The Abbeville messenger. (Abbeville, S.C.) 1884-1887, 1885-12-22
About Needles.

About Needles.
"Mamma, what do they make nee
dies of y asked Dorothea as she looked
up from her sewing. She was a bright
eyed little girl of sever years, of an
inquiring turn of mind and industri-
Gus in her habits.
"Of wire. Dorothea," replied her
mother.
"Steel wire ?"
eyes"
ut must be very fine ?"
ut is so very fine that fifteen thou
sand ordinary needles can be made
out of one pound OF wire"
D they make n needle at a timer"
"No, dear. That would be a very
slow process, and would make them
rather expensive. One hundred wires,
eight feet long, are placed in a bundle
and cut into proper sizes by a power
ful pair of shears; it is so arranged
that one man can easily cut about one
million needles in a day of twelve
hours"
Dorothea's eyes widened.
How are they polished ?" she asked.
81 hardly know whether I can ex-
plain the operation to you," replied
her mother. "The needles are tied up
in bundles and placed in what is called
the securing machine. They are kept
in motion from eight to ten hours,
which gives them a silvery appear
ance."
THAT seems simple enough" OBJ
served little Dorothea.
II didn't say they came out OF the
machine polished. resumed the mother.
'The rolls are then covered with put
ty powder and oil, wrapped in canvas,
and placed in n similar machine called
the polishing machine. A third process
Is necessary. The canva is removed
and the needles are agitated in a ves-
sci filed with soft soap and water"
I'm order to remove the oil?" Doro-
thea asked.
Yes, dear. They are finally dried
in ashwOod sawdust, after which they
are tempered"
Which means brittle. don't it, man.
map"
"Jnst so 1t is done by making them
hot. piunging them into oil, and after
ward burning off the OIL"
Dorothea was very much interested.
She now closely examined the needle
which she had in her hand.
Mamma. do they drill the eyes and
sharpen the needles before they temper
them?" she asked.
Yes, Dorothea. I was getting along
too fast in my description. A clever
workman will drill and polish the
holes of seventy thousand needles per
week."
THAT is a large number. mamma.
Are they sharpened OF a grindstone?"
Yes"
"One needle at a timer"
On, no. An expert grinder will hold
twenty-five of the wires at once
against the stone, presenting all their
points by a dextrous movement of his
thumb"
Dorothea pushed her inquiries.
"Wnere are needles principally made.
mamma?"
I'm Redditch, a small town near
Birmingham. in England. 1t is the
great centre Of the needle trade, and
it may be said that it has supplied the
whole world for almost two hundred
years. Ninety millions of needles are
turned out every week."
1t was a larger number than Doro-
thea's mind could grasp.
"Did they use needles in old times p
she asked.
"They are mentioned by some very
old writers. The beautiful Babylo-
nian embroideries, which we're often
made out of gold thread were wrought
with needles. The body of the wife
IF the Emperor Honorius. whose grave
was discovered ut Rome, in 1914, was
wrapped up in an embroidered dress,
from which thirty-six pounds Of gold
were obtained. The needles used by
the ancient Egyptians were made Of
bronze. They had no eyes In them,
wing to the difficulty OF piercing
mch minute holes in the metal
y&Ga4