188 Performance of Some Timekeepers. 



them to go so long as to stop of themselves from the drying 

 of the oil and the accumulation of dirt, for excessive wear 

 results from this. As a general rule two years is the longest 

 time a good watch should go without cleaning, especially if 

 it is wound with a key, which conveys most of the dirt into 

 the interior, as may easily be seen by an inspection of the 

 winding square. Dust proof cases and keyless winding may 

 enable a watch to perform well for a longer period than two 

 years, but it will be found bad economy in the end to allow 

 them to do so. Above all, never trust good watches with 

 inferior workmen. A good watch is easily ruined, but 

 restored with great difficulty. In the present state of the 

 watch manufacture, where the division of labour is so 

 minutely carried out, the watch repairer, or jobber, as he is 

 sometimes contemptuously called, requires more science and 

 skill in his work than the watchmaker. In conclusion, I 

 would recommend to those engaged in practical watch work 

 the large treatise by Saunier, an English edition of which 

 has been lately issued ; and to those who only take an 

 interest in the matter, the little book in Weale's series by 

 Sir Edmund Beckett, Bart., on clocks and watches, where 

 diagrams will be found of the different escapements, &c, 

 mentioned in this paper, and where the subject is treated in 

 such a charming and popular manner that, although the 

 work is full of information, it is as entertaining as a novel. 



