Chapter VIII: Manufacturing Industries (birmingham and District.) (1)

BY C. J. WOODWARD, B.Sc.

In the following pages an attempt is made to give to the reader some idea of the extent and variety of the manufactures of our town and neighbourhood. The method followed is to state at the outset the classes of material which come into the town, and to follow these in the mind’s eye through smelting furnace, forge, or workshop, until they come out in a wonderful variety of articles, one or more of which will ultimately be found in the possession of every nation of the earth. To carry out the proposed method with fulness and accuracy would require a strict blockade of the town, similar to that adopted for collecting town dues in continental towns with agents to report the quantities and qualities of the goods passing in and out. Failing this, we may, through the agencies of the railway and canal companies obtain at least some idea of the character and extent of our trade.

In preparing some statistics relating to goods brought into and taken out of the town, I am particularly indebted to the courtesy of Mr. Henry Wiggin, M.P., one of the directors of the Midland Railway, and also to Mr. John Noble, general manager of that railway; Mr. J. Grierson, general manager of the Great Western Railway; and Mr. G. Findlay, general manager of the London and North Western Railway. Mr. W. Pilcher, of the Birmingham Canal Navigations, and Mr. George, of the Birmingham and Worcester Canal, have also been good enough to supply information. In considering the traffic of our town we must remember that Birmingham is not only a manufacturing centre but a distributor of goods which arrive here in bulk. This, coupled with the circumstance that, from its inland position, there is a great deal of through traffic, renders it difficult to obtain such satisfactory figures as I hoped to have done when I commenced this work.

Statement of principal classes of goods coming into and going out of Birmingham by railway during the year 1885, with weight in tons of each class.

INWARDS.

Coal and Coke 897541
Lime 5327
Limestone, Bricks, &c. 14315
Glass 7689
Iron and Steel 115874
Tin Plates and Zinc 10382
Spelter or Zinc 22564
Hardware and Miscellaneous 134204
Stone 15621
Timber 63591
Paper Making Materials 5550
Drugs and Drysaltery 14867
Grain 126783
Grocery and Provisions 61888
Leather 3599

OUTWARDS.
Bedsteads 34976
Brass & Copper, Ingot and Wire 4697
Galvanised Wire and Ware 11705
Glass 6151
Hardware and Lamps 110597
Iron and Metal Tubes 13570
Iron Wire and Sheet 2999
Iron Castings 9166
Nails 18936
Rolled Metal 7619
Paper and Stationery 9490
Machinery }
Hides and Leather } 33754
Miscellaneous }

From one wharf alone in Birmingham there were delivered into the town by canal last year about 40,000 tons of various goods, of which the following will serve as examples--Timber, 3810 tons; salt, 443 tons; metals, 3948 tons; road stone, 10,821 tons; potatoes, matches, mill stones, glue and groceries, 1221 tons, whilst traffic over one of the canals in the course of the year was 7,327,269 tons, including merchandise, 972,749 tons; pig iron, 586,434 tons; coal, 3,333,865 tons; iron stone, 495,912 tons; sand, 115,791 tons; lime and limestone, 140,828 tons; road materials and manure, 525,249 tons; and bricks, 460,359 tons.

=Nature of the Manufacturing Industries of Birmingham and the District.=--It is difficult, if not impossible to classify satisfactorily the varied industries of Birmingham and the district. The one adopted has as its basis, the raw materials of different kinds as used up in the trades of the town. In order to obtain information as to progress of the trades, or change in their character, I have extracted from Kelly’s Directory of 1864 the number of each trade as then given, and compared it with the number in the last Directory published, viz., 1884:--

TRADES OF BIRMINGHAM AND THE COUNTIES OF STAFFORDSHIRE, WARWICKSHIRE, AND WORCESTERSHIRE.

=I=.--=Production of Materials from Ores, including Chemicals.=

A.--NON-METAL.

No. in Directory.
1864 1884

Black Lead 2
[41]Chemicals 33 54
Colour Grinders and Manufacturers 29 51
Glue, Isinglass 6 7
[42]Mungo 0 1
Optical Glass 1 1
Paper 31 21
Ice 0 1
Glass 41 62

B.--METAL AND ALLOY.

No. in Directory.
1864 1884

Alloy Makers 0 1
Aluminium 0 1
Brass and Yellow Metal 0 6
Copper 7 10
German Silver 14 10
Iron 88 103
Nickel & Cobalt 2 2
Steel 18 21

II.--=Finished Articles.=

A.--NON-METAL.

No. in Directory.
1864 1884

Barometer and Thermometer 2 4
Leather Articles 28 57
Bicycle Saddle 0 3
Wholesale Boot and Shoe 11 42

Clay--
Pottery, Encaustic Tiles,
Terra Cotta, Parian 43 43
Telegraph Insulator 0 1
Ivory, Pearl, and Bone Workers 59 54
Chocolate 2 6
Floor Cloth 2
India Rubber Goods 5 14
” ” Stamps 0 3

Bristle, Fibre, Hair, Feathers--
Besom 1 1
Chimney Sweeping Machines 0 2
Hearse Plume 1
Whip 35 33
Brushes 88 106
Cotton 2 4
Measuring Tape 7 6

Wooden Articles--
Boxes (and Paper) 27 77
Clock Case 11 7
Cork Cutters 9 12
Clog and Patten 85 127
Rules 37 23
Picture Frames 40 99
Tobacco Pipe 29 18
Railway Carriage 11 13
Bellows 10 14
Casting Mould Pattern Makers 30 27

Glass Articles--
Lighthouse 1 1
Bottle, Plate and Window,
Decanters, Tumblers, &c.,
Looking Glass, French Shade 50 65
Toys 13 3
Artificial Eyes 1 6

Horn--
Lantern Leaf 5 0
Combs 6 4

Paper and Pulp--
Paper 31 21
Papier Mâché 19 15
Black Ornament 0 24
Account Books 10 20
Bags 4 16
Gun Wads 6 4

B.--METAL.

No. in Directory.
1864 1884
Gold--
Chains 43 50
Brooches and Jewellery 346 472
Pencil Case 21 21
Ring 3 29
Leaf 20 14
Watch Case 10 43

Silver--
Spoons, &c., Lockets,
Bracelets, &c. (Silversmiths) 51 103
Leaf
Reflectors (Plate) 1 6

Copper--
Pans, Kettles, &c., Sugar
Pans (Coppersmiths) Tubes 21 20
Plate Engraving 2 18
Wire
Lightning Conductors 0 4
Percussion Cap 5 4

Lead--
Pipes 0 1
Pumps

Iron and Steel--
Anchors 12 22
Bedsteads (Metal) 51 48
Bicycles
Bird Cage & Wire Work 44 59
Bridle Bit 104 67
Boarding Pike 1 2
Boilers
Buckles 25 25
Nuts and Bolts 19 81
Chain 45 131
Coach Furniture, &c. 60 48
Coffin Furniture 17 14
Corkscrew 17 16
Door Spring 4 6
Earth Boring App. 0 1
Forge (Portable) 3 2
Frying Pan 7 9
Fencing Foil 0 1
Fender 45 55
Fire Irons 57 55
Fish Hook 68 36
Gun (27 Branches) 553 424
Gas Holder 8 5
Gas Meters 1 1
Hair Pin 6 7
Hammer 18 12
Handcuff 3 4
Hyd’lic Machinery 1 2
Hinge (and Brass) 47 51
Hollow Ware 10 23
Hooks
Hook and Eye 14 13
Ladle
Roofing 8 15
Tanks 12 20
Boats 9 9
Bridge 9 12
Girder 7 9
Jews Harp 6 8
Keys 87 140
Lance and Javelin 1 1
Locks (13 Br’nch’s) 164 252
Lasso Rings
[43]Matchet 4 6
Mariner’s Compass
Needles (7 Br’nch.) 172 126
Nutcrackers 3 10
Nailmakers 207 235
Pens 18 19
Pen Holder 16 14
Quoit Makers
Quicksilver Bottle Rings
(Split, &c.) 13 16
Scale and Weight 25 25
Screws 71 42
Sewing Machines 10 30
Spectacle Frames 9 16
Safes 15 27
Spring Makers 8 14
Spring Mattress 0 2
Steel Toy 58 39
Sword 17 4
Toasting Fork
Tack
Umbrella & Parasol Furniture 12 11
Vice 49 32

