Show tha making ofleta pencils times the gad pencil was unk downto the world until the year 1504 when there was discovered in the country of cumberland Cum barland in the northwestern part of E glaud a mile of the beat and purest Wap hite this mine at borrowdale otonce became very celebrated and of coarse very valuable pencil made of cumberland graphite were sold all over europe and were highly prized everywhere the manufacture of lead pencils became a acy important business and the british government passed laws prohibiting the export of graphite to foreign lands only a catain quality enough to supply the re of the maker 1 was doled out the ir t anday i ever and a mili taray borcz had t at the mines to it from bands of ma randers for nearly years england lied great cumberlan Cum berla nd mine which had added so much to the coffers of great britain became exhausted the metallic met ellic part of this little ampler ant is universally called baltek lead but there is not a particle of lead in it this black and glossy substance is properly called plumbago of which there are several varieties and is a com d of carbon and iron one of varieties is fine grained soft nearly free from grit and well ad apted for writing purposes and this has received the name of graphite when the mine at barrowdale gave out it became advisable to discover some way of making the gra bite available for the e world after many experiments bad been tried the in gennity of a F solved the and we have now 0 af pf quality than ever were made of the best cumberland graphite by the old method I 1 under stand that the present mode of treat ing the plumbago after it is pow dered and is to mix with it in certain proportions powdered clay and then the mass is moistened and baked the treatment varying according to the different grades of pencils required |