The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1894-03-14
WATCH DISEASES.
Something Like Those Of the Human
Mechanism.


Each Case.
That's the twenty third today
we're going to have an electric storm, J"
remarked down town jeweler as he
was handed a watch having a broken
handspring for repair.
How do you make that out?" in
suired the customer.
why, by the number of broken
nainsprings, to be sure, " was the reply.
There is a regular epidemic to which
watches are subject, much as human
ity is to smallpox and cholera. 1t is
produced by certain electric conditions
Of the atmosphere. The handspring be-
comes magnetized and more brittle, and
a slight shock will break it. Occasion
ally it will snap with no apparent cause
watches lying in the showcase or upon
the rack there. You know, of course,
that such atmospheric conditions fire.
quently disturb telegraph and telephone
lines and even prevent communication.
That might be expected, as they are
operated By electricity, but the effect
ON watches is singular. Frequently
even severe thunderstorm will produce
1t, but an auroraI display, which seems
to be an electrical disturbance, is sure
to result in many broken watch springs,
and no better term could be applied to
the trouble than epidemic.
mo, there is no reliable protection
against it, though many things have
been tried and many thousands of dol
lars have been spent Attempts have
been made to temper the springs by
electricity, sort of incubation against
the disease. Then small plate or disk
of soft iron placed within the case to
absorb the magnetism, disinfectant,
so to speak has given some good results.
''Do you know" he continued in
discursive tone, THAT watch is SINH
lar in many ways to a human being? 1t
has its diseases and decays, its epidem.
les. old age and finally dissolution.
Yes, and each watch has its individual
ity and special characteristics, and the
finer the watch the stronger this person
ality, if it can be SO called, exactly as
culture develops and strengthens indi-
viduaI character among mankind.
Now, in this epidemic this watch
feels the atmospheric condition as you
do before thunderstorm, only more
acutely> as does equity or rheumatic
person, being specially susceptible to
such influence, ard. perhaps having an
inherent weakness at one point in the
handspring that snaps, fractures vital
organ. Heart failure it might be
termed, for the handspring of the
watch is its heart, its driving force.
True. we can replace the handspring,
which cannot be said for the human
heart, but there is no telling how soon
surgery will attain that result.
Then there's the hairspring of the
watch, equivalent to its brain. 1t is
affected by proximity to strong local.
lied electric force-for instance, the
generator or dynamo of an electric
plant. It becomes magnetized and stops
"a sort of paralysis. The nonmagnetic
watches have hairsprings made of a
composition metal, tin, zinc and other
varieties. The soft iron plate or disk
mentioned before gives protection to the
hairspring as we'll as the handspring by
absorbing the magnetism. A few years
since a number of railroad companies
had these iron disks applied to the
watches Of many of their employees,
but they are by no means a complete
disinfectant.
- o+<,I, lco So C,11, oaf
to electric influences, and when polar
lied, having forked end, it becomes
regular horseshoe magnet and first re-
tards, then stops the hairspring-a sort
of spinal meningitis, you see.
1.-THE jewels and bearings are its
sprains and dislocations as we'll as in
fiammation or too much friction. Any
severe shock may result in a sprain or
even dislocation to these joints. The
latter will stop it and probably have
immediate attention, while the sprain
may remain unnoticed, but will render
its movement irregular and eventually
cause far greater injury than an actual
breaking of the joints. At seas on the
approach of storm the ships chro-
nometers, Of which three are usually
carried, are put to bed, as it is called,
being packed in pillows to prevent in
jury by sudden jar from the ships vio-
lent motion. A few minutes error in
the time of making observations might
throw vessel many miles out Of its
course.
Then watch has kind of rheu-
matism. The oil with which its joints
are fabricated dries and forms corun-
dunn, which irritates and cuts the pin
ions and bearings, creating friction or
inflammation.
"Dirt to watch, like biliousness
to humanity, is its most frequent; dis
agreeable and least dangerous ailment.
1t come from all sorts of things-small
fbers from the pocket, fine dust, micro
scopic matter from many sources, work
through into the case and collectively
disturb, retard and finally prevent mo-
ton altogether. The system becomes
clogged, and thorough cleaning out is
the only corrective. In both these lat
ter diseases atmospheric conditions ma
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