Brass--
Ammunition cases 1 2
Bedsteads
Belt clasp 7 3
Coach beading 5 4
Candlestick 12 9
Coach handles 2 5
Cocks 29 35
Chandelier 40 51
Church Furniture 4 6
Clock movements
Cornice pole 3 12
Curtain hook 0 10
Curtain ring 4 14
Door bolts
Door handles
Electrical bell & apparatus 2 7
Fog signal 1 1
Ferrule
Gas burner 4 4
Gauge 6 13
Mathematical inst. 10 10
Military ornament 12 15
Paper fasteners
Roasting jack 7 2
Stair rod (case) 6 7
Theatrical jewellery 0 1
Thimble 13 12
Watches (29 branches)
496 790
Tin Plate--
Coffin Furniture 17 14
Dish Covers 1 7
Grocers’ Canisters 2 2
Lamps
Baths
Cooking Utensils
Candlesticks

Tin Alloys, hard and soft--
Beer Engine 19 10
Bells 10 17
Dram Flask
Medals
Measures, Tankards
Composition Pipe
Stencil Plates
Tea Pots
Cream Jugs, &c.
Britannia Metal Ware
Manufacturers 20 13

German Silver--
Cruet Frames
Tea Pots
Spoons, &c.
Electro-plated Ware &
Electro-platers & Gilders 110 215
Dessert Knife & Fork

Implements and Tools used in Manufactures.

Awl Blade, Auger, Anvil, Brace and Bit, Bookbinders’ Tools, Bellows, Bullet Mould, Brushes, Coach Wrench, File Cutter, Glaziers’ Diamond, Gun Implements, Hammer, Hoe, Iron Ladle, Last and Boot Tree, Nails, Rivet, Saw, Screw, Tack, Gimp Pin, &c., Vice, Press Tools, Punches.

Dependent Manufactures and Processes.

A.--NON-METAL.

Box Makers (Wood), Box Makers (Paper), Brick (Fire), Bookbinding, Casting Pot and Crucible, Emery and Glass Cloth Paper, Embossed Paper, Engravers (Block), Felt, Glass Mould, Jewellery Case, Lamp Wick, Lithography, Printing, Pitch Paper, Pearl Workers, Rouge, Rope and Twine, Sealing Wax, Tortoise Shell Workers.

Dependent Manufactures and Processes.

B.--METAL.

Assayers, Bronze Powder, and Gold and Silver Leaf, Die Sinkers, Iron and Steel Hoop, Letter Cutters, Music Smith, Rollers, Refiners, Sweep Smelters, Water Tuyere Iron Manufacturers, Weavers’ Mail.

Processes carried on for the Trade.

Brass Polishers, Buckle Plater, Chasers, China Decorators, Coach Painters, Dippers and Silverers, Diamond Cutter, Engravers and Woodcutters, Enamellers, Electrotypers, Electro-platers, Engine Turners, Galvanisers, Glass Quicker, Glass Painters, Glass Grinders, Glass Benders, Glass Cutters, Harness Platers, Iron Planers, Iron Casters, Iron Braziers, Jewellers’ Stampers, Jewellers’ Glass Cutter, Lapidaries, Metal Spinners, Metal Perforators, Metal Fluters, Machine Rulers, Magic Lantern Slide Painter, Stereotypers.

Dealers and Merchants.

Asbestos, Carozo Nut, Cotton Waste, Copper and Metal, Grindstone, Iron, Salt.

Variety of Materials used in the Manufactures.

It may be expected that in a variety of manufactures, such as those just given, numerous materials would be required. In order to ascertain as far as possible what materials are used in the town, circulars were sent out to many firms, and from information supplied, in reply to these circulars and from other sources, the following list has been prepared.

STATEMENT OF MATERIALS USED IN THE MANUFACTURES OF BIRMINGHAM AND THE DISTRICT.

NOTE.--After the name of the material, which is printed in small capitals, is given in ordinary type the trades, or a few typical ones, in which the material is used.

ORES.

ANTIMONY.--Nickel and cobalt refining.

BROWN IRON ORE.--Gas works.

COPPER PYRITES--(SPANISH ORE).--Copper extraction and refining, sulphuric acid works.

COBALT AND NICKEL.--Nickel and Cobalt refining.

HÆMATITE.--Iron smelting, nickel and cobalt refining, malleable iron casting, polishing works.

GALENA.--Refining lead slags and products.

IRON PYRITES.--Sulphuric acid manufacture.

MANGANESE OXIDE.--Weldon’s process for chlorine.

TIN ORE.--Nickel and cobalt refining, bedstead manufacture, tin plate works.

METALS.

ANTIMONY.--Britannia metal works, pewter working, stereotyping, engineers’ brassfounding.

ALUMINIUM.--Aluminium bronze, metal beating, pen and pencil case, gauge making, sewing machine.

BISMUTH.--Engineers’ brassfoundry, solder making.

COPPER.--Alloy makers, coppersmiths, copper and brass tube works, gas fitting, railway carriage works, brass founding, stereotyping, nail making, gun making, roast jack, clocks, electro works, jewellers, mathematical instrument makers.

GOLD.--Jewellery, gilt toy, thimble making, brassfounding, chains, spectacles, watch chains and cases, electro-plate, gun making, swords, pens.

IRON and STEEL.--All trades.

LEAD.--Chemical manufactures, alloy makers, pewter and Britannia metal, nickel and cobalt refining, electro-plate, whip, pen, nail, stereotyping, india rubber stamps, railway carriage, gun, brassfounding, thimble, ship’s log.

MAGNESIUM.--Mathematical instrument.

NICKEL.--Electro-plate, pen and pencil, stereotyping, whip button, needle, sword, photo-frames, fire-irons, tin plate, sewing machine, coach furniture and harness, bicycle, steam gauge.

PLATINUM.--Mathematical instrument, nickel and cobalt refining, photo-frames, electro-plate, wedding ring, thimble, brassfounding.

IRIDIUM and PALLADIUM.--Pen and pencil.

QUICKSILVER.--Optical instrument, nickel and cobalt refining, stereotyping, thimble and whip, gauge, electro-plate, art metal, clock.

SILVER.--Silversmith, jewellery, carriage furniture, whip mounts, sword, electro-plate, hook and eye, mathematical instrument, gun, silver plating, button, stereotyping, spectacles, chains, bedstead, thimbles.

TIN.--Cocoa, stereotyping, whip, rolled metals, toilet pin, nail, needle, railway carriage, mathematical instrument, tool making, gas meters, roasting jack, engineers’ brassfounding, axle boxes, clock, bedstead, thimble, gauge, electro-plate, brassfounding, wholesale boot and shoe.

