The Ocala banner. (Ocala, Marion County, Fla.) 1883-194?, 1905-11-24
THE DAYS AND HOURS
ORIGIN OF OUR SYSTEM OF THE
DIVISION OF TIME
1t Was Devised by the Ba bylOnia ms,
Who Were a Very Clever People,
Was Adopted by the Greeks and
Has Survived Through All Changes.

Who Were a Very Clever People,
Was Adopted by the Greeks and
Has Survived Through All Changes.
If you pull Your watch ont of your
pocket you Will have in your hand one
of the most wonderful pieces OF ma
chinery ever constructed. Think how
1t works throughout the day and night
and how il keeps it up year in. year out.
Think how the second hand points TO
$500 divisions of time during every
hour. 1t never sleeps.
Ii it is like the average watch. it Will
be built up of 10 fewer than III differ
ent pieces. These pieces will have
passed through more than HOO sep
arate operations, each being distinct
form Of manufacture
The fourth Jewel wheel screw * SO
very small that it is almost invisible
To the naked eye it appears 10 be but Il
.peck of dust When examined under
magnifying glass ii will be seen To
be perfect screw. having 2Go threads
TO the inch, each thread being We'll
cNt Actually the diameter Of this
screw is so little the four one-thou-
sandth part OF an inch. and 1t would
take no less a number than 100000
similar screws in order 10 ill an or
binary thimble as used by the ladies
Each screw has double head and
has TO be hardened. After the harden
ing process the screws are arranged III
frames. being placed in with the heads
upward This delicate operation Is
done by the sense of touch alone in
stead of by sight. and great rapi,iity
marks the Skillful operator. Some
where about Il hundred screws are
placed in each frame and the frames
are attached to ii machine which pol
isheS the heads of the screws 10000 at
a time.
It will be seen how marvellous these
screws are yet one of them forms but
one tiny piece of watch. Still. this
will show the remarkable nature of that
everyday article. When special watches
are considered there is indeed room for
wonder.
For instance. take the watch which
was presented to Catherine l. on her
coronation aS empress of Russia This
watch was one of the most remarkably
constructed instruments ever made
On the opposite side of the works OF
this extraordinary timekeeper there
WIS an exact representation of the
holy SepuIcher. with Il carved image
Of the Roman guard stationed outside
it, As soon Is the watch case was
opened the imitation rocks would roll
= tl,. hae
the soldier would kneeI. angels would
appear at opposite sides of the opening.
and sweet strains of music would be
heard This remarkab bic watch tool,
nine years uninterrupted labor in or
der 10 construct.
The first clock in any way reSeIn-
bling those in use at present WAS made
by Henry Wick in the year 1870 and it
was made for Charles V of France
This monarch was SJrname,i the y Use.
but his education was imperfect in
many respects. and he knew IL well.
As result he was very obstinate in
his claim To know everything He
showed this obStinacy when Wick
brought the new timepiece for his APP
prevail The king could not find any
the figures on the dial.
He told the maker that he had made
Il grievouS error. as the figures 10 de
note the hour of should be four Is.
Poor Wick ventured to tell the king
that he was wrong. Il am never
wrong Numbered the irate monarch.
Take the clock away and correct the
mistake 1T once upon pain of my dis
pleasure
Wick had TO do as he was told with
| the result that all our timepieces have
the fourth hour labeled iii instead OF
". as should he the case if the correct
enumeration We're followed.
How many people have the slightest
notion why sixty seconds make d min
| ute and why the hour is divided init
sixty minutes. and SO on: Why arr
| there not ten hours to the day and tel
! 10 the night:
| The reason Is very simple 1t is be
cause the people of Babylon reckOned
| not only by a decimal system of nota
| ton, but also by SeXagesimal Sys
| tenn That is 10 say. they not only
] reckoned by tens. but also by sixties
| The BabylonianS We're very clever PEG
| pie. and they saw that the decimal sys
| TEN was by no means the best
/ They knew that no number had 81
! many diviSorS As has sixty.
How about the division OF the day
| into hours: The Babvlonians began 10y
| comparing the progress made by The
sun Oh its daily journey to the distance
| covered by 4 good walker. this beinz
| done ut the time of the equinox. The
j astronomers divided the suns journey
| into twentyfour par>angS- whence Oul
1 hours
| The BabylOnian system was adopted
by the Greeks 1t is one of the mos
! remarkable facts Of history that the
! system has survived through ever,
| change made since the days or Baby
| lonia. When the the French revolu
| IfoniZed all weights and measures go