The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1897-03-19
Electrical Pocket Lamp is
Now Promised.
Improvements on the Phos-
phOrus Tipped Splints.
Old Ways OF Striking Fire--How
the Match OF Today Is Made.

the phosphorus tipped wooden splints now
in use will be replaced by a handy little
tool that may be carried in the pocket or
hung up conveniently for striking light
when wanted. Twentieth century people
will doubtless speak OF the "hell sticks
of the present day as primitive and absurd
Just as we are disposed 10 look with scorn
upon tho flint and steel Of our forefathers.
Already there Is ON the market gas
lighter which affords moro than a sugges-
tion Of the electric match OF the future u
twist of the handle generating sufficient
electricity to accomplish tho purpose.
Also, there are several styles of cigar
lighters, which depend for their supply of
electricity upon storage batteries For
some years past the gas jets in theatcrs
and public buildings have been lighted by
the electric spark. Indeed, most persons
have seen the curious experiment Of
lighting the gas with the finger after n
shuttle across the carpet To generate the
electricity needed
The portable electric lighter is bound TO
come, says the IT Louis "Globe Demo
crat. Meanwhile, inventors, as shown
by the records of the patent Office, cxer-
else much ingenuity in trying 10 improve
on the common, every day match. There
arc matches Of bone and matches of paste
boardQ also, matches made Of glass and
matches of paper, while one entcrprising
genius proposes to manufacture matches
out Of "A mixture Of oyster shells and
clinkers ground up. Not least interesting
is a spherical match-a little ball of wood
pulp covered with phosphorus compost
tion. In using il holder is required,
inasmuch as there is no stick. the ignitcd
wood pulp burning slowly until wholly
consumed. Thus there Is no residue OF
stick and tar 10 be disposed of, aud
matches of this kind have the further
advantage that they are cheap and can be
packed In very small compass like pills.
There arc several devices for combining
match and cigar. One of these Is u sort
of peg made of inter- sulphur, charcoal,
-four and gum-arabic, which Is stuck on
the end of the cigar. When you want "a
light IL Is necessary merely To rub the tip
of the cigar upon rough surface. A
-pcrfunled match has -hcGn- patented, the
stick being dipped in oil of cassia. or
course, there are ever SO many odd sorts
of matches actually In Use today-as, for
example, the WAX matches, which are
employed In Europe TO nm extent vastly
greater than in this country. Most OF the
wax matches are manufactured In Italy
and Great Britain. They are made by
drawing strands of fine cotton thread,
twenty or thirty at n time, through
melted stcarine. This hardens quickly,
and tho tapcrs are rounded by pulling
them through perforated iron plates. 1t
then remains only TO cut them into
proper lengths and dip them into an ig-
hitting composition.
IT, il an odd fact that even at the pres
cnt day patents are sought for pipe-light-
ing contriyanccs in which flint and steel
arc utilized with mechanical moiifica-
tions. IL Is probable that citizens of the
United States use moro matches than
any other people in the world. Every
man, woman and child in this country,
taking the average, consumes eight
matches every day I'm the year. The
,obaccu- smoking habit adds enormously
To the consumption of matches. In Franco
il costs moro 70 strike a light than in any
other civilized land, because the manu-
iacturc Of matches there is a Government
monopoly. Sweden is the great match
maker OF the world, though the industry
is conducted on an enormous scale in the
United states and elsewhere.
Pine and aspen are the woods which
furnish most of the material for match
sticks. The logs are cut into blocks 10
inches long, representing the length of
seven matches Freed from bark, the
block is put into lathe with "A cutting
tool hy which u continuous strip OF
veneer IL turned off, Just the thickness of
a. match Thus the whole block Is con-
vertcd into sheet 10 inches wide, which
is cut incidentally to the same process,
into seven ribbons, the width Of each
being just the length of match The
ribbons are fed, 100 at n time, into
machine, which chops them into sticks.
Then the sticks are dried in heated drums,
sif;ed 10 get rid of splintcrs, bundled by.
machinery and dipped In the combustible
mixture. From the fclled tree to the
finished match, everything Is done by
machinery. Women fiji the match boxes
at the rate of 10 gross in 10 hours.
The best wood for match sticks is the
aspen, and In Europe some anxiety has
been caused by thrcatcndcd exhaustion
of the available supply of that material
There are plenty of aspen trees in the
United States and II has been suggested
that this country might furnish all the
match factories of Europe with the re
quisito logs for an indefinite period.
Aspen wood Is free from knots, and very
combustible, surprising i'm those respects
pine, poplar, linden and birch, all of
which are utilized for match 81 cks The
rings representing the annual growth ofthe
aspen are very uniform, giving homogen-
Gus ribbons and first shavings for the
match boxes, ono machine producing
both ribbons and boxes from the same
stuff. A cubic meter of aspen wood for
matches il worth from - 60 81. l9.
Truly, IL would seem out of the question
90 get along without matches, yet they
were unknown sixty-iive years ago. There
must have been time when early man
knew not how To make ere, and some very
primitive tribes today have not that
knowledge Savagcs quite generally be-
lieve that fire actually dwells I'm wood
and stone, because from those substances 10
can be obtained by friction or by striking.
Some savagos are able 20 make fire with
two sticks in fraction Of a minute,
whereas the Amos Of Japan require two
hours TO accomplish the same feat One OF
the queerest ways Of making fire Is prac-
ticcd by the Malays, who cut N-shaped
slit In branch of the oil tree and saw AT
A. with knife-edgcd stick of ironwood
In three minutes the sawdust THUS pro-
duced becomes incandescent and tinder Il
applied. The ignited tinder Is wrapped
in dry grass and whirled around the head
of the operator until IL Is in flame.
Another process for making fire by saw
ing involves the use OF two sticks OF bam
boo. one CONVEX and tho other with a
knife edge. The former Is placed with
the convex side up and sawed with the
latter. the dust becoming incandescent and
falling upon finder that has been placed
beneath. Bamboo Il first rate friction