Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1871-08-09

thehseiNe at Aleesters Studley, and Red
ditch. la times still more remote, the
district lying between Alcester and Red
ditch, was a great industrial centre of some
kind, mills dating from monastic ages, and
great dams, no longer used, still remain
ing to tell of departed and forgotten in,
dustry.
The first mills used in the needle trade
were horse mills, one being established al
Studley, very early in the last century
These mills were used for securing and
pointing needles, superseding the primitive
method of wrapping up tho needles in
buckram with emery dust and olive OIL
and rolling them to and f-o by the move.
ment OF the wOrkman's foot The earliest
needles made in this district were square
eyed shape most readily produced. 1t
was with square-eyed needles that Mary
Queen Of SCOTS, wrought those beautiful
tapestries for the walls OF her prison cell.
After many fruitless attempts, drilled-eyed
needles were successfully brought out in
1926, and two years later the Furnishing
machine, which gave beautiful finish to
/ the eye, was introduced In this latter
process, as now carried out, the needles are
/ tareaded on steel wires which have been
"roughed' with file, and hardened The
ends Of these wires are then attached to a
steam machine, by which the needles are
made to reyolve at an enormous speed with
an oscilating motion, round the wires.
! Previous to the year 1910. needles were
hardened in water, during which process
the majority became crooked, and straight
{ au L. -
occupation for considerable number Of
workpeople. In the year mentioned, how
ever a Redditch manufacturer revived the
practice Of hardening in oil, and the result
was that the croos cd needles were the ex-
ceptIon instead of being the rule This so
eXasperatcd the crook straightcnerS, that
they mobbed the euterprising manufacturer
out OF the town, and for some time great
tumuIt prevailed. Eventually, however,
the revived process came TO be generally
adopted. pointing machine is the latest
invention of Importance, IN the needle
trade. On this invention, Mcssrs Bartlett
ami W oOlward-two excellent authorities
thus reported a little while since.
The needle pointing machine is an Eng
lish invention, though it Is not generally
SUI pD~cQ 10 De So ana It's lJFcruluer. which.
though not perfect, approached so nearly
TO perfection as to alarm the pointers. was
some years ago purchased ~ them and
broken 10 pieces on Redditch Church
Green The needle pointing machine Is as
vet only partially used in this district. \
groovel griud-toue. revolving at great
speed, is employed to grind the end ct cac..
wIre into the desired shape. To this Grind
stone the wires are applied from an inclined
plane. on which number are placed ready
TO cut to the length required. Bv means
Of disc, surrounded WIN caoutchouc, re-
yoiyiug slowly in IA direction transverse 10
the griul~tone. continuous supply of wires
rapidly rcvo.yiu. I'm succession. is supplied
to the stone. AMI the same dis. causes the
wires to rcyo.ye whilst being pointed.
In Reddltch auI tho ueighbarhood, needle
making now employs something ike 500
workreoplc. considerable proportion of
whom are females. The earnings con-i-
deraaIy vary, those ot children ranging
from +. Gl 10 1s.. women. -. to I5S and
men. H.. 10 4a-. per week.