LONGITUDE AND TIME-RECKONING. 141 
diurnal revolutions; that is to say, between one cosmopolitan date (or 
day) and another. It would be, therefore, inexpedient to have it 
passing through London or Washington, or Paris, or St. Petersburg, 
or indeed through the heart of any populous or even inhabited 
country. We must seek for a position free from this characteristic, 
We should look for a meridian, if possible, to pass through no 
great extent of habitable land, so that hereafter the whole population 
of the world would follow a common time-reckoning; and simul- 
taneous human events would be chronicled by concurrent dates. IEf 
we examine the terrestrial globe, we shall find that two, and only 
two, limited sections of the sphere present themselves with these 
qualifications. 
A meridian may be drawn through the Atlantic Ocean, so as to 
pass Africa on the one side and South America on the other without 
touching any portion of either continent, avoiding all islands and 
all land except a portion of eastern Greenland. 
The configuration of the continents will also admit of a meridian 
being similarly drawn in the opposite hemisphere so as to pass 
through Behring’s Strait, and through the whole extent of the 
Pacific Ocean without touching dry land. 
Either of these meridians would serve the desired purpose, but a 
meridian in close proximity to Behring’s Strait suggests itself as the 
most eligible. 
- It must be admitted that the establishment of a common prime 
meridian should be so determined that, if at all practicable, one of 
the several systems of the divisions of longitude now employed might 
be maintained. It would be a still greater advantage if the new initial 
meridian could harmonize with the longitudinal divisions most in use 
in the navigation of the high seas. 
If we refer to the map of the world, we find that the anti or 
nether meridians of some of the capitals of Europe pass at no great 
distance from Behring’s Strait, and the addition or subtraction of 180° 
would, in any one case, be a ready means of harmonizing the pro- 
posed new zero with the old reckoning of longitude. Six of these 
places are at present employed as prime meridians, viz. : 
1, Christiania. 4, Naples. 
2. Copenhagen. 5. Paris. 
3. Greenwich. 6. Stockholm. 
The following table, prepared from the latest authorities within 
reach, gives an estimate of the number and tonnage of steamers and 
