THE BATTLE OF THE ALMANACS.

Press, Volume XIX, Issue 2813, 8 May 1872, Page 3

THE BATTLE OF THE ALMANACS.

TO THE EDITOR OP THE PEESS. Sir, —In the Lytteltan Times of Monday there appeared letter signed " AmicusCurise," which was written for the alleged purpose of soothing the "perturbed feelings" of a previous correspondent who had been made unhappy by not being able to determine within a few minutes at what time the sun rose on certain days ; the two Almanacs of the province not being quite agreed on that matter. " Amicus Curias" decides in favor of the calculations made by the "Southern Provinces Almanac," and for aught I know he may be right, for I cannot make the calculations for myself. Bui, whether he was right or wrong his statements not ouly tend to allay the excitement of "T. V..5." but are obviously meant to exalt the " Southern Provinces Almanac" at the expense of its rival; a result which I think to be unjust, even if " Araicua Curije "be right. For if he had taken the trouble to make a general comparison of the statements of time made by both almanacs, he would have seen that he was straining at a few " New Zealand"' gnats and swallowing a whole herd of " Southern Provinces" camels. Durations of time are magnitudes which are expressed by minutes, hours, days, weeks, &c.; and, if " Amicus Curias" be right, there are nine erroneous statements made in the " New Zealand Almanac" about the sun's rising and setting, and the moon's meridian; amounting, altogether, to one hundred and five minutes, or one hour and three-quarters. Bad enough, no doubt, if " Amicus Curias ir be right. But what will he say for errors amounting to nine hundred and sixty hours, or forty days, in forty statements of time ? Yet those errors exist in the " Southern Provinces Almanac," and upon much more important subjects thau tHose to which the alleged errors in the "New Zealand Almanac" refer. -

To ninety-nine people in a hundred it is of very small consequence whether the sun rises or sets a few minutes sooner or later, or at how many minutes past an hour the moon is in meridian. But whether the mail to or from England shall depart or arrive on one day or another is of importance to most people ; and yet the contract time of arrival and departure of both the Suez and San Francisco mails are erroneously stated forty times in the " Southern Provinces Almanac," and the variations amount to the number of hours and days given above. And this statement is not like that made by " Amicus Curise," which requires intricate calculations to verify or refute; it is plain to any man who can count twenty-eight. Nevertheless, knowing the great difficulty of ensuring, per feet accuracy in almanacs, I would not have exposed their errors,' except in defence of a very deserving annual, which has been made the object of a series of petty attacks. I am, &c, Faik Play. Christchurch, May 7, 1872.