The free press. (Poplarville, Miss.) 1890-19??, 1893-09-21
THE WORLDS FAIR.
W. D. Boyce's Correspondence Bureau,
Adm uistration Building, NO: ld's
Fair Grounds, sep. IL, 1870 J

covpT,es daily TO the observing stu>
dent. Whoever passes Ibe lathe OF
Chaclev Sontag, looks about aud
then Insists on crowding up to the
glass partition. Charley SOntag is
one of the few tbimble makers OF
this country. Soniag's lathe is a
mimic. When the thimble is in the
chuck, 1t gives mary, lous imlta-
tion of the hooking bird whistle
which shrieks it's blood chilling notes
from the top Of machinery hall. 1t
does this when the tumble maker
| is "Knurling" the end or top of the
thimtl.. The KnurlIng tool gives
out seven distinct notes during the
operat on md is one of the most
nuslcal instl uments in the machlns
ery hall orche ira. Three hundred
silver thimbles are turned out daily
at the thlmble factory. The oper-
alton is simple aud Interesting. The
preliminary steps in the making of
a thimble are taken in the eastern
factory, for the machinery hall ex-
bibit has not the space 10 accom-
modate the machinery. The THIN
bile blank is cut and formed at one
operatlou. The silver, in strips
about two inches wide and Of vary
ing thickness, is fed into a press
which cuts disk and stamps the
thimble out of the round blank.
TIE tbimble is not cone shaped but
straight sided cup of silver. 1t is
next placed under straight punch
which stretches it to the require d
thickness after which it is shaped
to the familiar thimbIe form. A boy
takes the thimbles and in a lathe
turns the edge and turns the rim
over, and then the souvenir design
is D aced on the band Immediately
above the rim by roller die which
is held against 1t in lathe. ln this
condition the blanks come to the
Worlds Fair to have the finishing
touches put on them. The thimble
maker places the blank in a chuck
and sets the lathe spinning, He
first knnrls the top of the thimble
as he calls the process of putting
IN the dimp'es which catch the
head OF the needle. The knurlr g
tool is little narrow wheel of hard
steel which has teeth cut in It's rlm.
The wheel revolves at the end of
the tool which is held on a tool
rest. The spinning ,himbie whirIs
the wheel around so rapidly that
the silver and steel give out the
notes of the hooking bird whistle
as the tool moves from the center
to the edge and back again. Wbea
the end is kuured the side Of the
thimble is dimpled with similar
tool, only the wheel is wider. The
thimble is finished ins,Ge IN anoth,
er chuck, turned down to the
standard weight and FURNISHED.
Thlmbles are of ten sizes, ranging
from No. 4 to No, IA.
Zulu war trophies, the products
of the great ,eldts, rugs and pelts
of lare animals adOrn the Cape Col.
ony exhibit in the agricultural
building. The exhibit is at the ex-
trema northeast corner of the
building. Wcols MAKE up large
portion of it. This exhibit is in the
charge of Robert Lee. Said Mr..
Lee: 1--WE have about four million
sheep and about half million
G ats. The sheep will average a.
boat six pounds of fleece apiece
worth 16 cents a pound in Lon Tor,
while the goats average so pounds
OF wool apiece worth 80 cents a
pound in the same market. Our
growers are paying special atten-
ton to the breeding of AngOra
goats. Perhaps the most valuable
animal we have is the fat-tailed
sherp. | have seen single tail
weighing 80 pounds aud as it is
pure fat it is very valuable. The
hides, too, are much sought after.
When II comes to game, why there
Is almost no end to the variety to
Re had. OF course the big game,
such as elephants and lions, is al
most altogether in the north coun-
try up about Mashonaland. The
natives are splendid workmen in
some lines, especially in the manu-
facture of robes from the skins of
wild animals The cape country is
also very rich in mineral deposits,
particularly gold. The ostrich bust
ness is still an important feature of
our commercial exports. In 1891
the exports of fea hers aggregated
in value $1O,00O,00O.
lo-1l 10 Ia; 4