Report of the Kew Committee. 



481 



VI. Rating of Watches. 



During the year 528 entries of watches for rating were made. 

 They were sent for testing in the following classes : — 



For class A, 483; class B, 28 ; and'class C, 17. 



Of these 119 failed to gain any award; 15 passed with 0, 28 with B, 

 366 with A certificates, and 21 of the latter obtained the highest, 

 class A especially good. 



In Appendix III will be found statements giving the results of 

 trial of the 26 watches which obtained the highest numbers of marks 

 during the year, the highest position being attained for the third 

 time by Mr. E. F. Ashley. His watch was a keyless single roller 

 fuzee, which obtained 89 '1 marks out of a possible 100. He is very 

 closely followed by Mr. A. B. Fridlander, of Coventry, whose keyless 

 double roller fuzee stands only one-tenth of a mark lower on the list, 

 having gained 89 '0 marks. 



It is satisfactory to note the general improvement in the performance 

 of the watches sent to the Observatory, the proportion of failures of 

 those submitted for trial being but 22 per cent, against 34 per cent, 

 last year. The effect is, moreover, seen in a diminution of the 

 number of entries, for makers are more critical as to the performance 

 of their watches during the timing and springing operations than 

 they were before Kew trials were instituted. 



No difficulty has been experienced in maintaining the three safes — ■ 

 in which the watches are placed during rating— at the three tempera- 

 tures of 40°, 65°, and 90° Faht. respectively, all the year round. 



Special attention continues to be given, as before, to the examination 

 of pocket chronographs, in accordance with the request of tbe Cyclists' 

 Union, and the extra tests alluded to in last Report have been regu- 

 larly enforced. 



Marine Chronometers. — Certificates of mean daily rate and of 

 variations of rate at three different temperatures have been awarded 

 to 10 marine chronometers after undergoing the 35 days' trial as 

 specified in the regulations, 



VII. Miscellaneous. 



Assistance to Observatories, 8fC — There have been purchased on 

 commission the following instruments : — Sunshine recorders on 

 Jordan's pattern for the St. Petersburg and Coimbra Observatories ; 

 a low range aneroid for Dr. Lowenherz, of Charlottenburg ; various 

 pieces of apparatus for the Hong Kong and Mauritius Observatories ; 

 and an Ammeter and Voltmeter for Dr. H. Wild, of St. Petersburg. 



In accordance with a resolution of the International Meteorological 

 Committee at their Zurich Meeting, a thermometer of very low 



2 k 2 



