﻿[17] 
  

  

  REPORT 
  ON 
  THERMOMETERS. 
  

  

  201 
  

  

  -02 
  

  

  *£ 
  

  

  1V 
  

  

  ■€S 
  

  

  09 
  

  

  M 
  

  

  in 
  the 
  Sulu 
  Sea 
  (p. 
  91), 
  disagreed 
  materially 
  with 
  the 
  Miller-Casella 
  in- 
  

   struments 
  sent 
  down 
  at 
  the 
  same 
  time. 
  

  

  In 
  the 
  stock 
  of 
  old 
  thermometers 
  belonging 
  to 
  the 
  Commission 
  I 
  find 
  

   one 
  of 
  the 
  form 
  represented 
  by 
  Fig. 
  11, 
  which 
  appears 
  to 
  be 
  interme- 
  

   diate 
  between 
  that 
  just 
  described 
  and 
  the 
  form 
  now 
  

   in 
  use, 
  although, 
  as 
  the 
  bulb 
  is 
  not 
  protected, 
  it 
  seems 
  

   to 
  have 
  been 
  intended 
  for 
  use 
  in 
  shallow 
  water 
  only. 
  

   The 
  tube 
  is 
  bent 
  twice 
  upon 
  itself, 
  making 
  an 
  S- 
  shaped 
  

   curve 
  just 
  above 
  its 
  bulb, 
  and 
  leaving 
  the 
  bulb 
  in- 
  

   clined 
  to 
  the 
  stem 
  at 
  an 
  angle 
  of 
  10 
  degree. 
  Here 
  I 
  

   first 
  find 
  a 
  small 
  reservoir 
  in 
  the 
  curve 
  of 
  the 
  bend, 
  

   and 
  a 
  constriction 
  above, 
  instead 
  of 
  a 
  glass 
  plug, 
  for 
  

   breaking 
  the 
  column 
  on 
  reversal. 
  The 
  single 
  speci- 
  

   men 
  on 
  hand 
  is 
  inclosed 
  in 
  a 
  wooden 
  case, 
  which 
  will 
  

   be 
  described 
  further 
  on. 
  

  

  The 
  Negretti-Zambra 
  deep-sea 
  thermometers 
  were 
  

   first 
  used 
  iu 
  this 
  country 
  by 
  the 
  U. 
  S. 
  Fish 
  Commission 
  

   early 
  in 
  1877, 
  and 
  were 
  then 
  of 
  the 
  form 
  described 
  

   on 
  page 
  [15], 
  Fig. 
  8. 
  The 
  construction 
  is 
  necessarily 
  

   handwork, 
  and 
  requires 
  very 
  expert 
  glass-blowing, 
  in 
  

   which 
  a 
  decided 
  improvement 
  has 
  been 
  noticed. 
  Thus, 
  

   in 
  1879,- 
  1 
  reported 
  that 
  the 
  instruments 
  then 
  under 
  ob- 
  

   servation 
  " 
  have 
  sometimes 
  a 
  trick 
  of 
  breaking 
  the 
  col- 
  

   umn 
  in 
  the 
  wrong 
  place, 
  and 
  so 
  giving 
  a 
  false 
  indica- 
  

   tion. 
  In 
  one 
  instance 
  I 
  noticed 
  that 
  the 
  break 
  was 
  di- 
  

   agonal, 
  instead 
  of 
  being 
  directly 
  horizontal, 
  as 
  it 
  should 
  

   have 
  been. 
  Professor 
  Hind, 
  of 
  Halifax, 
  informs 
  me 
  

   that 
  he 
  has 
  noticed 
  the 
  same 
  defect, 
  and 
  has 
  brought 
  

   it 
  to 
  the 
  attention 
  of 
  the 
  makers, 
  who 
  have 
  assured 
  

   him 
  that 
  it 
  has 
  been 
  corrected 
  in 
  their 
  more 
  recent 
  

   form 
  of 
  instrument." 
  * 
  

  

  On 
  the 
  18th 
  of 
  April, 
  1884, 
  1 
  note 
  that 
  of 
  twelve 
  Ne- 
  

   gretti-Zambra 
  thermometers 
  compared 
  to 
  date 
  at 
  32°, 
  

   six 
  show 
  no 
  error, 
  four 
  show 
  +0.1°, 
  one 
  shows 
  +0.2°, 
  

   one 
  shows 
  +0.63°. 
  Maximum 
  error 
  (for 
  the 
  twelve), 
  +0.60°; 
  minimum, 
  

   0°; 
  mean 
  +0.2° 
  (nearly). 
  

  

  Twelve 
  compared 
  on 
  the 
  16th 
  of 
  September, 
  1881, 
  at 
  32°, 
  show 
  a 
  mean 
  

   error 
  of 
  0.57°, 
  of 
  which 
  two 
  show 
  +1°, 
  three 
  show 
  +0.7°, 
  three 
  show 
  

   + 
  0.5°, 
  two 
  show 
  +0.3°, 
  one 
  shows 
  +0.1°. 
  The 
  mean 
  errors 
  of 
  all 
  ther- 
  

   mometers 
  of 
  this 
  pattern 
  examined 
  are 
  given 
  in 
  full 
  in 
  the 
  appendix. 
  

  

  The 
  errors 
  recorded 
  are, 
  as 
  I 
  think, 
  larger 
  than 
  they 
  should 
  be, 
  and 
  

   make 
  it 
  very 
  dangerous 
  to 
  rely 
  upon 
  unseasoned 
  instruments 
  which 
  

   have 
  not 
  been 
  recently 
  compared. 
  Some 
  of 
  the 
  error 
  is 
  doubtless 
  due 
  

   to 
  rise 
  in 
  the 
  zero 
  point, 
  the 
  natural 
  result 
  of 
  " 
  seasoning" 
  ; 
  another 
  part 
  

  

  * 
  On 
  the 
  Temperature 
  of 
  Fishes. 
  J. 
  H. 
  Kidder, 
  M. 
  D., 
  surgeon, 
  U. 
  S. 
  Navy, 
  Proc. 
  

   Nat. 
  Museum, 
  March 
  25, 
  1880, 
  p. 
  310. 
  

  

  Fig. 
  11.— 
  Xegretti-Zam- 
  

   bra 
  s 
  e 
  1 
  f-registering 
  

   thermometer, 
  inter- 
  

   mediate 
  form. 
  

  

  