TIN PLATE.--Various branches of the tin plate trade, ship’s log, steam gauge, art metal, nickel and cobalt refining, button, cocoa, printing, electro-plate, needle.

ZINC and SPELTER.--Brass and alloy makers, yellow and sheathing metal, thimble, whip, art metal, galvanising, copper extraction, button, stereotyping, alkali, electro-plate, nail, watch chain.

NOTE.--The applications of the compound metals or alloys, such as BRASS, BRITANNIA METAL, BELL METAL, GERMAN SILVER, GUN METAL, PHOSPHOR TIN, FERRO-MANGANESE, HARD AND SOFT SOLDERS, and others, are not given for want of space. The most important trades consuming metal in the form of leaf and powder--GOLD LEAF, SILVER LEAF and BRONZES--are bedstead manufacturing, picture frame making, japanning, lithography, art metal work (planishing.)

ACIDS.

ACETIC (VINEGAR).--Gelatine manufacture, button, lithography, whip, sword, art metal, gas fitting, bedsteads.

BORACIC.--German silver, electro-deposition.

CARBOLIC.--Gelatine, soap, ammunition works.

CITRIC.--Lithography, art metal.

HYDROFLUORIC.--Glass, gas fitting, nickel and cobalt works, button making, railway carriage.

HYDROCHLORIC (MURIATIC or SPIRITS of SALT).--Metal trades generally, gas manufacture, gelatine, printing, chemical trades, railway carriage.

HYDROCYANIC.--Button, pen and penholder, electro-plate.

NITRIC (AQUA FORTIS).--Metal trades generally, especially brass, gelatine, button, whip, sword, gun, hook and eye.

OXALIC.--Tin plate, art metal work, button, tool making, whip, pen and penholders, wholesale boot and shoe trade.

PYROGALLIC.--Gas manufacture, art metal.

SULPHURIC (OIL OF VITRIOL).--Iron wire, nails, bedsteads, button, pen, gelatine, chemical trades, soap, hook and eye, tin plate, brass trades, gun, whip, sword.

TARTARIC.--Gelatine, nickel and cobalt, art metal.

CHEMICALS.

AMMONIA and AMMONIUM SALTS.--Gas manufacture, brass trades generally, galvanising, buttons, tin plate, printing and lithography, nails, paper.

ARSENIOUS ANHYDRIDE or WHITE ARSENIC.--Brass founding, chandelier, electro-plate, buttons.

ALUM.--Gelatine, paper, rolled metal, buttons, wholesale boot and shoe.

BORAX.--Metal trades generally, jewellers, gelatine.

COPPER SULPHATE or BLUE STONE.--Iron wire, electro-plate, buttons, fibre dressing, printing.

GLYCERINE.--Gas fittings, soap, printing.

IODINE.--Copper extraction.

IRON SULPHATE or COPPERAS.--Buttons, fibre dressing, brass founding, emery paper, wholesale boot and shoe, rouge manufacture.

LEAD ACETATE (SUGAR OF LEAD).--Gelatine, buttons, tin plate works, oil and colour works.

MERCURIC CHLORIDE (CORROSIVE SUBLIMATE).--Buttons, jewellery, optical instruments, gold beating.

NICKEL SULPHATE.--Trades in which nickel plating is used, bicycles, sewing machines, bridle bit, &c.

POTASSIUM SALTS (CAUSTIC POTASH, CYANIDE, CARBONATE, SAL ENIXUM, FERROCYANIDE, FERRIDCYANIDE, PERMANGANATE, BICHROMATE, CHLORATE, ARGOL or TARTAR).--Brass founding, electro-plate, bedstead, jewellery, gelatine, glass, buttons, soap, whip, tin plate.

PLATINUM CHLORIDE.--Electro-plate, buttons, optical instruments.

SODIUM SALTS (CAUSTIC SODA, CARBONATE, BROWN ASH, ACETATE, SALT, SULPHATE).--Brass founding, jewellery, alloys, electro-plate, fibre dressing, tin plate, soap.

SULPHUR.--Chemical works, rolled metal works, sword, tin plate.

ZINC SALTS (CHLORIDE, SULPHATE).--Gelatine, buttons, printing.

PIGMENTS.

BRUNSWICK GREEN, CARMINE, CHROME YELLOW, COBALT, GAMBOGE, INDIAN RED, INDIGO, IVORY BLACK, LAMP BLACK, OCHRE, ORANGE CHROME, ORPIMENT, PRUSSIAN BLUE, RED LEAD, SCHEELE’S GREEN, SMALTS, UMBER, ULTRAMARINE, VERDIGRIS, VERMILION, YELLOW OCHRE, ZAFFRE, ZINC WHITE, WHITE LEAD.--(Red and white lead are used for lutes as well as for pigments, red lead too is largely consumed in the manufacture of flint glass). Brass founding, tin plate works, japanning, bedsteads, lithography, brush works, coach and carriage works, buttons, ammunition works, cycles, art metal work.

STONES.

QUARRY STONES, LIMESTONE, BILSTON and DERBY (GRIND) STONES, LITHOGRAPHIC STONE, WHETSTONE, RAGSTONE, WATER OF AYR STONE, TURKEY STONE, ARKANSAS.--Iron smelting, chemical works, nickel and cobalt refining, sword, edge tool, and tool grinding generally, printing and lithography, tin plate, brass founding, gun, button, sword, art metal, electro-plate.

APATITE, SOMBRERITE, and NATIVE PHOSPHATES.--Phosphorus manufacture.

FLUR SPAR.--Alloys, engineers’ brass foundry, roasting jack, hydrofluoric acid manufacture.

MICA.--Gas fitting, stove makers, brass founding, ship’s log, optical instrument.

FELSPAR.--Pottery, art metal.

ROCK CRYSTAL.--Spectacle manufacture, art metal, electrical apparatus, optical instrument.

AGATE, BLOODSTONE, HÆMATITE.--As burnishers in many trades.

DIAMOND BORT.--Diamond cutting, lapidary work, spectacle manufacture, railway carriage.

DIAMOND.--Jewellery, glaziers’ diamond manufacture.

AMBER, AMETHYST, CROCIDOLITE, GARNET, OPAL RUBY, SAPPHIRE, CARNELIAN, TOPAZ, &C.--Cut stones in jewellery, lapidary work, watch and clock manufacture, art metal work, electro-plate, whip, fine wire drawing.

GUMS.

ARABIC.--Brass founding, printing and lithography, optical instrument, electro-plate, pen, whip, light metal trades, wholesale boot and shoe.

BENZOIN.--Wire mattress, railway carriage.

COPAL.--Button, printing and lithography, electro-plate, needles, optical instruments.

DAMAR.--Button, optical instruments.

DEXTRINE.--Printing and lithography, pen and penholders, optical instrument, thimble.

GUTTA PERCHA.--Electro-plate, brass founding, railway carriage, printing and lithography, rolled light brass metal work, needle, thimble, wholesale boot and shoe.

INDIA RUBBER.--Vulcanised India rubber works.

MASTIC.--Buttons, printing and lithography, tin plate.

SANDARAC.--Buttons, printing.

SHELL-LAC.--Lacquer manufacture, brass founding, light metal work, railway carriage, pen and penholder, whip, button, printing and lithography, sword, optical instrument, roasting jack, thimble, electro-plate.

