WATCH. 
against the tenant for life, tenant in dower, 
tenant by tlie courtesy, or tenant for years. 
This action of waste is a mixed action ; partly 
real, so far as it recovers' land ; and partly 
personal, so far as it recovers damages; 
for it is brought for both those purposes ; 
and if the waste be proved, the plaintiff 
shall recover the thing or place wasted, and 
also treble damages, by the said statute. 
6 Edward I. c. 5. The writ of waste callg 
upon the tenant to appear, and .'■how cause 
why he has committed waste and destruc- 
tion, in the place named, to the disherison of 
the plaintiff. And if the defendant make 
default, or do not appear at the day assigned 
him, then the sheriff is to take with him a 
jury of twelve men, and go in person to the 
place alledged to be wasted, and there en- 
quire of the waste done, and the damages, 
and make a return or report of the same to 
the court, upon which report the judgment 
is founded. The more common remedy is 
now by an action upon the case for damages 
only. A tenant at will is not liable for per- 
missive waste, nor a tenant from year to year. 
WATCH, in the art of war, a number of 
men posted at any passage, or a company 
of the guards who go on the patrol. 
At sea the term watch denotes a measure 
or space of four hours, because half the 
ship’s company watch, and do duty in their 
turns, so long at a time; and they are 
termed starboard watch and larboard watch. 
Watch is also used for a small portable 
movement or machine for the 'measuring of 
time, having its motion regulated by a spiral 
spring. Watches, strictly taken, are all 
such movements as show the parts of time ; 
as clocks are such as publish it, by striking 
on a bell, &c; But, commonly, the name 
watch is appropriated to such as are carried 
in the pocket, and plock to the large move- 
ments, whether they strike or not. See 
Chronometer, Clock, Horology. 
The several members of the w'atch pat t 
are, 1. The balance, consisting of the rim, 
which is its circular part; and the verge, 
which is its spindle, to which belong the 
two pallets, or levers, that play in the teeth 
of the crown wheel. 2. The potence, of 
pottance, which is the strong stud in pocket 
watches, whereon the lower pivot of the 
verge plays, and in the middle of which one 
pivot of the balance-wheel plays ; the bot- 
tom, of tlie potence is called the foot, the 
middle part the nose, and the upper part 
the .shoulder. 3. The cock, which is the 
piece covering the baymce. 4. The regu- 
lator, or pendulum spring, which is the 
small spring in new pocket watches, under- 
neath the balance. 5. The pendulum, whose 
parts are the verge, pallets, cocks, and the 
bob. 6. The wheels, which are the crown- 
wheel in pocket pieces, and swing-wheel in 
pendulums, serving to drive the balance or 
pendulum. 7. The contrate-wheel, which 
is that next the crown-wheel, &c. and whose 
teeth and hoop lie contrary to those of 
other wheels; whence the name. 8. The 
great, or first wheel, which is that the fusee, 
immediately drives : after which are 
the second wheel, third wheel, &c. 9. Last- 
ly, between the frame and dial-plate is the 
pinion of l eport, which is that fixed on the 
arbor of the great wheel, and serves to 
diive the dial-wheel as that serves to carry 
the hand, 
Plate Watch represents the parts of a 
watch the proper size : fig. t is a plan 
of the wheel work, the upper plate 
(fig. 2) being removed to expose them; 
fig. 2 is the upper plate, the cock, F, (fig. 5) 
being taken away to show the balance; 
fig. 3, the wheel work beneath the dial; 
fig. 4, a detached part; fig. 5, a general 
elevation of the whole, being supposed to 
be set out at length to show the whole at 
one view; 'fig. 6, the great wheel; fig, 7, 
the under side of the fusee ; fig. 8, the main- 
spi ing, barrel, &c. 
The essential difference between a clock 
and a watch consists in two particulars: 
first, it is moved by a spring in lieu of a 
weight; and, secondly, its motion is go- 
verned by a balance instead of a pendulum. 
The balance is a small wheel, n, (fig. 2 and 
5, Plate Watch) fixed on an arbor, or axis, 
called the verge, and turning freely upon 
pivots at the ends of the arbor. To the 
axis of the balance the inner end of a very 
elastic spiral spring, o, called the pendulum 
spring, is fastened, and the outer end of the 
spiral is made fast to some fixture, r: in 
this state the balance will have a position of 
rest, which will be when the spiral spring o 
is in that position which it 'would assume 
when detached from the bal'ince, and per- 
fectly at liberty: now, if the balance is 
turned round on its pivots by any external 
force in either direction, it will wind up or 
unwind the spiral spring, which will (when 
the external force is removed) return the 
balance to its state of rest ; and as this is 
done with considerable velocity, the mo- 
mentum the balance acquires by its mo- 
tion will cany it beyond the point of res^ 
