Section III., 1890. [ 83 ] Thans. R. S. C. 



VI. — The Unification of Civil, Nautical and Astronomical Time. 



By G. E. LuMSDEN, Toronto. 



Secretarj- of the Astronomical and Pliysical Society of Toronto. 



(Communicated by Dr. S. Fleming, and read May 19, 189.5.) 



Several years ago, at the instance of Dr. Sandford Fleming, CM. G., 

 one of its honorary members, the Astronomical and Phj'sical Society 

 of Toronto began to address its especial attention to promoting a move- 

 ment having for its object the unification of the Civil, the IS'autical and 

 the Astronomical Day. In 1893, the society secured the active co-oper- 

 ation of the Canadian Institute, which had taken a very prominent part 

 in bringing about the adoption of previous proposals b}" Dr. Fleming for 

 reforms in the reckoning of time. 



On the 21st of April, 1893, a circular-letter was addressed to astro- 

 nomers of all nations, who were requested to answer the question : Is it 

 desirable, all interests considered, that on and after the first day of Jan- 

 uary, 1901, the Astronomical Day should everywhere begin at Mean Mid- 

 night ? The circular embodied the views of a specially appointed joint 

 committee of the society and of the institute, of which committee Dr. 

 Fleming was chairman, and included several pages tilled with extracts 

 impartially selected from the writings of Sir John Herschell, M. Otto 

 Struvé, Mr. VY. H. M. Christie, the astronomer royal. Professor Simon 

 Newcomb, Commodore Franklin, U. S. jS"., Professor Carpmael, president 

 of the society, and Mr. Arthur Harvey, president of the institute. In 

 the course of Mr. Carpmael's paper and as an illustration of some of the 

 very practical inconveniences which attend the yn'esent want of accord in 

 reckoning the Civil, Nautical and Astronomical Days, it was stated that 

 the writer had had occasion to investigate a storm which, in 1873, caused 

 great destruction along the southeast coast of Nova Scotia. In this 

 investigation, it became necessary to procure the logs, or copies of the 

 logs, of the vessels which had been caught in the storm, and, for this 

 purpose, material assistance was rendered by the late Sir Henry Lefroy, 

 who, as governor, obtained the logs of the ships which put into the Ber- 

 muda Islands for repairs. The satisfactor}' examination of these logs 

 was attended by great diflficulty owing to a want of uniformity among 

 the sea captains in making entries. For instance, many of the captains 

 wrote up their logs at noon for the 24 hours. Some were accustomed to 

 enter up events occurring, say, between noon of the 20th of the month 

 and noon of the 21st, under date of the 20th ; that is, the astronomical 

 (and nautical) day during which they happened, while others entered 

 the same events undei- date of the 21st, or that u])on which the entries 



