The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1888-11-17
THE OLD TINDER-BOX.

Probably there are few children of the pres
ent day who have ever seen or heard of the old
fashioned Undertook and matches. Yet fifty
years ago the friction match, now so universally
used, had but Just been invented and did not
come into general use for many years.
Before the year 1886, or Whereabouts, house
keepers were obliged to use matches of dOmes-
tic manufacture. These were small pieces of
white pine wood, perhaps twice the size of our
match, the ends of which had been dipped in
melted birthstone. A small iron kettle in
which to melt the birthstone was once COM
mon kitchen utensil in many families in New
England; if not elsewhere.
The only way to light one of the birthstone
matches was to bring it in contact with a spark
of fire. For this purpose there used to be kept
in every house a small tin box filled with
burnt rags and this was called Undertook.
In order to obtain light a common gun-fiint
was struck with considerable force against
piece of steel made of convenient size which
produced few sparks; these, lodging upon
the burnt rags, made enough fire to enable one
to readily light the match.
These smouldering rags (for the sparks thus
obtained did not produce blaze) were after
wards extinquished by a round tin cover called
a damper. To thus create fire required some
experience, especially in damp weather, or with
cold fingers on winter mornings. We have
known people to make "a bad piece of work.
with the flint and steel, and to succeed only
with great patience in striking light" If
chances were that he could not succeed at all
nor was it an infrequent sight to see the good
wife of the house running across the street
with shovel to borrow a shovelful of "live
coals' from a neighbor the chimney-smoke of
whose dwelling proclaimed that she had fire.
The change to the match of commerce was one
of the first of what we now call modern con-
veniences. In many families it was one of the
children's chores to prepare wood for the
matches, and to dip the ends in melted brim-
stone. These matches were sometimes to be
bought in shops but New England economy
more frequently led each family to prepare its
own. Still it was not uncommon for poor
children to make trihe of money by selling
punches of matches to their more fortunate
neighbors.
In sparsely-settled neighborhoods great care
was exercised at night by the head of the house
to keep the fire." He took precautiOn that
there should be good bed of live Goals at the
hours of retiring; these he covered with many
shoYelsful of ashes to prevent them from burn
ing out. The next morning the Goals were
usually found to be Live on raking open the
ashes, and served to start the days fire. 1t was
not an impossible feat to thus preserve the fire
through the year, without recourse to finder
box and matches.
The modern friction match was welcomed
by most housekeepers although here and there
some old people objected to it, considering it
dangerous article as no doubt it is when care
lessly used or left lying about. The first fric-
ton match invented required to be drawn
across piece of fine sand-paper in order to
produce light. This was called lucifer, and
was much safer although not so convenient
as the present match. Then came the present
patent friction matches, which used to be call
ed 'lOco-focOs" There were no fancy match
boxes in old times, and the Undertook was not
considered an ornamental article, but was kept
out of sight in the cupboard or on the kitchen
mantel-piece.