, 1881-01-30
THE CARE OF WATCHES,

u tHe E0N05 u 4HE LHsCaco lf1bu7A,
CHICAGO, Jan. 29.-In your Sunday iss,,s ~
Jan. l6 appeared an article ou the carr ~
watches, which WIS accredited to me, thuuch
had nothing whatever to do with It, which faot
you kindly acknowledged In your column. III.
following Sunday
The many and varied comments On this pub]t.
cation has led mo to believe that an tnsrtucttya
article on this subject would be appreciated and
enjoyed by your many readers, and perhaps saya
them much annoy ance end considerable n,
pense.
To begin with, it is necessary to bear in mind
that there is no such thing us perfect umekeep-
er, and the poorest Of all Is the portable time.
piece called watch: and yet Of this yery p!eca
OF mechanism is expected the most remarkable
results, and by many it is believed that il q
sure to follow; but such is NOT by any means tta
case. 4 watch mny be ever 50 finely
and mas and Sfs without three
keeper These adjustments are for tempera.
turc, position, aud isochronsm. The first means
that the watch shall perform the same in q TEN.
perature of = degrees Fahrenheit us 1t does In a
temperature OF lU9 degrees Fahrenheit Tia
second means that the performance shall be the
same in. all positions. and the third that tha
watch shall run the same Throughout the twen-
ty-four hours, or that the nrst htlr, when tha
watch Is fully wound, shuli be performed ia ex-
uctIy the same time US tho twenty fourth hour.
jusrments are seldom made excepting Ii tho
higher grades, and even in these they are rarely
reduced to tine point, aud even when they are
carried to the limit of human skill aud tn1enu.
ity they are still imperfect, and the performance
of the watch cun be improved BY observing GER
tain conditions, among which are the following,
viz: Wind once day ana AS nearly as possible
Ut the same hour, and, as We are more regular
in our time of arising than retiring. It
is better TO wind in the morning; be-
sides, it gives the watch the ADVANTAGE
the daytime, when 1t Is tunblcd and tossed aholt
BY the motions OF the body.
Although tue watch may he adjusted to high
and low temperatures, there still remains an H.
rcrmediu1e error which h,ts never yet been en-
tircly overcome, and, although slight yet It tells
on the second hand Of the watch; 50 1t will read
ily be perceived that it Is well to keep tho
watch IN as ncurly a uniform temperature a.
possible. AT night, or when not on the person,
the very best plun is to hang the watch up, Us By
position errors. for they still exist In slight de-
gree, although the. adjuster has done bis
best II it Is desirable 70 lay the watch down at
night 1t should always be placed in the sama
position and with the same side up; but, whether
it Is laid down or hung up, the same conditions
@ SHOULD be observed sSa fsr Sz1 pShs u
Of CIV which the watch IS capable; for. should
there be slight difference i'll time land it's
rarely otherwise} between the hanging and
wing positions. the watch-tf properly regulated
viii gain at night what It loses in the day
| time, or vice versa. This difference 10 position.
t though it be but second or two a dny. Will. II
| unprovided for, make an excellent watch an Ia.
| different, il not poor, performer. In taking
| the watch from the pocket, pull it out Stralahr
and place it back in the same manner, avoiding
any circular or see-saw motions to facilitate the
| operation, rs it materially interercs with the
motion Of the balance, and causes IN error IN It's
| time keeping, and. for this renson, 10 winding
key-wiud watch the key only should be turned
and the watch held stil,-a point rarely 90"
! served by my one in performing this tpelaoon:
| The above being true Of the finely made and
carefully-adjusted watch, it also holds good, aad
! which there nre few IL any adjustments. and
| where temperature alone often makes
| difference in time between The extremes
OF !. degrees Fahrenheit ind 100 degrees fanfen'
| beit Of nearly mnutes in twenty fnur hours.
| aud the position errors amount TO from fifteen
| seconds to minute in the same length OF time.
t When these facts are taken into consideration,
| the wonder should not be that they perform 50
| poorly. but that they perform so well
| Many are Under the impression that II IS ln'
| though this Is not tho case; but 1t does very
materially injure its performance Tor sesesat H.
| days after such an event, and 10 many cases toe
watch must again be regulated before 1t can Do
| relied upou-
| The balance Of IN ordinary watch in the course
| of eighteen months vibrates or reyoiyes upon
| its piyots over .36, 0O00 Of times, When re
| oil disappears the pivots become ory, anu eae
abraiding or cutting process neGlnss aa1. SL..n X
not arrested by the application .pa 6t ntrota tfSa
are soon spoiled. good watch should n9 g. :eS.
| ularIy cleaned once ia eighteen months :By o.
| serving this above conditions tue very uest tE'
suits may be obtained from the pocaet umss aaass
piece, and when OF the best auanty anq sa1
| may be expected, but this will and necessarily
| must, be FAR FROM perfect Respectfully,
". PoTTEn, No 90 Madison sssee~