USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > Worcester > Town annual reports of the several departments for the fiscal year ending December 31, 1879 > Part 20
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1 Foster, N. F.,
Franklin Fire Insurance Company, 1 9 Free Public Library &c., Liverpool, 1 Eng., 1 newspaper,
1
2 Friends' Free Reading Room and Li- brary, Germantown, Pa.,
1
1
1 Green, Samuel A. Boston, 3
Green, Samuel S., 1 sheet, 1 pro- gramme, 6
9
Gunton, William, Washington, D. C., 1 1 Hall, H. W., Boston, 8 Nos. of a peri- 1 odical, 8 papers,
1 Harris, Henry F., West Boylston, Harris, William T., St. Louis,
1 Hartford Library Association, Hartford Steam Boiler Inspection
6 and Insurance Co.,
1
3
1 Hastings, Thomas J., Hawley, Goodrich & Co., Publishers
1 of Connecticut Courant, Hart- ford, Conn.,
1 Hiltebrand, E., Philadelphia, Pa.,
1 Hoar, George F., 4
1 Homes, Henry K., Albany, N. Y., Howell, Edward, Liverpool, Eng., 1 Howgate, H, W., U. S. A., Wash-
2 ington, D. C., 1
Huntington, William R.,
1 Index Society, London, Indianapolis Public Library,
1 Irwin, Edward, 1
1 Jarvis, Edward, Dorchester, 1 King, Francis T., Baltimore, Md., 1 map, 1 1
1 Knudsen, C. L., South Norwalk, Ct., 1
1 Lancaster Town Library, Lawrence Public Library, Leavitt, George A. & Co., New York, 2
1 Leicester Public Library, Leonard & Co., Boston, 1
Lewisson, Lucy,
1 Library Company of Philadelphia, 1
3 London, City of, Eng.,
1 Louisiana State University, &c., Baton 1 Rouge, 1
1 Lowell City Library, 1
3 Lynn Public Library, 1
McCalla & Stavely, Philadelphia, Pa., 1
1 1 1
Harvard University Library, 2 4
1 2 2
1
1 1 1
1 5 1 1
4 3
1
25 1 1
1 General Society of Mechanics and Tradesmen, New York City,
313
FREE PUBLIC LIBRARY.
DONORS.
Books.
| Pamphlets
land Papers
DONORS.
Books.
[ Pamphlets land Papers.||
Macullar, Williams & Parker, Boston, 3 Manchester Free Pub. Library, Eng., 1 Marshall, John E., Supt. of Construc- tion, Johns Hopkins Hospital, Martel, J. H., 9 newspapers,
Massachusetts, State of,
State Library,
State Lunatic Hospital, Northamp- ton, through Pliny Earle, Supt., 1 State Lunatic Hospital. Worcester, State Normal School, Worcester,
May, Samuel, Leicester, 1
Melrose Public Library,
Mercantile Library Association, New York,
Mercantile Library Association, San Francisco,
Mercantile Library Company, Phila- delphia, Pa., 2
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston,
New York State Library, 1
Newburyport Public Library, 1
Newton Free Library, 2
Paine, Nathaniel,
Perkins Institution and Massachusetts School for the Blind,
Peterson, Ellis, Boston,
Pickering, Mrs. Charles, Boston, 1
Pittsburgh Library Association,
Plymouth Free Library, Eng.,
Portland Public Library, 1 newspaper, Pratt, Charles B.,
Pratt Brothers, Marlboro,
Providence Athenæum, 1
Providence Public Library,
Public School Library, Cleveland, O., Publishers of Alta California, San Francisco, Cal.,
Publishers of Engineering and Min- ing Journal, New York,
Publishers of the Independent, 1 newspaper,
Rice, W. W., 31
Roffe, A. H. & Co., 1
Rowell, George P. & Co., 1
St. Johnsbury Athenæum, Vt., 1
St. Louis Public School Library, 1
Salisbury, Stephen, 3
Salisbury, Stephen, Jr., 4
Sauveur, L., Shaw, J. A., 1
Smithsonian Institution, 9
Society to Encourage Studies at Home, Boston, 1 circular, 4 folded papers, 1 sheet,
