Milford chronicle., 1907-01-18
NEED OF NEEDLES.
The Daily Output wouldn't BE Lost
Even In n HaystncIx.

Even In Haystnck.
One needle is a pretty small item, but
the daily consumption of something
like 100000 needles all over the world
makes a pretty big total Every year
the women of the United States break,
lose and use about 3O0,O0O000 of these
little instruments.
Our needles are the finished product
of American ingenuity, skill and work
manship. and yet how many people
threading a needle or taking a stitch
have ever given a thought to the vari-
Gus processes through which the wire
must pass ere it comes out a needle?
/ The manufacture of a single needle in
| cludes some twenty-one or twenty-five
| different processes, as follows: Cutting
| the wire into lengths, Strengthening by
! rubbing while heated pointing the
/ ends on grindstones, stamping impress
sion for the eyes, growing, eying, the
eye being pierced by screw presses;
splitting, threading the double needle
by the eyes on short lengths of fine
wire; filing, removing the cheek" left
on each side of the eye by stamping;
breaking, separating the two needles
on the one length of wire; heading,
heads filed and smOOthed to remove the
bur left by stamping and breaking;
hardening in oil, the needle being thus
made brittle; tempering; picking, seDa-
rating those crooked in hardening;
Strengthening the crooked ones, scour-
ing and polishing; bluing, softening
the eyes by heat; drilling or cleaning
out the sides of the eye; head grinding;
point setting, or the final sharpening;
fiual polishing, then papering and final !
ly labelling. For wrapping purple pa |
per is used because it prevents rusting. |
There are many sorts and kinds of |
needles. First, there is the surgeons |
grewsome outft-the probing needle, |
made for tracking bullets or hidden |
cavities of pus; the harelip needle,
the long pins for pinning open wounds,
the postmortem needle of curious pat
tern. Some Of these little instruments
are thin, some are thick Others are
long and straight Others again curve
once, twice or three times. The vet
Urinary surgeon has his special outfit
also. The cooks needles are wonder
fully. fearfully made. His larding
needle is used to sew large pieces of
meat together. The trusting needle is
made on purpose to insert melted but
ter or sauce right into the vitals Of a
Christmas turkey. 1t is hollow and has
a large opening, into which the sauce
is poured Nor less interesting are the
needles which the upholsterer uses.
Some are half curved and some have
round points. He has needles with
curious eyes-long, round, egg and
eyes. The same kind of
needles are used by collar makers.
Then there are the delicate needles
used by wigmakers, glOyemakers and
weavers. These are often as fine as a
hair. The glove needles are splendid
specimens of skillful workmanship
The finest of them have three cornered
points. The great sail needle, which
has to be pushed with a steel palm,
would puzzle most people. So, too, the
needle, which must also
be pushed with a steel palm; the curl
D
atchet; the arrasene and crewel nee
Hes and the needle for shrring ma
chimes, the weaver's pin for picking up
broken threads, with an open eye in the
look The long instrument used by q
the needle of the rag baler. l.
he knife point ham needle used in '
he stockyards, the astrakhan needle
hese and other varieties do not call for /
pecial notice V
The needle as we see it today is the h
volved product of centuries of inven- S
ion. In its primitive form it was made f
# bone, ivory or wood. The making n
f Spanish needles was introduced T.
nto England during the reign of Queen o
elizabeth. Point by point the manu-
acture has improved until the little in S
trument is one Of the highly finished D
rOducts of nineteenth century ma :
hinery and skill.-Scientific American.
French Satire. b.