Chinese Cycles of Years.

Among the many extraordinary eu9» toms of the Chinese is that of banding yeare together in groups of twelve, called cycles and naming each year of the series after some animal. Thus, the first year of a new cycle is the year of the Rat, the second the year of the, Ox, the third the year of the Tiger. Every Chinese horn in the year of the Rat belongs to the Order of the Rat, and so on. The animal "class" of every Chinese man and woman is thus recorded, and is held to be of great importance in foretelling the future. Another curious fact about the Chinese reckoning of time is that in the Celestial Empire a child is held to be one year old, as soon as it is born. With the absurd superstition so dear to the Oriental mind, a baby boy is frequently given a girl's name in order to deceive the evil spirits, who, apparently, have an objectionable habit of making it as hard as possible to rear a male child success fully.