Popular Technology Volume I Part 12

The spermaceti thus obtained, is melted and moulded into cakes. The oil thus separated from the spermaceti, is called spring or fall strained; because it is filtered and expressed only during those seasons of the year.

14. The oil from the head of the whale is treated like that from the body, in almost every particular. The difference consists, princ.i.p.ally, in omitting the use of the strainer, and in the employment of stronger bags and a more powerful press. The oil obtained from the _head-matter_, is called _pressed_, since it is separated by the action of the press only. It is also denominated _winter-strained_, because the operation is performed in the cold weather.

15. The spermaceti, having been melted and moulded into cakes, is reserved until the succeeding summer, when it is cut into thin shavings, by means of a large shave, similar to the _spoke-shave_ of the wheelwrights, and again pressed as before. The oil of this last pressing is called _taut pressed_, and is the least valuable kind, since a slight degree of cold causes it to become thick. The spermaceti obtained from the oil of the body, and that from the head-matter, are melted together, and purified by means of potash-ley.

16. The sperm-oil, thus freed from the spermaceti, is extensively used in lamps as a means of illumination; and, for many purposes, it is far more convenient than tallow. In the country, lard is frequently employed instead of oil, especially by the German population. In some European and Asiatic countries, vegetable oils supply the place of animal fats, in this application.

17. The origin of the art of making candles is not known. It is evident, however, that the business is comparatively modern, since the Greeks and Romans, as well as other nations of antiquity, employed torches of pine and fir, and lamps supplied with oil, in the production of artificial light. The words in the Scriptures translated _candle_, imply nothing more nor less than a light produced by some kind of oil consumed in a lamp.

18. The lamps in ancient times were suspended by a chain or cord from the ceiling, or supported on stands and moveable tables, which were called by the Romans _lampadaria_, or _candelabra_. Many specimens of this utensil are preserved in several museums of Europe, and some have lately been found in the ruins of Herculaneum.

19. The Chinese make their candles from the tallow obtained from the seeds and capsules of the tallow-tree. This tree, which is produced in great abundance in China, is said to grow in various parts of South Carolina and Georgia. In appearance, it resembles the Lombardy poplar.

[Ill.u.s.tration: COMB-MAKER.]

THE COMB-MAKER, AND THE BRUSH-MAKER.

THE COMB-MAKER.

1. The comb is a well-known instrument, employed in cleansing, dressing, and confining the hair. It is made of various materials, but most commonly of tortoise-sh.e.l.l, the horns and hoofs of cattle, ivory, bone, and several kinds of hard wood.

2. It is impossible to determine the period of the world at which it was introduced, since history and tradition, the sources from which we obtain information of this nature, are silent with regard to its origin. It is evident, however, that the comb is an instrument of primary necessity; and hence it must have been invented in the earliest ages. This opinion is confirmed by the fact, that the comb has been frequently found in use amongst savages, when first visited by civilized men.

3. Combs employed in fixing the hair, are made of tortoise-sh.e.l.l, or of the horns of cattle. The genuine tortoise-sh.e.l.l is taken from the _testudo imbricata_, or _hawk's-bill turtle_; but a kind of sh.e.l.l, inferior in quality, is obtained from the _testudo caretta_, or _loggerhead turtle_. These turtles inhabit the seas of warm and temperate climates; but they are especially numerous in the West Indian seas, where _sh.e.l.l_ is a valuable article of commerce. That from St. Domingo is especially esteemed for its brilliancy of shade and color.

4. The sh.e.l.l of the hawk's-bill turtle was extensively employed for ornamental purposes by the refined nations of antiquity; although we have no account of its application to the manufacture of combs. The Greeks and Romans decorated with it the doors and pillars of their houses, as well as their beds and other furniture. The Egyptians dealt largely with the Romans in this elegant article.

5. The general length of the hawk's-bill turtle is about three feet from the bill to the end of the sh.e.l.l; but it has been known to measure five feet, and to weigh five or six hundred pounds. In the Indian Ocean, especially, specimens of prodigious magnitude are said to have occurred.

6. The sh.e.l.l employed in the arts, grows upon the back and feet of the animal. That on the back, consists of thirteen laminae, or plates, which lap over each other, like tiles on the roof of a house. The plates vary in thickness from one-eighth to one-fourth of an inch, according to the age and size of the turtle. The quant.i.ty of merchantable sh.e.l.l obtained from a single subject of the usual size, is about eight pounds, which, at the usual price, is worth sixty or seventy dollars.

