Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 41, Number 81, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 29 June 1909 — The Summer Solstice. [ARTICLE]

The Summer Solstice.

This is the period of the summer solstice, of “standing sun.” In its northward sweep, the sun reached its farthest point Tuesday, when the rays slanted over the polar regions aid reached the Tropic of Cancer, opposite the north pole, giving that portion of the earths surface within the circle twenty-four hours’ sunshine for a time. The days are now fifteen hours and three minutes long, summer being officially ushered in at the time of the day’s greatest length. According to an old German saying “as the days begin to grow shorter they begin to grow hotter, and as they begin to grow longer they begin to grow colder.” We may now expect the hot weather to come trooping along with a distressing regularity and the price of ice will go up, at least the demand for it will increase. From now on until the 22nd of December, six months hence, the days will grow shorter, that is, the hours of sunshine will lessen until on the 22nd of December when the duration of sunshine will be nine hours and fifteen minutes, at which time winter will be officially ushered in and the winter solstice occurs. How odd it seems that south of the equator climatic conditions are just the reverse of ours. Our summer is their winter, and while our days are long and warm theirs are short and cold. Down there the love-lorn youths sing it, “In the good old ~ winter time.”