Chapter VIII: Manufacturing Industries (birmingham and District.) (2)

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Messrs. Kenrick were the first in the trade to introduce a cover stamped out of a single piece of metal without rivet or seam, and this was manufactured under a patent taken out by Mr. Ryland in 1868. Since then the adoption of a solid cover has extended generally throughout the trade. By another patent, the firm fixed the tubular handle to the saucepan by means of a socket in which the tube was securely locked without a rivet.

The process of annealing has been improved by a saving of time occupied in the process. Machinery has been introduced into the moulding of hollow-ware, the stamping and finishing of covers, and the dressing of hinges and sash pulleys.

The odd work which comprises most small articles of cast iron used by builders’ furnishers, &c., has undergone a great change in appearance, owing to the introduction of a new style of finish from America. A coat of transparent varnish is now applied, the iron being previously polished on those parts in relief, and the result is an appearance somewhat resembling antique bronze. This, together with greater lightness and elegance of design, has given an impetus to the trade, and has led to the introduction of iron where brass was previously used.

The favourable conditions of labour described in 1866 still prevail, though it may be added that progress in this direction has at least kept pace with the advance in progress of manufacture, and the greater excellence in the ware produced.

The provisions of the Factory Acts have long applied to this industry with beneficial results. The hours of labour have been reduced, and thanks to the Education Act of 1870, the intelligence and docility of the younger operatives are their notable characteristics. What is now wanted is the establishment of Science and Art classes where the principles which underlie processes may be learnt, and the power to add beauty of form to articles of utility may be acquired. When these branches of technical training are added to the course of elementary instruction in our public Schools, all that is needed to secure the prosperity of British industry will have been done.

The best relations as a rule now exist between employers and employed; the former are less exacting and more sympathetic, the latter take juster views of the relation of capital and labour, and are more ready to co-operate with their employers to a common end. The wider introduction of machinery has been attended with the larger employment of female labour, and this seems to be an inevitable tendency of modern processes of manufacture. On the other hand many more skilled workmen are required in the fitting and machine shops, which now form an important department in large works of the class here described.

=Clocks.=--Within the last year or two a new industry has been imported into the town by Mr. Edward Davies, formerly of the Ansonia Clock Company, Brooklyn. A company has been formed under the name of the British United Clock Company, of 34, Farringdon Road, London. The works are in Great Hampton Street, Birmingham. The company make the round or drum-like time pieces, the works of which are machine-made, the parts being interchangeable, and are supplied retail at a few shillings each.

=Coinage.=--[RALPH HEATON].--(B. 552). Coining presses devised by a German named Uhlhorn, but manufactured and improved by Messrs. Heaton, have been supplied to the Royal Mint. The great advantage of the new presses is that they require no foundation, and are silent and automatic in action. The blanks are dropped into a tube, and the machine carries them forward one by one to the dies, where they are finished and fall into a box in front of the workman.

With regard to the manufacture of blanks, Birmingham has from time to time furnished these to a number of States, and is doing so now. Nickel coinage (an alloy of 20 per cent. nickel, and 80 per cent. copper) has been supplied to Jamaica in pence, half pence, and farthings. In 1884, seventy-five tons nickel alloy were coined for Servia, and an entirely new coinage of both silver and nickel for the Republic of Ecuador. At the present time (1886) Messrs. Heaton are supplying Columbia and Egypt with nickel coinage. The nickel alloy is an excellent material for coinage.

In 1872 the Birmingham Mint delivered silver blanks to the Royal Mint, for a coinage of the nominal value of £1,000,000. This was completed in six months.

The letter H below the date will be found on many of the bronze coins in circulation; this implies that the coins were struck at the Birmingham Mint. At the time of their introduction in 1875, it was supposed that an extensive gang of forgers were at work, and the mint authorities were communicated with by an anonymous writer, who stated that the counterfeit coins could be distinguished by the small letter H below the date.

Messrs. Heaton have supplied coins to no less than 39 states or authorities. In 1868, the Italian Government ordered five million lire in pieces of 10 centimes; and in consideration of the satisfactory manner in which this and other coinages had been carried out, his majesty, King Victor Emmanuel, conferred the honour of knighthood on the firm.

