STANDARD AND LOCAL MEAN TIME. In 1883 the United States and Canada agreed to adopt, chiefly for the convenience of the railroads, a standard of time. For this purpose the country was divided into four sections or zones, each fifteen degrees of longtitude in width, equivalent to one hour. These sections were designated as the eastern, central, mountain and Pacific. The eastern is based on the 75th, the central on the 90th, the mountain on the 105th and the Pacific on the 120th meridian. All places within seven and one-half degrees of longitude on each side of these meridians have the same standard time, but only those on the meridians themselves have the same standard and local mean or solar time. The local mean time of other places varies according to the distance east or west of the meridians. East it is later, west earlier. Chicago, for instance, is in west longtitude 87 degrees 38 minutes, or 2 degrees and 22 minutes east of the 90th meridian. Each degree of latitude being equal to 4 minutes of time, the city's local mean time is consequently about 9 minutes earlier than standard time. In other words, when it is 12 o'clock noon in Chicago by standard time it is 11:51 a. m. by local mean or solar time. The difference between the standard and local time of the principal cities of the United States is shown in the following table: City. Minutes. 5 Washington, D. C.. +6 Worcester, Mass.. Minutes. -22 +27 -28 +14 -28 -17 -16 +19 +22 -18 8 +12 3 0 4 +14 + 1 +20 +20 -14 +10 +11 +1 +12 +28 +10 +10 + 5 +9 -16 + 8 -13 By noting the variation in time between the cities representing the eastern, central, mountain and Pacific divisions in the United States and those in Alaska, Hawaii, Porto Rico and the Philippines and in foreign countries the variation in time between all the other cities in the United States and the places named may be easily calculated. The time in all cases except where otherwise specified is local or actual time. When it is 12 o'clock noon on Monday, eastern time, in New York, the corresponding time in the cities named below is: Chicago (central time).. 11:00 a. m., Monday Denver (mountain time).10:00 a. m., Monday S. Francisco (Pac. time). 9:00 a. m., Monday Sitka, Alaska... 7:58 a. m., Monday Honolulu 6:28 a. m., Monday .....11:30 a. m., Monday Rico...12:35 p. m., Monday 4:34 p. m., Monday 4:47 p. m., Monday 5:00 p. m., Monday Havana, Cuba.. San Juan, Porto Dublin Edinburgh London Paris 5:09 p. m., Monday 5:53 p. m., Monday 6:05 p. m., Monday 5:49 p. m., Monday 5:17 p. m., Monday 5:17 p. m., Monday 5:50 p. m., Monday. 5:42 p. m., Monday 6:12 p. m., Monday 7:01 p. m., Monday 6:56 p. m., Monday ..10:24 a. m., Monday ..12:13 p. m., Monday 4:45 p. m., Monday 5:29 p. m., Monday ..10:53 p. m., Monday 6:55 p. m., Monday By the explosion of a charge of powder in the forward turret of the battleship Kearsarge, U. S. N., April 13, 1906, two officers and five seamen were killed and one seaman was injured. The accident occurred just after [ target practice, the ship at the time being. off the southeastern coast of Cuba. The powder was being sent below when in some unexplained way it became ignited. The planet Mars will attract the attention of the world in 1907 because of the fact that he will approach nearer to us than he has been within the last fifteen years or will be again in the following fifteen years. The reason for this will be understood by an inspection of the annexed figure. When the points C (aphelion) in the earth's orbit and A (perihelion) in Mars' orbit come in line with the sun, then the earth and Mars will be the nearest possible. A moderately close ORBIT approach to these conditions occurs every fifteen years. In 1907, on July 12, these planets will occupy the positions in their respective orbits E and F. On July 5 the earth will be at C or farthest from the sun, and on Sept. 26 Mars will be at A, or nearest to the sun. It is apparent that there must be a point between A and C where these bodies are in line with the sun and where they will be nearest, and as has been said this occurs at E and F. STATE NICKNAMES AND STATE FLOWERS. Flower. State. New Jersey. Jersey Blue state......Sugar maple Georgia. ...Cracker state........Cherokee rose 'Flower. (tree). ..Rose .Goldenrod .Mistletoe Oregon grape Violet .Bluebonnet Vermont....Green Mount'n state.. Red clover blossom Washing'n..Chinook