The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1914-05-18

Finest Balls Taking Calf or Gov Skin
and the Cheaper Grades shsspskin.
The 6isdders Are Made 81 Rubber.
That phrase 30 much used In the foot
ball season. chasing the pigskin." in
wolves a popular error. The football
Is not made 81 pigskln. but Of the hide
Of the calf or COW aud for the cheaper
variety the skin OF the sheep. Foot
balls Of the ordinary grade are made
In this country. but some Of the finest.
sold 10 those who are not particular
about price. are imported from Eng
land. where the industry was an old
one before Il was started ia America.
The making OF a football is almost
entirely a male industry. The only
share that women have in the work Is
seen when one first enters a football
factory. At long tables girls sit past
ing Innings on sections OF the footballs
cut in another part OF the factory. IL
is work that a girl is particularly fitted
for. as the Innings must be carefully
fastened 10 the rough leather and
smoothed until there is not n sign OF a
bubble or rough place on the surface
Of the lining.
The first step in the making Of
football is TO select the leather. Only
the best Of picked skins are used. aud
each skin is carefully gene over for
defects before being cut into the nee
essary sections This Is done by ma
chinery. aud the sections are then sent
to the room IN which the girls are at
work for the lining TO Ice pasted on.
Then the lined sections are sent 10
the sewing room and the Innings are
stitched together. bringing the outer
covering OF the football into position
for the final stitching. This is done by
machine that turns the footballs out
stitched I'm the seams but wrong side
out They must then be turned right
side out. "A job that is left 10 men who
do nothing else all day long but re.
verse the leather covers by hand.
work that requires great strength and
endurance and gives the workers pro-
digious amount Of pulling power in the
muscles OF the arms and hands.
When the cover is pulled right side
out the outer part of the football is
finished ready for the imitation. The
bladder is inserted and blown up. and
the ball Is then stamped ON hot press
and worked up until the surface is per
| fectly smooth and free from rough
spots. The ball is then debated and
placed aside for shipment
Balls intended for the soccer game
or for basket ball are also made In the
way described 4 new idea recently
applied TO the making OF the football
Is 20 provide ball suited TO the rough
treatment inseparabIe from play on the
stone tagged or asphalted pavement OF
The school playground. II was found
that the finely finished football intend
ed for use on grass covered field
could not stand the hard usage recciv-
I'd during practice in the school yard.
aud football was therefore devised
especially for this rough work. with
the seams stitched on the outside in
stead of the inside Sewing the seams
from the outside provided n ridge that
protects the ball when kicked ana
bounced in a paved court and makes
| the cost of the footballs used in sea.
son somewhat less than when the fine
ly finished oval of the grldiron grounds
| is used.
The origin of the term kicking the
| pigskin" was explained by one Of the
authorities in this way: years ago,
| when the game was in its early stages
in England. the imitation was done by
means of bladder of a pig. In those
old days the skin of the pig was ac-
tually subjected TO the indignity of be-
ing propelled high in the air by the
toe of football player. but as the
bladder is no longer used the term has
ceased to apply.
The biaddcrs are now made Of the
best Para rubber. The regulation foot
ball weighs from thirteen and a quar-
ter to fourteen ounces The soccer
| hNll NtlSu> iipiu luitltth u HAi'tH
ounces One cannot definitely predict
the life Of football. but the makers
say the hardest Kicking should fail to
retire the ball in less than two years.
| ii may not be generally known that
football has patron saint. In 1920 a
boy named Hugh had the misfortune
! TO kick football through window in
the house of neighbor. who became
SO incensed ut the damage done that
he stabbed the boy TO death. The pop
ulacc avenged the boys death by kill
ing his slayer and then exalted the
name OF the unfortunate boy by calling
him saint Hugh."-New York Sun
Saving Himself
Murphy was assistant cook on board
I trooper" ship bound for India. The