Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-05-27
Interesting Facts
Concerning Sun Dia1s

THE recent ceremonies of the Prot
estant Episcopal Church in connec
ton with the dedication of a me-
mortal dial and shadow calendar at
| the Cathedral Close. has revived interest
| in the most notable markers of time. Sun
| dials appeal to the least imaginative. They
| play with the higher forces of nature, and
! date back to the time when work was not
| licked off by the second hand of the clock.
| Savage man awoke with the and re-
| tired when its setting brought darkness
| In later days. when society became or
! ganized the time was divided into parts
| for convenience. "A record of this appears
| in old Jewish history, where Nehemiah
| writes: They stood up in their places
| and read in the Book of the Lord their
| God one-fourth of a day, and another
| fourth part they confessed and worshped
/ the Lord their Cod"
| Later the day was divided into hours as
| shown by the parable of the householder
| who hired laborers for his vineyard at the
| third, sixth, ninth and eleventh hours The
| night was apparently marked only by
| watches, perhaps according to the crow
| ing of cocks, no dial could be used
| yet there may have been something of the
nature of an hour glass to measure divi-
| slons of time during the darkness. The
| first historical mention of a sun dial Is that
| causing the sun to go back ten degrees on
the dial of Ahaz. Arehaeologists who have
| looked into the sun dial agree that 1t was
| probably invented about 747 B. c.. at the
| time OF the rectifcation of the Babylonian
calendar.
The Chaldeans claim the honor of making
| the first sun dial and from them it found a
! way through Egypt and Greece. Herodo-
| tus says that the Greeks learned from the
| Chaldeans the art of making dals and d.
| viding the day into twelve parts, and while
many illusions are made in Greek literature
| bearing on the length of a shadow in tell
| ing the time of day, no explanation is given
| of how this measuring was done. A story
| has been told of a man who was invited to
dine when a shadow was twenty feet long.
which was at about the hour of 5 in the az
| ternoon according to the hosts reckoning.
| but the guest. being somewhat overanxious
mistook the invitation to read according
to morning shadows and arrived before the
feast was spread. In some secluded noun
| tain districts the mountaineers tell the time
of day by the shadows that creep from
summit to summit. The Arabs are said to
have been the first to introduce sun dials
showing the hours of equal length. though
| the oldest now In existence. however, give
| signs Of Greek workmanship. Many Greek
dals were hemicyclean In form. while those
| of the Scandfnavians and Saxons were YER
teal or horizontal
The Roman system was introduced into
England by st. Augustine. and many of
the old churches in England have vertical
sun dials over the doors, and throughout
England and Scotland they are frequently
found on the sides of houses, while the hor-
| izontal dial Is used in the garden or on the
| lawn. In time they became the fashion
Princes made gifts of them, they were con-
sidered appropriate monuments to the dead
and they became more handsome and elab-
| crate in design. In this country the sun
It~1 ho1 hnar nf -. -
tanee to the clock since the old Connecticut
timepieces were introduced. But though
not necessity for the telling of time there
is charm and sentiment about the sun
dial that appeals to all. In gardens and es-
tates in this country they are In common
use.
There Is one installed at Mount Mernon
that Is always a feature of interest In the
historic surroundings. while of the great
throngs that visit the Zoo hundreds pause
to look at the sun dial set up there
The sun dial at the National Geological
Park was procured by the late Mr.. s. p.
Langley, secretary of the Smithsonian In
stitution. in London in the winter of 1900
1901, and was set up at the park In the
spring of 1901. The inscription upon the
face of the dial is 'Horas non numero nisi
serenas." and around the edge of the stone
base. at the top. the Latin inscription has
been translated into the English equiva-
lent, Il number only sunny hours"
The rhyme of Alice"
Twas brillig and the siithy toves
Did eyre and gifnbe in the wabe.'
and the careful description OF the "wabe"
( as the grass plot around sun dial, '.be-
cause 1t goes long way before it. long
way behind it and q long way beyond 1t on
each side" will give an idea of the location
and setting sun d4als in those days. The
| '.siithy toves', are described as the 1.-THE
and Shiny creatures that make their nests
| under sun dials.
United States where SUN Gis.IS have been
used in the landscape dec0ratssn. There
10 sun dial at the stevens ssssestead on