St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1880-06-04

ls successlVely tried and balanced with
weights of certain standard. which
must De perfectly uniform, and agree in
every minute particular. 1t is then
tested by heavy weight sealed accord
ing to law, which operation is reneatad
until absolute perfection is attained
Though seme of the methods NAV he
different with different kinds of scales
yet we understand that the general
principle of sealing is the same in all.
The beam must be made to rise at a
certain fixed point every time, in order
to reach the scientific standard.
We saw two men testing the lever of
a track scale, which was laid across two
wooden horses, and we don't believe a
matchmaker, with all his delicate
work, was ever more careful in his
movements than these men appeared to
be in theirs. A little filing, or grind
ing, or rubbing with milestone, or
some similar operation, is all that is
frequently needed to accomplish the
desired end and even this maneuvre
has to be cautiously done, and often re-
peated, so as not to oveIdo the matter,
and to be sure that every movement
brings the work little nearer perfec-
ton, until all is accomplished. This
work requires men of good mechanical
ability.
We next come to room where the
portable platform scales are sealed, also
under the charge of Mr.. Jones, which
are in great numbers and variety. The
men are standing all around the room
at benches, and all are in that same
careful attitude, and seem to move as
though something uncommon depended
upon their actions. Each man seemed
to have his eye "set" upon something
over which there was care and anxiety.
The fact is not to be denied or thrown
away, these are intelligent men. We
noticed in particular that everything
looked neat, clean and orderly, and
there was an air of sensibility and re-
finement all around them. One does
not see this in every industry, nor in
deed does every industry require think
ing men like this.
The portable platform scales range in
capacity from $50 to 5000 pounds.
About 400 per week of them for the last
two or three months have been shipped
from the mandatory. After the seal
and beyond our present power to de-
scribe, the scales are taken apart and
distributed-each part being numbered
and made to correspond with all other
parts belonging to the same scale, so
that by no possibility shall any mistake
occur when they come to be set up
! again. And here we would remark,
that this same care over everything,
small as well as great, is exercised with
the strictest fidelity; no establishment
like this could run six months without it.
One of the processes of this industry
that pleased us, was the sealing of the
iron weights, which was done by one
man sitting at bench, with a drilling
machine on one side and testing ma
chine on the other. The work was
done so fast, so correctly, and with so
much regularity, that it was curiosity.
At first we thought this man was at
work in ''go as you please" way, he
acted so careless and unconcerned. We
noticed his hands were very busy in
deed, but we thought he held his head
pretty high all the while, as though he
was looking out of the window at some
distant object but the foreman says,
''why he is watching that beam there
don't you see ?" Sure enough there
was the testing beam on level with
his eye, and his hands obeyed its mo-
tiOns with the precision of clock work.
In this industry that beam must always
be in the eye.
We next reach the department where
the Union, Counter, and Post Office
scales are sealed and packed, under the
charge of Mr.. Luther Brooks, who has
labored for this company "a years. A
large number of the small scales receive
their attention here, and we noticed
that same system and regularity all
around this room that we saw in the
others. This is very important de-
partment, and we are told that it re-
ceives all the care it is possible for men
to give.
We are now coming to see the fine
point in this industrial needle. We
walk up to the quarters of Mr.. w. H.
Herrick, who has drilled in this old
band 81 years, and who has charge of
making and sealing the standard
weights of this mandatory, and
through whose hands go all the weights
for inspection. In little cabinet close
by, are kept some of the standard
weights sealed by the United States
Signal Service at Washington. These
weights are kept safely in little boxes,
which have separate department for
each different weight, all graded, from
an inch and three-quarters in diameter
we should say, down to little bits of tin
scraps, and hair-like shavings repre-
senting grains, or the fraction thereof.
Mr.. Herrick handles these standard
fragments very dexterously and care
fully with pair of small tweezers,
showing US how any weight was prop