Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1890-01-09

LlID'bClA pidseo. tue SplneI u the narp-
sichord, for which Bach and Handel
composed in the seventeenth century.
There were a few of these instruments in
the country at that time and one car. be
seen at Mount Vernon that was owned by
Washington. 1t was not. however. until
1873 that John Broadwood, In England.
made a piano with FIVE and a half octaves.
John Osborne made the first pianos in this
country, about 1918, and the first IRON
frame piano was patented here In 1926 by
Alpheus Babcock. The principal musical
instruments of those days were the flute.
violin, and bass VOL. An advertisement
OF a concert about this time taken from
the Boston Gazette shows what such THINGS
then We're: "At Concert Hall on Thurs
day, the 22nd instant. will be a Grand
CONCERT OF VOCAL AND INSTRU-
MENTAL MUSIC. First Violin by Mr..
Morgan; Ha%rpsichord, by Mr.. Propent.
The first Act will conclude with the eele-
brated Highland Laddie Concerts, and,
by particular Desire, will be Sung the
Favor1te Song of Mongo out of the Pad
lock. Tickets to be had of the Printers at
the British Coffee House and at Mr.. Pro-
penis Lodgings at Half a Dollar each.
10 begin at Seven O'Clock. No Money to
NC OclhC1 dO bllC DOOI.
There was not an iron pillow in the United
States then. The first iron plow was pat
ented In 1897, but it was a fiat failure.
The intelligent farmers Of New Jersey,
upon the first trial. pronounced the pillow
not only worthless but a great evil, on the
ground that 1T poisoned the soil" so that
seeds would not terminate. About the
middle of the last century it was not I'M
common IN England that the point of the
pillow was shod with iron. and in 1875 an
Engllshman invented a cast-iron share
and in 1890 the Landslide of the pillow.
In 1898 Thomas Jefferson wrote an elabo-
rate essay on the proper construction of
the mold-board of the pillow. But progress
was slow, owing to the prejudice and
Ignorance of the farmers. In view of the
gang, riding, and sulky plows now in use
on almost every farm, it seems like telling
a dream to say it was not until 1904 that
David Peacock obtained a patent for a
pillow having the mold-board and land
side of cast iron and separate, while the
share was of wrought iron, edged with
steel.
Such a thing as a rubber garment or
shoe was unknown then. Dr.. PrieStly
wrote In ITO that he had seen "a sub
stance excellently adapted to the purpose
of wiping from paper the marks of a black
lead-pencil." This was India rubber In
cakes half an inch square, which were sold
at Is cents each. In 1892 and again in
1911 the rendering of cloth waterproof by
the use of rubber was attempted and fail
ed. In 1913 an air-bed made of rubber
was patented and Macintosh succeeded In
waterproofng cloth by its use-but as his
cloth would stiffen and crack in cold
weather, it did not come into general use.
The first overshoes were made of soft rub
Der, shaped like the foot of a stocking.
They were very soft and elastic and could
be rolled up and put in ones pocket.
They were, however, not durable, as walk
ing with them on anything but a smooth
surface or upon frozen ground cut them
full of holes. Goodyear's experiments,
begun in 1888, led to to the discoveries
that have made rubber so common. It is
o made into tires and springs for wag-
ons, jewelry, combs, knife handles, boxes,
dishes, coats, tents, shoes, buckets and
hundreds of other articles. In this country
we import annually about fourteen million
pounds of crude rubber at a cost of about
so, 900, 900.
There were no steel pens then. All the
writing was done with a quill. The first
pens were made of hollow reeds, sharpen
ed, and adapted to a thick India ink. The
discovery of paper, or papyrus, created. a
great demand for quilts and in Russia,
Poland, Germany, and Holland great focks
OF geese were raised, chiefly to supply this
demand. The quilts were very carefully
prepared. The outside skin was removed
by a hot sand bath and then the quilts
were scraped. After this they were hard
ened by being dippedin a solution of alum
or in nitric acid and were then bundled
for market. Forty years ago most of the
pens used In New England were made
from quilts. The first steel pens were in
troduced in England in 1903, but their
want of fexibility made their adoption
very slow. In 1910 the first patent for the
manufacture of metallic pens in this
country was granted to Peregrine Williams
of Baltimore, but the business did not
prosper, as nothing could compete with
the flexible quill. In 1922 Joseph elliott
of Birmingham, England, began the man.
ufacture of steel pens by the use of i'm
proved machinery, and the product of his
shop speedily became popular. As soon
as his enterprise was established others be-
gan the manufacture of metallic pens, and
the shape, finish, elasticity, and temper of
steel pens were greatly improved. But
for ease in writing there is nothing to-day
hat can compete with a smooth, we'll
made ouill Den.