Daily press. [volume] (Newport News, Va.) 1896-current, 1905-10-01

sci on balance. every pound indIcat.
ring certuin fraction of an hour at
about tlft same time there was set up
i'll tile capital city of Persia on the ter
race of the royal palace 81 somewhat
similar clock. consisting of Il balance
containing twelve metal balls. one Of
which fell every hour upon Il great
gong. This wonderful Instrument is
said to have been sent by the king OF
Persia to Charlemagne as gift
The Chinese, whose IDEAS on the sub
Ject deserve respect by reason of their
priority, do not number the tours us
we do. They have names Cor t.i@,n, the
twentyfour hour period being divided
by the people of the middle kingdom
into twelve equal parts. each OF which
is designated in their written language
by Il character. In this point, again,
they were far ahead Of the Europeans,
for whom the invention of the modern
clock seems actually to have been de-
laycl some centuries by lie difficulty
OF splitting night or day into even frac.
lions. TO the ancient Greeks and lo-
mans, for example, this problem APP
pcarcd insupcrablc owing to the wall
bling of the earth. which Increases the
length OF the day ut one season and di-
miniShcS it ut another For Il relative
ly latter day gentleman named Hip
pnrchus was il reserved to offer the
suggestion that the time from dawn to
dawn might he broken into twenty
-four equal parts.
This indeed was the keynote Of the
difficulty. the final solution Of which
las appeared in the modern clock, in
its highest development, Il chrononctcr
that keeps time within Il fraction of Il
second per week. On the main street
in any city of the United States bust
ness men may be seen daily setting
their watches by such infaliiblc time
pieces in the windows OF jewelers.
shops, and even in the China Of today
it Is the custom for Il gentleman 10
carry two watches, which lie examines
anNiously ut frequent intervals, i'm or
der to make sure that they agree OK
actly.
And yet even to this day there sur
wives in China ana Japan, to show the
persistence OF such things. method
generally pursued by the natives Of
keeping time by the burning OF so
called Incense sticks" which will
burn slowly for half day without
flame. They are divided into lengths
for the hours, and. being made of saw
dust mixed with Il certain proportion
of gum. may be counted on to resolve
themselves into agrecably scented
smoke at reasonably uniform rate
per inch. Such incense sticks are suf-
ficicntly familiar In this country, but,
clocks being plentiful, are not COM
monty utilized for timckccpng pur-
poses.
The Montagnais Indian of Canada,
when travelling ahead of a party, sets
up tall stick i'll the SNOW, making
with his foot mark to show how far
the shadow reaches. BY the change in
the angle Of the shadow his friends
OH arriving ut the spot know exactly
how far ahead is their guide.
To keep time with reasonable accu-
racy must nave been one of the earliest
necessities OF man; hence the re-
mnrkablc ingenuity of many primitive
inventions for this purpose, the utliza-
ton of shndows-;n idea which had its
final development in the sun dlal-bc-
Ing probably the earliest rs 1t was the
most obvious. The first sun dial must
have been tree, which may be said
to have STOOL at one end of the path
of evolution IN timclsceping apparatus,
the modern thermometer representing
at the other end the final development
Of such contrivances.-New York Her
aid.