Fayetteville observer. [volume] (Fayetteville, Tenn.) 1850-1966, 1878-05-16
History Of Clocks and
Watches.
Troy Times.

ally required to complete the
wardrobe of nearly every man
and woman, compared to the
history of the world, are but
of recent origin or invention.
The "ancients" Il ed TO mark
the progress of time by the
moving Of The heavenly bodies,
and for a more brief space by
the shadow of the sun cast Oh a
sun dial, certain marks on the
dial noting the length of time.
The dial is used to-day, and the
sun at its true meridian is found
through this system at the pres
ent time. The North Ameri-
can Indians fixed their time
and age, or any event, by so
many moons, and SO many win
ters, 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 months and years he had
lived.
In the absence of the sun,
the ancients used a contrivance
called a clepsydra, vessel con-
taining water escaping slowly
through a small orifice in equal
quantities at equal times. A
floating body in a vessel which
received the water denoted the
time by its rise to certain num-
bers on the side of the vessel.
The Romans introduced this
instrument in the days of Pom
pey from Greece, seventy years
before the Christian era. They
employed it to denote the length
of speeches in the Roman Sen
ate.
/ The sand or hour glass was
an ancient invention, and used
lin Egypt before the days of
Christ. This cheap and con-
venient instrument has been
handed down to the present
day, and is still employed for
some purposes which require the
frequent measurement Of short
time as a half minute, running
out the horcloge, or three min
utcs to boil eggs.
In the early times of Archi-
medes, the great mathematician,
! two hundred and fifty years be-
fore Christ, wheel work was
: made to move by springs and
weights to impcl equal motion
at equal times. From this mo-
tive power first sprung the
clock for keeping time, which
was used in Europe as carly as
the eleventh century, and the
invention of which was due to
the Saraccns.
A clock that would strike the
hours was known as early as
1921. There was a clock at
Dover Castle, England, in 134S.
From the large public clocks
sprung the small family clocks
of all kinds and sizes. Clocks
of different movements were
r constructed with quite as much
ingenuity and iniricncy two
hundred years ago as at the
, present time.
1t is stated that watches were
made in Nuremburg as early as
; 1477, yet there is no accurate
; authority for the statement
There was watch in Sir Ashton
r Levers museum bearing date
1541. Henry VIII, WHO died il
1547, owned a watch. The hail
spring was applied to the watchtc
: regulate the time by DIR. HOol
in 1868. Glass at one time wa
! used for hair springs, but /
!, soon grew out OF use for rea
son of its breaking so easily b.
a lar, but they were acknowl
edged to keep watch IN NOR
accurate time. From those day
is improvements have been con
d stantly going on till the watcl
IS is nearly perfect as to time.
It For many yeals all the i'm
Il proyements were made in Eng
e land and imported to this coun
try, but machinery has bee
made to do many parts of tn
e. work, and nearly all the watch
T. es brought into this country q
e. the present time are America
at movements. In 1861 the valu
e, Of watch movements lmporte
re to this country was $3,S23,00(