Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1882-07-17
For the Monitor.
THE SUMMER SOLSTICE.


physical epoch known, as the sum-
mer soltice. He has reached his ex-
treme northern declination of twenty
three and half degrees, and, just
grazing the tropic of Cancer, pauses
for few days in his course before
turning his steps from our northern
cline. The familiar terms explain
the apparent movement, the word
tropic coming from a Greek word
meaning to turn, and the word sol
stice coming from two Latin words,
meaning the sun stands still. The
days remain of the same length, fif-
teen hours and sixteen minutes, for
nine days, from the 10th to the 25th.
On the 26th a change occurs, and a
decrease of one minute marks the
southern course of the sun, in a few
days the change will be apparent to
careful observers. The sunrise and
sunset points will swerve slightly to
the south, and the sun will not mount
quite so high at MONDAY toward the
zenith. The movement of the sun
to the south and his lessening merid-
ian altitude will 90 on until the 21st
of December, when the winter solstice
occurs, and the days have reached
their minimum length, the process
will then be reversed, the sun will
move northward, and his meridian
altitude increase until he comes round
again to the summer solstice of 1888.
Observers can see for themselves the
changes in the suns place in the
heavens that mark the change in the
seasons, and will readily note that
the farther south the sun rises and
sets the shorter will be the days, and
the lower the altitude of the noon
day sun, the less will be the intensi-
ty of the heat. The oscillation of
| the sun to the north and south, and
his varying meridian altitude are only
| apparent, the real cause of the move
ment being the revolution of the
earth around the sun with her pole
inclined twenty-three and half de-
grees to the plane of her orbit, her
seasons varying according to the
manner in which her surface is pre-
sented to the sun. In the north tenn
perate zone the suns rays now shine
with full force, and summer reigns
supreme. The mornings and even
ings mark his fullest progress north
ward, the moons show his highest me-
rIdian altitude, the evenings bear
witness to the period when his beams
linger longest above the horizon af-
ter sunset. 1t would seem as if our
hottest days would occur about the
21st of June, when the suns perpen-
dicular rays fall upon this portion of
the globe. But such is not the case.
AS midsummer approaches the
quantity of heat received from the
sun during the day is greater than
the quantity of heat lost during the
night, and there is therefore an in
crease of heat each day. The daily
increase reaches its maximum at the
summer solstice. But the heat gaI-
nered up by the process, causes an
accession of heat each day until the
heat lost during the night is just
equal to that received during the
day. This happens sometimes in
July and August. Our hottest
weather for this season occurs some
time after the summer solstice, just
as the hottest part of the day is some
times after midday, and the coldest
part of the night is toward morning.
There are four great time marks in
the annual revolution of the earth,
the vernal equinox, the summer SOL
stice, the autumnal equinox and the
winter solstice; the summer solstice
is the most interesting and suggestive
of them all it is, in our zone, the
eliminating point of solar power, the
gala-day of the sovereign who holds
in his hand the issues of life and
death for every member of the hu-
man race. The earth rejoicing in
verdure, the perfection of foliage,
the brilliant fiowels, the ripening
fruits, bear witness to the fertilizing
power of his benignant beams. Out
door life furnishes the conditions of
enjoyment, and air and sky hold out
separated allurements to increase
the number of those who share in the
general holiday. SO delightful are
the charms of midsummer that one
longs to make them immortal, to
hold back the sun in his course, and
perpetuate the present conditions of
his reign. But such are not the con-
ditions of human life. The seasons
come and go, swayed by an omnipo-
tent hand. At the eliminating point
of solar intensity the picture changes,
the supreme moment passes. Before
the sun that rises on the 21st of June
sinks below the horizon, his face will
be turned from US, the earth will have
travelled thousands of miles towards
the regions of cold and darkness.
A fraction of light will be lost from
the longest day, fraction of dark
ness will be added to the shortest
night. No one can help mourning
over the loss Of the first minute of
daylight that follows this summer
solstice. No one can help rejoicing
| over the Oain of thp first minnie of