The Black Hills union and western stock review. [volume] (Rapid City, S.D.) 1904-19??, 1905-06-09
SOMETHING ABOUT
The LEAD PENCIL
The Per Capita Consumption
of America Is Double That
Of Europe.
MAINTAIN SIX FACTORIES
Together They Employ More Than q
900 People and Pay Nearly
$1,000, 900 in Wages Annually
import Our Graphite.

Pearson's Magazine: Every Ameri-
IAN man, woman and child uses two
pencils annually at the owest calcu-
lation. Our per capita consumption Is
double that of Europe. perhaps because
there Is more illlteracy across the
ocean, or perhaps because we are more
e~Xtravagant and waste quite as many
pencils as we use. There are six lead
pencil factories in the United States;
two in New York. two in New Jersey,
one in Illinois and one in Massachu-
sets. Together they employ mors
than 1000 people. pay nearly seven
hundred thousand dollars in ages an
nually and their yearly output. at the
rate Of $4,000 gross daily, is worth more
han two million dollars. We are now
making as many pencils as all OF
Europe combined; we supply nine
tenths of our home demand and ship
a considerable quantity abroad. And
yet, despite the growing Importance Of
the industry and the fact that millions
Of people could not get through a
working day without the use of a PEN
I'll, how few are there who can tell
low this Indispensable little article is
made.
Structurally speaking, the lead pen
I'll consists Of an outer shield or COW
ering and of an inner piece of round.
solid graphite. The wood, which Is of
prime Importance, must be durable
and compact; straight grained and
soft. SO hat it may be alike easy to
polish and white; If it is fragrant so
much greater its value. Now Of all
the trees in the world our Virginia or
red cedar. which grows so luxuriantly
IN the south. particularly In Alabama
and Florida, Is the only one whose
wood meets all these requirements.
Our pencil manufacturers own their
YUM Na1ar rj11S hpt tho ElIr0np3n
makers, much to their dislike. are
obliged to purchase their pencil cover
ing from Is. In order to place them
selves on an equal footing an attempt
was made to transplant the Virginia
cedar. Germany devoted a hundred
CO.. but the climate proved unfavor-
able and a few stunted trees with wood
as hard as oak, proclaimed the expert
nent a mi failure.
On the other hand. We &C to foreign
markets for our graphite, the best
qualities Of which come from eastern
Siberia, Mexico. Bohemia and Ceylon.
IF the cheaper labor market abroad,
mas all of its graphite prepared In Ger
many n sent here ready for use.
Nor Is cheap labor the only considera-
Ion, for the German graphite makers,
ike the wood carvers of Switzerland
AllO lc Ivy lildhclS vi ~ u clilUel 5, lOl-
ow the trade from father to SON.; take
i % 1t quite naturally n leave the rest
If the world behind in experiences.
Pencil leads consist Of a mixture Of
clay and graphite, both undergoing a
careful and separate treatment before
hey are united. The raw graphite,
after being reduced to a fine powder in
l mortar. sifted and freed from i'm
~ourities by mineral acids, is washed
md fired to a bright red heat. The
lext step is to d water to the prepa-
alton and pour it into a vat, where
he heavier particles sink. From this
,at the water carries the lighter par
:icles into another at a lower level,
md then on into one or two more
where the heavier particles drop to the
POTION and the tiner particles are car
led over. The graphite drawn from
he last vat in the series is in a state
IF extremely fine division, and its value
reserves 1t for use In the best pencils
only.
The clay, purged OF and and iron
goes through somewhat the same pro.
cess, and then 1t Is mixed with thu
.. graphite. the proportion varying all thu
way from equal parts to two Of ella!
or one Of graphite-the amount O
clay depending strictly on the degree o
: hardness or softness wanted for tn,
{ pencil leads.
4 When the particles of clay an,
E graphite are thoroughly incorporates
i md ground together they are placed ii
: oags and squeezed to the consistenc.
II If dough by a hydraulic press. TIL
:ormless substance, ready to be shap
3 I'd into pencil rods. Is forced by a pts
) ton in continuous threads through tn
= many apertures Of a strong uprigh
GRASS cylinder. each of the aperture
Il oeing Of exactly the same size as tn
r. eads hat are to be fitted in the pen
e Ills. The long threads Of graphite ar
II -eceived and arranged on straigh
n grooves of a wide board and left t
e harden until they become as stiff a
II .ods. Afterward they are cut int
e 'equisite pencil lengths-seven inche
u IS a rule-packed with charcoal In
le covered crucible and submitted to
/ high furnace heat.