TRAGACANTH.--Printing and lithography, wholesale boot and shoe trade.

OILS, VARNISHES, &c.

ANIMAL OILS (LARD, NEAT’S FOOT, SPERM, SEAL, WHALE, TALLOW, TRAIN).--Rolled metal, electro-plate, buttons, pen and penholder, nails, fire irons, bedstead, wedding ring, brass founding, gas manufacture, printing and lithography, optical instrument, alloy making, railway carriage, engineers’ brass founding, soap, wholesale boot and shoe.

VEGETABLE OILS (COLZA, COCA NUT, LINSEED, RAPE, OLIVE, PALM, PINE).--Gas manufacture, fibre and brass dressing, printing and lithography, electro-plate, rolled metal, tin plate, carriage furniture, optical instrument, soap, paper, button, alkali works, iron wire, bedstead.

MINERAL OILS (PETROLEUM, PETROLINE, COAL SHALE).--Fibre dressing, brass founding, gas manufacture, spectacles, lapidaries’ work, lithography and printing, railway carriage.

BENZOLINE, BISULPHIDE OF CARBON, COAL NAPHTHA, ETHER, METHYLATED SPIRIT, SPIRITS OF WINE, TAR SPIRITS, TURPENTINE, TEREBINE, WOOD NAPHTHA.--Papier mâché, japanning, lacquer, printing and lithography, electro-plate, button, thimble, cycle, whip, soap, brassfounding, railway carriage, bottle jack, optical instrument.

ASPHALTUM, BITUMEN, GOLD SIZE.--Printing and lithography, tin plate, papier mâché, bedstead, picture frame, ornamental glass, brassfounding, art metal.

PITCH, RESIN.--Soap, electro-plate, tin-plate, bedstead, carriage furniture, printing and lithography, thimble, paper, brassfounding, wholesale boot and shoe trade.

VARNISHES (COPAL, MASTIC, JAPAN, PONTYPOOL).--30 or 40 varieties are known in the trade, the names often implying the purpose for which the varnish is used as coach-body varnish, oak varnish, undercoating, finishing, &c. Coach and carriage works, house decoration, furniture, tin-plate, papier mâché, bedstead, coffin furniture, fog signal cases, iron hollow-ware, enamel leather.

LEATHERS AND FABRICS.

BASIL or SHEEP SKIN, BUFFALO, BULL NECK, CALF, CROCODILE, COW HIDE, DOG FISH, DONKEY, GNU, HORSE HIDE, KANGAROO, PIG SKIN, RUSSIAN, SKIVERS, CHAMOIS, or WASH LEATHER, SEA HORSE, or WALRUS, VELLUM.--Wholesale saddlery and leather trades generally, wholesale boot and shoe trade, polishing in the metal trades, parts of articles in the electro-plate, tin plate, whip, and many other trades.

BUCKRAM, CLOTH, FLANNEL, PLUSH, SATIN, SILK, VELVET.--Railway carriage works, tin plate, brassfounding, button, needle, optical instrument, cocoa, leather trades.

FELT.--Corrugated iron, brassfounding, light brass rolled metal works, railway carriage works, printing and lithography, electro-plate, art metal, optical instrument, glass polishing.

PAPER.--Paper box trade, papier mâché, wrapping up in all trades.

WOODS.

ASH, BAYWOOD, BEECH, BIRCH, ELM, FIR, MAPLE, OAK, PINE, TEAK.--One or more of them used in most trades, railway carriage, cabinet, tin plate, brass founding, edge tools, clog, electro-plate.

BEEF WOOD.--Gun trade, ramrod.

BLACKTHORN.--Whip.

BOXWOOD.--Used in metal trades, generally for chocks.

CEDAR.--Railway carriage, cabinet, pen and penholder, needle, art metal, optical instrument.

COCUS WOOD.--Optical instrument.

EBONY.--Gun, gas fitting, brass founding, button, electro-plate, tool, art metal, railway carriage.

HICKORY.--Whip, rolled metal, needle, ferrule, railway carriage.

HOLLY.--Tool, whip.

HOLDER WOOD.--Clog.

LANCEWOOD, PARTRIDGE WOOD, SATIN WOOD, SNAKE WOOD.--Gun, clog, whip, needle, pen and penholder, brass founding, optical instrument.

LIGNUM VITÆ.--Button, whip, brass founding, art metal, rolled metal, tool, corkscrew.

MALACCA CANE.--Gold beating.

MAPLE.--Gun, railway carriage, cycle and sewing machine, brass founding.

PEACH.--Electro-plate.

PEAR.--Coal mining, glass, printing and lithography.

ROSEWOOD.--Gun, railway carriage, cabinet, printing and lithography, pen and penholder, electro-plate, tool.

SYCAMORE.--Railway carriage, electro-plate, printing and lithography, art metal.

TULIP.--Art metal.

WALNUT.--Gun, electro-plate, brass founding, railway carriage, cabinet, pen and penholder, art metal, matchet.

YEW.--Whip.

ZEBRA.--Button, electro-plate, pen and penholder, optical instrument.

DYE STUFFS.

ANILINE COLOURS, ALKANET, ARCHIL, BURWOOD, CUDBEAR, CATECHU, DIVI DIVI, DRAGON’S BLOOD, FUSTIC, INDIGO, GALL NUTS, LOGWOOD, MYRABOLANS, RED SANDERS, SHUMAC, TURMERIC.--Furniture and cabinet works, button, railway carriage, fibre and bass dressing, art metal, whip, paper, printing and lithography, matchet, wholesale boot and shoe trade.

NOT CLASSED.

ASBESTOS.--Gas fitting, paper, railway carriage, printing and lithography, electro-plate, tin plate.

BONES AND BONE WASTE.--Glue, buttons, electro-plate, light brass rolled metal works, carriage furniture.

BEESWAX, PARAFFIN WAX.--Brass founding, alloy, whip, bedstead, electro-plate, printing and lithography, light brass rolled metal works, optical instrument.

BURDOCK, KECK, ELDER PITH.--Watch Finishing.

BATH BRICK.--Gas fitting, whip, light brass rolled metal works, ships’ log, optical instrument, railway carriage.

BLACK LEAD.--Black lead works, gas fitting, railway carriage, electro-plate, tin plate, nails, whip, buttons.

CHALK, WHITENING, FRENCH CHALK.--Gas fitting, brass founding, electro-plate, printing and lithography, sword, railway carriage, tin plate, fibre dressing, buttons, pen and penholder.

COAL TAR, CREOSOTE.--Tar distilling, railway carriage, soap, electro-plate, light brass rolled metal works.

CATGUT.--Bands for lathes in nearly all trades.

CAMEL HAIR, SABLE HAIR.--Railway carriage, electro-plate, watch chain, brass founding, art metal, optical instrument.

COTTON WASTE.--In nearly all the metal trades.

COTTON WOOL AND WADDING.--For storing and packing in jewellery and other trades.

COTTON, THREAD, TAPE.--Nearly all trades.

CUTTLE FISH.--Printing and lithography, jewellery.

CROCUS, COLCOTHAR, ROUGE.--Brassfounding, gas fitting, bedstead, electro-plate, tin plate, jewellery, glass grinding, and polishing.

CHARCOAL.--brassfounding, gas fitting, bedstead, electro-plate alloy, wedding ring, nails.

CHINA CLAY.--Porcelain (Worcester), paper, engineers’ brassfounding.

COCOA (THEOBROMA CACAO).--Cocoa and chocolate manufacture.

