Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1868-11-22
Pins--EOvy the title Things are
BTads--S.Ory Of WI,chc aft.

1he pin macnlne Is one OF tne Closest
approaches that mechanics have made to
the dexterity of the human hand. A
small machine, about the hight and size
Of ladies sewing machine, only strong
er, stands before you. On the back side
a light belt descends from the long shaft
at the ceiling that drives all the machines,
ranged in rows on the floor On the left
side of our machine hangs on peg
small reel of wire that has been straight
ened by running through compound
system of small rollers.
This wire deScends, and the end of it
enters the machine. This is the food
consumed by this snappish, voracious
little dwarf. He pulls it in and bites it
off by inches, necessarily, one hundred
and forty bites to the minute. just as
he seizes each bite saucy little hammer,
with coneave face, hits the end of the
wire three taps and "upsets" it to head,
while he gripes it in a countersunk hole
between his teeth. With an outward
thrust of his tongue he then lays the pin
sisewise in a little groove across the rim
of a small wheel that slowl reYolves
Just under his nose. By the external
pressure of a stationary hoop, these pins
roll in their places as they are carried
under the series Of small files, three in
each. These files grow finer toward the
end of the series. They lie at a slight
inclination on the points of the pins,
and by a series of cams, levers and
springs, are made to play Like light
ming" Thus the pins are pointed and
dropped in little shower into box.
Twenty eight pounds of pins is days
work for one of these jerking little auto
nations. Forty machines on this floor
make five hundred and sixty pounds of
pins daily. These are then polished
Two very intelligent machines reject
every crooked pin, even the slightest IT.
regularity Of form being detected.
Another automaton asserts half
dozen lengths in as many boxes, all at
once and unerringly, when a careless
operator has mixed the contents of boxes
from various machines Lastly, by
perfect genius of a machine hangs the
pins by the head in an inclined platform
through as many "slots" as there are
pins in a row on the papers. These slots
converge into the exact space spanning
the length of row. Under them runs
the strip >of pin paper. A hand-hke
part Of the machine catches one pin from
each of the slots as it falls, and by one
movement sticks them all through two
corrugated ridges in the paper, from
which they are to be picked by taper
fingers in boudoirs, and all sorts of hu-
man fingers in all sorts of human cir
cumstances. Thus you have its genesis;
"TAn ard slender, ssra g1t and tain,
Pretty, Little, us ful PIN"
A beautiful Yankee trick was once ex-
posed by these modern Yankee pins. A
not over-scrupulous antiquary was dis
playing the relics of the Salem Witch
craft to the wondering throng at a
shilling head Among the relics was
a saucer full, more or less, of pins taken
| from arms, stomachs, etc, of the be-
/ Witched victims. This was a rare chance
for one of the astonished, who was pin
maker. He gave close squint at the
/ pins and opened his eyes very wide.
Do you say that these pins were taken
/ from the unfortunate victims of witch
craft in Salem ?" solemnly inquired the
pin-man. "Of course they were; and
what do you ask that question for?" re-
sponded the Snowman Because 1 find
one little obstacle to my faith in the
story" rejoined the pin-man. Soldid-
headed pins were not invented until two
hundred years after the Salem witcheraft. "
Moral-Showmen of relics should con-
suit antiquarians and experts when
getting up" their stock.