FUSEE—Invented by Jacob Zech of Prague about 1525. Consists of a specially grooved cone-shaped pulley interposed between the mainspring barrel and the great or driving wheel of a watch or clock. The connection between the barrel and fusee was first made by a cord or catgut, later by a chain. In winding the spring the cord is drawn from the barrel on to the fusee—the first coil on the larger end. Thus the mainspring when fully wound uncoils the cord first from the smaller end of the fusee; and as it runs down gets the benefit of increased leverage by reason of the greater diameter of the lower part of the fusee. An excellent adjustment of the pressure on the center pinion can be made in this way. The fusee has been abandoned in watches to allow of thinness, but is still used in chronometers and clocks. FUSEE CAP—A thin steel plate with a projecting nose on the smaller end of the fusee: a part of the mechanism to stop the fusee when the last coil of the chain is wound thereon. FUSEE CHAIN—A very delicate steel chain connecting the barrel with the fusee of a watch, chronometer or clock. It replaced the catgut originally used and was first introduced by Gruet of Geneva about 1664. FUSEE SINK—The sink cut in the top plate of a watch to give space for the fusee. GALILEO, GALILEI—Commonly called "Galileo." A famous Italian scientist born in 1564 who discovered, among many other things, the isochronism of the pendulum vibrating through long or short arcs. The story goes that he noticed that a swinging chandelier in a certain cathedral took the same length of time to each vibration whether in long or short arcs—timing them by his pulse. He seems never to have applied this principle to clocks, although he issued an essay on the subject in 1639. GALILEO, VINCENTIS—Son of the great astronomer, born about 1600. He aided his father in experiments and gave special attention to the application of the pendulum to clocks. He is claimed by some to have been the first to so apply the pendulum, in 1649, but this is disputed in favor of Richard Harris of London. GENEVA—A city in Switzerland in which watchmaking was first established in that country. It is the center of the "hand" industry, and the city is honeycombed with garret-workers—so-called—making parts. GERBERT (POPE SYLVESTER II)—Born in Belliac, Auvergne, in 920. In 990 Gerbert made some sort of a clock which attained wide fame. Some authorities claim that it was a clock moved by weights and wheels and some even claim for it a verge escapement. On the other hand, other authorities state positively that that story is a myth and that Gerbert's horologe was a sun-dial. It seems pretty well accepted that there was no escapement used, however, until more than two centuries after Gerbert's time. GERMAN SILVER—An alloy of copper, nickel, and zinc—copper predominating. Really a white brass.