EGGS.--Printing and lithography, photographic frame and cabinet work.

EMERY.--For grinding and polishing in all the metal trades, glass grinding, lapidary work, wholesale boot and shoe trade.

FLOUR.--Tin plate, brassfounding, alloys, railway carriage, printing and lithography, bedstead, nails, papier mâché, paper box, pocket book, wholesale boot and shoe trade.

FLAX.--Whip Manufacture.

FLOCK, FEATHERS.--Upholstery and bedding manufacture, artificial fly.

FIRE CLAY.--Furnaces in all manufactures.

FULLER’S EARTH.--Pin, cycle and sewing machine.

FLINTS.--African gun trade, nickel and cobalt, chemical works.

FOUNDERS’ DUST.--For casting, metal trades generally.

GALL NUTS.--Ink, brassfounding.

[44]GYPSUM AND PLASTER OF PARIS.--Gold beating, paper, gas manufacture, railway carriage, printing and lithography, whip, brassfounding, nails.

GAS CARBON.--Electrical apparatus makers, ship’s log, thimble, whip, art metal, optical instruments.

GELATINE AND GLUE.--In nearly all trades.

GANNISTER.--Alloys, rolled metals, iron and steel works, brassfounding.

GOLD BEATERS’ SKIN.--Gold beating, electro-plate.

HARES’ FEET.--Gold beating, watch chain, whip, tool, thimble, printing and lithography.

HEMP, HURDS, TOW.--Rope and twine, alloy, electro-plate, carriage furniture, tin plate, brassfounding, gas fitting, railway carriage, anchor, sword, thimble.

HONEY.--Bronze powder, cocoa and chocolate.

HORSE HAIR.--Railway carriage, whip, fishing tackle, upholstery and bedding.

IVORY.--Bone and ivory and billiard ball turners, electro-plate, optical instrument.

IRISH MOSS, TANNATE OF SODA.--Used generally to prevent scaling in steam boilers.

JUTE, KITTOOL FIBRE.--Paper, glue, fibre, dressing, electro-plate.

LIVER OF SULPHUR.--For bronzing in various metal trades.

LIME.--Building, paper, glue, chemical works, iron wire, brassfounding, electro-plate, printing and lithography, railway carriage.

MARINE GLUE.--Alloys, railway carriage, rolled light metal, optical instrument.

NUTS (BETEL, COQUILLA, CAROZO).--Buttons.

OILSTONE DUST.--Gun, clock, watch finishing.

PARAFFIN WAX.--Railway carriage works, axle box, rolled light metal works.

POLISHING THREAD.--Watch chain, spectacle, cycle and sewing machine.

PUMICE STONE.--Grinding and polishing in most metal trades, printing and lithography, papier mâché.

PEARL SHELL.--Pearl workers, papier mâché, bedstead, electro-plate, optical instrument.

PUTTY POWDER.--Lapidary, electro-plate, diesinking, needles, whip, sword, thimble.

QUILLS.--Whip, fishing tackle.

ROTTENSTONE.--For polishing in the metal trades, papier mâché, pearl work.

SAND (FONTAINBLEAU, TRENT, SILVER, LOAM, CORE, &C).--Glass manufacture, glass grinding, moulding in the metal trades, for sand blast in the electro-plate trade.

SANDIFER or GLASS GALL.--Jewellery, electro-plate, watch chain.

SAWDUST.--Gas manufacture, brass founding and brass trades generally, railway carriage, printing and lithography.

SEALING WAX.--For parcelling in nearly all trades.

SILK.--Railway carriage, button, tin plate, printing and lithography, needles and fish hook.

SIZE.--Railway carriage, printing and lithography, tin plate, optical instrument, house decoration, electro-gilding.

SLATE AND SLATE PENCIL.--Jewellery, railway carriage, printing and lithography, electro-plate, tin plate.

SLAG WOOL.--Gas fittings, engineers’ brass founding.

SOAP.--Nearly all trades.

SPONGE.--Tin plate, art metal, rolled light brass trade, whip, electro-plate, printing and lithography.

STALE BEER.--Electro-plating and gilding, wire working.

SUGAR.--Cocoa, electro-plate, tin plate, ships’ log, printing and lithography.

STRAW or HAY.--Bedding, packing in nearly all trades.

SWAN’S DOWN.--Electro-plate, bridle bit, tin plate.

TORTOISE SHELL.--Tortoise shell workers, button.

VULCANITE.--Button, ammunition, railway carriage.

WHALEBONE.--Whip manufacture.

WOOL.--Railway carriage, felt, printing and lithography, bedding, needles, optical instrument.

In reference to some materials, Mr. Arthur Robottom, who has introduced a variety of new products for use in Birmingham sends me the following notes: _Cryolite_ from Greenland, is used in making glass globes for the electric light. _Nitrate of soda_, from Chili.--Mr. W. R. Lloyd, merchant, Newhall Street, sold the first small lot to W. C. Alston, about 50 years ago; since then I have sold large quantities to the manufacturers of nitric acid. _Lard oil_ was first used in Birmingham. _Carnubia wax_ (Brazil) was first used in Birmingham for wax tapers. _Mica._--The first import of large plates from India was sold to Griffiths and Browett for lanterns to be used in powder magazines. _Istle or Mexican Fibre._--The first bale was sold by me to Mrs. Grew, of Church street, and used for brush making. _Kourie Gum_, from New Zealand, first used in Birmingham by Barratt, Postans and others for varnish making. _Cow Hair_ from River Plate used for circular brushes in glass cutting. _Carozo nuts_ or _Vegetable Ivory_.--The first arrivals from Venezuela were sold to Mr. Burgiss, of Great Charles Street, for toys; afterwards some were obtained by Mr. Bricknall, button maker, who first made buttons from this material. Subsequently the late Mr. J. S. Wright, then a clerk with Smith and Kemp, took up the material, and it soon became generally used. Now some thousands of tons are consumed every year for this purpose. _Piassava._--“I sold the first small lot to Richard Deen, and got him to retail it to Irishmen living in London Prentice street and neighbourhood, to make into bass brooms for hawking. At the present time some 200 tons per week of this material is made up into brooms. _Gum Animi_, largely used in Birmingham for varnish. _Button Lac_ was first used in Birmingham by Joseph Shorthouse, Market Street, who had the first five cases from Calcutta, for the manufacture of lacquer. _Kiltool_, from Ceylon. The first shipment came to me, I put it aside in some stables at my house in the Coventry Road, intending to sell it for putting under ripe strawberries, but by accident I found out that by putting it into hot oil it took a beautiful black colour. Upon this Mr. Lovedee, of Bartholomew Street, at my suggestion, dressed and prepared the material for the brush trade. It is now used in great quantities.” _Lemon_, _Orange_, and _Citron Peel_.--Large quantities sent to Birmingham to be candied at Mr. Pattison’s works, Spring Hill. They are imported from Sicily.

The reader having now some idea of the materials entering our district, let us see generally, though in mere outline, how these materials are worked up in the metal trades.

ORES.--The only ores smelted in our district on a large scale are iron and nickel and cobalt. Small quantities of galena and copper pyrites are used. Spanish ore, an iron pyrites containing two or three per cent. of copper, has the sulphur burnt off in the chemical works, and the copper is subsequently precipitated and refined.