Sotheran, Henry & Co., London, Eng., Southbridge Public Library, 1 1
Spaulding, Elbridge G., Buffalo. N. Y., 1 Stevens, B. F., London, Eng., 1 sheet, Stevens, Charles E., 1 Stroyer, Jacob, 2
1
Sumner, E. L., 11 parts of a periodical, 7 sheets, 1
Taunton Public Library,
3
2 Thayer, John R., 1
Toledo Public Library,
2
1 Topeka Free Library, 1 folded paper,
1 Tufts College, 1
1
Union Relief Association, Spring-
1 field, through E. S. Osgood, Sec'y,
1 1 United States, Board of Education, 1 Chief of Engineers, 8
Comptroller of the Currency,
1 Department of Agriculture, 1
Department of Interior, 60
6
1 Department of the Treasury, 2
Department of War, 1
1 1
3 1
1 Patent Office,
5 Patent Office Library, 1
University of Vermont and State Ag-
12 ricultural College, Burlington, Vt.,
Wall, Sarah E., 1
Waltham Public Library,
1
1 Washburn, Charles F.,
4 Washburn, John D., 2
Washburn, W. T., New York, 2
1 Waterhouse, S., St. Louis,
1 Watertown Free Public Library, Wellesley College,
1 Wesleyan Academy,
1 West Boylston Public Library, Whiting, Charles B.,
2 Winsor, Justin, Cambridge,
1 Woburn Public Library, Woodward, Charles L., New York,
1 Worcester, City Auditor, City Clerk, 3
1 Superintendent of Public Buildings, Superintendent of Schools,
Worcester & Nashua R. R. Company,
1 Worcester County Free Institute of Industrial Science,
4
Worcester County Horticultural Soci- ety, by Edward W. Lincoln,
1
1 Worcester County Musical Associa-
1
1 Worcester Telephone Exchange, Yale College,
Young Men's Association, Buffalo, N. Y., 9 lists of additions,
Young Men's Christian Association, New York,
1
1 Young Men's Christian Association, Worcester, 1
1 Young Men's Mercantile Library and 1 Mechanics Institute, Pittsburg, Pa.,
1
301 250
1 OTH H
2
1 1 2 1
1 2 1 1 1 1 3 1
1 tion, through A. C. Munroe, Sec., Worcester Society of Antiquity, 1
1 2
1
2
2
5
1
1 Library of Congress, Naval Observatory, 1 Navy Department, 16
REPORT
OF THE
Committee on the Library.
To the Directors of the Free Public Library :
GENTLEMEN :- The Committee on the Library has held monthly meetings through the year, its chief duty being to pass judgment upon the very carefully and judiciously prepared lists of books presented by the Librarian. But little criticism of the lists has been found necessary, and the Committee have recom- mended for purchase 419 volumes for the Green Library, 249 for the Intermediate, and 1352 for the Circulating Department. The number of volumes in circulation shows again a slight fall- ing off from previous years, for reasons which are considered in the Librarian's Report; but at the same time the number in use in the Reference Department has been greater by 4200 volumes than ever before.
The care of the Library has been, as usual, very faithfully attended to, and the number of books lost has been singularly small. 176 volumes have been withdrawn from circulation dur- ing the year and 24 have been lost, of which 14 have been paid for. In one or two cases, books taken from the Library have been traced out with such zeal and such marked success, that it is hoped the future lists of missing volumes will show a still greater decrease.
For the Committee,
EDWARD H. HALL,
Chairman.
WORCESTER, Dec. 19, 1879.
REPORT
OF THE
Committee on the Reading Room.
