The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1885-08-08 00:00:00

THE RESULT OF THE WASHINGTON
CONFERENCE.

Our (the Graphic) readers will be aware that a
Conference which met at Washington during October
last recommended that the meridian of Greenwich
should be adopted as the Prime Meridian from which
longitudes should be reckoned towards the E. and W.
from 0 to 180 degrees; and that a universal day
should be adopted, commencing at Greenwich mid-
night. The latter recommendation has given rise to
much speculation as to our time-reckoning of the
future, and some persons had gone so far as to have
their watches altered in consequence of statements
that the Astronomer Royal intended to begin the new
reckoning on Janua7 Ist, 1885. It may be well to
point out that these statements are not +luite accurate;
for the only step the Official Head of English Astro-
nomy proposes to take in the matter at present is to
alter the public clock outside Greenwich Observatory
by 12 hours, in order that the hands of the clock
may point to 0 hours at the beginning of the present
civil day, i.e., at midnight. As the clock face is
graduated to 24 h., it is thought that by referring to
it the public may become familiar with counting from
0h.t024 h. instead of the present method. It will,
however, be necessary to have more than one such
clock, or we fear the number of the general public
who see the system will be very limited.
We learn that American and German astronomers
are averse to beginning the astronomical day at mid-
night, and it is ext-emely improbable that any country
will at present go beyond the steps taken by Mr. Christie.
Even should the public decide to adopt the practice
(used with success by astronomers) of counting the
hours from 0 h. to 24 h., we fail to see the necessity
of altering the watch dials in England, as by no pos-
sible means can any one make an error of 12 hours
in the time; th;s being so, it is only necessary to add
12 hours to the time recorded by the watch after noon,
a feat within the capacity of most persons possessing
a clock or watch.

The adoption of Greenwich as the Prime Meridian
is, we believe, satisfactorily received in all countries,
except France, whose leading astronomer desire the
adoption of a neutral meridian, which desire will, we
have no doubt, be waived in view of the fact that the
scientists of other nations are unanimous on the
point. As soon as the question of commencing the
day at noon or midnight is decided, there is no doubt
that the adoption of a universal day for international
transactions will follow, the civil day continuing to
be used for local purposes. In regard to the civil day,
it is highly probable that the system used by the
railways of Canada and the United States will super-
sede that now in use. By this system four meridians
are chosen at five, six, seven, and eight hours west of
Greenwich, and each town keeps the time of the
nearest meridian, as we throughout England keep
Greenwich time. Were this system to come into
general use, the time so obtained would only differ
.80 min. from the local time (or a few minutes more
than in some parts of England), whilst every one
having to deal with questions involving time will see
at once the value of adopting a method in which the
fractions of the hour throughout the world are coinci-
dent.

A sportsman had with him a boy to carry the
game bag. Having missed five partridges in suc-
cession, the gunner cried as he shot at the sixth bird,
" There ! I hit him! I saw the feathers fly. Didn't
they? " "Yes," replied the boy, dryly, "they flew
—flew off with the bird!"

A tramp, who asked for breakfast at a farmhouse,
and was refused a single crust, exclaimed, with an
injured air, " Alas ! how deceptive is human nature!
For two nights I have slept in your barn, eaten of
your apples, and drunk your cider; and now you treat
me as an utter stranger, who has no claim upon your
friendship."

Proles;or (to a middle-aged student beginning the
study of chemistry) : "Have you any specific object
in view?" Middle-aged Student: "Specific object?
I have no object at all, except that I don't want to be
confoundeC ignoramus when I enter the next
world."

"When I goes a shopping," said an old lady, "I
allers asks for what I wants, and if they have it and
it's cheap and suitable, and I feel inclined to take it,
and it can't be got at any place for less, I almost
alters take it without chaffering all day, as most people
do."

LITERARY PASTIME.—Once a gentleman who had
the marvellous gift of shaping a great many things
out of orange-peel, was displaying his abilities at a
dinner-party before Theodore Hook and Mr. Thomas
Hill, and succeeded in counterfeiting a pig. Mr.
Hill tried the same feat and, after destroying and
strewing the table with the peel of a dozen oranges,
gave it up. with the exclamation, Hang the pig! I
can't make him." "Nay, Hill," exclaimed Hook,
glancing at the mess on the table, "You have done
more; instead of one pia you have made a litter.'