Okolona messenger. (Okolona, Miss.) 1900-current, 1904-02-03

&SkSSan.hu, Kansas City Journal. And as
TAX ss1. SiaS ySnsp bS9 opgsT sSsS 70 make dosS
man, that the extra day in February was added Il
give her that much extra time And so far as th
ordinary run Of humanity gOes-except the man VIII
has an extra note to pay on March THAT explana
tiOn covers all the difference that 'leaP" yea
makes to the world, anyhow.
But it is interesting to trace back the history o
this queer fact that one year in four has an extrI
dsy-except when it doesn't. It is generally be
lieved that Pope Gregory XIII, had the fixing o
this matter, and that leap year goes back only Il
SAis time-which is great mistake. Leap yea
dates really to the time OF one Julius Caesar, who
though he died young, was pretty smart man, WhC
left bis impress on pretty much everything, includ
ing Great Britain. Give Julius Caesar credit, there
fore, We proposing maids, for permitting you thI
chance and the extra day. Julius did other thing
In the calendar, toO,-like leaving his name ct
tacbed to the seventh month"; for instance-but they
are neither here nor there now.
The history Of marking periods Of time is coin
eident with man, 80 far as can be reckOned The
first primitive divisions we're into day and night
and light aud darkness regulated them. Some day
were longer than others and some we're short, but
figured out that from one sunset to another was "a
hOurs-thOugh they didn't have hours then-anC
that was all that was needed.
Then people wanted longer divisions, and they
found that the moon was fairly regular In its Orb
around the eaFth-thOugh they didn't know that Il
Circled the globe In those days. but thought the
verse was true-and they measured their time by It.
giving them months Of 20 IL days. Then the sea
sons came into the calendar, and for long time
they were used to make longer divisions. Still
longer periods we're formed by groups Of these
months, which, figured about dozen, made one
round OF the sun. And for the non calculating
minds Of those imes these divisions did fairly we'll
Finally, however, it was seen that this rough way
Of reckoning didn't put the seasons in the right
place as the years went OF. For spring was Whers
summer ought 10 be, and when it was time for an.
tumn, winter was Just coming In. Something WaG
wrong, and new methods he'd to be applied. And
thus was born the 'leap''prOcess.
The Jews and the Greeks, the civilized people Of
that time, had different ways Of fixing things when
they got too far away. The Jews put in q leap
month seven times in every nineteen years; the
Greeks three In every eight The Romans came
along later with tenyear month, but, believing In
odd numbers, they finally worked it up to 355 days.
TO make it even they added January and February,
and thus got u months. But this didu't work out
right either and their POntis who ran the calendar
inteFlarded occasional odd periods Of time, fixing
them where they would do themselves the most
good, and their enemies the most harm; keeping
themselves in snap positions that much longer, and
making debtor time to them that much shorter.
Which shows that graft Is nothing new. And thus
by the time that Julius Cesar took charge Of the
whole mundane world, summer was ambling along
about the middl Of October, and things we're badly
mixed generally.
Along with dividing Gaul into three parts,
saughtering the barbarians, and running for en-
perOT, Cesar undertook the Job Of fixing calendar.
He employed Sosigenes an Alexandrian astronomer,
and together they worked out plan whicn, in the
main, holds to-day. he made what is now reckon
ed 46 B. O. to consist Of 455 days which put matters
right. And then, TO avoid further trouble he or.
dained that the year should have 800 days. and that
every fourth year should have 366-fOr the solar
year. it was ascertained, contained 1856 IA days.
nearly. He didn't bother about the IL minutes and
8 few seconds short Of the 365 IA days, leaving
them to posterity to worry over. And that started
leap year.
He also fixed the months day 81 and 80, about
as now, but ordained that February should have %
except in leap year, when 1T should have 90
Augustus shifted these matters about little for be
initiated julius and named q month for himself,
too and to make it as good as Julius, be ordained
that both July and August should have 81 days.
To SQUARE it with the calendar be fixed the rotation
Of the 31.day months somewhat, which accounts for
both December and January having the same
number.
But these same pOntiffs, when they put the calen
dar before the public fixed leap year every three
instead Of every four years. This gave them one
dav extra in 12 yearsa smart trick for them. This
error continued until B. O., when Augustus said
there wouldn't be any leap year for u years more
which made the first leap year A. d. in the year 4.
But these IL minutes and q few seconds had to be
figured in somewhat. Matters ran along, however,
for 800 years before things we're so out Of joint
that action was proposed. It was discussed for 50
years then, and, fnalyy in 1852, Pope Gregory