St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1889-06-01

Keut-bear lamentations which have
resulted probably from having been
used with thin fakes or strips of IRON
stone. such, for instance, as are very
abundant in the greensand of Seven
oaks and the surrounding district As
such fragments are occasionally found
among the tertiary deposits in and
around West Wickham. there is good
reason to suppose that such means
were used for striking light. al
though We are bound to say We have
not yet succeeded in finding any par
tcular piece of iron.stOne which looks
a. II it had been used for such a pur-
pose.
The ancient inhabitants Of the East
were familiar with the use of magni-
tying glasses and redectors for pro-
ducing fire from the suns rays. and
there are in the writings OF classical
| authors numerous illusions to such
customs; but there is no reason to
suppose that such means were ever
largely used in England. Tho frequent
absence Of bright sunshine would often
render any such attempt to obtain fro
wholly Intellectual.
For many centuries the tinder-box.
or something closely analogous. must
have been the only means by which
fire was artiicially produced in Eng
land. The writer possesses IN old
tinder-box which had been used for
many years. but Of course since the in
PRODUCTION Of matches it has been cast
away as mere lumber. As an original
specimen of the common type Of those
indispensable accessories Of domestic
life during many centuries. Il Is Of
considerable antiquarian interest. al
though it Is OF no intrinsic value what
ever. 1t is q circular box of tin. four
inches in diameter. and an inch and a
half in height 1t originally possessed
q lid. which was probably furnished
with socket for the candle by means
OF which the flame developed from the
spark on the finder was preserved; but
unfortunately the lid is lost. The
steel. shaped to fit the hand. upon
which the fint was struck to produce
the spark. and fiat plate Of tin. de-
signed to extinguish the smoldering
finder which the spark had ignited,
both remain. and the steel bears
marks Of long-continued wear. A
fragment of flint. too. which Is
in all likelihood that used for
producing the sparks. has been
considerably Clipped and bruised
by repeated contact with the steel; and
1t is interesting on that account as
showing what really is the effect OF
such wear. Upon comparison. We find
that there Is no important difference
between this flint and those which we
have described as having been found
In conjunction with neOlithic imple-
ments. On the contrary, it bears q
strong resemblance to them; and what
few variations there are. are only such
as would necessarily arise from the
variation In the time which has elapsed
since the fints were Clipped and
broken. Some of the finder remains
in the box, and we have often succeed
ed in producing light from it by strik-
ing the steel, held firmly I'm the left
hand. with the flint in the right. the
blow being directed toward the finder
box. When the small spark Of red fire
generated by the minute chip OF flint
appears, it is necessary to fan or blow
gently upon it until it has grown to a
small patch OF fire. Then. upon the
application Of q thin strip or splint
of wood. previously tipped with sui
phur, the flame is produced. and the
finder in the box may be extinguished
by simply putting on the lid. The
whole process, after practice. occupies
less that half minute; but if the finder
be not perfectly dry. perhaps five or ten
minutes may be required to produce q
light. finder is made by burning old
cotton rags. and extinguishing them
before they are completely consumed
by the fire. Other kinds of finder are
made from dried fungus. 1t seems
almost incredible that, with the knOwl-
edge OF chemistry which was possessed
during the last two or three centuries.
such q clumsy and difficult method Of
producing fire should not have been
superseded by one more easy and ex-
peditioua
The invention of '.lucifer matches"
In 1897 marks the commencement of a
very important era in the history Of
our subject. Before that date, it is
true. there had been certain chemical
means used by which light was pro-
duced, but they were merely cxcep-
tional cases. Friction matches were
invented by Mr.. John Walker. Of
Tees. in 1927. $ For many
years he occupied a small shop. No. 50
High street. where he carried on the
business OF an apothecary. lie appears
to have been q tolerablc chemist; and.
being interested in studying the prop
critics OF phosphorus. it is probable he
discovered its suitability for the pro-
duction Of light in the course Of his re-
searches. For several years he sold the
matches he made in pasteb0ard boxes
containing fifty matches for one
shilling per box. by this lucrative
business he saved enough money to re-
tire; and on the LIST of May. 1859. he
died At the age Of seventy-eig years.
A letter relating TO Mr.. Walkers valu-
able invention has been contributed to
the Northern Echo BY Mr.. Alderman
jackson. It is SO interesting that we
shall make no apology for reproducing
It here: