With the enormous increase of railway traveling the necessity arose for inventing some method of counting time which should avoid the complications arising from the use of local mean time, which varies with every mile of east or west travel.

This was brought about in 1884, and the railroads of the United States, of the Dominion of Canada, and many cities and towns in these countries now use the standard time:

Name Central Meridian Nearest Places

Pacific......120°=8h. w. from Greenwich.. 1 1/2° east of Sacramento

Mountain . ..105°=7h. w. from Greenwich. .Denver, Colorado

Central......90°=6h. w. from Greenwich. .St. Louis and New Orleans

Eastern......75°=5h. w. from Greenwich. .Between N. Y. and Phila.

Intercolonial.. 60°=4h. w. from Greenwich. .About 31/2° east of Halifax

The standard meridians are 15 degrees of longitude or just one hour in time apart.