TIME-RECKONING. 121 



adjustable for each separate hour, and may thus be set for any one of 

 the twenty-four fixed meridians referred to. The adjustment woxild 

 be efiected without in the least disturbing the machinery of the in- 

 strument, or interfering with the index hands. 



Church clocks and other stationary time -pieces would have the 

 local time disc permanently secured in the proper position. Only in 

 the case of persons travelling beyond any particular local time sectioi i 

 would the local time disc of their watch require to be changed. Its 

 adjustment under such circumstances would be simple; it would only 

 be necessaiy to move the disc round until 12 o'clock noon coincided 

 with the meridional letter of the new locality. Suppose, for example, 

 the letter G represented the longitude of the new position of the 

 watch: 12 noon placed in conjunction with G would complete the 

 adjustment of the instrument. For every other new position the 

 same operation would be repeated. Notwithstanding every change 

 that may be made for local time, the machinery of the watch need not 

 be interfered with, and the hands would continue to indicate correct 

 cosmopolitan time. The distinction between cosmopolitan time and 

 local time would always be perfect ; the former would invariably be 

 known by letters ; the latter, as at present, by the Roman numerals. 



As in the diagrams, it is proposed to denote that portion of the 

 day which includes the hours of darkness by a black or dark ground, 

 in order that the night hours could never be mistaken for the hours 

 in the middle of the day, which have the same numerals. The 

 several " watches " into which the day is divided on shipboard might 

 be distinguished. The local time disc exhibits a light portion be- 

 tween 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. ; this includes and represents the forenoon 

 and afternoon watches, noon being the dividing point. The dark 

 portion, extending four hours before and four hours after midnight, 

 embraces the two night watches ; while the shaded portions, from 

 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., and from 4 a.m. to 8 a.m., represent the dog watches 

 and the morning watch. This arrangement would pei'haps prove 

 useful, in view of the hundreds of thousands who navigate the ocean, 

 and the yearly increasing number of ships that adopt and constantly 

 use this division of the day into "watches," finding it, as they appear 

 to do, the most convenient scheme of division for daily routine at sea. 



Other modes of carrying into execution the principles of construc- 

 tion proposed will readily suggest themselves to practical men. ( Vide 

 Appendix No. 2.) It seems only here necessary to allude to one 

 point. It may be objected that the change of system would render 



