The daily morning journal and courier., 1906-02-17
FIXING TIMES OF SEASONS.
Strange Customs Observed by Far
 Eastern People.


 Eastern People.
 The inhabitants of Borneo make use of the same means for fixing the times of their agricultural seasons as were used by the early Britons and in Egypt between 1000 and 2o00 B. C., says the Journal of the Asiatic Society. They rely, that is to say, on the time of ris- ing of certain cancellations just before the sunknown to astronomers as their heliacal rising. Many ancient temples are found to be oriented to the point of the horizon which marks the heliacal rising of the Pleoades on May. morn ing
 The natives of Borneo are using the rising of the same constellation as guide to the proper time to prepare their ground to grow their food supply. Whenthe dry season is perceived to be approaching two men are sent out into the Jungle to observe. There they watch, perhaps a few nights, perhaps month, until the Pleiades are seen on the horizon just before the increasing sunlight causes the stars to fade. Then they return to the village and an- nounce the fact. The inhabitants now know that work on the forest must be commenced. If by any means they have missed the heliacal rising of the Pleiades and have delayed operations till Orion's belt is seen rising just be- fore the sun, they know that they must work double shift. The ground rtlng cleared, they then wait till the Pleiades are at the zenith at sunrise before they set fire to the rubbish.
 The u ove Is the method adopte by the Dyaks. Other nelghboring tribes the Kenyahs and Kayans, make use of the length of the shadow cast by a stick at noon to determine their sea sons. Situated as they are between the tropics, the shadow is cast on the north or south of the stick according to the time of year. The length of the shadow also varies as the sun passes from Cancer to Capricorn and back. The shadow is measured by means of a notched stick. The notches represent the lengths of shadow which experi- ence has shown to correspond with fa- vorable times for their various agrieul- tural operations.
 The Samoans, on the other hand, fix their seasons by the appearance of a curious marine worm, which they call the pablo. The val-palolo, or time of the pablo, is the name of one of their seasons, as spring is one of ours. This strange worm lives in the interstices of the coral reefs, and at certain seasons makes it's appearance in the open sea in immense numbers. It is eagerly gathered and eaten by the natives.
 If the swarm appears, say, at three o'clock in the morning, 1t has totally disappeared by nine o'clock Both male and female worms break up into innumerable fragments, and the eggs are fertilized in the water. The com ing of the pablo is regulated by the moon, and yet, strange to say, in the long run it keeps solar time. If the dates of it's appearance were separated by twelve lunar months, then, reckon ing by the day of the month, 1t would be eleven days earlier each year. On the other hand, if 1t came every thir- teen months it would be eighteen days later each year. This is rectified by having In every cycle of three years one interval of thirteen and two of twelve months. Finally, by the addi- tion of an extra interval of thirteen months in a cycle of twenty-nine years the error Is less than one day in a cen tury.