The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1877-04-12
HISTORY OF NEEDLES.


hiolOR1 OE NEEDLES.
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.hssuredly, it required no great in
genuity 70 invent pin. We are told,
what is probably true, that, in the
earliest times, garments were held to-
gether by the thorns or spikes OF. plants.
by splinters of bone or wood. Once
that wire was made (iirst of all, by ham
merlng oHtaP pieces Of metal on an anvil}..
the pin was readily fashioned by cutting
of a bit of wire, sharpening. it at one
end into a sort of head. The needle.
however, was more difficult to make. In
the Book Of Genesis It is recorded that.
after the eating Of the fasllidaen fruit bv
Adam and Eve, the eyes of them were
opened, and they knew that they were
naked; and they seBed iig-leares to-
gether, and made themselves aprons
Yes; but there was scarcely any sSs,rV-s
ing at that time, according to tbe pres-
ent general acceptation of the form If
was "sewing" withcdt needles. The
hbcrS OF plants AJAX is such fiber)
would suppl, the thread, and a thorn
SpiNe,Vf my other small and sharp point,
Won ~ make holes in the materials,
through which the fiber could pass. Ger
tain caves have lately been discovered in
France, known to have Been Occupied
by the aboriginal Inhabitants ,luriag
what biologists can s.the Stone period, ~
and the same material is in use, at the
present time, apQng existing uneiYilized
tribes, whetherS n -Afriea-or in. the
islands of the Pacific Ocean. Sir Gard
ncr Wilkinson, who wrote much and
wen about the antiquities OF Egypt, de-
scribes the early needles as made of
bronze; but generally these domestic
implements had noSyes, from, the diff
ficulty of piercing such minute holes in
the metal Now and then, a regular
needle, though coarse; was made. Its
length was from three to fouF inches.
In ancient times, as scriptural and
secular history informs us, fine needle
work was highly valued, especially
among the Hebrews and Phrygians.
Needles Of bronze, which were used by
the Greeks and Romans, are described
by Pliuy, and have been found in Her
culAneum, one of the Italian cities, near
Naples, DESTROYED by aTEeruption- OF
Mount Nesuvius, 70 A. D.; and its re-
mains accidcntally discovered in fTf3.
1t must be evident, from EHomer's
Odyssey" written nearly nine hun
dred years before the Christian era be-
San, that knitting-needles were then in
use; else how could Penelope have
woven the web, in Che f,lay, .which she
undid ut night2 ~ 49, - "
In the fourteenth century, needles
were manufactured at Nu~omhcrg. in
Germany, Their history in England is
little known, but il is believed that they
were first made there in the closing
years of Henry Wis reign, having
been introduced either by Spanish ne.
gro. or by native Of India, who died
without letting the secret of his process
be known. Some years later, in the
reign of Queen Mary (yvife of Philip IT,.
King of SPAIN, needles were compare.
lively plenty in England. They were
Imported from Spain, which then had
almost a monopoly of the manufacture
rhess Spanish needles were made O.
sstceL Il has been stated, bnt not el
good authority, that the manufacture o.
needles was recovered and resumed in
the reign of "good Queen Bess,'' and
that the operator was a. German, Whose
name was Growse, who worked viii
great secrecy, in order to keep the trade
and profits all to himself. 1t is known
with certainty, however, that about tn,
year 1000. during the civil war, and JUS
after the decapitation of Charles |, the
art of matchmaking was revived. b,
one Christopher Greening, at Ions
Crenden, Village in Buclinghanshire
The needles there and then made were
very coarse, compared with those Of tn,
present time. Finally, Redditeh, !:
small town in Worcestershire, lively,
miles from Birmingham became, tn
center Of the. nesdle-tTade. are
Jatwas 6reening, assisted by the CAPT
tai ofAIr. Damer, who transferred tn
needle trade from Long Crendonto Red
ditch; from which place, and its vicini
ty, it maybe said the whole world lha
been mainly supplied during thelastiw
hundred years. Nearly ninety million
(9o,e0o, 000) of needles are made i
,ewer Reddiiohaeyery week. II take
nearly one hundred persons to produc
one needle. Needles are made, but no
nufneroasly, nor ofthe frstclass, in Al
u Chapelie, in Gernnny
wee In the needle is a remarkable exalnpl
Of the value Of the raw material i'm
nensely improved by the processes q
manufacture. The wire-of which ord
narily,sized needles are made is so thi
.asthat II takes 1--WE pounds and a half t