METALS AND ALLOYS.--Iron and steel are now extensively produced from cast iron in our district by the modern methods as well as by the older ones of puddling in the case of iron, and cementing in the case of steel. The basic Bessemer process has been adopted on a large scale by Mr. A. Hickman, of the Spring Vale Furnaces, Bilston. Three converters are used, one lined in the ordinary manner (gannister), the other two with a paste made of dolomite (magnesian limestone) and tar, the process of conversion being commenced in the first named converter, and finished in the others. At the same works are modern type blast furnaces in which the waste gases are utilised for heating the blast on the regenerative principle, two stoves being those of Mr. Cowper’s system, while there are three new ones invented by Ford and Moncan. Messrs. Hatton and Sons of Bilston, adopt a fixed Bessemer converter in which blast of low pressure can be used. At the same works the Wilson gas producer is used for re-heating furnaces, and an arrangement on the Ponsard principle is adopted for raising the temperature of the air used in the combustion of the gas. Mr. Smith-Casson has in use at the Round Oak Works a novel gas furnace of his invention. At the Patent Shaft and Axle Tree Works a modification of the (Siemens) open hearth furnace (an improvement by Dick and Riley) is being used.[45] At Messrs. Cox Brothers and Holland, Alcester Street, crucible steel is made. The cementing process is carried on at the Brades Steel Works, Oldbury.

COPPER.--The crude copper known as Chili bars and precipitated copper from chemical works, where the sulphur of the ore has been previously utilized, are refined extensively in the neighbourhood of Birmingham.

LEAD.--Lead refuse of various kinds, together with galena, is treated at one small works in the town.

ALLOYS.--In most cases manufacturers mix their own metals. However, brass, German-silver, and other alloys are extensively manufactured for the trade.

The metal or alloy having been made, is subject to various general processes, either as preliminary to manufacture, or in the course of manufacture, of which the following are the principal:--

CASTING.--From a drawing the pattern is made in wood--⅛ of an inch to the foot longer in case of cast-iron, and ³⁄₁₆ do. in case of brass to allow for shrinking. The pattern is laid in sand, often contained in a casting frame, which, from its plasticity, non-fusibility, and other properties lends itself admirably for mould making. The mould is dusted over with charcoal, or with a mixture known as founders’ dust, and the casting then made by pouring metal in. With small articles in brass, metal patterns are used. For gold articles, such as wedding rings, an iron frame is used, filled with the finest red sand. For small gold work, the cuttle fish bone is used as a mould, the pattern being pressed in the same manner as in sand.[46] A special feature in the process of casting in our district is the production of “chilled” castings for rolls. The mould for the barrel part of the roll is a heavy cylindrical casting of iron truly bored out to a size sufficient to allow of the roll being turned to the required size. The molten iron is run into the mould sidelong, and from the bottom, so as to give the metal a rotatory motion. This rotatory motion causes the dust and slag to keep in the centre, leaving a pure metal in contact with the mould. This metal chilled by contact with the massive metal mould, produces the hard and close texture required.[47]

Keys, stirrups, hob nails, and many small articles are produced by casting, the casting being afterwards rendered malleable by the process of cementation, which consists in packing the articles in an iron box with powdered hæmatite, and heating from three to seven days. Iron castings are also annealed by packing with cinders in a box, which is then heated for some time, as with the malleable cast iron.

ROLLING, WIRE AND TUBE DRAWING.--Iron, brass, steel, and German silver are used up in the form of sheet, wire, and tube. With large firms producing finished articles, these processes are done on the premises, but there are several works devoted to the production of sheet metal, wire, or tube only, and rolling for the trade. In the jewellers’ district, the cast ingots of the precious metals are taken to rolling mills in the neighbourhood to be rolled down to the required degree of fineness. For some articles, such as spoons, where a blank is required of varying thickness, strips of metal are thinned in parts by what is known as “cross rolling,” the rolls being exposed at one end, so that a strip of metal may be passed through, which is thus thinned down at one end.

Tube drawing is effected by cutting a strip of metal which is then passed through rolls to give it a gutter form. One end of the gutter is now beaten up to form a tang that can be gripped by the tongs of the draw bench, and the gutter is pulled through a conical hole which roughly forms the tube. The open seam of the tube is now brazed, and after cleaning, this roughly formed tube is slipped over a steel rod or mandril. Both mandril and tube are drawn through a smooth circular hole when a smooth uniform tube is formed. Fluted taper tubes are made as described at (B. p. 324[48]) by means of “tins,” but a novel method is now adopted for smooth taper tubes. A wedge-shaped piece of metal is roughly made into a conical tube which is put on a taper mandril revolving in a lathe. A flat steel burnisher is pressed on to the tube as it revolves pressing the metal to take the shape of the mandril. Twisted tubes are produced by drawing the tube through a revolving nut (B. p. 325[48]), embossed or ornamented tubes by drawing a plain tube through a die, composed of a series, four say, of small wheels or pulleys on the edge of each wheel being impressed the desired pattern. As the tube is drawn through the die, the wheels turn and impress on the tube the pattern they carry on their surface. As stated (B. p. 326[48]), the invention is due to Mr. Fearn. It should, however, be mentioned that the process failed in his hands, but was subsequently taken up by Messrs. Winfield and Co., who, with the help of their engineer, Mr. Thomas Preston, brought the process to perfection.

PRESS TOOL WORK.--The next general process in the manufacture of many metallic articles is cutting out a blank into the requisite shape. This is done by what is called a press tool consisting of two parts; one a firm block of steel, in which is an aperture, circular, oval, or whatever shape may be desired, and the other a punch of corresponding shape, a piece of metal being placed over the aperture, the punch is forced down by a screw of high pitch on to the metal, when a blank is cut out at one blow, and falls into a pan placed to receive it.[49]

STAMPING.--Used for hollowing blanks in a number of trades. The blank cut by hand or tool is placed on a mould or die, and a heavy weight, carrying on its lower surface the counterpart of the mould, working in guides so as to fall true, can be lifted up and allowed to fall on the blank until the metal is forced into the shape of the mould. As the metal hardens by successive blows, the blanks are annealed (that is heated and allowed to cool) as often as may be found necessary.

The weight which gives the blow is supported by a strap passing over a wheel in constant motion. So long as the strap hangs loosely over the wheel, the friction of the moving wheel is insufficient to lift the weight, but immediately the workman makes the strap taut, the weight is carried up and is let fall by the workman releasing his hold on the strap.

SHAPING.--Thin metal is shaped by pressure applied by means of a screw press, the metal being placed between a die or mould and its counterpart.

AUTOMATIC MACHINERY.--A number of articles produced from wire, such as pins, nails, hooks and eyes, hair pins, etc., are made completely by automatic machinery, the wire being wound off a reel at one end of the machine and transformed into the various articles as it passes along until it comes out at the other end of the machine, a finished or nearly finished article.

AUTOMATIC TURNING AND SHAPING.--Gun stocks, boot lasts, tool handles and other similar articles are automatically turned. With a gun stock for example, the rough form cut from a plank is put in a lathe, above is placed a steel model or dummy of the form required to be turned, the model and the wooden blank are made to revolve at precisely the same speed, and a rotating cutter travels slowly along from one end of the blank to the other, the movement of the cutter inwards or outwards being regulated by the dummy. The wooden blank having been put in the lathes, the cutting is started, and it then goes on until finished, when the lathe stops automatically. The shaping of gun locks and many other parts of the gun is effected by causing a revolving cutter to be moved over a fixed steel model or dummy, the cutter thus shapes the blank to a fac-simile of the pattern or dummy.[50]

SPINNING.--Tea pot bodies and a variety of articles in Britannia metal are “spun.” A piece of wood 4 or 5 inches in diameter is attached to the lathe head, and in this a hollow corresponding to the bottom of the tea pot is turned. A sheet of metal of a foot or so diameter is now put against the wood and pressed into the hollow by a wooden cylindrical mould with a round base which corresponds to the concavity. The disc is rotated very rapidly and the workman presses the soft metal over the mould so as to form a vessel in shape somewhat resembling a coffee cup with upright sides, the cylindrical mould is taken out and replaced by a disc of wood in two halves, held in place by a spindle from the back centre of the lathe. The metal cylinder is now gradually closed in until the opening is reduced to the required size, when the body is complete. The spindle is withdrawn and the divided disc of wood easily shakes out.

