The morning news., 1899-03-18

crushing down the end, as in rivetng;
| but for those of larger size the heads
| must be prepared previously, in a par
| ticular and very ingenious manner, from
a piece of wire twisted spirally, two and
| half turns being required to make the
| head, of which 100000 may be produced
| daily by one worker. Whereas before
| 1885 each pin was headed separately by
| hand, between 5000 and 5000 pins may
| now be headed mechanically In ten hours.
| Enamel-headed pins constitute a branch
of industry special to Aix-la-Chapelle,
where was first conceived the idea of
adapting the enamel or glass head to the
steel shank. A manufacturer of that city,
| seeking means for utilizing the needles
spoiled in manufacture conceived the idea,
after visiting some Venice glass-bead fac
tories, of fixing the head on the end of
| one of the ''waster' needles, so as to form
| a pin; but it was only after long and tedi-
| GUS trials that he succeeded in attaching
| the enamel strongly enough 10 the shank,
| and also in finding a composition vi glass
| sufficiently tough TO stand the usage to
which pin may be subjected.
The general introduction of the steel pin
was not easy, because it was found that
the early examples readily became de-
| tached, owing to their high polish, while
| they often broke through want of sutfi-
cient pliability. During the last thirty
years, however, the consumption of steel
pins has greatly increased; and at a single
Aix-la- Chapelle factory it has been found
necessary to put up separate works to
| make the glass for heading pins, that now
| turn out half ton of enamel" daily for
| this purpose, while the same establishment
consumes two-thirds of it. The consider
alton that only O.2 gram g grains) of this
glass is, on an average, required for head
| ing a pin, will afford some idea of the
enormous quantity of pins that can be
headed with a half ton.
Owing TO the greatly increased consump-
| ton of steel pins, the ''waster'' needles
now form only a very slight proportion of
| the shanks required For preparing the
latter, pointed lengths of iron wire are in
troduced, 100000 together, into a cast
| iron drum containing a special carbon dust
| for cementing themI. e., turning them
| into steel, by subjecdng them to the nee
| essary heat during a certain length of
| time. This process imparts the necessary
| degree of hardness; and the almost imper-
| ceptible fiange formed in cutting the wire
| to length is favorable to the holding fast
| of the head, while ii is seldom that an
enamel-headed pin loses its head
The enamel, or glass, has TO be made
| specially for the purpose, because it must
| be easily fusible. and must also remain
viscous sufficiently long for the forming of
| the head, while it must also be bright
without the necessity of polishing, and yet
not brittle Two workmen with iron rods,
| like that of the glass blower, except that
| they are not holly, take up on the end of
them sufficient glass, which is rounded by
| turning so as to assume the form of
pear With their rods they proceed quick
| ly 10 a drawing-out walk, like a rope walk,
straight, horizontal and about fifty meter s
! (56 yards long. Standing in the middle
| the men unite the balls of viscous glass;
| and then proceed in opposite directions to
| the ends of the walk, thus drawing out
| the glass TO the whole length, its thick
| ness VARYING with the rapidity of the
| movement between three and seven milli-
| meters (mean three-sixteenths-inch), after
which the glass rod is cut into lengths and
made Into bundles.
The head is formed and fixed at the
| same operation with great skill by work
woman seated before a table on which are
mounted frame, about 10 en-. C6 incnes)
| high. carrying the glass rod placed hori-
| zontally dts end being brought to a con-
venient distance) gas burner at about
the hight of the rod and an air jet for
| giving a blowpipe flame, all adjustable.
| The workwoman, who has before her
| quantity of steel shanks, takes several In
| each hand and passes each one in success
| sion, alternately with the right and left,
| into the heated and viscous portion of the
| glass red withdrawing the shank by a
| special turning movement so as to take up
| a little of the glass, and a turn of the
| thumb and first finger gives the shank a
| rotary movement, so that the glass taken
| up becomes formed into head which re-
| mains attached to the end of the shank
| the head cooling while the complete pin
| falls into a channel This somewhat COM
| plex operation is executed with remarka-
| Bile address and rapdity. and a skillful
| worker can head from 25,O0O to 10000 pins
| daily. There are fifteen sizes of these
| pins, the heads of which vary in diameter
| from Is to 3.5 millimeters-from one-six-
| teenth to one-eighth of an inch-while the
length of the shank varies from 15 to 5
centimeters Q9-32 inch to 2 inches).
! According to the report of the Aix-la
| Cbapelle Chamber of Commerce, there are
now in that city forty pin and needle fac
tories, employing more than 1900 work.
| people. or two-thirds of the total number
| engaged in that industry in Germany. For
| making needles alone from 800 to 900 tons
| OF steel wire are worked up yearly; and
| the following are the numbers of the prin-
| cinal finished products that are turned out
| per annum: Hand-sewing needles, 3,10O 000.
| OO0. sewing machine needles, 65, 900, ,000 vari-
| ous other needles, Sc, 100000; and pins .3OO,-
! O0O0OO. making a total of 4,5OOOO, rep
resen1ing a value of 100000 marks (f9O0,
OOM and giving a mean price of Is 4d per
900, although the prices actually vary
from 715d to SIS per 1000
| OF the lightest needles there are forty in
! a gram. and therefore. 200 to an ounce,
while no less than 1900 Of the lightest
enamel-headed steel pins go TO a pound
| avoirdupos.
Manufacturers who produce none but
needles Of the highest quality complain
bitterly that much harm is done to the
! Airx-ln-Chapelle market by inferior prod
utcs which can scarcely be distinguished
| bv their appearance from those of good
! nuaf-Iy While good needle may be
bought at the rate Of ten penny, those of
! inferior quality are sold thirty for penny;
J but The difference In price is far more than
set off by frequent breakage' bad work.
! difficulty of threading, wearing of thread,
| and loss of time, 70 say nothing of temper.
| II is only the mddiemen who gains by the
| bad needle, the producer and consumer
both SUFFERING