The National tribune., 1882-03-04
STRIKING A LIGHT,

STRIKING A LIGHT.
People who light their pipes, cigars, or lamps
OF kndle their fires by the instantaneous ignition
of friction Matches have, unless they are old peo-
ple very little conception of the labor and tribu
lation attendant upon the same process fifty years
ago. Every well-regulated family at that time
was provided with tin box of finder, produced
by the combustion of rags, and flint and STEEL
and matches which had been dipped into brim-
stone. When fire was wanted the flint and steel
and finder were produced, and the finder being
ignited by sparks precipitated from the steel by
means of the flint match was touched to the
burning mass, and being lighted, was applied to
some prepared kindlngs and fire thus produced,
the whole process occupying from five to fifteen
minutes according to the skill or luck of the
operator This was attended with so much labor,
and productive at times of the use of so many
naughty words on the part of the person operat-
ing, that fire was generally kept all night.
This was done-there were few stoves, and hard
coal had not come into very general use then
by covering the huge and blazing backlog in
the fireplace with ashes, and in the morning
there was generally found in its place bed of
live Goals, which, by the application of fresh
wood, and with the aid of the then universal
bellows, usually produced blazing fire in from
fifteen minutes to half hour. Sometimes,
however, from some cause the backlog would
be wholly consumed, leaving nothing but a bed
of ashes. In this case, particularly if there was
an absence of dry kindling in the house, some
member of the family must take the shovel, and
oftentimes, through the snow knee-deep, trudge
to the nearest neighbor's after fire" And some
times, indeed, the nearest nei boris fire would
be out too. in which case the walk would have
to be extended till the fire was procured. The
live Goals were borne home upon the shovel,
often carefully guarded with the hand to prevent
blowing off, placed between two brands the bel
lows set vigorously at work, and the fire thus set
ablazing. In lighting candle, live coal was
taken up with pair OF tOngs and blown upon
with the mouth until blaze was produced.
Pipes were lighted by placing live coal upon
the tobacco, and cigars by holding the burning
coal to the end and putting with all ones might.
The first improvement ON this in New England
the substitution of bottle of phosphorus,
into which, the cork being removed, birthstone
match was thrust and being thus ignited the
bottle was quickly closed in order to retain the
strength of the liquid. This was such an eman-
cipation from the thraldom of the tinder-box and
flint and steel and other inconvenience of the old
method that people rejoiced greatly, and believed
that the ne Plus ultra in this direction had been
reached, and every well-regulated family was
provided with its bottle of phosphorus, while
the flint and steel and tinder-box were laid aside
to be used only in case of emergency. This in
vention was known by the name of "loco-foco
matches" Directly, however, there was another
invention, that left the phosphorus bottle as
much in the shade as the other had the flint and
steel. This was the application of preparation
of phosphorus and birthstone to the tips of
matches, which only required to be drawn be-
tween the folded leaves of piece of sand-paper
to produce light so that the smoker had only
to carry his matches in one vest pocket and his
folded sand-paper in the other to light his pipe
at any moment. These latter were known as
"Lucifer matches" as taking, it is presumed, of
the character of the scriptural "son of the morn
ing" But the spirit of invention was not salts
fed to stop here, and the result was the present
world-used friction matches, that alike serve all
people, and the making of which at the present
time, in all probability, consumes almost as
much wood as there was burned by the whole
United States for all the purposes of warming
and cooking a century ago.-Providence Star.