The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1896-03-18
HOW BARoMETERS WORK.
Deceptive as to Markings But They
Are Trustworthy.
Indicate Changes In the Weather BY Re-
cording With Accuracy.

One day last summer, when everyone
was hot aud uncomfortable enough with
out undertaking any unusual exertion, a
man was noticed going down street lug
ging along long package, which evil
IDENTIFY required to be handled with care.
When he got in front Of a well-known
instrument makers shop he turned in
and went up stairs. In the Office OF the
instrument maker ne began TO undo the
wrappings, and when they We're removed
il was seen that the package had contain
cd mercurial barometer. Now, ba-
rometer of this kind is about three feet in
length and awkward to carry, and the
man was evidently angry besides being
hot He laid the barometer down face up
ward upon a showcase, and pointing a
finger at the lettered and divided dial, ex-
claimed:
"What did you want to sell that thing
to me for? Didn't you know that 1t
wasn't any good? Look at It'll"
''Here 1t says Fair I" cried the irate
customer, pointing to the lettering at the
tones OF scorn, "aud here Change, and
there Rain, and storm Why, sir, the
whole thing is lie, a fraud, and utterly
worthless. You ought To be ashamed TO
have sold such thing. Why! / have kept
the thing where nothing could disturb
IL.
ceived me every time When the mercury
pointed TO Fair IT was just as likely to
be raining, and to be fine and pleasant
when II went to Rain.
{" sChange,'o said he with look of
scorn as he put his finger upon that word,
''is ell right. II your darned old machine
would point TO 'Change' all the time 1t
would ae just as good as it is now.
'Chsnge' is what want, and i want 1t
right away. / want you to change this
no-good barometer hack for my money"
II the irate customer had expected to
startle or exasperate the instrument
maker he was to be mistaken.
"My dear sir,' said the instrument
maker, ''if / could make barometers
which would point on their dial what
the weather was going to be, as you ex
pected this one would do, j should he
able 10 get ten times as much money for
them as do for these, and 1 would make
fame and fortune both out of them"
''rhen what in thunder does this have
the words on there for, and what do they
mean?'
"They don't mean anything" said the
instrument maker, 'and 1 guess nobody
that is now alive could tell you why they
were first put on the dial. They are put
there now for no other or better reason
than that they have been used so long
that people wouldn't think the barometer
looked right without them. Your baro-
meter is all right, but you need TO know
a few simple things about what IL is made
TO do, how it does this, and what its
changes mean. After that you will be
anle 10 tell weather by it,"
By his time the custome was beginning
TO get cool, and the instrument maker
presently proceeded to tell him the things
he didn't know about he barometer.
There are a great many other persons
who have stareu at the faces of harometers
ftts..a - -. Inc.
parent connection between the mystic
words and the actual state OF the weather
or what seemed to he coming, have either
turned away from the device in bewild-
erment or else concluded that the barom-
eter was too deep for them and that II
was no use to try TO understand 1t. As
the barometer was invented about two
hundred years ago and the custom OF put
ting on the weather marks was perhaps
begun about that time, we folk OF to-
day can { very well make personal COM
plant to those original manufacturers.
and the old fellows may have even had
some faith in the marks themselves
But the aneroid barometer is product
of very recent years, and yet it bears not
only the same sort OF marks, but in many
cases even an aggravation OF them IN
these terms: "Stormy, much rain. rain,
change, fair, set fair, very dry" The
word stormy" begins on these dials at
the 2s-inch mark, and livery dry lis be-
yond the 31-inch mark.
"They would look too plain without
something" is the only excuse the in
strument maker could give for continu-
ing TO put these misleading marks On the
dials.
"There is one way of marking them,"
he continued, (which has some value,
and is therefore open to less objection,
although, for real practical use they need
no marks except the graduated scale of
inches and their subdivisions. The read
ing 1 mean was introduced by Admiral
Fitzroy of the British navy. Here ii is:
He produc co a barometer marked
beside the measurement scale, with these
words:
RISE
for cold, dry or less wind.