To the Directors of the Free Public Library :
The Committee on the Reading Room report that the in- creased accommodations afforded to readers in the lower read- ing room by the enlargement made toward the close of last year, have been found of great convenience, and they have made possible an arrangement of newspapers upon the stands, by which those chiefly used by evening readers have been placed by themselves, and by lowering the gas in other parts of the room, when not needed, a considerable reduction in the gas bills has been effected.
A few changes have been made in the list of newspapers and periodicals taken, and, as the list has not been published in full for several years, the committee have thought it best to append it to their report. The following classification of the periodi- cals taken, with their cost, is added for the information of the board. It does not pretend to be anything more than a rough grouping, because many newspapers and magazines combine in various proportions the characters indicated by the titles the committee has adopted for its classification. The total cost does not correspond exactly with the expenditure of last year, because the sums here given are the price of annual subscrip- tions, and several of the periodicals have been taken only for a part of the year, a few having been added and several discon-
316
CITY DOCUMENT .- NO. 34.
tinued during the year. This table represents the list as it stands at present.
News and Politics.
Science and Industry.
Literature and Art.
TOTALS.
No.
Cost.
No.
Cost.
No.
Cost.
No.
Cost.
Americam,
37
$239 17
30
$108 08
32
$121 69
99
$468 94
British
9
38 33
15
93 71
30
153 37
54
285 41
French
1
6 82
2
9 44
1
12 00
3
28 26
German
2
13 60
3
16 92
....
5
30 52
Total
49
$297 92
50
$228 15
63
$287 06 161
$813 13
For the Committee on Reading Room,
J. EVARTS GREENE,
WORCESTER FREE LIBRARY, Dec. 19, 1879,
Chairman.
317
FREE PUBLIC LIBRARY.
LIST OF NEWSPAPERS AND PERIODICALS SUBSCRIBED FOR.'
Academy, The. Albany Weekly Journal. + All the Year Round. Allgemeine Zeitung. * American Art Review. American Agriculturist.
American Architect and Build- ing News.
American Journal of Numis- matics.
G. L. F.
* American Catholic Quarterly Review. G. L. F.
American Journal of Science and Arts, The. G. L. F.
American Naturalist, The. G. L. F. t Appletons' Journal. Architektonisches Skizzenbuch. C. F.
Army and Navy Journal. G. L. F. L'Art. G. L. F.
Art Journal, The.
Athenæum, The. G. L. F.
Atlantic Monthly, The. 2 copies.
Baltimore American and Com- mercial Advertiser.
+ Bell's Life in London.
Berliner Montags Zeitung. G. L. F.
Bibliotheca Sacra. G. L. F.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Mag- azine.
G. L. F.
Bookseller, The.
C. F.
Boston Daily Advertiser.
Boston Evening Transcript.
Boston Evening Journal.
Boston Globe.
Boston Journal of Chemistry. G. L. F.
Boston Post.
British Quarterly Review, The. G. L. F.
Brunonian, The. G. L. F.
Builder, The.
Bulletin of the Nuttall Ornith- ological Club. G. L. F.
Carriage Monthly, The.
Catholic World, The. C. F.
Chambers's Journal.
Chemical News, The. G. L. F.
Chicago Legal News. G. L. F.
*Cincinnati Commercial, The.
Cincinnati Semi-Weekly Gazette.
Commercial Bulletin, The.
Commonwealth, The.
Comptes Rendus. G. L. F.
Connecticut Courant, The.
Contemporary Review, The. G. L. F.
Cornhill Magazine, The.
Crimson, The.
Daily Graphic, The.
Daily Evening Traveller.
Dingler's Polytechnische Journal. C. F. Dwight's Journal of Music.
Edinburgh Review, The. G. L. F.
Engineer, The.
G. L. F.
G. L. F.
#Engineering.
Engineering and Mining Jour- nal, The. L'Evénement.
Evening Post, The.
Evening Standard, The.
Examiner, The. G. L. F. 1
Fortnightly Review, The.
G. L. F.
Fraser's Magazine.
Fresenius Zeitschrift für Analy- tsche Chemie. C. F.
