Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 15.djvu/658

Rh 626 MATCHES dried in revolving drums in a heated chamber or stove, and there after they are sifted in a kind of partitioned sieve to free them from fragments and splinters. The sifting process also arranges all the splints in parallel order and in uniform quantities, whereby they may be conveniently bundled and prepared for the dipping which next follows. For the dipping process it is necessary to keep each match free from contact with its neighbour, and indeed allow it such a space that each may be fully coated and yet there be no danger of the igniting composition clotting the heads into one mass. To effect this the splints are by an ingenious machine separately arranged at uniform intervals between the lathes of a dipping frame. The dipping frames are made about 18 inches square, and are fitted with 44 movable lathes. Between each pair of lathes 50 splints are inserted by the machine, and when tightened up by screws each frame thus contains 44 x 50 = 2200 splints placed at regular intervals, the heads of which are all on the same level. A single attendant can place, by aid of the machine, about 1,250,000 matches in the dipping frames per day. The dipping is done in a stove of masonry which contains three square flat-bottomed shallow pans. In the first the splints are heated so as to facilitate the absorption of paraffin ; in the second their points are dipped into molten paraffin scale ; and in the third they receive their heads or tips of igniting composition, that mixture being kept in a uniform thin stratum in the pan, or in some cases it is supplied by an endless india-rubber belt which revolves and dips into the composition. A skilful workman can dip from 3500 to 4000 frames, or about 8,000,000 matches, a day. The frames so dipped are afterwards arranged in a heated apartment till the igniting composition is dried, after which the matches are taken out and put up in boxes by hand. Match splints in the factories of the United Kingdom are generally cut in lengths suitable for two matches, and dealt with in that form throughout. The splint-cutting machine patented by John Jex Long of Glasgow in 1871 differs essentially from the Swedish splint-making machinery above alluded to ; it acts on squared blocks two-match length, and is capable of producing up to 17,000,000 matches per day. The object of dipping in melted paraffin is, of course, to secure more ready ignition of the wood. Sulphur was formerly employed for that purpose ; and enormous quantities of the cheaper matches made on the Continent and in America continue to be sulphur dipped. The cheaper kinds are frequently &quot; bundle dipped &quot; in the molten sulphur, after which their points are merely pressed against the igniting composition. The chief element in the igniting mixture of ordinary matches is still common phosphorus, combined with one or more other bodies which readily part with oxygen under the influence of heat. Chief among these latter substances is chlorate of potash, the body which causes the sharp explosive sound when a common match is struck, and to the use of which there is a strong objection on the Continent from the fear of explosions in dealing with the substance in large quantities. The other oxygen-yielding bodies commonly found in matches are red lead, nitrate of lead, bichromate of potash, and per oxide of manganese. The proportions in which any of these bodies is present in various igniting compositions are kept trade secrets ; they vary greatly, as special regard must be given to matches for damp climates, or for ocean transport, and to other considera tions. The igniting agents are made into a paste with glue or gum as an adhesive agent, a little fine sand or powdered glass, and some colouring ingredient such as cinnabar, smalt, magenta, or Prussian blue. Matches in which amorphous phosphorus takes the place of the common variety, notwithstanding several obvious advantages, have never come into general use. They were shown in the Great Exhibition of 1851 by Bell & Black of London ; and Foster & Warwa of Vienna, one of the earliest match-making firms, long continued to make them, as did also Cognict Pere_et Fils of Paris. As made by these and other makers they were difficult to strike, requiring a special rough rubbing surface ; the head frequently broke away in the attempt to light them, and when they did inflame it was with explosive violence and a loud spluttering noise. Dr Von Schrotter, the discoverer of amorphous phosphorus, claims to have found a means of preparing combinations of amorphous phosphorus with chlorate of potash and other oxygen-yielding compounds of all degrees of combusti bility, and he states that Hochstatter of Frankfort now manufactures matches with amorphous phosphorus composition which may be ignited by rubbing on a cloth surface, which inflame quietly, burn without smell or sparking, are not influenced by damp, and are cheaper than common phosphorus matches. The use of amorphous phosphorus but on the rubbing surface only and not in the dipping composition (safety matches) was first suggested by Bb ttger, but it was not till a patent was secured by Lundstrom in 1855 that the matches were brought into the market. According to J. G. Gentele, the elements of the dipping mixture for the heads are chlorate of potash, 32 parts ; bichromate of potash, 12 ; red lead, 32 ; sulphide of antimony, 24 ; and the ingredients of a suitable rubbing surface are eight parts of amorphous phosphorus