Daniel Farrand Henry's Cup Type "Telegraphic" River Current Meter

Abstract

THIS IS THE STORY Of a meter used for measuring the everchanging velocities in the waters of natural streams and for determining the volume of water (in cubic feet per second) which might be flowing therein; it is not to be confused with ammeters for measuring electrical currents, which are also commonly referred to as current More particularly, this is the story of the cup type telegraphic meter constructed during the winter of 1867-68 by Daniel Farrand Henry of the United States Lake Survey, Detroit, Michigan. To avoid any confusion of names, it should be noted that Daniel Farrand Henry was not closely related (if at all) to Joseph Henry, the electrical genius and the first Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. The two corresponded with each other on several occasions, however, and as will be explained later, Joseph Henry once recommended that D. F. Henry be awarded a medal for the meter the latter exhibited at the Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition in 1876. A replica of that meter (Figure 1) is in the collection of water meters at the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, D. C., which has the world's largest collection of such meters. Many other meters had been built and used before Henry built his, but his has the most exciting and controversial history.