Garde Meuble, Le. G. L. F.
Gardener's Monthly, The.
Gentleman's Magazine, The.
*Good Company.
Good Words.
Graphic, The.
Harper's Bazar.
Harper's New Monthly Maga- zine. 2 copies.
Harper's Weekly.
Harvard Advocate, The.
Harvard Lampoon, The.
Home Journal, The.
Ibis, The. G. L. F.
Illustrated London News, The.
Independent, The.
Independent Statesman, The.
International Review, The.
Iron.
Iron Age, The
Iron Trade Circular.
Journal de Menuiserie. C. F.
Journal of the Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, The. G. L. F.
Journal Manuel de Peinture. C. F.
Journal of Philology. C. F.
Journal of the Franklin Insti- tute, The. G. L. F.
Journal of Science, The.
Journal of the Society of Arts, The. G. L. F.
Journal of Speculative Philoso- phy, The. G. L. F.
Journal, The Kennebec.
įLibrarian, The.
C. F.
Library Journal. C. F.
Lippincott's Magazine.
Literary World, The. G. L. F.
Littell's Living Age.
Liverpool Weekly Mercury, The.
London, Edinburgh and Dublin Philosophical Magazine, The. G. L. F.
London Quarterly Review.
G. L. F.
Lowell Weekly Journal. Macmillan's Magazine.
Magazine of American History, The. C. F.
G. L. F.
318
CITY DOCUMENT .- NO. 34.
Mail, The. Maine State Press, The.
Manufacturer and Builder, The.
#Massachusetts Ploughman. Mining and Scientific Press.
Mining Journal, The.
*Missouri Republican, The. Montreal Herald, The. Musical Times, The. Nation, The.
Nature. G. L. F.
¿New England Farmer, The.
New Eng. Historical and Gene- ological Register. G. L. F.
New Eng. Jour. of Education.
New Englander, The.
C. F.
New York Daily Tribune.
New York Herald.
New York Times.
News and Courier, The.
Nineteenth Century, The.
North American, The.
North American Review, The.
Notes and Queries. G. L. F.
tOnce a Week.
*Oriental Church Mag., The. G. L. F.
Pall Mall Budget. G. L. F.
Pennsylvania Magazine of His- tory and Biography, The. G. L. F. Philadelphia Photographer, The. Phrenological Journal, The.
*Pilot, The.
Popular Science Monthly, The.
tPopular Science Monthly, The. Supplement.
Popular Science Review, The. *Poly biblion. C. F.
Portfolio, The. C. F.
Potter's American Monthly.
*Princeton Review, The. G. L. F.
Providence Journal, The.
Psyche.
G. L. F.
Public Opinion.
Publisher's Weekly, The.
Punch.
Putnam's Library Companion. C. F. Quarterly Journal of Inebriety, The. C. F.
Royal Geographical Society Proceedings. G. L. F.
Revue des Deux Mondes.
Ruskin's Fors Clavigera. G. L. F.
St. Louis Globe-Democrat.
St. Nicholas. Sanitarian, The.
Saturday Review, The. G. L. F.
*Science News.
Scientific American. 66 Supplement.
Scribner's Monthly.
Southern Historical
Society
Papers.
G. L. F.
Spectator, The.
G. L. F.
Spirit of the Times.
Springfield Daily Republican. 2 copies.
*Student's Journal, The.
Sunday Review, The. C. F.
Telegraphic Journal and Elec- trical Review, The.
Traveller's Official Guide.
United Service Gazette.
United States Official Postal Guide.
Universitv Magazine. G. L. F.
Van Nostrand's Eclectic Engi- neering Magazine.
Weekly Alta California.
Weekly Freeman and Irish Ag- riculturist.
Weekly Post and Tribune.
Weekly Scotsman, The.
Westminster Review, The. G. L. F.
Woonsocket Patriot.
Worcester Daily Spy. 2 copies.
Worcester Evening Gazette. 2 copies.
