How do you explain to your cow that, as from 26th October, she will need to wake up an hour earlier so that you can milk her? You could try to show her your duly modified clock but chances are this won?t make much sense to her; sunrise being a much more effective argument.

Crops also seem to suffer from Daylight Saving Time (DST). According to farmers, field crops become damp with dew during the night, and are dried by the sun every morning ? a strong case, they think, against the introduction of DST because the crops wouldn? have had enough time to dry. Not that these very valid arguments have ever had any effect on the decision of policy-makers to introduce DST.

The reasons behind DST are said to be energy saving. Even though some 55 countries worldwide have adopted DST, the practice is not without controversy. As some MPs pointed out in Parliament on Tuesday, it is debatable whether DST actually saves energy and whether the saving is substantial taking into consideration the fact that putting DST into practice will actually cost money. Below is a brief explanation of DST, the controversies surrounding it, the drawbacks and the benefits.

■ <B>The origin of DST</B>

One William Willet proposed modern DST in 1905 when he realized that many Londoners slept through the best part of a summer day. He lobbied unsuccessfully for his proposal until his death in 1915. Germany, its World War I allies, and their occupied zones were the first European nations to use Willett?s invention, starting on April 30 1916. Britain, most of its allies and many European neutrals soon followed suit; Russia and a few other countries waited until the next year; and the United States adopted it in 1918. Since then, the world has seen many enactments, adjustments, and repeals.

■ <B> Why DST? </B>

Willet?s proposal argued that DST increases opportunities for outdoor activities during afternoon sunlit hours. Others argue ? it was the case in 1982 when DST was first introduced in Mauritius ? that DST is just a device that employers use to make them work longer hours. But obviously DST does not change the length of the day.

As the minister for Public utilities, Abu Kasenally, explained in Parliament, the sun sets slightly after 6.30 p.m and by advancing the clock by one hour, the sun will set at the prevailing time of 7.30 p.m, i.e. there will be an extra hour of sunlight in the evening. ?If the normal household cooking activities start around 5.30 p.m, with summertime there will be two hours of sunlight during which the family can prepare their food and therefore, effectively spread the electricity load over a longer period as electricity will be used at a later period, i.e. as from 7.30 p.m.?

So the argument is that people will use less electricity at peak hours, which are between 6.30 p.m and 8.00 p.m.

■ <B> Controversies</B>

People will, to all intents and purposes, wake up earlier once summer time is on. If a person is used to waking up at 5 a.m and the clock has been moved forward, they will in actual fact wake up at 4 a.m even if the clock (that has already been moved forward) will show 5 a.m. But at 5 a.m summer time, it will still be dark and households will still need to consume energy in the morning. Reports say that more energy to light homes and offices is used in the mornings. The question is: Will the surplus of energy that will be used in the mornings by far outweigh the savings made in the evening? It is debatable, according to studies that suggest that people tend to have more activities in the summer and if it is light after seven, they will tend to drive more. Buses will also run later.

■ <B>Does it actually work? </B>

There again, hard to tell. It is not known how much energy countries like England and France save every summer. In Mauritius, simulations suggest that the country would use 15 megawatts less of energy. Last time we tried the experiment, in 1982, the country reportedly saved 7 megawatts; 1 megawatt less than the predicted 8 megawatt. According to MP Shakeel Mohamed, the fact that DST saves energy is a fallacy because all the data is based on simulation and not real experiences. But as Abu Kasenelly pointed out, the measure will be introduced on a pilot basis from 26th October to March 29th. The experiment is worth a try, he said, as ?the best form of renewable energy is to save energy.?