The Portland daily press., 1880-05-27
Girlsa Barometers.
Remarkable Discovery of Yale Man in
Colorado.
Denver Inter.Ocean.


In this age of scientific progress, when every
week heralds the finding of new planet, or
the invention of a patent medicine, it is ex-
tremely gratifying to learn of the discovery of
a new scientific principle of practical impor-
tance, such as was brought to the worlds no
tice by student of Yale College, while spend
ing his last vacation in Colorado. The discov-
cry was Of cheap, convenient and compare
lively accurate means of ascertaining the alti-
tudes of mountains or any elevated portion of
land
We all know the ordinary methods OF OBJ
tanning such information, when 1t is impossi-
Bile or inadvisable to use the engineers level,
is by means of mercurial or aneroid barome-
ter. Now, no two barometers ever agree-a
defect produced, no doubt, by their close fami-
ly connection with scientific experts-and the
unpleasantnesses arising from this cause be-
tween gentlemen of science, each of whom is
prepared to swear to the accuracy of his partic-
ular instrument, and the correctness of his OBJ
Servations, are innumerable.
Like the majority of discoveries this one is
the result of pure accident When visiting
Manitou one afternoon with some friends the
young student and lady companion separated
from the others and strolled slowly up the
mountains. After ascending few hundred
feet the student noticed that his companion's
pressure on his arm visibly increased, and
when nearly to the snow line became so great
that it was necessary for him to encircle her
waist with his arm to support her.
Bringing all his collegiate knowledge to
bear upon this slight hint, and experimenting
with great variety of girls under every poss-
BILE condition of climate and temperature, he
established the fact that the girl pressure in
creased regularly at the rate Of ole pound to
| every hundred feet of altitude and that above
two thousand five hundred feet the arm encir-
cling method commenced. While here his de-
ductions were based and his elevations calcu-
lated from the hotel porch at Manitou, where
| the pressure was zero, but on returning east
| he found that the same relative rule held good.
That is to say, starting from any given base or
| zero point, as Newport, Long Branch or Sara
| toga, the pressure incre ased in the same regu-
| lar ratio as at Manitou. An exhaustive series
| of experiments also showed him that only girls
between the ages of 16 and 26 are reliable for
| this purpose, those below that limit being, ex-
| cept in few rare instances, entirely non-sen-
sitive, and those above so erratic in their reg
lister as to be useless s-sometimes showing an
elevation of one thousand feet when just out
| of sight of the base and before any altitude
was attained, and others, especially if Of an
aesthetic nature, showing no pressure whatev-
er. He also found that the presence of third
party entirely neutralized the girl barometer,
but that upon its removal the correct pressure
corresponding to the altitude returned imme-
diately.
The great value of the discovery the scien-
tifc world will not be slow to recognize and
avail itself of. Choice lots of assorted girls can
be easily kept in neutral condition at availa-
BILE points, ready at any time for the use of in
vestigators, and professors can no longer plead
the inaccuracy of their barometers as an excuse
for their errors in regard to the height of our
mountain peaks. 1t will also recommend it.
self to the favor of the political economist.
opening up, as it does, a new field of industry
| for women.
Hereafter no expert should attempt to ex-
| plore our mountains unprovided with one of
the latest improved girl barometers.