Workshop, The.
World, The. Yale Courant.
* Began to take this year. t Discontinued. # Discontinued as subscriptions and taken as gifts.
319
FREE PUBLIC LIBRARY.
GIFTS TO THE READING-ROOM.
Academy, The.
American Gas Light Journal, The. American Journal of Education. American Machinist. American Manufacturer and Iron World. Berrow's Worcester Journal. Bien Public, Le.
Book Buyer, The. Boston Investigator, The.
Bulletin of the National Association of Wool Manufacturers. Christian Leader, The. Christian Register, The. Churchman, The.
Congressional Record. Cultivator and Country Gentleman, The. Donahoe's Magazine. Engineering. (London.) Fitchburg Weekly Sentinel. Freidenker. High School Reporter. Index, The. Inventors' and Manufacturers' Gazette. Kindergarten Messenger and The New Ed- ucation. Librarian, The. Maine Farmer. Massachusetts Ploughman. Metric Bulletin, The. Monthly Record of Scientific Literature. National Quarterly Review, The. National View, The. New England Farmer. New York Commercial Advertiser. Official Gazette of the U. S. Patent Office. Our Dumb Animals. Paine Family Records. Public Ledger. Sherman & Hyde's Musical Review. Southern Workman, The. Sunday Herald, The. Travailleur, Le. The Tufts Collegian. Unitarian Review and Religious Magazine, The.
Universalist Quarterly, The. Vox Humana, The. Watchman, The. Woman's Journal, The. Worcester Daily Spy. Worcester Daily Times.
Worcester Evening Gazette. Worcester Evening Star. Worcester Student, The. World's Crisis, The. Zion's Herald.
Logomathenian Society of Worcester Academy.
G. Warren Dresser, Editor. J. B. Merwin, Editor. Publishers.
Jackson Bailey, Corresponding Editor. Charles H. Birbeck, Proprietor. Editors. Publishers. Publishers and Members of the Anthro- pological Society, Worcester.
Association. Universalist Publishing House. American Unitarian Association.
E. L. Davis. W. W. Rice.
Proprietors of the Spy.
Thomas J. Conaty.
Publishers. Sentinel Printing Company. Publishers.
S. S. Green. Sarah F. Earle.
Publishers.
Hailmann & Doerflinger, Publishers.
L. P. Smith, Librarian.
Proprietors of the Spy. Proprietors of the Spy.
S. S. Green. D. Van Nostrand.
David A. Gorton & Co., Publishers. View Publishing Company.
Proprietors of the Spy.
Proprietors of the Spy.
United States Patent Office.
Publishers. Nathaniel Paine.
George W. Childs, Proprietor. Publishers. Mrs. P. S. L. Canfield.
Anonymous. Publishers. Tufts College.
American Unitarian Association. S. D. Harding. George Woods & Co., Publishers. Publishers. Sarah F. Earle.
Publishers. Publishers. Publishers. Publishers. J. M. Newcomb. Publishers. Unknown.
REPORT
OF THE
Committee on the Building.
To the Directors of the Free Public Library :
During the current year, minor repairs have been made upon the building, and the grounds have been somewhat improved.
The stucco work in the Green Library room has been repaired at an expense of $72; the steam pipes have been covered, cost- ing $34.40 ; a catalogue case has been furnished, costing $24.75 ; hose pipe and nozzles have been furnished, costing $75; signal- ling apparatus connected with the elevator has been put in, costing $17.25; drainage pipe has been laid to carry off the water from the roof and from the grounds about the building, costing $69.80. It has cost to heat the building, $250.10; to light it, $928.83; water bills amount to $68.35. A little less coal may be needed for another year, but about fifty dollars more will be required for gas, in consequence of the added burners in the parts of the building recently fitted up for use. The water bill will probably be increased by about twenty dol- lars, as the elevator has not been in use all the present year. The ordinary small repairs, small furniture, &c., have cost $170.41. Some shelving for books of large size will be needed another year, at an estimated expense of $40. Ordinary repairs, small furniture, &c, usually require about $200 a year.
