The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1867-10-01
The Star sEnteh Corporation.

we paid visit yesterday to the works of the
Star Match Corporation, on the dump, at the
foot of Chestnut street, and, although we were
aware of their doing a large business, were sur
prised TO find how extensive it had got to be.
The works are in the large brick building
Just beyond the Portland & Rochester depot,
to which some additions have been made. 1t s
100 by 40 feet, not including the addition, and
is admirably adapted to the business. 1t is a
solid structure of hardest material and cement
ed floors 1t has a large and powerful engine
whose power is carried into every portion of
the building. There is machinery for the pre-
paration of lumber and the primitive work of
the establishment, but it was thought desirable
to procure the preparation of the lumber else
where, and so the company is keeping two
mills running all the time-one at Waldoboro
and one at Oxford.
These mills send the rough cards for the
matches and they are carefully sorted. They
are then run through q wonderful little ma
chine which trims and notches them From
this process to go to the machine of the age,
where they are neatly split, and at the same
moment deposited in racks. When the racks
are full the machine stops of itself, and is then
taken and the ends of the little sticks levelled.
The dippers here take them and one end is
coated with fine compound that is sure fire
and no bad smell, while the other end is cover
ed with paste that holds them together
These cards are taken and packed four in
bunch, by girls, who do the whole work of
wrapping and crossing. After the crossing is
done man at night puts them in cases, in
quantities to fill orders. The crossing usually
begins about four o'clock in the afternoon.
From this time it is expected that the factory
will turn out 600 gross per day, the cost of
U. S. stamps alone being 1864 daily.
No such result has ever been attained in this
business by any other appliances, and there
can hardly be doubt that there is a fortune
in the machine itself. For the carrying on of
this branch of the business, to this capacity of
work, there are employed from fifty to sixty
persons, about two-thirds of whom are girls.
each little machine putting into the rack one
hundred and fifty gross each day, against an
average of from ten to forty by the next best
machine ever employed. 1t is thus that saw
ing of more than fifty per cent. is made over
any other mandatory in the country.
In addition to this branch and kind of work
the concern turns out constantly large supply
OF parlor matches, free from all sulphurous
smell, and at present sold chiefly in the South
and West. Every department OF the work is
done here, even to the box making, which en-
ploys from twenty to thirty hands.
The management of this concern is in the
hands OF Mr.. James L. Fernald, who gives it
the closest attention. The machines of the
corporation are all of the latest patterns, and
are labor saving. The patent rights of them
are the exclusive right OF the company, and the
labor performed by them make an era in this
business, enabling the corporation TO turn out
better match and ut a lower price than has
ever before been furnished TO the public.
Messrs W. 4 G. r. Milliken, the extensive
Hour merchants ana wholesale grocers, are the
agents ior the sale of these matches From
their extensive business ramifications and their
known enterprise, It cannot be long before
these matches will find their way into every
State in the Union. Certain it is that every
family who has used them once will be after
them again. We refer the reader to the ad-
vertlsement for some further particulars in re-
latl0n TO these JSaf11 bnueahnld ooooes;+;o.