86 UNIVERSAL OR COSMIC TIME. 
upon himself to direct special attention to a Meridian twelve hours 
distant from Greenwich, which passes through firm land only in the 
high latitudes of the north in the uninhabited neighbourhood of 
Tschuktschenland, near Behring Straits, and for the remaining part 
of the distance runs through the Pacific Ocean and the two Arctie 
seas of ice. ‘The establishment of this Meridian, which may be de- 
scribed as the nether Greenwich Meridian, would in any cireum- 
stance lead to fewer practical inconveniences than those incident to 
any other Meridian excepting that of Greenwich itself. 
These views not only fonnd much accord in this country, but were 
also favomably received abroad. A more earnest movement, there- 
fore, for the Unification of Longitude notation took place for the first 
time, as it became associated with the desire after uniformity m the 
notation of time in international relations; while it became intim- 
ately connected with our Cartographical requirements, and even pene- 
trated into practical life. It was principallv the rapid development 
of the means of communication through railways and telegraphs 
which called this desire into life; especially in America where the in- 
creased communication and the great extent of country, making the 
question of time one of special importance, demanded some settle- 
ment of the matter. . 
Before we enter upon the proceedings of the Washington Confer- 
ence it will, perhaps, be of advantage at this place to signify in a few 
words the objects to be attained by the unification of Time.notation 
which make that step desirable. All sciences are in common inter- 
ested in the result. Navigation, the Administration of Telegraphs 
and Railways. Ordinary every-day life, which in its locality is regu- 
lated by the sun, would not immediately be affected by it. 
Tn the first place, let us look at the signification of the Unification 
of Time with regard to science. Thus it is perfectly plain that besides 
astronomy those sciences are especially interested which have relation 
to the phenomena of the globe, namely Physics, Meteorology, and 
Magnetism. For the last named it is of importance that so far as 
possible, identity in the determination of Time should be established, 
according to which certain observations which have been or are to 
be made will be referred. It may for example be remembered that 
for some time past the local time of Géttingen has been used as the 
Normal Time for simultaneous magnetic observations, because from 
thence the first impulse to such observations was given through 
Gauss. Similar arrangements, it is true, may be made in each case 
in the future when there is a question of certain definite observations 
being set forth to the same absolute Time ; but it would in like mat- 
ters much shorten such operations if once for all a Normal Time were 
established, and it was not necessary on each particular occasion to 
make special arrangements on the point. It may appear paradoxical 
to say that of all sciences, astronomy, in despite of its vocation closely 
