Mr. Jerome’s success was now more decided.  He was enabled to pay for his house in a short time, and having, soon afterward, an opportunity to dispose of it at a fair profit, he did so, and took clock-works in payment.  He bought land and timber, and paid for them in clocks, and his affairs prospered so well that, before long, he began to employ workmen to assist him, and to dispose of his clocks to peddlers and merchants, instead of carrying them around for sale himself.  As his business increased, he invented and patented labor-saving machinery for the manufacture of the various parts of the clock, and thus greatly decreased the cost of construction.  He designed new and ornamental cases, and exerted himself to render the exterior of his clocks as tasteful and attractive as possible.  His business now increased rapidly, and he was soon compelled to take in a partner.  He began to ship his clocks to the Southern States, sending them by sea.  They met with a ready sale, but all his ventures of this kind were subject to serious risks.  The works, being of wood, would frequently become damp and swollen on the voyage, thus rendering them unfit for use.  Mr. Jerome endeavored in various ways to remedy this defect, but was finally compelled to admit that, until he could change the nature of the wood, he could not prevent it from being influenced by moisture.

He passed many sleepless nights while engaged in seeking this remedy, for he plainly foresaw that unless the defect could be removed, the days of the wooden clock business were numbered.

In the midst of his depression, the idea occurred to him, one night while lying awake, that the works of a clock could be manufactured as cheaply of brass as of wood.  The thought came to him with the force of a revelation.  He sprang out of bed, lit his candle, and passed the rest of the night in making calculations which proved to him that he could not only make brass works as cheaply as wooden ones, but, by the employment of certain labor-saving machinery, at a cost decidedly less.  There was one important obstacle in his way, however.  The machinery requisite for cutting brass works cheaply was not in existence.  Before making known his plans, Mr. Jerome set to work to invent the clock-making machinery which has made him famous among American inventors.  When he had completed it, he commenced to make brass clocks, which he sold at such a low price that wooden clocks were speedily driven out of the market.  Little by little, he brought his machinery to perfection, applying it to the manufacture of all parts of the clock; and to-day, thanks to his patience and genius, clock-making in the United States has become a very simple affair.  By the aid of Jerome’s machinery, one man and one boy can saw veneers enough for three hundred clock cases in a single day.  By the aid of this same machinery, six men can manufacture the works of one thousand clocks in a day; and a factory employing twenty-five workmen can turn out two thousand clocks per week.  By the aid of this same machinery, the total cost of producing a good clock of small size has been brought down to forty cents.