321
FREE PUBLIC LIBRARY.
The working of the elevator has never been satisfactory to this Committee, nor to the Committee on Public Buildings appointed by the City Government, under whose direction it was put in ; nor has it been accepted and paid for, so far as is known to this Committee. The building and grounds are now · in good condition, and only ordinary repairs will be needed, perhaps, for some years to come.
For the Committee,
E. WARNER,
1
WORCESTER, December 19, 1879.
Chairman.
.
REPORT
OF THE
1
COMMITTEE ON FINANCE.
To the Directors of the Free Public Library :
The Committee on Finance submit herewith the financial state- ments of the Free Public Library, and of the Green Library fund, for the year ending November 30th, 1879.
The expenditure for general library purposes has slightly exceeded that of the previous year. The principal increase has been in the amount paid for the purchase of books-about six hundred dollars-and in the cost of certain repairs and appli- ances for better immunity against fire, improved drainage, &c. -nearly three hundred dollars. The working expenses of the library have been considerably lowered by the reduction of salaries, and other measures of retrenchment. No change of importance has been made in the investments of the Green Library fund.
W. CROSS, J. EVARTS GREENE, P. C. BACON,
Finance Com. Free Public Library.
WORCESTER, December 19, 1879.
CITY APPROPRIATION.
FINANCIAL STATEMENT for the year ending Nov. 30, 1879.
RESOURCES.
City appropriation,
$8,000 00
Dog money,
2,810 98
Fines and miscellaneous receipts at library,
507 12
$11,318 10
EXPENDITURES.
Books,
$2,173 70
Binding,
856 62
Printing lists of additions,
138 71
Other printing and charging slips,
127 49
Freight, postage, expressage, &c.,
235 30
Stationery,
40 78
Postal cards,
45 00
Cards for cataloguing,
23 10
Ordinary repairs, furniture, &c.,
170 41
Coal and wood,
250 10
Gas,
928 83
Water,
68 35
Salary of librarian,
2,041 66
Salaries of assistants,
2,741 12
Wages of janitor and messenger,
416 67
324
CITY DOCUMENT .- NO. 34.
Additional library service,
731 87 Insurance, 25 00
Hose, &c., $75 ; catalogue case, $24.75; signalling apparatus, $17.25; stucco, $72; drain, $69.80 ; covering steam pipes, $34.40, 293 20
$11,307 91
Balance to sinking fund,
10 19
$11,318 10
W. CROSS, J. EVARTS GREENE, P. C. BACON,
Finance Committee.
.
STATEMENT
OF THE
GREEN LIBRARY FUND.
The income for the year ending November 30, 1879, is as follows :
Interest on notes secured by mortgage, $1,627 86
Dividend on bank stocks,
366 00
Interest on deposits in savings banks,
26 67
Bank tax of 1878, refunded by Com- missioners,
128 42
Interest on national bank deposits,
9 13
$2,158 08
One-fourth part of the income, $539.52, has been added to the fund. The remaining three-fourths, $1,618.56, are subject to be expended in accordance with the will of Dr. Green.
STATEMENT OF THE FUND.
Nov. 30th, 1878.
Nov. 30th, 1879.
Notes secured by mortgage,
$26,048 50
$26,001 00
Bank stocks (par value).
9,300 00
9,300 00
Deposits in savings banks,
2,147 64
2,734 66
$37,496 14
$38,035 66
25
326
CITY DOCUMENT .- NO. 34.
STATEMENT OF BOOK ACCOUNT.
Balance in city treasury, Dec. 1, 1878, $1,869 51
Three-fourths of income for year ending Nov. 30, 1879, 1,618 56
Interest on deposits for year ending Nov. 30, 1879, 31 26
$3,519 33
Expended for books,
1,689 67
Balance in City Treasury, Nov. 30, 1879, $1,829 66
W. CROSS, J. EVARTS GREENE, P. C. BACON,
Finance Committee Free Public Library.