=Electric Lighting.=--[HENRY LEA, M.I.M.E.]--The period of fifteen years following the last Meeting of the British Association in Birmingham, in the year 1865, was devoid of any undertakings in electric lighting, other than in the direction of the application of powerful arc lights for lighthouse purposes, as practised by Messrs. Chance Bros., of Spon Lane, near Birmingham, who, beginning in 1862 with apparatus having optical adjustments for electric arc lights of small power, proceeded to introduce more and more powerful lights, of which the Souter Point revolving light of the 2nd and 3rd order built in 1870, the South Forelands fixed lights, two in number, and of the 3rd order, built in the same year; the Sydney Heads light of the 1st order and of 11,000 candle power, built in 1880; and the flashing light at Tino, near Spezia, a lamp of the 2nd order, finished in 1885, are examples shewing the great progress made during the period referred to. The Sydney Heads light is said to be the leading light of the world. The motive power employed for it is the Otto silent gas engine. The carbons are 23 millimetres, or upwards of ⅞″ in dia. Particulars of these undertakings will be found in a special paper upon Lighthouse Work in another part of this volume. The first application of arc lighting for ordinary business purposes in this district is believed to be that of the Birmingham Household Supply Association Limited, which was fixed in the year 1880-1 under the superintendence of the writer, who employed a pair of 8″ × 12″ Horizontal Tangye Engines to drive a Brush Dynamo working sixteen arc lamps. Amongst other examples of arc lighting subsequently put down may be named those at Messrs. Brown Marshalls & Co.’s Carriage Works at Saltley, Messrs. John Wilkes and Sons’ Rolling Mills in Liverpool Street, Messrs. Elkington & Co.’s Show Rooms, in Newhall Street, the New British Iron Co.’s Works at Corngreaves, the Lower Grounds at Aston Park, and Messrs. Cadbury Bros.’ Cocoa Manufactory, near Birmingham, the latter being only very recently started upon the Gulcher system.

The incandescent or glow electric lamp, first made its appearance upon a large scale in Birmingham, in the year 1882, when the Birmingham Town Hall was successfully illuminated for the Triennial Musical Festival, by Messrs. R. W. Winfield and Co., who had allied themselves with Messrs. R. E. Crompton and Co., of Chelmsford, for electric lighting undertakings. This installation was established under the writer’s superintendence, and consisted of 440 Swan glow lamps, suspended from ornamental pendants placed around the walls of the Hall, a chamber having very nearly the proportions of a double cube, and measuring 165ft. × 65ft. × 65ft. high. Various lamps in other rooms raised the number to 500. Cables were laid underneath the streets, for a distance of about a quarter of a mile, to the works of Messrs. Winfield and Co., in Cambridge street, where nine Bürgin Dynamos, separately excited by two similar machines, were employed to generate the electricity, the motive power being the old rolling mill engine, from the flywheel of which a belt conveyed the motion to the electric machinery. This wheel, being 25ft. diameter, weighing about 25 tons, and revolving 50 times per minute, afforded a source of motion, the steadiness of which left nothing to be desired. The marked difference of temperature in the Town Hall during the evening performances, as compared with the previous use of gas--70° at the ceiling instead of 110°--was fully appreciated by the large audiences of that festival. Subsequently the number of lamps was increased to upwards of 600, by the addition of two pendants. The same means of illumination were used for the 1885 Triennial Festival, as well as on many occasions of concerts, etc. The whole plant still remains the property of Messrs. Winfield and Co. Upon somewhat similar lines the same firm fitted up the Leeds Town Hall, for the Festival of 1883, where, however, the whole of the light was derived from pendants suspended from the ceiling by steel wire ropes. The machinery in this case was also situated about a quarter of a mile from the Town Hall.

In the year 1882, Messrs. Elwell, Parker, and Co., commenced electrical business in Wolverhampton, with secondary or storage batteries constructed upon a modification of the Planté method of manufacture. Shortly afterwards, the same firm began to make dynamos for charging their batteries, since which time the output has increased, and now amounts to a total of about 500 dynamos, besides several thousands of storage cells, the latter being now made under the joint Patents of the Wolverhampton Firm, and the Electrical Power Storage Co., Limited, of London. The London Stock Exchange, Lloyd’s Shipping Offices, the Manchester Art Gallery, Lord Shrewsbury’s seat at Ingestre Hall, the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Co., the Blackpool Electric Tramway, the Giants’ Causeway Electric Tramway, the Cannock Chase Colliery, the Grosvenor Gallery and many other establishments are lighted or worked by means of dynamos manufactured by the Wolverhampton firm.

