The Toledo chronicle. [volume] (Toledo, Tama County, Iowa) 1873-1924, 1878-03-14

A MATCH is small thing. We sell
dom pause to think, after it has per-
formed its mission, and we have care
lessly thrown it away, that it has
history of its own, and that, like some
more pretentious things, its journey
from the forest to the match-safe is full
of changes.
The match of to-day has a story far
more interesting than that of the old
fashioned match. As we have said,
much of the timber used in the manu-
facture comes from the immense tracts
Of forest in the Hudson Bay Territory.
1t is fioated down the water-courses to
the lakes, through which it is towed In
great log-rafts. These RATS are di-
fided; some parts are pulled through
the canals, and some by other means
are taken to market. When well
through the seasoning process, which
occupies from one to two years. the
pine is cut up into blocks twice as long
as a match, and about eightinches wide
by two inches thick. These blocks are
passed through a machine which cuts
them up into "splints," round or
square, of just the thickness of match,
but twice its length. This machine is
capable, as we are told, OF making
about 2, ,OOO, 900 splints in . day. This
number seems immef1se when COM
pared with the most that could be made
in the old way-by hand. The splints
are then taken to the "setting' ma
chine, and this rolls them into bundles
about eighteen inches in diameter, ey.
cry splint separated from its neighbors
by little spaces, so that there may be
no sticking together after the. "dlp-
ping.' In the operation of setting,
a ribbon of coarse stuff about an inch
and half wide and an eighth of an inch
thick, is rolled up, the splints being
laid across the ribbon between each
two courses, leaving about quarter OF
an inch between adjoining splints.
From the setting'' machine the
bundles 90 to the dipping room.
After the ends Of the splints have
been pounded down to make them
even, the bundles are dipped-both
ends-into the molten sulphur and
then into the phosphorous solution,
| which is spread over large iron plate.
| Next they are hung in frame to dry.
When dried they are placed in ma
chine which, as it unrOlls the ribbon,
cuts the sticks in two across the middle.
thus making two complete matches OF
each splint. Isl
The match is made. The towering
nine which listened to the whisper ol
the south wind and swayed in the cold
northern blast, has been so divided thai
we can take it bit by bit and lightly
twirl it between two fingers. Bu1
i what it has lost in size it has gained II
use. The little flame it carries. ane
which looks SO harmless, flashing into
brief existence, has Q latent pOwel
more terrible than the whirlwind whicl
perhaps sent the tall pine-tree crashing
to the ground.
/. But the story is not yet closed. From
the machine which completed tn
matches they are taken to the "b0x
ers'' mostly girls and women,wh.
place them in little boxes. The speed wit!
which this is done is surprising. Will
one hand they pick up An empty cas-
and remove the cover, while with tn
| other they seize Just sufficient mum
ber Of matches, and by . peculiar shul
ding motion arrange them evenly, thel
Ills done! -
q The little packages of sleeping fir
are taken to another room, where q
each one il placed . stamp certifyipI
tho pavment to the Government 0
one cent revenue. tax. Equipped wit
these passes the boxes are placed !
larger ones, and these again In woode
1 1snss - -~hs 49, -