112 TIME-RECKONING. 
The Chinese system would, without a doubt, suit the requirements 
of this age much better than that which we now follow. The halving 
of the day is one source of difficulty which ought not to exist, and it 
would be an important step to imitate the custom of computing time 
which is followed by that old oriental civilization. The adoption of 
the Chinese system, by which half days would be thrown out of use, 
would not, however, obviate the other very serious objections which 
have been raised. To overcome at once all the difficulties is the 
problem which presents itself for solution. . 
A SCHEME OF UNIFORM TIME-RECKONING. 
It has been stated that the period occupied by a diurnal revolution 
of the earth, is the shortest measure of time which we find in nature. 
As a consequence, man is left to reckon and sub-divide this measure 
in the way best calculated to promote his own convenience. There 
can be no doubt whatever that all smaller divisions, except that 
produced by the rising and setting of the sun, must be artificial 
and arbitrary. 
When the decimal system was adopted by the French, it was pro- 
posed to divide the day into ten and a hundred parts; a scheme which 
would probably be the best at this age of the world, had the whole 
system of horology to be established de novo. In view of generally 
prevailing customs, however, it will doubtless be felt that any attempt 
to introduce the decimal division of the day would be unwise; that it 
would be futile to propose a change which could only succeed by 
seriously interfering with the present notations. 
The progress of the world may indeed before long demand a 
radical change in our chronometry ; but the present method of com- 
puting time in the more civilized parts of the earth is so interwoven 
with every day life, that it cannot in the meantime be disregarded. 
It will be evident that the consideration of any change should be 
based on the full recognition of established customs. Instead of 
attempting to uproot and supersede the present system, it is con- 
sidered that any new scheme to meet the requirements of the age 
should rather be engrafted on and be in as complete harmony as 
possible with the old one. 
In this view the following suggestions are offered : 
Our first effort should be to find a suitable unit measure of time, 
uniform in length, and, for obvious reasons, the shortest to be found 
in nature. 