7. The process of making combs from the horns of cattle, is not difficult to be understood. The tips and buts are first cut off with a saw, and the remaining portion is also divided longitudinally on one side with the same instrument. The horns are then soaked for several days, and afterwards boiled in oil, to render them pliable. They are next spread out and pressed between hot iron plates. This operation clarifies the horn, and produces a plate of proper thickness.

8. After the plates thus produced, have been cut in pieces corresponding in size to the proposed combs, and when these have been shaved to a suitable thickness with instruments adapted to the purpose, the teeth are cut either with a _twinning saw_, as represented in the preceding cut, or with a _twinning machine_.

9. In the former case, the plate is fastened with a wooden _clamp_, by the part which is designed to be left for the back of the comb; and when twins, or two combs, are to be formed from one piece, the other end is bent down, so as to render the upper surface considerably convex. To this surface the _twinning saw_ is applied by the hand of the workman, who makes a number of incisions; which are completed both ways with two different kinds of saws, and the end of each tooth is cut from the back of the opposite comb with an instrument called a _plugging awl_.

10. The _twinning machine_ was invented, about twenty years ago, by a Mr. Thomas, of Philadelphia; but it has been successfully improved by several individuals since that time. It is, altogether, an ingenious and useful contrivance. The cutting part consists of two chisels, which are made to act on the plate alternately, and in a perpendicular direction, each chisel cutting one side of two teeth, and severing one from the opposite back, at every stroke. It is impossible, however, to form a clear conception of the manner in which the machine operates, except by actual inspection. It performs the work with great rapidity; since from one to two hundred dozens of combs can be cut in twelve hours; whereas, not one-fourth of that number can be _twinned_ in the old method, during the same time.

11. After the teeth have been rounded, and in other respects brought to the proper form with suitable instruments, the combs are polished by rubbing them first with the dust of a peculiar kind of brick, then by applying them to a moving cylinder covered with buff leather, charged with rotten-stone, ashes, or brick-dust; and, finally, by rubbing them with the hand, charged with rotten-stone and vinegar.

12. The combs are next colored, or stained; and, as the tortoise-sh.e.l.l is by far the best and most expensive material for this kind of comb, the great object of the manufacturer is to produce colors as nearly resembling those of the real sh.e.l.l as practicable. This is done in considerable perfection, in the following manner:

13. The combs are first dipped in aqua-fortis, and then covered with a paste made of lime, pearlash, and red lead. To produce the requisite variety of shades, both taste and judgment are necessary in applying the composition, and in determining the time which it should remain upon the combs. To give the combs a still stronger resemblance to sh.e.l.l, they are also immersed for fifteen or twenty minutes in a dye of Nicaragua.

14. The combs having been covered with oil, they are next heated upon iron plates, and brought to the desired shape by bending them upon wooden blocks with a woollen list. The whole process is finished by rubbing off the oil with a silk handkerchief.

15. The general process of making sh.e.l.l combs differs but little from that which has been just described, varying only in a few particulars, in compliance with the peculiar nature of the material.

16. On account of the great value of sh.e.l.l, the workmen are careful to make the most of every portion of it; accordingly, when a piece falls short of the desired size, it is enlarged by _welding_ to it another of smaller dimensions. The union is effected, by lapping the two pieces upon each other, and then pressing them together between two plates of hot iron. The heat of the iron is prevented from injuring the sh.e.l.l, by the interposition of a wet linen cloth, and by immersing the whole in hot water. In a similar manner, broken combs are often mended; and by the same method, two pieces of horn can also be joined together.

17. Both horn and sh.e.l.l combs are often stamped with figures, and otherwise ornamented with carved work. In the latter case, the ornaments are produced, by removing a part of the material with a saw and graver. The saw employed is not more than the twelfth of an inch in width; and, being fastened to a frame, it is moved up and down, with great rapidity, by means of the foot, while the part of the comb to be cut away is applied to the teeth. The operator is guided in the work by a pattern, which has been struck on paper from an engraved plate.

18. Combs for dressing and cleansing the hair, are made of horn, sh.e.l.l, bone, ivory, and wood; but it is unnecessary to be particular in describing the manner in which every kind of comb is manufactured.

We will only add, that the teeth of fine ivory and bone combs are cut with a buzz, or circular saw, which, fastened to a mandrel, is moved in a lathe.

THE BRUSH-MAKER.

