CHRONOLOGICAL CYCLES.

Epact 18, Golden Number 19, Solar Cycle 4, Roman Indiction 12, Dominical Letter A.

ECLIPSES.

There will be five eclipses this year, three of the sun and two of the moon: of these only the last, a lunar eclipse, will be visible in the U. S.

1. A partial eclipse of the sun will occur on January 11. It will be visible only in the North Pacific Ocean. Less than three-fourths (0.71) of the sun's diameter will be obscured.

2. A second partial eclipse of the sun will occur on June 7. It will be visible in the entire Arctic Zone, and also in Greenland, Alaska, the northeastern end of Asia and the northwestern end of Europe. The magnitude will be 0.61.

3. A total eclipse of the moon will occur on June 23. It will be visible in the Pacific Ocean and in Asia and Australia. For the Pacific coast line of the U. S. the moon will enter the earth's shadow at 4:33 A. M., Pacific time, about 6 minutes after the time of the moon's setting, and about 5 minutes before that of the sun's rising.

4. An annular (that is, ring) eclipse of the sun will occur on December 2. As an annular eclipse it will be seen only near the South Pole, but as a partial eclipse it will be visible in the entire Antarctic Ocean from Australia to South America.

5. A partial eclipse of the moon will occur on December 16, and will be completely visible in the U. S. At the middle of the eclipse only 0.004 of the moon's diameter will remain uneclipsed. The Central times are as follows: Moon enters shadow at 5:45 P. M. Middle of the eclipse at 7:26 P. M. Moon leaves shadow at 9:07 P. M.

The moon rises that day at 4:29 P. M., and the sun sets at 4:38 P. M., local time.

1. Sunday is never a day of fast or abstinence.

2. Wednesday, Friday and Saturday in the four Ember weeks.

3. The vigils of Christmas, Easter, Pentecost, Assumption B. V. M., and All Saints.

4. In some dioceses the Fridays of Advent.

EMBER DAYS.

First Week of Lent, February 22, 24, 25.
Pentecost Week, May 24, 26, 27.
Third Week in Sept., September 20, 22, 23.
Third Week in Dec., December 20, 22, 23.

DAYS OF ABSTINENCE

upon which flesh-meat is not allowed.

1. Every Friday in the year.

2. Every fast day in the year, except Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday (except the second and last Saturday) in Lent, upon which flesh-meat may be eaten once.

2. All persons that are not obliged to fast may.eat meat as often as they like on those days on which meat is allowed,

3. Working people are allowed to eat pleat on all days of the year except all Fridays, Ash Wednesday, Wednesday and Saturday of Holy Week, and the vigil of Christmas. When aliy mehber of such a family lawfully uses this privilege, all the other members may avail themselves of the same privilege; but those who are bound to fast cannot eat meat more than once a day.

4. United States soldiers in field or in garrison may eat meat every

day of the year, except Ash Wednesday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday, and the vigils of Assumption B. V. and Christmas.

5. Persons under 21 or over 60 years of age are not obliged to fast. All those that perform severe and exhausting labor, the sick, nursing women, and all those whose health would be injured thereby, are exempt from fasting.

6. Fish and flesh are never allowed at the same meal on days of fast throughout the year, nor on Sundays in Lent. They are allowed on days of abstinence, such as Fridays, to those that are not bound to abstain. This rule does not apply to the sick.

As the United States are very extensive, embracing, as they do, about 20° of latitude and 60° of longitude, with a difference of local times between the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of nearly four hours, it is impossible to edit only one calendar whose times will be correct in all the States. In order to reduce these differences to a minimum, we have computed this calendar for a point which, we judged, was nearest to the geographical centre of the country, as well as to its centre of popula tion, and as such we have adopted the city of St. Louis. Accordingly, goth meridian, or Central times, have been given in the times of the eclipses and of the moon's phases. Should the reader be using Eastern time, he will add exactly one hour to these times, but subtract respectively one and two hours for Mountain and Pacific times. But the times of the rising and setting of the sun and moon, the transits of the planets, and the like, had to be expressed in local times. In order to use these, the reader must know how much the railroad or standard time he is using is fast or slow of the true time of his locality. This difference may amount to as much as 50 minutes in some places. Again, when the sun and moon run high, difference of latitude may ac

celerate the time of sunrise 40 minutes and of moonrise 50 minutes, and retard the time of their setting by an equal amount for places along the northern border. The reverse is the case for the southern border, although there the difference is somewhat less. And, vice versa, when the sun and moon run low. The farther, therefore, the reader is from St. Louis, the more considerately should he deal with the figures in this calendar.

Long range weather predictions, as generally given in calendars, are impositions upon the credulity of the reader, and we have therefore omitted them. If the U. S. Signal Service, which twice a day receives telegraphic statements of the weather from all over the country, ventures to forecast the weather only one, two or at most three days in advance, and that with a probability of about 87 per cent.; how then can a private individual forecast the weather a whole year in advance? If one were honestly day by day to write down the predictions of these prophets together with the actual weather, he would soon see what little reliance is to be placed upon them.