Litchfield enquirer., 1868-10-15
CONNECTICUT MANUFACTURE
 ING TOWN.
WOLCOTTyILLE AND ITS INDUSTRIES.

l Correspondence of tho N. Y. Evening Post.] WoLcoTTvILbE, Sept. 1868. 1 The charming village of Wolcottville some sixty years ago, is notable for it's fac tories. The woolIen mill, first owned b, , Governor Wolcott, has passed through ma ny hands, and is now the property of tn. Union Manufacturing Company. In these days of strikes and strife it Is pleasant tt learn that tho principal workmen, or ''boss es"-the |" boss" carder, the " boss' WOO sorter, the "boss" shearer and finisler and others who strive to do welfare own CTS and holders of the enemy's stock. The good effect of this on the goods turned out can easily be imagined. It is to the inter est of these wOrkmcn that the cloth should be as perfect as possible. This mill man. ufactures but one kind of cIoth-doeskin, of different grades-some of which it is difficult to distinguish from French cloth Some difficulty is experienced in getting wool of sufficient fneness to make as high grade of cloth as the company desires to turn out.
 The manufacture of cloth is slower pro- cess than is generally imagined. From the day the wool is assorted and cleansed, a single piece of doeskin, containing about thirty yards, passes through the different processes of oiling, carding, spinning, thread counting and measuring, weaving, pulling, and "teasli g" for nap-raising), steam Ing, dying, drying, pressing, and many others. A piece of cloth is in hand nearly three months before it is ready for the wholesale dealer. The raising of the nap IS performed by the "teasel burr," which belongs to the genus dipsacus, but resem- bles the thistle, and plays a very impor- tant part Ill the manufacture of cloth. This plant IS grown principally in Wes- tern New York. Two years are required to bring 1t to perfection. The first year the plant blossoms, the second year the fruit or burr is formed; it is full of stiff, yet elastic thorns, which perform the del- icate work of scrathing up nap without injury to the thread or texture of the cloth. No machinery so far has been able to dis place It. The teasel lasts only four or five days. This mill uses between two and three thousand pounds of the "burrs' yearly; and when one sees how very light they are, the quantity seems immense.
 The Factory of the Hook and Eye Com pany, under which name it was incorpora- ted some years ago, when at Waterbury, is also an interesting place. The machinery for making hooks and eyes is almost hu- man In It's operation, as 1t pushes the wire along, cuts off piece just the right length, turns round the ends, fattens it a little, and throws it out finished in all its parts The hooks and eyes are "carded" chiefly by children, who work at home. Their pay IS very small-one cent for placing hooks and eyes on one dozen cards. The holes to receive them are stamped at the factory, and each card contains two dozen hooks and eyes.
 The shield-pin is another clever inven- tlou. The suspender buckle is also mar vel in its way. The making of hollow rings IS very simple and interesting. Be- sides these, curtain cornices and curtain trimmings, down to the tiniest brass nail, arc also manufactured here. The large picture nails have glass heads. The glass IS bought in sticks and softened. SO that the nail head may be stamped with dye; the rough edges are trimmed with scissors, and the back is filled with paper, which prevents the glass from breaking when the gilt back is hammered up around it. The lacquering, wealing and silyer-plating are all done here; also the brass casting used for twine-holders. The operators employ ed in the mills appear very intelligent and are cleanly.
 Goes brass foundry five or six years ago was almost quiet, owing in part to the fact that it then formed part of combination of brass foundries which existed all over the country, and tended to keep brass at equal prices in the market. The proprie- tors of foundries which were working heav- fly had to pay to those not so busy, SO that two thousand dollars a month might be paid to foundry in which there had not been days work done, if the owners were negligent and did not understand busi- ness. The persons who bought out this foundry now do fourishing business, have heavy capital, are independent, and have made many Improvements in Wolcott- vile; among others fine dam, built part ly of stone and partly of wood.
 The spoon factory is @ feature of Vol cottville. The metal is first cut into small ''blanks" of different lengths; one ma chine then rolls out spoon to the proper thickness, and another stamps the handle, and afterwards die forms the bowl. But the spoon is still in its rough state. The edge has to be ground and the polish ing IS to be done. This work is all finish ed, here, except the plating, which takes place in Brooklyn. One of the new in. ventions here is twisted handle, and an. other is butter knife, in which the han. dle IS set at right-angle, with the blade, instead of parallel with it as usual. The gift enterprises brought to this place great deal of brass work-forks and spoons light
 ly silvered-but that class of work is hard
 ly called for, now, and the fine metal only
 worked. All kinds of silver plated knives and forks for table use are made, and { novelty is saw-knife suitable for cuttine frosted cake.
 The skate factory and the Sewing-M
 chine Needle Company, form part of tn,
 manufacturing interest here; also factor,
 for making percussion caps; but as the lat
 ter has habit of blowing up, I excused
 myself from visiting it.
 WolcottviHe may be termed "live'
 place, and is growing rapidly There i
 an amateur brass band that plays in the
 square on Saturday evenings. There ar
 four churches, Episcopalian, Congrega
 tlonal, Methodist and Roman Catholic
 The last-named church is under the con trol of the Jesuit fathers. It has bee,
 lately renovated. B.