DRAWING THROUGH.--Umbrella ferrules, pencil cases, cartridge cases, and a variety of articles are made by “drawing through.” The finest example of this process is seen in the manufacture of a metallic cartridge case, such as is used in the new Enfield-Martini rifle. I am indebted to Mr. T. R. Bayliss, Managing Director of the Birmingham Small Arms and Metal Company, for the following particulars. The brass is rolled to the required thickness.[51] It is then passed into a machine which forms it into a shallow cup. This machine consists of a tubular punch which cuts out a disc of 1.25 inch diameter, immediately upon which a solid plug passing through the tubular punch, presses the disc through a steel ring, so that it falls to the ground as a shallow brass cup. Three of these are produced by one blow of the press. The cups are heated in a muffle to a red heat, then dipped in dilute sulphuric acid to remove scale, washed, coated with soap and oil, and then passed through a second machine in which a slightly narrower punch forces the cup through a slightly narrower ring, and thus the cup, while retaining the same thickness at the bottom, is made slightly narrower and much deeper. Repetitions of the process (six altogether) produce a case rather more than half-an-inch wide and three inches long, which, when cut off to proper length, indented at the bottom for reception of the cap, and some other finishing processes gone through, is ready for the charge of powder. The process is applied to small articles like pencil cases, and at the Small Arms and Metal Company to cases as large as 5·20 inch diameter and 15 inch long.

SOLDERING.--Hard soldering or brazing consists in fusing an alloy of high melting point between two junctions of the metal to be soldered so as firmly to connect them. The solder in fine powder is mixed with powdered borax, and made into a puddle with water, and then spread about the parts to be soldered together. The article is now heated by fire or gas, and the moment when the solder runs, is carefully watched. Gold and silver soldering used in the jewellery trades is on a small scale similar to brazing, the solder used is a gold or silver alloy of slightly lower melting point than the article to be soldered: the borax is commonly applied by previously rubbing down a crystal on a piece of slate and the white puddle thus obtained applied by means of a camel hair pencil to the junction on which the solder is placed. The article is supported on a piece of pumice stone and the necessary heat produced by the flame from a mouth blowpipe. In soft soldering an alloy of tin and lead is used, the melted alloy being spread by means of a “bit” or “doctor,” consisting of a piece of copper attached to an iron rod set in a wooden handle. A flux called “monkey” or “spirit,” consisting of muriatic acid with dissolved zinc, having previously been applied. Formerly resin was used as a flux, but this is now to a great extent superseded by the mixture just spoken of.

SCRATCH BRUSHING is used to produce a rich rough surface previous to gilding. Revolving brushes of brass wire scratch the surface of the article which is kept well moistened with stale beer or with water to which size has been added.

Of late years the SAND BLAST has been introduced for roughing surfaces. Sand is fed into a powerful blast of air, and a fine frosted surface produced. If the article is protected in places by a mask of paper or soft metal cut out in any desired pattern, an ornamental pattern is produced requiring only a little chasing to finish it. The sand blast is used too in the production of an imitation of engraved glass, in embossing glass as a substitute for hydrofluoric acid, and for re-cutting old files.

DIPPING.--In order to clean brass articles, they are dipped into a mixture of nitric and sulphuric acids, the temperature and strength of acid determining whether the dipping is bright or dead. The bright articles are now finished by burnishing or polishing, and are then ready for

LACQUERING.--The articles are laid on an iron table heated to a temperature of about 230° F. by super-heated steam. When warm, the lacquer, which is a solution of shell-lac in spirits of wine, is brushed over, the spirit evaporates and leaves a protecting coating of gum.

GOLD CUTTING or LAPPING in jewellery consists in pressing articles against a rapidly revolving disc or “lap,” composed of lead and tin, to the surface of which fine emery has been applied. The faces of the article which have thus been “cut” are subsequently polished on a “bob,” that is on a wheel covered with leather on its edge or circumference.[52]

COLOURING in jewellery refers to a rich gold colour obtained on gold articles. The process at first could be applied only to jewellery of high quality, but now 15 and 18 carat gold is coloured. The articles are heated to dull redness to destroy grease and dirt, then hung on platinum wires and immersed in a boiling mixture of salt, saltpetre, and muriatic acid and water. After drying out in sawdust they are scratch-brushed.[52]

There are many extremely interesting processes in the trades of our town besides those which apply exclusively to the metal trades, but for these I have no space. Those who wish for full information respecting the history, position, and general character of the Birmingham industries, must consult “Birmingham and the Midland Hardware District,” edited by Mr. Sam. Timmins. This volume, which was published on the occasion of the visit of the British Association to the town in 1865, is exhaustive, describing the trades as they then existed. In order, however, to supplement Mr. Timmins’ book, application has been made to various gentlemen who have been good enough to provide the following short notices (or the substance of them) of the various trades referred to at length in the volume. In addition there are some notices of industries which have been introduced since the year 1865.

SUPPLEMENTARY DETAILS OF BIRMINGHAM TRADE SINCE 1865.

=Introductory Note.=--The references to “Birmingham and the Midland Hardware District” volume are quoted as “B.,” followed by a number indicating the page. Thus (B. 77) means, _See “Birmingham and the Midland Hardware District”, page 77_. The trades are arranged alphabetically.

=Assay Office of Birmingham.=--[H. WESTWOOD].--(B. 499). The assay marks continue to be so highly valued by the public that all goods are now sent to be assayed and marked except those of the commonest quality, and a few richly wrought articles that would be injured in the process.[53]

The statistics of the Assay Office form an index to the condition of the gold and silver trades of the town. The following tables are a continuation of those given by Mr. Ryland (B. 507).

WEIGHT OF GOLD AND SILVER WARES ASSAYED AND MARKED IN BIRMINGHAM.

Year ends Gold. Silver.
June 24th oz. oz.

1865 30,733 99,688
1866 35,705 90,736
1867 34,114 83,501
1868 36,170 79,642
1869 47,694 87,027
1870 48,123 84,323
1871 58,323 81,248
1872 75,933 91,988
1873 98,134 106,415
1874 116,325 134,949
1875 113,642 141,123
1876 120,019 142,148
1877 114,772 163,047
1878 104,202 159,847
1879 87,042 166,469
1880 81,606 239,835
1881 70,466 331,209
1882 86,837 511,743
1883 91,053 851,957
1884 99,799 926,968
1885 97,618 888,391

AMOUNT OF PLATE DUTY COLLECTED.

Year ends
July 24th.

Date. Amount.
1865 £11,114
1866 11,493
1867 9,941
1868 9,761
1869 10,505
1870 10,767
1871 11,270
1872 12,603
1873 14,889
1874 17,898
1875 18,202

Year ends
June 24th.

