The new North-west. [volume] (Deer Lodge, Mont.) 1869-1897, 1878-04-19
CLOCKS AND WATCHES.
ANCIENT METHODS OF CALCULATING TIME
TIRE EcLEPsYDRA-THE HOUR GLASS. :.
From the Troy Times.

RfoiA tue troy 11lneSs
The clock, which at the present day il
.considerdd an almost indispensable articl'
in nearl every household in the land, ane
the watch, which is generally required &c
complete tire wardrobe Of nearly every mar
and Woman, compared to the histery o
the world are of but recent origin or inven
ton. ~ asas *sss Tsi.
The ancsents used to mark the progress
of time Hy the moving Of the heavenly
bodies, and for more brief space by the
shadow ofsthe sun cast on sun-dial, Ger.
tian marks on the dial noting the length oi
time. The dial is used to-day, and the
sun as It's. true meridian is found through
this system at the present date. The
North American Indians fixed their time
ana age, or any event, by SO many moons
and so many winters, and leaves falling
from trees. Less time was SO many suns
or days in certain moons, By this way of
computing time an old Indian could tell
how many days, months and years he had
lived. sa
I'm absence of the sun, the ancients used
a contrivance. called clepsydra, vessel
containing water escaping through q small
orlf1ce in equal quantities at equal times.
A floating body in a vessel which contained
the water, denoted the time by its rise to
certain numbers ON the side of the vessel.
The Romans introduced this instrument
in the days of Psmpey from Greece 70
years before the Christian era. They
employed it to denote the length of speech
es in the Roman Senate.
The sand or hour glass was an ancient
invention, and used in Egypt before the
days of Christ. This cheap and convenient
instrument has been handed down to the
present day, aud is still employed for some
purposes which require the frequent meas
urement of short time as halfa minnie,
running out the horologe Or three minutes
to boil eg gs.
In the early times of Archimedes, the
great mathematician, $50 years before
Christ, wheel work was made to move by
springs to impel equal motion at equal
times. From this motive power first
sprung the clock for keeping time, which
was used in Europe as early as the 18th
and the invention of which was
Tue 10 the Sataeefs.
A clock that would strike the hours was
known as early as 1891. There was
lock at Dover castle, England, in 1s4S.
From the large public clocks sprung the
mall family clocks of all kinds and sizes.
Clocks Of different movements were con-
sructed with quite as much ingenuity and
ntricacy 300 wears ago as at the present |
It is said that, watches were made in Nu-
emberg as as early as 1477, yet there is |
10 accurate authority for the statement.
here was watch in Sir Ashton Levers |
caring date 1541. Henry VIII, who
led in 1547, owned watch. The hair
pring was applied to the watch to rega-
.te the time by DIR. Hook in 1868. Glass
t one time was used fer hair springs, but
soon grew out of use by reason of its
reaking SO easily by a jar, but they were
to keep watch in more &C
arate time. From those days improve
tents have been constantly going on till
se watch is nearly perfect as to time.
For many years all the improvements
ere made il England and imported to
MS country, but machinery has been made
} do many parts of the work, and nearly
1 the watches brought into the country
this time are American movements. In
'67 the value of watch movements inn
Drted TO this country was So, 900 in
,75 it was $2,591, 900, the duty on which
as 1855. 900 e1