1. There are few manufactured articles in more general use than brushes. This has arisen from their great utility, and the low prices at which they can be purchased. The productions of the brush-maker's labor are denominated variously, according to the purposes to which they are to be applied.

2. The operations connected with this business are very simple, as there is scarcely a tool employed which is not familiar to every other cla.s.s of mechanics. The brush-maker, however, does not manufacture every part of the brush. He procures his wooden _stocks_ and handles from various sources, but chiefly from the turner, and bone handles, from the tooth-brush handle-maker.

3. The first part of the process which may be considered as belonging particularly to the brush-maker, consists in boring the holes for the reception of the bristles. This is done with a _bit_ of a proper size, which is kept in motion with a lathe, while the wood is brought against it with both hands. To enable the operator to make the holes in the right place and in the proper direction, a pattern is applied to the hither side of the stock.

4. The greater part of the bristles used by the brush-makers in the United States, are imported from Russia and Germany. Large quant.i.ties, however are obtained from Pennsylvania, and some parts of the Western States. American bristles are worth from thirty to fifty cents per pound, a price sufficiently high, one would suppose, to induce the farmers to preserve them, when they butcher their swine. Were this generally done, a tolerable supply of the shorter kinds of bristles might be obtained in our own country.

5. When the bristles come into the hands of the brush-maker, the long and short, and frequently those of different colors, are mixed together. These are first a.s.sorted, according to color; and those of a whitish hue are afterwards washed with potash-ley and soap, to free them from animal fat, and then whitened by bleaching them with the fumes of brimstone.

6. The bristles are next combed with a row of steel teeth, for the purpose of placing them in a parallel direction, and with a view of depriving them of the short hair which may be intermixed. The workman, immediately after combing a handful, a.s.sorts it into separate parcels of different lengths. This is very readily done, by pulling out the longest bristles from the top, until those which remain in the hand have been reduced to a certain length, which is determined by a gauge marked with numbers. At each pulling, the handful is reduced in height near half an inch.

7. The stocks and the bristles having been thus prepared, they are next fastened together. This is effected either with wire or by a composition of tar and rosin. The wire is used in all cases in which the fibre is doubled; but when the bristles are required in their full length, as in sweeping-brushes, the adhesive substance is employed.

8. It is superfluous to enter into detail, to show the manner in which the wire and composition are applied in fixing the bristles, as any person, with an ordinary degree of observation, can readily comprehend the whole, by examining the different kinds of brushes which are met with in every well-regulated household. The bristles, after having been fixed to the stock or handle, are trimmed with the shears or knife, according as they are required to be equal or unequal in length.

9. The brush is next handed over to the _finisher_, who applies to the back of the stock a thin veneer of wood, which secures the wire against the oxidizing influence of the atmosphere, and gives to the brush a finished appearance. The stock, together with the veneer, is then brought to the desired shape with suitable instruments, polished with sand-paper, and covered with varnish.

10. Those brushes which the manufacturer designs to be ornamented, are sent in great quant.i.ties to the _ornamenter_, who applies to them various figures, in gold or Dutch leaf, j.a.pan or bronze, and sometimes prints, which have been struck on paper from engraved plates.

[Ill.u.s.tration: INN-KEEPER.]

THE TAVERN-KEEPER.

1. A house in which travellers are entertained is denominated a tavern, inn, coffee-house, hotel, or house of public entertainment; and an individual who keeps a house of this description, is called an inn-keeper or tavern-keeper. Of these establishments there are various grades, from the log cabin with a single room, to the splendid and commodious edifice with more than a hundred chambers.

2. This business is one of great public utility; since, by this means, travellers obtain necessary refreshments and a temporary home, with very little trouble on their part, and that, in most cases, for a reasonable compensation. This is especially the case in the United States, where the public houses, taking them together, are said to be superior to those of any other country.

3. Travellers, in the early ages of the world, either carried with them the means of sustenance, and protection from the weather, or relied upon the hospitality of strangers; but, as the intercourse between different places for the purposes of trade, increased, houses of public entertainment were established, which at first were chiefly kept by women.

4. The people of antiquity, in every age and nation, whether barbarous or civilized, were, however, remarkable for their hospitality. We find this virtue enjoined in the Mosaic writings, and scriptures generally, in the poems of Homer, as well as in other distinguished writings, which have descended to our times. The heathen nations were rendered more observant of the rites of hospitality by the belief, that their fabulous G.o.ds sometimes appeared on earth in human shape; and the Jews and ancient Christians, by the circ.u.mstance, that Abraham entertained angels unawares.