Amongst installations set up in Birmingham under the writer’s superintendence may be mentioned the Theatre Royal, in New Street, and the Prince of Wales Theatre, in Broad Street, in each of which the plant consists of a 16-H.P. Otto silent gas engine, driving a 300 light Ferranti alternate current dynamo with a Siemen’s exciter, and with appliances at the prompt side for lowering or turning out the light at will. 200 lights are run very brightly with an expenditure of about 800 cubic feet of gas per hour. A similar number of ordinary gas burners would require from 1,000 to 1,200 cubic feet of gas per hour. The Birmingham Liberal Club, in Congreve Street, another example, has 160 lamps which are worked from a 10-unit compound dynamo, made by Messrs. Crompton and Co., of Chelmsford, the motive power being a 12-H.P. compound steam engine, by Messrs. Marshall, Sons, and Co., Limited, of Gainsborough. This machine is an excellent specimen of a self-regulating dynamo, the commutator not having been touched with anything coarser than well-worn emery cloth since February last, its surface presenting a highly-polished appearance. No storage cells are used, the lighting being derived directly from the machine.

In the suburbs, the house of Mr. Mitchell, Hagley Road, Edgbaston, has about 40 lights, and is worked from a 2-H.P. Otto silent gas engine, and a 2-unit Crompton shunt-wound dynamo, charging 24 storage cells of the E.P.S. (Electrical Power Storage Co.’s) type.

The writer’s house, 7, Clarendon Road, Edgbaston, is also electrically lighted by 24 E.P.S. cells, charged by a 30-light Chamberlain & Hookham dynamo, worked from a ½-H.P. Otto gas engine.

Messrs. Chamberlain & Hookham began, a few years ago, the manufacture of dynamos having permanent steel magnets, but they subsequently adopted the more usual type of electro-magnetic machines. Particulars are not to hand of this firm’s work, but the residences of Messrs. Walter Chamberlain and Herbert Chamberlain are amongst the examples of domestic electric lighting carried out by the firm, whose attention, however, has been directed principally to the manufacture of dynamos for electro-depositing purposes, where very heavy currents of low electro-motive force are required.

The public supply of electricity was in 1882-3 the subject of much attention on the part of Messrs. Winfield & Crompton, under whose auspices the Incandescent Electric Lighting Co. Ld. was registered. An Act of Parliament was obtained, and plans and estimates were made by the writer for lighting a large district in Birmingham from central stations. Carefully collected statistics of the gas consumption in the proposed district afforded some interesting information, such as, for instance, that the average cost of gas per burner per annum, called the burner earnings, varied from 2d. to 43/6 per burner per annum, and showed a mean earning for the whole district of 10/2 per burner per annum, the average price of gas being about 2/3 per 1,000 cubic feet. From various causes, chief amongst them being the adverse restrictions of the Electric Lighting Act of 1882, the operations of the Company have remained in abeyance. The Birmingham Act is, however, still in force, and should the efforts which are now being made for the removal or substantial modification of the obnoxious clauses of the Act meet with the desired success, Birmingham may yet enjoy the advantages of a public supply of electric light, the luxury of which only those who have lived in an electrically lighted house can fully appreciate.

=Flint Glass Manufacture of Birmingham.=--[A. C. OSLER.]--(B. 526.) Further inventions have been made with regard to furnaces. Frisby’s patent, the fuel inserted from below, instead of being thrown on the top of the fire, has met with some amount of favour, having been adopted by several Stourbridge houses. Bœtius’s patent, by which the earlier stages of combustion take place below the floor of the furnace, and a current of heated air is supplied to complete the combustion as the inflammable gases pass through an opening in its floor into the furnace itself, has now been in use at Messrs. Osler’s for many years.

The process of etching by hydrofluoric acid, has been largely developed as a means of ornamenting glass, and has to a large extent superseded engraving. Highly artistic designs are produced by a combination of etching and engraving. Mechanical methods are adopted in producing many effective borders.

