Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1919-11-23
NE of the first things q child
wants to do 10 to get its
hands orA lead pencil and

make some syzag marks on
a sheet of paper. which 1t lispingly
tells It's happy mother is letter to
daddy. About the last think an old
man thinks Of doing is to geA an old
stump Of lead pencil and trembling
ly make notes for his lawyeE> indicat-
ing to whom ne wants to will his
property.
One Of the most exciting and thrill
ing events OF a boys life/is at that
period when the dOwny fuzz first
makes its appearance on his jaw and
he realizes what wonderful things
girls are. 1t Is then that he whites
a new lead pencil to a sharp point,
buys his first box OF stationery, goes
out behind the barn or locks himself
in the attic, and writes his first love
letter. pouring . out his soul to the
in the next block.
Every one of our soldiers in France
kept pencil about his person so
that they could keep in touch with
their loved ones back home at every
opportunity.
y X X X
The lead in the pencils Is composed
Of graphite mixed with clay. Graph
lite is a form OF carbon and belongs
in the same family as charcoal and dia-
monds. and is somewhat allied to coal.
Graphite is sometimes known as
plumbago and black lead. Thus it
will be seen that lead pencils are
really not lead pencils at all. They
really ought to be called graphite
pencils. The misnomer is probably
due to, the fact that, previous to the
employment of graphite for making
pencils. common lead was used, a ma
terial which continued to be employ
ed until well into the nineteenth CEN
fury. Consequently, since graphite
with Its black streak offered a con-
trast to the pale mark of lead, it was
called In contradistinction black lead
= Clay is mixed with the graphite for
the purpose of binding the materials
together and to assist in determining
the degrees of hardness. The clay
used Tor this purpose comes from Aus
IRA ana bohemia. 1t is of an I'M
usually smooth quality and is practi-
oaiiy free from all gritty substances.
The impossibility of importing this
Gay during the. war is largely re-
sponsible for the poor quality Of some
pencils
The mining and publication of
graphite is not unlike the process of
silver ore. 1t is generally found
mixed with quartz silica and mica. It
Is necessary to pulverize the rock
with crushing machinery, which is
Followed by the extraction of the
graphite. Before the praghite is
mixed with the clay it is strained
through very fine silk sleeves, so that
all particles the least bit coarse may
be removed
After the clay and graphite are
measured in proper proportions to as
sure the right grade. they are ground
I togetherFin water between millstones
Tor several weeks, when the mixture
is passed between rollers and through
dies. SO that it will be thoroughly
mixed. This dough" is then squeezed
through die the exact diameter of a
pencil lead. These leads are placed on
boards to dry, and upon completion of
the drying process they are cut into
lengths Of seven inches. This is fol-
lowed by packing them into cruel
bles and placing them in ovens for
several hours, where they are sub
jected to temperature of 1000 de-
grees Fahrenheit. This is done to
extract all moisture and to make them
strong and durable.
The purest graphite found in the
United States is at Ticonderoga, N. Y.
1t yields s9.S per cent pure carbon
During the war a rich graphite mine
was discovered in Texas. Years be-
fore ranchman had bought the land
for $12 per acre. using 1t as a. cattle
pasture. and constantly regretting
that he bought such a rocky place,
never dreaming that those rocks con-
tanned fortune until New York
man offered him $4,000 for seventy
five acres Of 1t. He closed the deal
quicker than the New Yorker could
wink. He still has LIPS acres of the
same kind Of rock-plus his cattle,
and the same old hole in the Colo
RADIO river from which he extracts
catfish.
Graphite Is also mined in Bavaria,
Bohemia. Norway. New Zealand and
Mexico.