The Lancaster gazette. (Lancaster, Ohio) 1846-1852, 1848-03-03
Darious Matters.
From he Nep York Tribune.
Homo Manufactures Illustrated
Prices and Protection.

Homo Manufactures Illustrated
Prices and Protection.
| We paid a hurried visit on Wednes.
day TO the active little village Of BIRMINe.
HAM, situated in the Town of Derby.
Conn. on the little river Naugaiuck. some
eleven miles north east Of Bridgeport
and ten north west Of New Haven. The
founder Of this village was Mr.. Sheldon
Smith, wealthy merchant Of this City,
who by heavy outlay directed the vol
ume of the Naugatnck into canal of
some length. bringing it into the, heart of
the projected village. Mr.. Smith devo.
ted much time and talent to the enter
prise, and spent great deal more there
on than it ever returned to him. Ii has
since passed into other hands, and we Wis
tied there ihe extensive works wherein
Copper is melted from the pig into ingots.
thence rolled into bars and sheets, thence
drawn into wire of all sorts and sizes-
Beside and intermiugled with these is
The extensive Shoe Tack mandatory of
Mr. Shelton. rafting out tacks of barley.
corn size by the hundred weight; the
compact but admirable Broadclolh man.
ufactory of D. w. Plumb. Whose low
priced cloths from American wool are
among the best we ever saw;) Messrs. e.
& E. Kelogg's manufaciory Of patent
machinery for the extension. adjustment
and dressing of fractured legs and arms,
whereby difficulty in dressing is avoided
pain obviated and all danger of after
ameness from imperfection in healing.
or contraction precluded A more sig
nal manifestation of Yankee genius and
inventive skill we have not seen; though
in one of The wire drawing shops we
examined a Brass. Chain fabricator,
which did its work with supelhuman ac-
curacy and efficiency. At every turn of
the driving. wheel the wire unwinding
from the reel or cylinder was pulled for
ward othe proper position, the end run
ming through the last formed link exact
ly for two links cut off, first one and turn
ed over into link, thenthe other. the fer
mer dropping down though the machine
leaving the latter projecting above. so
that the wire can be instantly pushed
through it, when it is cut of, two more
links formed, and so on; until a large roll
of wire is transformed into a perfectly
formed chain by the unaded operation Of
selfacting machinery, hardly finger
having been lifted during the prOcess-
We forgot to ask who is the inventor of
; this machine, but it must certainly sup
plant everything else in its line, and ii
only needs the application of the prin-
ciple to Iron and Steel Wire to insure a
magnificent fortune to the patentee. We
; infer that the use of the Brass Chain i.
quite limited, though this may extend it
The great feature of Birmingham
however. is its Pin-Making, and to tbi,
our time was in good part devoted. The
= works of the Howe Company are here
employing some two hundred persons
and turning out more Pins, we presume
than are made in America beside. Here
may be seen not one kind onl y of Pin
machines. but halfa dozen kinds, includ
ing the most recent and perfect inven
tions, each unwinding its roll of fine bras
), wire, cutting off'it own appointed length
for pin, grinding down one end TO
point and knocking head OH the other
!. (the solid head being purely Yankee
invention, but now universally adopted,
and finally dropping the pin into pail
;. whence it is taken in bulk to be rubbed
smooth by rotation in box filled will
sawdust, thence placed in immense boil
ers between layers of tin to be whitenet
Il thence dried, and transferred to the pa
;, pering and packing room. Here, toe
we found several different inventions i
- active use, first for preparing the paper
e ard then for sticking the pins. In on
=, of them the actual sticking is effecte
>, by vigorous motion of the right hand
l. though we believe the pins are pour
n ed through hopper upon groove
70 plate or inclined plane, each finding res
- only in groove; but generally the ma
i chine does all the work throughout, ex
cept thai of putting pins in the groove
where none happened to lodge and pick
}, ing offthe plate those which have nc
" found groove-a task requiring nimbl
fingers, nearly fixed attitude of bod
and incessant mental application an
o vigilance. Once in a great while
a groove passes without receiving a pi
IN when there is of course one deficient o
the paper. but this las those who use ri
. pered pins must know is very rare. W
have of course only spoken briefly an
vaguely Of two or three among the man
ways of sticking pins, for we did not TT
as to learn the trade. and if we had Iearne
in should not impart it. Perhaps the stai
ing No Admi':ance' on the doors in
o. plies that there is some secret about i
* though we presume not.
of We we're happy to perceive and
le learn that the long hours of daily to
so common in our larger rnanufacturin
nj villages are not in fashion in BirminG
- ham At P. NJ. when we were in III
le packng-room of the Pin factory, the Ii
le tie girls engaged in packing had 6nishe
their days work and gone home; and "
n understood that eleven hours are aSo,
i. the average of days work in the fact
n ries of this village generally. 'Stor
pay" and all cheating substitutes f
h cash pay, are unknown, We fancie
., there was an unwholesome metal-dn
h. flying in some rooms, and the temper
IS; ture of the Broadcloth factory SCENE