to nine of sulphide of antimony. There is no doubt, however, that here too there is considerable diversity in the composition of the mixtures. Igniting compositions entirely free from phosphorus depend for their moderate degree of efficiency on the use of such agents as chlorate of potash, sulphide of antimony, bichromate of potash, and red lead. &quot; Vestas &quot; are matches in Avhich short pieces of &quot;wax taper &quot; are used in place of wooden splints. The taper is prepared by drawing a series of wicks or strands of twenty to thirty fine cotton threads through molten stearin, with some proportion of paraffin. The wax quickly hardens on the threads, agglutinating them to irregular hard strands, which are smoothed and rounded to the required size by being drawn through iron plates perforated with holes the size of the required taper. The tapers are cut to the match lengths, and set in dipping frames by special machines. The making of vestas is an industry only second in extent to the wooden match manufacture, its headquarters being London, Manchester, Mar seilles, and the north of Italy. Fusees for the use of smokers are made of strips of thick porous paper saturated with salt petre and bichromate of potash, and tipped with ordinary composition. They are now almost entirely supplanted by vesuvians, which consist of large oval heads on both ends of a round splint. These heads, made by repeated dipping, consist of a porous mixture of charcoal, saltpetre, cascarilla or other scented bark, glass, and gum, and they al.so are tipped with common igniting composition. Ordinary match boxes are made of thin veneers or skillets of wood the same as used in splint making. The blocks used yield skillets the exact size of the box or cover to be made, and the machine which shaves skillets off the block also scores them along the lines by which they must be bent to form the box. The fold ing, covering with paper, and labelling are operations performed by young girls with remarkable rapidity. In dealing with double splints, the matches are at the boxing stage cut asunder in small bundles with a lever knife by the box filler, who acquires such delicacy of perception that at each operation she seizes and divides the exact quantity required to fill two boxes. A good hand will in this way fill 35 to 40 gross of boxes per day. It is calculated that in the principal European countries from six to ten matches are used for each inhabitant daily. There is no way by which an exact estimate of the extent of the trade in the United Kingdom can be obtained ; but competent author ities believe the yearly value of the matches made to be not less than 1,500,000, and that the makers turn out about 300,000,000 matches daily. Of all the makers Messrs Bryant & May are by far the most extensive ; and next comes the Bell & Black com pany, formed of a combination of makers in London, Glasgow, Manchester, and York. In France the right to manufacture matches is a Government monopoly farmed to the Compagnie genrale dcs allumettcs chimiques for an annual payment of 1 6,000,000 francs, with 6 centimes extra per hundred matches in excess of forty milliards sold yearly. The company has concentrated the whole of the manufacture into twelve establishments, the largest of which are at Marseilles. The effect of the monopoly in France is that matches are very costly, and the average consumption per head throughout the country is considerably less than in other countries. Sweden is the country which in recent years has been most inti mately identified with the growth of the industry. In that country, including with it Norway, there were in 1880 forty -three match factories, many of them large, that of Jonkoping being among the most extensive in the world. The quantity of matches exported that year was about 19,000,000 lb (22,900,000 skal-punds), prob ably representing 50,000,000,000 matches. The yearly exports have increased four-fold since 1870, and are still rapidly extending. In Germany there are two hundred and twelve factories, which are estimated to make yearly about 60,000,000,000 matches ; and Austria-Hungary the original seat and centre of the manufacture possesses one hundred and fifty establishments, whence large quan tities of matches are exported to Russia, Turkey, Asia Minor, and the neighbouring states of Italy. Throughout Europe about 1200 tons of phosphorus are annually consumed in the manufacture of matches, the greater proportion being produced in England In the United States a tax of 1 cent per box containing one hundred is levied on matches manufactured in the country, in addi tion to which there is an ad valorem duty of 35 per cent, on all matches imported. The internal revenue tax of a cent per box is subject to a reduction of 10 per cent, to manufacturers, with an additional discount of 5 per cent, on the purchase of the stamps used for the boxes when quantities exceeding in value $50 are pur chased at one time. The result of these fiscal arrangements has been to favour large monopoli/irtg companies. Although there are nearly thirty manufactories in the States at present, practically the match trade of the country is in the hands of, or entirely controlled by, the Diamond Match Company of New York, consisting of a combination of large manufacturers. During the year 1881 the reenue derived from the internal tax amounted to $3,272,258, while the customs duty on imported matches yielded no more than $6186, these receipts representing probably a consumption of 40,000, 000,000 matches. (J. PA.)