The Lebanon express. (Lebanon, Linn County, Or.) 1887-1898, 1891-03-20
Asuu1 NEEDLES.

The holidays are over. and again we
are learning To sew. To-day we have
hens.
II the first fold OF the hem Is not per-
fectly straight. no care In the turning
OF the second fold will be OF any avail.
In this, as In other things, II Is Of the
greatest Importance that the first step
should be right.
Your first folds are evenly doneP
The second fold Of the hem. II nar-
row. should be firmly pressed down.
and sewed without bnsting The wide
hem IL measured, and held in place by
n basting close 10 the edge.
And now, while the folding and bast-
ing go on. tell me what were used long
ago To fasten together the skins OF
animals OF which garments were made.
Natures needles they were. Surely
some one ear guess. Thornspn Yes.
ii was thorns, with iibres OF plants for
the thread; and very good purpose
they served. | am sure.
Did see some one biting off thread?
Have YOU not seen the edge of tooth
worn aud uneven from biting Off
thread? Thread of all kinds should be
broken. or cut with slanting clip OF
the scissors
But the needles. Who made the dis
eoyery that bone and ivory skillfully
shaped made better needles than thorns
/ do not know; neither can / tell you
whose wise read invented way to
make them ci steel. Needles OF steel
were ilrst made in Germany four cen
turies ago. Spanish needles were at
one tune celebrated. For two hundred
years they have been manufactured in
England. and English needles are now
the best In the world.
Your hens are ready to sew?
Hide the knot under the edge of the
hem. and make the stitches equal dis
tances apart. giving the needle slant
ing position as IL passes through the
cloth. Use IL carefully, my dears,
while tell You with what skill aud
labor it Is fashioned for your hands.
Large coils OF wire are cut until each
piece is the length Of two needles.
These pieces are made straight, and
sharpened at the ends; then two ewes
are stamped near the middle. with
cross-cut between. These twin needles,
now head To head. are Gsed apart. and
each lies by itself. But il Is far from
being ready TO begin the work for
which it is designed. IL must be
smoothed where the filing was done;
heated to redness aud plunged into oil
to temper the steel; sand and emery.
putty powder and oil. must polish IL
bright; soap and water must cleanse
it. And even then il is not ready for
use. The eye Is TO be made smooth.
that the thread may not be cut, and a
final polishing is required TO make IL
dainty enough for the work il must do.
The needle was tempered - made
hard-that 1t might not be easily bent.
Tempering steel Is done in various
ways-sometimes by heating the metal.
aud cooling slowly in water; some
times the cooling is done by blast of
cold air.
In lecture. which perhaps some of
your mothers and grandmothers heard,
Wendell Phillips told the story of the
discovery OF tempering steel by cold
air. which just here will interest you;
once upon time. centuries ago. a
knight who had broken his sword went
TO an armorer 10 have the pieces weld
ed together. When this had been done
the heat of the lire had softened the
steel. Seizing his sword. the knight
| hurried away, not waiting Tor the
plunge in cold water which should have
tempered the blade. Mounting his
iOEee. ne Toae up ihe mOahtain-Slue.
cooling his sword by waving il back
ward and forward in the keen wintry
air. uncnnsciously giving il. as he af-
terward learned temper far exceed
| ing that which it would have received
AT the armorer's hand.
Aud now are you all doing your
best? You are not too young TO have
learned already the truth of Lowell's
line. Work that's half done is always
asking 10 be done again" - Lydia
7dber Robinson. ia Harper's Young Reo-
pie.