state.. .....Rhododendron NOTE-Only nicknames that are well known and "state flowers" officially adopted or commonly accepted are given in the foregoing list. STANDARD AND LOCAL MEAN TIME. In 1883 the United States and Canada agreed to adopt, chiefly for the convenience of the railroads, a standard of time. For this purpose the country was divided into four sections or zones, each fifteen degrees of longtitude in width, equivalent to one hour. These sections were designated as the eastern, central, mountain and Pacific. The eastern is based on the 75th, the central on the 90th, the mountain on the 105th and the Pacific on the 120th meridian. All places within seven and one-half degrees of longitude on each side of these meridians have the same standard time, but only those on the meridians themselves have the same standard and local mean or solar time. The local mean time of other places varies according to the distance east or west of the meridians. East it is later, west earlier. Chicago, for instance, is in west longtitude 87 degrees 38 minutes, or 2 degrees and 22 minutes east of the 90th meridian. Each degree of latitude being equal to 4 minutes of time, the city's local mean time is consequently about 9 minutes earlier than standard time. In other words, when it is 12 o'clock noon in Chicago by standard time it is 11:51 a. m. by local mean or solar time. The difference between the standard and local time of the principal cities of the United States is shown in the following table: City. Minutes. ..5 Washington, D. C. +6 Worcester, Mass.... -16 +16 Note.-Standard time is used in The Daily 9 News Almanac and Year-Book calendars. DIFFERENCE IN TIME. By noting the variation in time between | Paris When it is 12 o'clock noon on Monday, Havana, Cuba.. 7:58 a. m., Monday 6:28 a. m., Monday ...11:30 a. m., Monday San Juan, Porto Rico...12:35 p. m., Monday Dublin ... 4:34 p. m., Monday Berlin St. Petersburg. City of Mexico.. EXPLOSION ON THE KEARSARGE. By the explosion of a charge of powder in the forward turret of the battleship Kearsarge. U. S. N., April 13, 1906, two officers and five seamen were killed and one seaman was injured. The accident occurred just after target practice, the ship at the time being off the southeastern coast of Cuba. The powder was being sent below when in some unexplained way it became ignited. WEATHER FORECASTS AND SIGNALS. The weather bureau of the United States | redistribution by means of telephones and department of agriculture publishes daily railroads from established centers, so that more than 100,000 weather bulletins, not there are comparatively few accessible counting the forecasts in the newspapers. places which do not now receive daily Most of these bulletins are in the form weather forecasts within a very short time of postal cards printed by postmasters after the observers have completed their from telegraphic reports and sent by them work. The old system of conveying informato outlying towns for display at suitable tion about the weather by means of flag points. There is also an elaborate system of displays is also in general use. EXPLANATION OF WEATHER FLAGS. No. 3. White and blue flag. No 1. White flag. No. 2. No. 4. When No. 4 is placed above No. 1, 2 or 3 it indicates warmer; when below, colder; when not displayed, the temperature is expected to remain about stationary. During the late spring and early fall the cold-wave flag is also used to indicate anticipated frosts. EXPLANATION OF STORM-WARNING FLAGS. Northwest winds. Southwest winds. Northeast winds. Southeast winds. "Hurricane" signal. A red flag with a black center indicates that a storm of marked violence is expected. The pennants displayed with the flags indicate the direction of the wind: Red, easterly (from northeast to south); white, westerly (from southwest to north). The pennant above the flag indicates that the wind is expected to blow from the northerly quadrants; below, from southerly quadrants. By night a red light indicates easterly winds and a white light above a red light westerly winds. Two red flags, with black centers. displayed one above the other, indicate the expected approach of tropical hurricanes, and also of those extremely severe and dangerous storms which occasionally move across the lakes and northern Atlantic coast. Hurricane warnings are not displayed at night. |