50 days in the Chaldean
year. p
The Egyptians counted 365 days in
their year. AZ the year contains
1854 days nearly, such systems could
not Eail to work great inconvenience,
for tho aso would move round in
a cycle from one time of the year to
the othsr. Let me make this quite
plain. Take the winter solstice, for
instance. which happens on Dec. 81.
At the end of four years the solstice
would be not on Dec. 81, but on Dec.
%. The sun would be behind time. in
order, therefore, that the seasons
should occur at the same time in the
civil year, it was necessary to take
account of this fraction Of a day.
julius Caesar, the great Roman EN-.
peror. determined to ractify the error.
He called tks celebrated Egyptian as
trcnomer. Sosigines, to his aid. Sosi-
zines suggested the addition Of a day
every fourth year. This day was add.
ed to February, and is knowa to us as
Leap Year, but to the Romans as
Bissextile CHS, twice, %sextus, sixth.
This corrected calendar became
known as the Julian. But as it made
the year consist OF 365 days, 6 hours,
1t was in excesstof the actual time by
. minute 1913 seconds. Small Is was
this fraction, it accumulated to about
n day in every 134 years.
The calendar needed reform. Time,
civil and ecclesiastical required re-
adjustment. But to urge the neces-
sary change was dangerous, as the
learned Friar Bacon found to his cost.
For pointing out errors in the calendar
he received az a reward for the adj
vocacy Of the truth a prison. where he
remained ten years.
AS often happens, ecclesiastical
requirements minister to civil neces-
sites. The immediate cause of the
correction OF the calendar was an
error in the time OF observing the
Easter festival. The Council of Nice,
in A. D. 325, decreed that Easter is
the Sunday following the full moon,
next after the yernai equinox. Owing
to disputes arising from this decree
Pope Hilarius, in 463, ordered that the
pascbal moon should not be the actual
full moon, but an ideal one, failing on
the 18th day Of the moo by the
metonic cycle tsocalled from Metoni,
q Greek philosopher. who discovered
it. II consists of nineteen years, at
the end OF which the sun is in about
the same position he was at the be-
ginning).
In 1852 1t was found that the real
equinox fell ten days before the NOM
inal one, and from the error In the
Metonic cycle. Easter had got four
days wrong. Then Pope Gregory
XIII reformed the calendar, called
sfter him the Gregurian calendar, by
tho aid of Ciayius, q learned Jesuit,
The equinox Of 1852, which should
have fallen on March 21, fell on
March IL. Gregory cut the Gordian
knot by decreeing that Oct. 6 of that
year should be counted as Oct. Is.
To the question. What is timer We
may give the answer. duration, as
measured by the solar system. For
everyday purposes and artificial di-
visions mechanical c~ontriyances are
necessary.
The irst method OF measuring time.
as far AZ wa know, was by means Of
the obelisk. The pyramids of Egypt
very probably answered the same pur-
pose, Josephus states that Moses
erected. at Heliopolis. In Egypt, a pill
lar Cor such purposes. The cloudy
pillar" that accompanied the Israel
ites in their forty years wanderirgs in,
the wilderness, .prd which q ., pill
lar Of fire. by night" most likely an
swered the same purpose. PIiny states
that an obelisk. now or the Thsmes
a~mhznkmxn I'm fnndon and known