20 



UNDER THE OPEN SKY 



laugh, as he comes across the line. The long 

 days are with us, and the short nights. Our 

 friends in Buenos Ayres and Melbourne 

 must be content with short sun visits, as we 

 were driven to be a few months since. 





THE SUN A POOR TIMEPIECE 



At this season the sun joins in the gen- 

 eral rush. He is trying hard to catch up 

 with the clock, which in February was fifteen 

 minutes ahead. Our sun, to tell the truth, 

 is a very irregular timepiece. Astrono- 

 mers, who need time, and need it correct 

 to a fraction of which even a railroad never 

 dreams, cannot use him at all; and they 

 set their timepieces by the stars. The old 

 sundial went out of use, not simply because 

 the shadow was not sharp enough to tell 

 the time closer than within five minutes at 

 the best. The great trouble is it does not 

 keep unvarying time. So we have con- 

 trived a clock, which shall make the inter- 

 val from twelve of one day until twelve of 

 the next always of the same length, and 

 still come out even with the sun in the lone 