1876 18,689
1877 19,053
1878 18,406
1879 15,752
1880 13,898
1881 15,141
1882 18,649
1883 19,663
1884 20,943
1885 20,221

NUMBER OF ASSAYS MADE IN BIRMINGHAM.

Date. Number.
1843 1,685
1853 2,477
1863 6,823
1873 38,138
1883 101,012

=Bedsteads, Iron and Brass.=--[L. BRIERLEY.]--(B. 624.) In 1849 there were only about eight manufacturers of metallic bedsteads in Birmingham and the neighbourhood, whose united production probably reached 400 finished articles per week. In 1865 the number had increased to twenty, with a weekly output of about 5,000; the number of makers within a radius of fifteen miles is about forty, and the weekly production not far short of 20,000. As the number of manufacturers increased, and competition necessarily became keener, so improvements were continually being effected. The old imitation bamboo cane gave way to more artistic effects of colour. The pillars and rails were decorated with flowers and Dutch metal, or with gold--accomplished partly by hand, and partly by the process (long known in the potteries for ornamenting china ware) called transferring. This somewhat pronounced, if not “loud” style of decoration, though still in demand for foreign countries, has in its turn been replaced by plain polished surfaces, relieved at intervals with brass, nickel, or silver plated joints, and mountings. Prices range now (1886) from 5/- or 6/- for a plain stump bedstead to £100 for electro-silver plated canopy or fore part constructed to suit Oriental taste. The United States now buys and also makes metallic bedsteads. Australia, New Zealand, the Cape, Mauritius, Canada, East and West Indies, the States of South America, Egypt, China, and to some extent, Japan, purchase.

About 500 persons are now employed in Birmingham and neighbourhood in the bedstead trade; the average earnings of men are about 23/- per week, and of women about 14/- per week.

Within the last ten years wire mattresses have been introduced. The price was formerly £4 to £5 for a mattress, according to width. Now a good one may be obtained at a price varying from 20/- to 40/-.

While Birmingham and the district is the principal seat of the bedstead trade there are extensive manufactories in London, Manchester, Glasgow, and Bristol. Metallic bedsteads are also made extensively in France, Spain, Italy, Germany, and of late years in the United States also. A great number are, however, still exported to Spain and America in spite of the native competition, and protective duties amounting to 45 per cent. Our trade with Spain is very much reduced of late years in consequence of England being denied the advantage of “the favoured nation” clause.

=Block Paper and its Uses.=--[J. B. GAUSBY.]--(B. 574.) Since the previous paper on this subject was written, there has been no alteration in the process of manufacture, nor has there been any marked development of the trade as a whole. The manufacture of panels of various thickness has increased in consequence of their adoption in the place of wood, where bending or exposure to varying conditions of moisture are required. The great quantities of trays imported from Japan for some time checked the demand for moulded paper tray blanks, but the demand is now returning. Fashion has however dealt less kindly with the manufacture of slabs in blocks for the purpose of manufacturing artificial jet ornaments. This branch of the trade is entirely destroyed.

=Boiler Plate and Gas Holders.=--[W. S. SUTHERLAND.]--(B. 93.) In spite of heavy duties, boiler and gas apparatus are still exported. Within the last twenty years many types of tubular boilers have been introduced, but the one fluted or Cornish boiler, the simple egg-end, and the Lancashire and double boiler with cross tubes are most generally used. Mild steel has been introduced into boiler making and plate making during the last few years, though it is still a contested point whether it is superior to iron when all things are taken into consideration. It requires to have all rivet holes drilled, and it must be carefully annealed, though the writer is informed by Mr. Edwin Danks, of Oldbury, that steel makers often prefer to have their plates either worked cold or at a red heat, and not in the intermediate condition. Drilling machines especially designed are now used. Hydraulic machines of greatly improved construction have come into use for facilitating the operations in the boiler yard. These machines are portable, the water being supplied through a flexible tube. Improvements in the construction of the internal boiler flues have been made to enable them to resist increased pressure, and further to allow the expansion and contraction of the flue without injury. Of these improvements, the most noted are Fox’s corrugated flues, the bowling ring, the flanged flue, and Arnold’s flue.

An improvement introduced by the writer into boiler plate working, is the system of welding by gas, adopted in Birmingham by Messrs. Piggott, and by Messrs. Lloyd and Lloyd, for tubular and other work and applied by Mr. Puplett for welding plate sheets of steel only, 12 and 13 w.g. thick into ice moulds. It is found that the strength of the weld equals that of the solid plate, and the process is a cleanly and convenient one. Hemispherical sugar pans of 8 and 9 feet diameter without a joint are made by Messrs. Piggott, who use this process. _Gas Holders._--Since 1865 much larger gas holders have been made. The two designed by Mr. Hunt, and recently erected at the Windsor Street Works, Birmingham, have each a capacity of 6,000,000 cubic feet, and are at the present time the largest in the world.

=Brassfoundry.=--(B. 225). No important changes have taken place in this trade since the last report was written. At Messrs. Winfield’s and other makers, light and elegant “electroliers,” for electric lighting, have been added to the usual run of work. A general cheapening of brass articles has resulted among other causes from the reduction in price of copper. In the table (B. 259) it will be seen that in 1855 copper was £126 a ton, the prices since 1865, when it was £92, have been--

£
1866 88
1867 78
1868 76
1869 75
1870 70
1871 75
1872 96
1873 92
1874 87
1875 88
1876 82
1877 75
1878 67
1879 63
1880 67
1881 66
1882 72
1883 67
1884 59
1885 48

The increased imports from America account for the fall in price, the increase in Lake Superior copper alone being from 25,439 tons in 1882, to 35,000 in 1885.[54]

=Button Trade.=--[J. P. TURNER.]--(B. 432.) A fashion for covered buttons in various qualities of mohair or its imitations, in diagonal patterns, has prevailed at home and abroad for some years. These are largely made in Birmingham, but as many or more are imported from Germany, where the covering is _wholly_ produced, and, further, a better finish to the buttons is obtained. _Vegetable Ivory or Carozo Nut Buttons._--The Germans produce more beautiful designs and superior finish at the same prices, and the Birmingham markets are now almost annihilated. The foreign trade Birmingham once had is extinguished. _Pearl Buttons._--Since 1865 a new supply of pearl shell has been obtained from various parts of the coast round Australia, and this locality is our chief source of supply. It is worth £200 per ton for picked parcels, and about £150 per ton when delivered here. The best of this shell is equal or nearly so to the best Macassar shells. Panama shells are now found in but small quantities, and instead of only fetching £20 to £30 per ton, as quoted in 1865, they are now worth £50 to £70. _Glass Buttons._--Some fancy glass buttons made in Birmingham are still unsurpassed in style, but the sale is a limited one. More than ever come from Bohemia, where they are better made than formerly, and equally low in price.

The button trade in Paris has had to yield to German competition equally with that in England.[55]

=Cast Iron and Hollow Ware.=--[W. KENRICK, M.P.]--(B. 103.) Since 1866 the increase in the trade is remarkable, and some important improvements have been introduced by which the public has obtained a very superior article, at a price quite as low, if not lower than before. Roughly speaking, the trade has doubled in twenty years. Enamelled iron ware has become better known and more appreciated. Ten firms are now engaged in this manufacture. Messrs. Baldwin, of Stourport, have introduced and patented a new process, whereby they claim the production of a better enamel at a lower price, owing to the use of a single coat. This variety is called mottled enamel ware.