The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1878-03-15
How Matches are Made.

A match is small thing. We seldom
pause to think, after it has performed
its mission, and we have carelesslv
thrown it away, that it has history of
its own, and that, like some more pre-
tcntious things, its journey from the
forest TO the match-safc is full of chan
ges.
The match of to-day has 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 floated down the water-courses 10
the lakes, through which II is floated in
great log-rafts. These RATS are divided;
some parts are pulled through the ca
nails, 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 match,
and about eight inches 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 u match, but twice its
length. This machine is capable, we
are told, of making about 100000
splints in day. This number seems
immense when compared with the most
that could be made in the old way-bv
hand. The splints are then taken to a
''setting" machine, and this rolls them
into punches about eighteen inches in
diameter, every splint separated from
its neighbors by little spaces, so that
there may be no sticking together after
the clipping" 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
a quarter of an inch between adjoining
splints. From the "sctting" machine
the bundles go TO the "dipping' room.
After the ends of the splints have
been pounded down to make them
even, the bundles are dippcd-both
cnds-into the molten sulphur and then
into the phosphorus solution, which is
spread over large iron plate. Next
they are hung in frame to dry. When
dried they are placed in machine
which, as it unrolls the ribbon, cuts the
sticks in two across the middle. thus
making two complete matches of each
splint.
The match is made. TIE towering
pine which listened to the whisper of
the south wind and swayed in the cold
northern blast, has been so divided that
we can take it bit by bit and twirl il be-
tween two fingers. But what it has
lost in size it has gained in use. The
little flame it carries, and which looks
so harmless, flashing into brief exist
ence, has a latent power more terrible
than the whirlwind which perhaps sent
the tall pinc-trec crashing to the
ground.
But the story is not yet closed. From
the machine which completed the
matches they are taken to the "boxers"
mostly girls and women-who place
them in little boxes. The speed with
which this is done is surprising. With
one hand they pick up an empty case
and remove the cover, while with the
other they seize just q sufficient humber
of matches, and by a peculiar shuffling
motion arrange them evenly, then-'t is
done!
The little packages of sleeping fire
are taken to another room, where on
each one is placed stamp certifying
the payment to the government of one
cent revenue tax. Equipped with these
passes the boxes are placed in larger
ones, and these again in wooden cases,
which are to be shipped to all parts of
the country, and over seas.
All this trouble over such little things
as matches. Yet OH these fire tipped
bits of wood millions of people depend
for warmth, cooked food and light
They have become necessity, and the
day of flint, steel and tindcr seems al
most as far away in the past as are the
bow and fire-stick of the Indian.
How apt to our subject is that almost
worn-out Latin phrase, "multum in
pdrro, ,"-mnch III little Much labor
much skill, much usefulness, all in a
little piece of wood scarcely ,onc-eighth
of an inch through and about two
inches long.-fF. II. C., st. Nicholas
for March.