388 Mr. W. H. M. Christie [March 19, 



of November more than 16 minutes fast, and by the middle of 

 February 14 J minutes slow, having lost 31 minutes, or more than 

 half-an-hour, in the interval. In passing it may be mentioned as a 

 result of this that the afternoons in November are about half-an-hour 

 shorter than the mornings, whilst in February the mornings are 

 half-an-hour shorter than the afternoons. In view of the importance 

 attached by some astronomers to the use of exact local time in 

 civil life, it would be interesting to know how many villagers have 

 remarked this circimistance. 



It is essential to bear these facts in mind when we have to consider 

 the extent to which local time regulates the affairs of life, and the 

 degree of sensitiveness of a community to a deviation of half-an-hour 

 or more in the standard reckoning of time. My own experience is 

 that in districts which are not within the influence of railways the 

 clocks of neighbouring villages commonly differ by half-an-hour or 

 more. The degree of exactitude in the measurement of local time in 

 such cases may be inferred from the circumstance that a minute-hand 

 is usually considered unnecessary. I have also found that in rural 

 districts on the Continent arbitrary alterations of half-an-hour fast 

 or slow are accepted not only without protest but with absolute 

 indifference. 



Even in this country where more importance is attached to 

 accurate time, I have found it a common practice in outlying parts of 

 Wales (where Greenwich time is about twenty minutes fast by local 

 time) to keep the clock half-an-hour fast by railway (i. e. Greenwich) 

 time, or about fifty minutes fast by local time. And the farmers 

 appeared to find no difficulty in adapting their hours of labour and 

 times of meals to a clock which at certain times of the year differed 

 more than an hour from the sun. 



There is a further irregularity about the sun*s movements which 

 makes him a very unsafe guide in any but tropical countries. He is 

 given to indulging in a much larger amount of sleep in winter than 

 is desirable for human beings who have to work for their living and 

 cannot hibernate as some of the lower animals do. To make up for 

 this he rises at an inconveniently early hour in summer and does 

 not retire to rest till very late at night. Thus it would seem that 

 a clock of steady habits would be better suited to the genius of 

 mankind. 



Persons whose employment requires daylight must necessarily 

 modify their hours of labour according to the season of the year, 

 whilst those who can work by artificial light are practically indepen- 

 dent of the vagaries of the sun. Those who work in collieries, 

 factories, or mines, would doubtless be unconscious of a difference of 

 half-an-hour or more between the clock and the sun, whilst agri- 

 culturists would practically be unaffected by it, as they cannot have 

 fixed hours of labour in any case. 



Having thus considered the regulating influence of the sun on 

 ordinary life within the limits of a small community, we must now 