Among new inventions for the ornamentation of glass, should be mentioned the process of “threading,” that is, the surrounding and partial covering of a body of glass of one colour with a continuous thread of glass of another colour, by which many beautiful effects of varying and toned colour are produced.

Recent years have also seen the revival of what is termed cameo cutting on glass. A body of glass being formed of layers of different colours, the outer layer or layers are partially removed by eating away by hydrofluoric acid, and the remaining portions are then wrought into designs with the chisel or graver. A reproduction of the Portland Vase is one of the most remarkable specimens of this revived art, which offers excellent opportunity for the combination of lustrous colours of varied hue with delicate and exquisite ornamentation.

Marked progress has been made in the production of coloured glass, formerly almost a monopoly of the Bohemian makers.

=Hinges of Wrought Iron.=--[F. E. MARTINEAU.]--(B. 610.) Material consumed at time of British Association Meeting, in 1849, was about 700 tons; in 1865, about 2,500 tons, and this year, 1886, about 3,500 tons per annum. In 1865, about 300 people were employed in the trade, there are now about 380. Strip steel has to a certain extent replaced strip iron in the manufacture.

=Hydraulic Machinery.=--[MESSRS. TANGYE.]--(B. 647.) The Cornwall Works have rapidly extended, now occupying six times the area covered in 1865. 2,000 men are employed. In addition to hydraulic machinery, steam engines, machine tools, machinery for gas works, patent retort lids, gas stoking and charging machines, gas engines of a novel and economical type, steam boilers of all kinds, and fixed and portable steam cranes are manufactured. These works will now turn out per month 200 steam pumping engines, 40 steam boilers, 100 steam engines used for other purposes than pumping, 800 cranes, crabs, and lifting apparatus. 300 hydraulic presses, lifts, and jacks. 5,000 complete sets of pulley blocks, and 1,000 gas retort mouth-pieces and lids.

=Jewellery.=--[JOHN BRAGG.] (B. 452).--EXTENT OF THE TRADE.--This general title includes a number of so called “Trades” which appear in the Directory under separate heads. It covers not only gold and silver “Jewellers,” but gold and silver chain makers, gilt, plated, and black ornament jewellers, as well as all those subsidiary branches which exist solely for the general trade, such for instance as lapidaries, stone dealers, gold cutters, chasers, engravers, jewellers’ die sinkers, tool makers and stampers, enamellers, case makers, and also jewellery factors. In several large establishments, many of these separate departments are carried on within the walls and under one central management. The Post Office Directory for 1885 gives 1,123 master-men thus engaged in Birmingham. To these however must be added a large number of “garret” masters or “out workers” whose names do not so appear, and who employ perhaps only one, two, or three persons each. It is estimated that 14,000 to 16,000 persons are actively employed in this trade in Birmingham, while probably 40,000 to 50,000 are locally dependent upon it. The amount of capital here engaged in it is enormous, and, without doubt, larger than any other distinct and separate trade of the town. The manufacture is still, as at last report, aggregated in one locality, though it is extending its area. The central point is near to where Warstone Lane is crossed by Northampton Street or Vyse Street.

LABOUR AND WAGES.--The increase of female labour, particularly in silver jewellery and in warehouse duties, is very considerable, and has tended to keep down the wages of men. Still, these have risen to very high points in seasons of prosperity, and even in the present time of depressed prices, a skilled journeyman jeweller earns with his own hands 30s. to 45s. per week of about 54 hours. A trade society exists, but nothing approaching to a “strike” is possible, because of the infinite variety of departments, the constant change of patterns, and the habit of each workman agreeing personally with his employer or foreman as to prices of piece work. Most of the manufactories are well ventilated, the newly built ones being large and commodious in every respect.

BULLION USED.--An estimate has been made by those most competent to judge as to the value of gold and silver used by this trade in Birmingham per annum. Taking the last three or four years as a basis, it seems probable that the annual consumption of gold here is about £750,000, and of silver (at the present low price) from £300,000 to £350,000. One large manufacturer of silver jewellery has, within the last three years, used upwards of 3,000 oz. of fine silver per week. Sovereigns are still extensively used to melt instead of grain gold.

