Japanese Clocks
The Japanese use a clock which divides the day into twelve hours, and an attempt is made to follow the variations of the solar day, so that the period from sunrise to sunset shall be divided into six equal portions, which vary in length according to the season. These clocks are of three kinds. The first has a dial, on which the hours are printed, which turns with a varying speed, according to the season, while the time is denoted by means of a fixed index. The second has a dial rotating with a constant rate, but the points indicating the hours approach automatically nearer to the center when the season calls for shorter hours. The third has no dial, but instead uses a vertical scale which is traversed by an index attached to the weight; see Figs. 174 and 175. The works consist of the drum, B, around which the cord winds from two other wheels, and a verge balance with spiral spring. Three thousand eight hundred vibrations are produced for each revolution of the drum. The weight is composed of the striking works and carries the index A, which points to the hours as the weight descends. The striking works consist of a barrel b, Fig. 176, with spring and a train of four wheels, ending with a lone pinion. The first wheel, a, carries pins which control the hammer to strike the gong T; the second wheel, c, carries an elbow which stops the train and raises the bascule L with one end, while the other end impels the wheel R at each revolution. The weight strikes against the pins h, b, Fig. 175, as it descends. These pins act successively on the arm L, Fig. 176, turning the bascule G and liberating the hammer, which strikes the gong. The wheel R, Fig. 177, has three cuttings that allow but one stroke of the hammer, and three others that allow two strokes, the remainder being divided so as to give 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 strokes respectively.
JEROME, CHAUNCEY. Mr. Jerome was one of the earliest clockmakers of America and at one time was one of the largest manufacturers. He was born at Canaan, Conn., June 10, 1793. In 1816 he went to work for Eli Terry, then the largest manufacturer of clocks in America. In 1817 he started in the business of clockmaking for himself in a small way. He put up the first circular saw ever used in Bristol, in 1822. In 1824 he organized a company for the manufacture of clocks. In 1838 he put the first brass clock upon the market. In 1842 he introduced these brass clocks in England, being the first American manufacturer of clocks who succeeded in establishing a trade with England. In 1850 he organized the Jerome Manufacturing Company, which carried on the large clock business of its time. Owing to poor management the company failed in 1855, and Jerome, although a very rich man at one time, was hopelessly ruined by this failure. This company was succeeded by the New Haven Clock Company.