REPORT
OF THE
TREASURER OF THE READING ROOM FUND.
NATHANIEL PAINE, Treasurer, in account with the READING ROOM FUND OF THE FREE PUBLIC LIBRARY.
1878.
Dr.
Dec. 20. Balance by last Report,
$488 61
1879.
Dec. 17. Cash, interest on City Bonds,
$300 00
Cash, interest on United States Bonds,
21 75
Cash, interest on Mortgage Notes,
303 33
Cash, interest from Savings Bank,
7 81
632 89
1879.
Cr.
$562 55
Dec. 17. By subscriptions to Newspapers and Periodicals, Postage, etc., Premium on U. S. Bonds,
2 73
10 26
$575 54
1879.
Dec. 17. By Balance,
545 96
$1,121 50
The READING ROOM FUND is invested in
City of Worcester Bond,
$5,000 00
United States Bonds,
350 00
Mortgage Notes,
5,300 00
$10,650 00
Respectfully submitted,
NATHANIEL PAINE, Treasurer.
WORCESTER, Dec. 17, 1879.
I have examined the vouchers and securities in the hands of the Treasurer, and find his accounts and statements correct.
J. EVARTS GREENE,
For Finance Committee.
$1,121 50
REPORT
OF THE
Sealer of Weights and Measures.
To the Honorable Mayor and City Council of Worcester :
GENTLEMEN :- Your Sealer of Weights and Measures re- spectfully submits the following abstract report for the year ending January 1st, 1880.
The act relative to sealing weights and measures, Chap. 218, A. D., 1870, and all other acts upon the same subject, have been strictly complied with in this department during the past year.
On visiting the different sections of the city where goods are bought and sold, your inspector has found the scales and weights, as a general rule, in good condition. Where any irregularity has been found, the parties have been notified, and directed to put the same in order.
A majority of the scales, both counter and platform, now in use in this city, are the Fairbanks and the Howe, the former of St. Johnsbury, Vt., and the latter of the Brandon Scale Com- pany. There are others of various manufacturers scattered throughout the city. As a general rule, I find that a cheap or poor scale is more advantageous to the purchaser than to the seller. The friction to be overcome in weighing small quanti- ties will almost invariably give the purchaser the advantage. This, coupled with the down weight, which some buyers (unjustly ) demand, instead of an even balance (where all scales are
REPORT OF SEALER OF WEIGHTS AND MEASURES. 329
adjusted), is decidedly against those who sell. Some there are who suppose that the name, scales, embraces all that is requi- site for perfection ; whereas nothing is further from the truth. The poorer people often procure a cheap scale. This class are the ones who can least afford the loss in selling from them. There is a very cheap and poor article thrown upon the market (on which the owner's name does not appear), which costs the purchaser, including the weights, about one dollar. They are unreliable for accuracy ; neither can they be made to meet the required standard, and as such I have refused to seal them. The pivots are common cast iron, the weights are just as they left the furnace, and, in one instance, I found what purported to be a one pound weight, tipping the beam at seventeen ounces, and this in use by a lady to sell confectionery, who could ill afford the loss. Your inspector has been explicit upon this topic, in order to impress upon buyers the fact that the first cost of a good scale, in the long run, is money well invested.
There are within the city limits some twelve large railroad track scales, and between forty and fifty, hay, coal and large platform scales, inclusive of those owned by the city. All of these, together with the large number of truck, small truck, platform and counter scales have been examined once, and some of them twice, during the past year, and a record made of the same. To these may be added large and small steel- yards, spring balances, together with measures, both liquid and dry, that have been tested at my office.
I have required the measures, both liquid and dry, to be brought to the office for adjustment, as the inconvenience of transporting the standards for sealing would thus be overcome, besides giving greater accuracy to the work done.
An inventory of property in the Sealer's possession, belong- ing to the city at this date, is as follows, viz .:
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