Show sow how fri friction 0 tion matches are made the first introduction of faction matches into the united states was in the beart they were however very different aiom those now in cominer used use they were culled and were at first arit a used exclusively as segar lighters this match consisted of a preparation of phosphorus upon a narrow strip of thrown paper saturated with saltpetre salt petre and fire was obtained by drawing it briskly between two pieces piece of thick sandpaper these matches did not blaze hut but burn slowly like a fuzee within a very short time after such improvements were made as to render them capable of pro a flame fac line but a as they were all al imported from Europ ethey were vere top expensive for general bae and the old tinderbox tinder finder box still its own OTTO soon set get itself to work to discover low how the important improvement in the means of obtaining fire could be made of general service and it was not long before a shrewd yankee I 1 by the nam name e of phillips took out a patent for the coom combination of chalk and other earthy substances with and phosphorus in the preparation ii of matches matche s in a very short time too the mechanical skill of the country was taxed to produce such machinery y as should d be able to make an article destined for fop such I 1 uni universal vergal use as rapidly and cheaply as possible this resulted in the invention of various machines all tending 0 to the same result and in less than a year after the first introduction of foreign a more article was in general use throughout the country at I lass ass than a third of f the price at which the ir imported ported matches were sold the manufacture of matches no now w gives im im to a large number of persons perso ns in i in almost every city in the united states and diat matches ches are exported from this country tv to the farthermost ends of the earth the rapidity with which these useful articles are made is really astonishing slid and the machinery among amon the most ingenious ever invented few who draw a 0 match across some rough surface and after obtaining a light and forget the means that produce 4 it think that each match passes through no less than eight different hands before it is fit for use or that a box which contains matches passes through a like number of hands so that sixteen different persons are employed in making up a box of matches the wood used for matches was formerly obtained from old spars but it was I 1 found that the destruction of t tools used in i cutting it from contact conta et with the number of nails spikes ikes ao which these spars contained I 1 me made the use of this timber more expensive I 1 than new lumber and consequently elthy I 1 none but the best elf alpar ar three inch white pine i joist st is now used this is cut into blocks i by a circular saw each block being just twice the breadth of the leno lenoth length th of a match this block is placed in a box beneath which i is a set of knives which score the block with the grain the exact thickness of the match while another knife passes through it and cuts off the sticks as they are scored I 1 so rapidly does this machine work that no I 1 less ess th than in twenty two match sticks are cut cat by each revolution two hundred revolutions are made in a minute which amounts to match m itoh sticks a minute an 1 hour per working day of ten of per year lear the match sticks as they are cut fall into a trough below and are then i carried into large larg e bins ins where they are gathered fathered 1 as it is is called that is they ate aie disentangled from the mass in which they are collected an operation which is performed by boys with great rapidity and laid out ou t in n I 1 i racks which are measured to contain a c certain e r number they chev are then tied in round bundles and carried carriea into another part of the buildt building where there are a large number of little children at work some of them not more than five ears of age these children untie the bundles and place by very quick manipulations each match stick in a 1 groove which keeps it isolated in what is called a islat aaa 1 1 some dozen of these grooved slats 5 3 filled with matches are screwed together and form a batch from the side aides of this batch the edds of the matches protrude pr about an inch the fb batches atolies are thon then carried by boys to a room where the ends enda are dipped in a brimstone vat this vat is over a hot five fire and it roq requires aires some considerable experience on the part of the dipper to keep the hot brimstone always of the th same depth because if the brimstone shou should 14 be too deep in the vat the ticks sticks would receive too much of it the fumes fu mes of which aich when the match should be burned would be extremely disagreeable he first di dip osone sone side of the matel match and then the other when it is carried carrie dinto into another room where it is is i again di dipped ippe d in into the phosphorus this process is somewhat different the preparation which consists of chalk or paris white glue ind nd other glutinous substances toes mixed with phosphorus is kept hot in a kettle under which enough heat is copt to keep kaep it fused when the matches are to be di dipp edthe 4 preparation of phosphorus is taken k from fr the t kettle and thinly spread over 8 stones nesa which ob are kept hot by means of steam eilea pipea the matches already dipped in tho the brimstone rim stone ar are e now di dipped into this to the a depth ept h 0 of f about an eignath eig th of an inch and are then theil placed in in large rge racks to dry the quickness of the drying process depends altogether too together ether upon the atmosphere if it is damp they will not dryad all and the whole building 11 uil ding becomes enveloped in a thin vapor with an odor which comes come from the p phosphorus when the atmosphere mo sphere is not damp they d dry r yd i in n from three to eight hours sufficiently to admit in it of their being b eing i packed pac k e d into I 1 nto boxes the matches are first taken out of the grooved slats hy by boysy boys and placed in a little rack of the same size as those in which they were originally placed when gathered from the mass and taken into another room where a number of girls stand surrounded by thousands of match boxes and piles of matches before each trio is a knife which operates larl lart yand is used for cutting the matches in two the girl who stands immediately immediate lv in in front of this kalfe with an nicety that ion long i practice could alone alobe give her takes take 0 in her handa hand a bundle bund leof of matches from the rack this places under the as she puts her cheroot loot upon we the descends aul and tutu cucca the bancy bianc in the middle each of the severed end earsia s is taken by the girl 11 on each aide aid off of herand put into the box I 1 on which the cover is placed and the box bok of matches is then thrown arito iato a receptacle for them from which they are taken to be asok ed in parcels of a grosi gros each tho tae operation of filling the boxes boates is performed with great rapidity and makes one wonder at the th flexibility of the muscle and sinews sinew of the human hand sunday courier |