August, 1908 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



329 



lines were traced, and having the an- 

 terior face sloped away from above so 

 as to give it a forward inclination, 

 adapted to the polar altitude of the place 

 for which the dial was made." The 

 hours were unequal, and varied accord- 

 ing to the season of the year. The 

 gnomon was placed upright on the edge 

 of the hollow and was then bent at a 

 right angle over it, so that the horizontal 

 portion projected as far as the equinoc- 

 tial line. Such a dial was found in 1852 

 at the base of Cleopatra's Needle, and is 

 now in the British Museum. At Athens 

 there was the "Tower of the Winds," 

 built by the astronomer Andronicus, 

 forty-five feet high and octagonal in 

 shape. Figures representing the winds 

 are carved on them, while the hour lines 

 were engraved below. This formed 

 both a wind and sun-dial, and formerly 

 a bronze Triton, holding a wand, stood 

 on the marble roof and served as a 

 weathervane. 



In Mahometan countries sun-dials are 

 very common, and on many of the 

 mosques they are to be found bearing a 

 line which points toward the sacred 

 Mecca, and also marks for the five di- 

 visions of the day when prayers are reg- 



A Shepherd's Dial 



that the early Mexicans had the means 

 of settling the hours of the day with 

 precision, the periods of the solstices and 

 of the equinoxes, as well as that of the 

 transit of the sun across the zenith of 

 Mexico. There have also been discov- 

 ered pillars of curious and costly work- 

 manship erected by the Peruvian Indians, 

 which served as dials, and from which 

 they learned to determine the time of the 

 equinox. These columns are believed to 

 have been destroyed by the Spaniards. 



The moral use and beauty of the sun- 

 dial are unquestionable, but as life became 

 more practical and strenuous it gradually 

 gave way to clocks and watches. It was 

 the primitive clock — the horologe of the 

 first world and dignified recorder of the 

 passing of time. "It was the measure ap- 

 propriated for sweet plants and flowers 

 to spring by," writes one authority, 

 "for the birds to apportion their silver 

 warblings by, for flocks to pasture and 

 to be led to fold by. The shepherd 

 carved it out quaintly in the sun, and 

 turning philosopher by the very occupa- 

 tion, provided it with mottoes more 

 touching than tombstones." 



Astronomy and mathematics played 

 their part in the construction of the 



ularly offered. In China, too, dials are frequently met with, finished dial, but once fixed, these chronometers were good 

 and in various places, such as on the flat board in front of a for all time, and only one thing was essential to the per- 



palankin, on the houses, or dials 

 that are portable, fixed in boxes 

 with silken strings for gnomons, 

 and sometimes combined with 

 moon-dials and compasses. In Ice- 

 land, not a hundred years ago, the 

 method of telling time was very 

 crude. The natural horizon of 

 each township was divided into 

 equal parts, either by mountain 

 peaks or by pyramids of stone, 

 which had been kept in repair for 

 many generations. There is a dial 

 on the Isle of Man which is formed 

 of a ring mound forty-five feet in 

 diameter, and has eight radiations. 

 Parallel rows of stones regularly 

 placed on these form the dial. The 

 ancient Mexicans had a huge, ver- 

 tical sun-dial weighing nearly fifty 

 tons and known as the "calendar 

 stone." It was cut out of porphyry 

 by the priests about one hundred 

 years before the Spanish conquest 

 and was set up in one of the tem- 

 ples. In 1790 it was discovered 

 buried in the great square of what 

 is now the city of Mexico, was ex- 

 cavated, and was built into the wall 

 of the cathedral. Later it was 

 taken down and installed in the 

 National Museum of that city, 

 where it may be seen at the present 

 time. The civil day was divided 

 by the Mexicans into sixteen parts, 

 and, like most of those of the Asi- 

 atic natives, began with sunrise. 

 This colossal calendar stone proves 



A Sun-dial on W. S. Spaulding's Estate, Prides 

 Crossing, Massachusetts 



formance of their duties, and that 

 was sunshine. In order that a sun- 

 dial may give correct results it is 

 necessary that the gnomon, the 

 shadow of which points the time on 

 the dial, slope to the horizontal 

 plane at an angle equal to the lati- 

 tude of the place, and also lie due 

 north and south. 



During the Middle Ages the 

 progress made in the manufacture 

 of sun-dials in England is hardly 

 traceable, but during the Renais- 

 sance their construction was revived 

 and received much attention. They 

 were either portable or were set 

 upon pillars or on walls of houses. 

 A favorite place for them was on 

 the top of crosses in the church- 

 yards. It is recorded that in 1631 

 the Company of Clockmakers in 

 London "was given jurisdiction not 

 only over clocks and watches, but 

 over dials also, and was authorized 

 to search for and break up all bad 

 and deceitful works." 



In those days sun-dials were the 

 fashion in England among people 

 who prided themselves on having 

 up-to-date gardens. At Hampton 

 Court, at Windsor and other royal 

 palaces, they were to be seen. In 

 the courtyard of St. James Palace 

 was one which King James had 

 caused to be set up at a cost of be- 

 tween six and seven pounds, while 

 at Whitehall was an elaborate 

 specimen costing forty-six pounds. 



