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. If 

 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. Copenliagen. 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 



