Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1891-04-09
THERMOMETER HABITS.
INTEREST THAT YANKEES SHOW
ABOUT THE MERCURY.

Are Made Of-Why the Marks on the
Glass Are So Arranged.
If you really want to witness beau tiful
and artistic duel of words on the subject of
cold weather, you must get a man rom
Northern Vermont and man from North
ern New Hampshire to swap weather
experiences Some objector will at once
say, OF course, that neither of these men
know as much about cold weather as heir
more northern neighbor, the Canadian.
But the implied inference that the Cana
dian could talk more eloquently about low
temperatures than the citizens we have
designated is not founded on fact.
For your Canadian is either so consti-
tuted that cold weather is not cold wea Their
70 MN, or else he is so chilled through BY
IT that he won't talk about it. But who
ever yet knew Yankee who was net in
timately acquainted with all the uossi-
bilities of low temperature in his mart of
the state and was not willing to bacl. the
record Of his thermometer against tn At of
any other man?
And talking about thermometers sug-
gests the question, 'What do you know
ABOUT the thermometers anteceder tssn
very little, probably. The thernom eter.
IKE the weather, is taken as fact 10 be
grumbled at, perhaps even to be denouI ced.
but to be accepted, nevertheless. Boston
has always claimed to turn out the best
thermometers, though that claim is v COR
ously disputed by New York and Ealti-
more.
About seventy years ago an old Scotch
man named Pollock began the manu- TACT
nre of fine Thermometers in Boston. Tho mas
Pool, an Englishman, was rival TO him in
the business. Pool had two brothers who
came to this city and began to manufacture
thermometers The Pools were all skillful
workmen, and they are entitled to the cred
IL OF making the first high grade thermome-
tiers in this country.
THERMOMETERS IN NEW ENGLAND
Before thermometers were made in this
country they were imported from France,
Germany and England, and even now great
numbers are imported, generally cheap
grades which can be sold below the Irice
OF the domestic article. The higher grades
Of European Thermometers are no cheaper
or better than the same grades in this
country, and so they are not imported.
That the New Englanders are wea her
sharps Is proved by the fact that more Their
mometers are sold in New England than
In any other part of the country. In MANY
parts OF the west and south thermom eter
Is rarely seen, the people having little or
no interest in the state of the temporal ure.
But the Yankee, especially in Vermont.
New Hampshire and Maine, ALWAYS wants
to look at the thermometer as soon a. he
gets up, and maybe half dozen times dur.
ing the day.
The thermometer habit, indeed, is one of
the marked characteristics of the Van xee
and 1t has upon him much the same slim
ulating effect that a cocktail has on the
average citizen After his glance at the
thermometer he goes in to breakfast n a
state OF suppressed though joyous excite
ment, feellng that there is at least one topic
OF conversation that is absolutely fresh for
though the weather itself is as old as the
world, the record of the thermometer is
always new
The aperture in the tube of a thermom-
eter is smaller than the finest hair. And
though it appears to be round it is not; for
II 1t were, the mercury could not be easily
seen. 1t is, therefore, made fat, and then
the glass magnifies it so that it seems to be
quite large. To bring it out still more dis
tinctly, maker of Boston recently con-
ceived the idea of backing the tube with
thin hlm Of white sizing. This device is now
generally adopted by tho foreign makers.
Mercury Is generally used in thermom-
eters because it is more regular in its con-
traction and expansion. 1t is indeed i'm
possible to make spirit thermometer that
viii be as trustworthy as one in which
mercury is used In mercurial therm ,m-
eter the degree marks are all the same dis
lance apart, because the expansion Ut der
all conditions is uniform.
KINDS OF THERMOMETERS.
But in a spirit thermometer the degrees
are wider apart at the top, because the ex-
pansion increases at a greater ratio after n
certain temperature is reached. Though
not SO trustworthy, spirit thermomete rs
are necessary, as mercury freezes at 10 dogs.
below zero. Spirits of wine is generally
used, and is colored red SO that it will be
more visible to the eye.
In correct thermometer the scale is
graduated to the requirements of the tube
10 which 1t IS fitted, so that every correct
thermometer must have a special scale of
It's own. That Is to say, it wouldn't do to
put the tube of one thermometer in the
frame of another. OF course, in the very
cheap grades of thermometers such ac-
curate adjustments are not made, and
therefore their records are only approx
mately correct. The best thermome ter
tube made will cost about SIS, but a Their
mometer may be made to cost almost any
price, according to the way in which is is
mounted
AS every one knows, the Fahrenheit
scale is that most commonly used in this
country. Fahrenheit arbitrarily assumed
a limit of cold which he termed zero. This
makes the freezing point SO degs. above
zero, and the boiling point 212 dogs. above
zero. AS matter of fact, however. in
northern ATTITUDES the temperature in win.
ter frequently falls below the zero point, so
that there is no scientific reason why the
zero point in the Fahrenheit scale sholld
be where it is
a much more scientific scale is that
known as the Centigrade, which marks the
point at which water freezes at zero, and
divides the space between that and the
point at which water boils into 100 dogs.
In the Reaumur scale zero marks the freez-
ing point, and eighty above zero the boil
ing point. Many self registering thermom-
eters are now used. These instrume nts
mark the highest or lowest temporal are
reached, rs the case may be, SO that the
weather sharp may return at night feel ng
,,-aI - .