The Palatka daily news. (Palatka, Fla.) 1884-1888, 1886-11-11
THE MANUFACTURE OF TOoTHPIcks.
= Place Where They are Blade ~ rho
Niiilinn--A Unique Industry.


NiiIinn--A Unique Industry.
Their. ;sc. I have been told, hut three
tuothp.r!. f,.togi.S in The United States. ono
of them is lo.f,teI NJ Belmont Allegheny
county. y. y. just on the edge Of the town,
ami near the banks Of the GeucSeo river. In
gong over most factories one i generally
u-lcrel IL at the wrong end, that i, whore
the completed work is ready for shipment.
This factory was no exception 10 tho rule,
lat | viii take You below stairs first, and we
viii then work upward gradually. The fac
tory makes two articles of commercc-tOOth-
picks, Is already stated, and allumetteS, or
lamp-lighters. To commence ut first Vriu-
ciplcs. We started il the basement, and
after exploring the engine room, betooS our
selves To where the woodwork was in its first
stages. We found in this second room piles
Of circular blocks of wood about sixteen
inches in diameter by perhaps five in thick
ness. This wood was hard and soft
maple and pine. These are put into re
volving machine, which strips them of their
bark: they are then sent up 10 the first floor.
Here they are again put into another revo!N-
ing machine, which cuts them into fine strips,
which are then cut into the required shape
for toothpcks. Tho picks" are dropped out
at one side, while the refuse falls from the
other into u shaft. and IS carried down to the
basement, and subsequently used for firing.
Some are round, some square. This little
machine which makes them appears simple
enough to the uuinitiated, but in reality Is
quite complicated. containing, We were in
formed, several hundred knives. These
small articles of after dinner service are then
taken up TO the second story, where they are
kept in a heated room until sufficiently dry
Tor packing
Dcsccudiu. TO the first ioor-fur we have
followed our miniature guide up stairs and
dOwn-we enter a room whore several girls
and women and two or three boys ut
work. one girl we find stamping thin paste
board boxes with a press and then folding
these boxes by hand with a rapidity impossi-
Lle to be- followed by the eye. The expert
cncod fingers grow very Himble. On the
other side of the room girls We're sorting and
arranging the picks and putting them in
boxes. The work was executed with an
alcrtuCSS only acquired through long prac-
tice. The plan Of arranging them III bundles
preparatory 10 boxing in this: From the
large leap in front draw smaller quantity
Yet several times larger than the proposed
bundles These little sticks lay at skies and
sevcns'' rs confused as the most contrary pile
Of jackstrawS.
The first motion Is To draw the pile toward
the worker the second 10 draw the hands
across the pile latcraliy and carry of any
Offending sticks that lay III their way, and
then close in the pile rs the third motion,
again scattering and arranging Reiterating
these motions with more or lr>s variation
soon brings order out of chaos, AMI the pile
grows beautifully les as compact, neat
bundles assume the desired shape and pro
portion. They were then quickly boxed and
thrown aside ready for market. In the
manufacture of the allumcttc the wool was
cut into long strips of two different widths.
four and half inches FOR the narrower. and
as 1 remember about eight inches FOR the
wide, and thigfv--ccond Of an inch IN thick
ness. r. thau Lun. from beams IL
a drying rpa.., amt Tho Lrulrd. I.ihbon-lilc
effect ot the room was very pretty. They
We're aftcrward put Ly the quantity into
cutting machine, attended 10y a boy, whence
issued tine useful allumette, ready for binding
and L.yiu-.-Brlmuut Cor. Rochester Union
and Advertiser.