Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1885-10-31
A aEooRApuIcAL cIocK.

Among new school appliances is a clock
designed to show the time at any given mo-
ment in all parts of the world. The clock
does not differ in mechanism from any
other clock, the novel feature being the ar
rangement of the figures on the dials. Two
dials are used, one over the other the
smaller being in the form of ring, and
moving over the other dial in unison with
the hour hand. The larger dial covers the
whole clock face, and is marked with four
systems of figures. The first system, in
Arabic numerals, stands next TO the edge
of the dial, and begins at the beginning of
the universal day, or midnight. The first
number is at the left of the lowest point of
the dial, and the others are arranged at
regular intervals around the dial to "a
O'Clock, or midnight Midday, or y o'clock
is at the top of the DIAL all the numbers to
the left being marked'A. NJ, and all TO the
right, or from Is to "A o'clock, being marked
p NJ Within the circle of figures is cir
Gle of Roman numerals, beginning also at
the same point or midnight, and marking
XII. figures to midday, and then XII. more
till midnight. Within this circle is another
circle of 90 figures. and points TO mark the
minutes for the hour-hand. Within this
circle is also another system of figures Civ
ing 10 degrees of longitude, or one hour,
and divided into so parts. The second dial
moves over the larger dial with the hour
hand, and is marked with the degrees of
longitude east or west in groups of Is de-
grees. The hour-hand is in two parts, a
single hand pointing to the minutes, and 4
series of Is minor hands that move with it.
Surprising the clock is to be used at some
point, say on the 10Th degree west of Green
witch, the smaller dial is adjusted so that
the figure IS is opposite the hour-hand.
The dial now moves with the hour-hand,
and to find the hour at any degree of long
itude it is only necessary 10 find the hour
opposite that degree. The minute-h a Id
will also give the time before or after that
hour. This dial system explains number
of interesting geographical and time ques-
tons, and will, no doubt prove of value in
schools.-[The Century Magazine
HOW WE KNOW THAT THE WORLD IS ROUND.
The Atlantic Ocean is about 5000 miles
wide. Upon its bosom, rocked by its waves,
and often tossed by its tempests, ships are
constantly sailing from port to port. Could
You stand upon the shore and look out
upon the waters to where the sky appears
to come down to meet them, you might
possibly be able to see vessel, which, hay
ing spent many days in crossing the broad
Atlantic, is just nearing the port for which
she sails. 4 mere speck she would seem
to be-so small that without telescope
you would scarcely think it to be vessel at
all. With telescope, you would be able
to see more clearly, but never even with
the best of glasses, could you, at so great q
distance, see more than very small part
of the ship, and that small part, instead of
being the body of the vessel, would be the
| upper part of her spars and rigging. The
spars would seem to be standing in the sea
and the sails to be without hull. But, as
| by wind or steam, she is driven landward,
more and more of her rigging appears,
until finally the body OF the ship is lifted
| into view.
Now, suppose a Handicapped hill be-
| tween yourself and man walking towards
! you, the hill, if high enough, would hide
| him from your view entirely, but as he
! travelled upward on the other side, his
head would be lifted above the hilltop,
afterward his body would appear, and
! finally, when he had reached the summit,
! his whole person would be in sight Or
let fly be creeping towards you on an
| apple You may not see him on the other
| side, but when he has walked up over the
! rounded surface towards you, he comes in
| sight, the top of his head first and his feet
last.
AS the hill would hide q man, or as
| the surface of an apple may hide fly, so
the surface of the ocean hides the vessel in
the distance. The ocean, then, like the
! hill and like the apple, must have q
| rounded surface. But the surface of the
ocean must have the same shape as the
surface of the earch itself, and in this way
we learu that the earth is round. The APP
| pearance of the top mast first and the hull
or body last, IS the ship approaches from q
distance, proves that the world is round.
But this is not the only proof There
are several others, one of which l will now
| explain: A food of light from the sun is
falling upon the earth day and night alike.
At times it falls upon the side on witch we
are it lights our habitations and our sky,
and we call it day. At times it falls upon
| the side opposite to U.s. and then the dark
ness lets the moon and stars be seen in our
| sky, and compels us TO trust our lamps to
| light our dwellings. We call it night be-
cause it is dark, and it is dark only because
we are at that time, in the shadow of the
earth. Opposite the sun the shadow of the
earth is reaching off into space, Just as the
shadow of a book reaches through the
room, away from the evening lamp. This
earth-shadow, like the earth which casts it,
! is very large; it is more than 100000
miles in length. 1t sometimes reaches be-
yond the moon, and the moon is sometimes
darkened by it, just as your hand may be
! darkened when placed in the shadow of a
book or ball. When the moon is darkened
by the shadow of the earth it is said to be
eclipsed.
Now the outline of the earths shadow on
| the moon is always circular. And the
shape of the shadow tells us the shape OF
the body itself, in this case, for only a
| globe can, in all positions, cast circular
| shadow. The shape of its shadow on the
moon in an eclipse shows US that the world
is round.-[Le Roy C. Cooley. Phi. D.
| The Venus of Germany.
| The Princess of Meiningen is the Venus