NORTH SHORE BREEZE 
The Sun Dial and Its Place in the Garden. 
By MARY H. NORTHEND. 
There is probably nothing that 
lends -a more subtle charm to a weil 
arranged flower garden than that 
time-honored accessory, the sun-dial. 
To this simple ornament above all 
others seems to belong a certain elu- 
sive and mysterious fascination, 
which one instinctively feels, but 
cannot describe. It is perhaps to 
this very fact that the sun-dial owes 
its centuries of popularity, dat- 
ing back hundreds of years beiore 
Christ. 
The earliest dials in use were ex- 
tremely crude affairs, arranged to - 
tell time with more or less accuracy, 
but fashioned without the slightest 
regard for beauty. Often they con- 
sisted simply of poles stuck in the 
ground with little heaps of stones 
laid out to mark the passing hours. 
Sometimes, if the pole were placed 
near a dwelling, rough notches eut 
in the doorway or on the window 
ledge took the place of stones, but 
for some time little attempt was 
made at ornamentation. 
Gradually, however, scientists suc- 
ceeded in plotting out very accurate 
dials on wood and also on bronze 
and other metals. Each dial had to 
be made for some particular city, icr 
in order that it should tell the time 
accurately the style, or gnomon, 
which cast the shadow on the face of 
the dial, had to meet it so as to i21"'m 
an angle of the same number of de- 
grees as the latitude of the place in 
which the dial was to be used. The 
hour spaces, too, varied according to 
the locality, and it was therefore 
necessary that they be carefully 
computed and marked by expert 
workmen. Occasionally very elabor- 
ate sun-dials were constructed 
which could be used in a number of 
different places, but these were al- 
most without exception folding 
‘pocket dials to be carried by travel- 
ers, Just as watches are now worn by 
them. 
Of the more common stationary 
dials there were two varieties, the 
perpendicular and the _ horizontal. 
Those of the former class were de- 
signed for use on buildings and were 
affixed to the walls of churches and 
other public edifices, much as clocks 
are now sometimes inserted. In New 
York city one of these old perpen- 
dicular dials may still be seen on the 
Dutch Reformed church. It was the 
horizontal dial, however, which was 
adapted for garden purposes and it 
Sun Dial on the lawn in front of the Spaulding 
Residence at Pride’s Crossing 
is this style that is best known in 
this country at the present day. 
In England and Seotland the hori- 
zontal. sun-dial became extremely 
popular and no garden of any pre- 
tensions was considered complete 
without at least one of these orna- 
mental time-keepers. The high 
favor in which the ‘‘simple altar-like 
structure’ with its ‘‘silent heart 
language’’ was held in England- 
was well expressed by Charles 
Lamb, who said of the sun-dial, ‘‘ It 
stood as the garden god of Christian 
gardens.’’ : 
But by the time the American col- 
onists had leisure to devote to lay- 
ing out beautiful gardens, the day of 
the sun-dial was drawing to a close. 
The introduction of clocks had done 
away with the necessity of depend- 
ing upon such fair-weather time- 
pieces, and, furthermore, they were 
no ‘longer the height of fashion 
across the seas. So it happened that 
despite its charm and value as an or- 
nament the sun-dial was not widely 
adopted in this country. 
Of late years, however, in the gen- 
eval revival of old-fashioned cus: 
toms, this intercstiag feature of sla- 
time gardens, has attracted many 
garden owners by its quaint sim- 
plicity and usefulness. The sun-dial 
has again come into favor and adds 
a delightful touch of sentiment while 
contributing to the  picturesque- 
ness of modern gardens, be they of 
the rambling description filled with 
graceful vines and = shrubbery in 
striking contrast with the riot of 
gorgeous blossoms, or of the more 
dignified, formal variety with its 
fountains, pools and marble frag- 
ments. 
The questions which are now 
puzzling would-be dial owners are 
‘‘How shall we get them?” and 
‘“Where shall we put them?’’ “The 
dials themselves, which are usually 
of bronze, copper, brass, or of stone, 
ean, of course, be made at home, if 
one has sufficient patience and some 
practical knowledge of the subject. 
There are books which give formu- 
lae for the marking of the faces, but 
since the accuracy of the dial de- 
pends entirely upon the correct hour 
spacing and the proper angle of the 
gnomon, it is usually wise for the 
amateur to leave that part of the 
work to a skilled dial-maker. 
The erection of the dial may be 
safely accomplished without the aid 
of an expert. Practically the only 
essential points in this are to see 
that the dial has a firm and absolute- 
ly level base upon which to rest, and 
to be sure that the gnomon points 
directly toward the north star. A 
sione pedestal, neither too low nor 
too high, is the best foundation for 
a garden sun-dial, but where~a less 
expensive material must be chosen 
wood does very well, provided it 
has a level block of stone or concrete 
at its base to prevent it from sag- 
ging. 
As for the design of the pedestal, 
that depends largely upon the own- 
er’s taste, but, as a rule, the simple 
shafts are the most effective. Ocea- 
sionally one sees a beautiful, carved 
pedestal, perhaps imported from 
Italy, but these are seldom found 
outside of stately, formal gardens. 
For the less pretentious garden, 
there is nothing more appropriate or 
more in harmony with its simple 
beauty than a graceful, but inelabor- 
ate pedestal, substantial enough to 
(Continued on page 44) 
