192
It is not possible to know how long the meteorograph was in use and when it was
scrapped. In 1883 the observatory was moved to the building of the Archbishop’s
Palace in Tacubaya.
10.4 Conclusions
It is not surprising that most of the meteorographs were installed in Jesuit observatories. Secchi’s connections and influence among Jesuits, his international renown,
as well as his popularity, certainly played an important role in the diffusion of his
apparatus.
Undoubtedly the Secchi meteorograph marked an important phase of the evolution of meteorological instruments. It certainly facilitated the task of meteorologists
by recording automatically all the series of fundamental weather parameters.
Furthermore, the possibility of having graphs of these parameters, traced side by
side on the same chart, would have facilitated the understanding of their correlation.
Finally, the symbolic impact of such an instrument, which was considered a technological marvel, certainly conferred prestige to a meteorological observatory in the
same way that a large and powerful refractor did for an astronomical observatory.
Even if it did not mark any substantial progress in the development of meteorology,
the success of the meteorograph at the 1867 Exhibition also contributed to increase
the popularity of meteorology and its techniques.
However, the Secchi meteorograph also had several drawbacks. As we mentioned before, the price of the apparatus (especially of the “grand” one) was very
high, out of reach for many observatories. Furthermore, the mechanisms of the
meteorograph were delicate, requiring constant attention; the electric cells had to be
periodically looked after; and various problems, such as the friction of the mechanical recording arms and pens and other sorts of technical solutions adopted by Secchi
and Brassart, limited the accuracy of the graphs. Often its data had to be calibrated
against other instruments, such as standard barometers and thermometers.
Finally, in the last decades of the nineteenth century, a series of new recording
instruments (such as the barographs, thermographs, hygrographs, and anemographs
made by the firm Richard in Paris) became available. They were simple, reliable,
portable, easy to repair, and much less expensive. Inevitably, by the late nineteenth
century, Secchi meteorographs were obsolete. In spite of the fact that a few of them
were still operational, they were kept more as splendid and impressive relics, witnessing the ingenuity of their inventor and one of the most important steps in the
evolution of instrumental meteorology.
Acknowledgments This article would not have been possible without the collaboration of several
colleagues, who provided useful information, documents, and photographs to me. Therefore, I am
very grateful to Aldo Altamore, Trudy E. Bell, Ileana Chinnici, Claudia Felipe, Bart Fried, Zhao
Ke, Alice Li, Meghan Kennedy, Rich Kremer, Mark McElyea, Louis Enrique Ramos, Ronald
Smeltzer, and Bruce Washington.
P. Brenni
It is not possible to know how long the meteorograph was in use and when it was
scrapped. In 1883 the observatory was moved to the building of the Archbishop’s
Palace in Tacubaya.
10.4 Conclusions
It is not surprising that most of the meteorographs were installed in Jesuit observatories. Secchi’s connections and influence among Jesuits, his international renown,
as well as his popularity, certainly played an important role in the diffusion of his
apparatus.
Undoubtedly the Secchi meteorograph marked an important phase of the evolution of meteorological instruments. It certainly facilitated the task of meteorologists
by recording automatically all the series of fundamental weather parameters.
Furthermore, the possibility of having graphs of these parameters, traced side by
side on the same chart, would have facilitated the understanding of their correlation.
Finally, the symbolic impact of such an instrument, which was considered a technological marvel, certainly conferred prestige to a meteorological observatory in the
same way that a large and powerful refractor did for an astronomical observatory.
Even if it did not mark any substantial progress in the development of meteorology,
the success of the meteorograph at the 1867 Exhibition also contributed to increase
the popularity of meteorology and its techniques.
However, the Secchi meteorograph also had several drawbacks. As we mentioned before, the price of the apparatus (especially of the “grand” one) was very
high, out of reach for many observatories. Furthermore, the mechanisms of the
meteorograph were delicate, requiring constant attention; the electric cells had to be
periodically looked after; and various problems, such as the friction of the mechanical recording arms and pens and other sorts of technical solutions adopted by Secchi
and Brassart, limited the accuracy of the graphs. Often its data had to be calibrated
against other instruments, such as standard barometers and thermometers.
Finally, in the last decades of the nineteenth century, a series of new recording
instruments (such as the barographs, thermographs, hygrographs, and anemographs
made by the firm Richard in Paris) became available. They were simple, reliable,
portable, easy to repair, and much less expensive. Inevitably, by the late nineteenth
century, Secchi meteorographs were obsolete. In spite of the fact that a few of them
were still operational, they were kept more as splendid and impressive relics, witnessing the ingenuity of their inventor and one of the most important steps in the
evolution of instrumental meteorology.
Acknowledgments This article would not have been possible without the collaboration of several
colleagues, who provided useful information, documents, and photographs to me. Therefore, I am
very grateful to Aldo Altamore, Trudy E. Bell, Ileana Chinnici, Claudia Felipe, Bart Fried, Zhao
Ke, Alice Li, Meghan Kennedy, Rich Kremer, Mark McElyea, Louis Enrique Ramos, Ronald
Smeltzer, and Bruce Washington.
P. Brenni