It may be asked, “Why melt sovereigns when gold, commercially pure, can be had from the dealers without paying costs of minting?” The answer is: the cost of minting is so small that against the other advantages attaching to the practice, it is of no account. These advantages are--1st, the grain gold of commerce cannot be relied upon for absolute freedom from accidental or superfluous alloy; and 2nd, that other qualities, such as uniform hardness, tenacity, and ductility--of the utmost importance to some branches of the trade--are ensured by using them. The metallurgical science and technical skill of our national assayers and melters at the mint, are therefore freely used by our manufacturers to enable them to alloy to the utmost nicety, and yet with a certainty of their goods, when made, passing the “Hall.” This, therefore, is a question of economy.

CHANGES IN THE TRADE.--The immensely increased production of silver jewellery has tended to almost obliterate two departments which twenty-five years ago were of large proportions--viz., the gilt and the plated jewellery trades. The workmen in these branches have mostly turned their hands to silver working. Notice must be taken of some new developments, which have become practically new trades to the town. The manufacture of costly official insignia, such as mayoral chains, municipal badges, presentation caskets, gold and silver ceremonial keys, &c., is new since last report. More than seventy such mayoral chains have been made here since then. The manufacture of watch cases in gold and silver, but particularly in silver, is also a new and very considerable trade, employing hundreds of people. Not fewer than 60,000 to 80,000 silver watch cases per annum are now turned out from Birmingham manufactories. Another new trade, though at present not a large one, is diamond cutting, but there is no reason why it should not become an important business here.

ARTISTIC PROGRESS.--How far the trade has led or has followed public taste it is impossible to say, but that a general improvement has taken place is undeniable. In place of the huge bracelets, brooches, earrings, and lockets of twenty years ago, we now have small and elegant articles of the most tasteful designs. Even such jewellery as is produced greatly by the aid of machinery, for the sake of cheapness, is often characterised by perfect style. Silver brooches may be bought wholesale for one shilling each which would not disgrace any wearer of the most refined taste. In the gold trade also, the productions for the great middle classes are equally neat and commendable, both as to form and detail of decoration. The greater use of gems, both in gold and silver jewellery, is a distinct feature of present requirements. A most remarkable evidence of the above statements is afforded by one branch of the trade, which now exports to France, Germany, and Switzerland goods in large and increasing quantities, winning its way by style as well as price against the best makers of the Continent. Compared with the like classes and prices of goods twenty years ago, there is no doubt but that beauty of design is greatly improved; nor can there be a doubt either but that our National Art Teaching has chiefly contributed to the improvement.

CHEMISTRY.--Chemistry has considerably improved the various processes in which its aid can be applied. Alloying is more skilfully and exactly performed. The art of melting is better understood. “Coloring” (which must not be confounded with “gilding”) is now carried to a pitch of remarkable excellence. At date of last report, this, which is a purely chemical process, was done without much intelligence, and nothing lower than 15 carat gold could be with certainty so finished. But now those who devote themselves specially to this branch of work, can produce a beautiful “color” on 12 carat gold. It must, however, be stated, that upon the lower quality, such bloom and rich colour is fugitive, while upon the higher qualities it is permanent. Gilding by electric processes is done with increased economy and skill. Parcel gilding, oxydising, and gilding with various colored alloys in solution, are carried to a high pitch of excellence. The chemical treatment of waste, such as shop sweepings, and the water used for washing of hands is much improved. In the business of refining, scarcely anything is lost.

MECHANICAL CONDITIONS.--So much depends, and will always depend upon skilled handicraft in the Jewellery trades, that there is not much to record in the way of mechanical progress. Still, in some tools there are notable improvements. The ingenuity manifested in the mechanical production of gold and silver “parts,” to be afterwards put together into great varieties of patterns, is remarkable. “Sand blast” is a new mechanical means used for producing the rich dead surface so much admired on gold and silver. The lathe, draw bench, die stamp, and press, effect much more than they did for the trade 20 years ago. Gas engines are now commonly used, even in small shops.

PRECIOUS STONES.--The gem and precious stone business together with that of the lapidary form a most important element of the jewellery trade. We have some 35 local stone dealers and lapidaries. Besides these, Birmingham is visited constantly by dealers from London, Paris, Hamburg, and elsewhere, who do large trades here. Diamonds and other gems in the rough are also sold here increasingly. Compared with date of last report, the sales of diamonds and other gems to the trade in this town is probably twenty times larger. Single firms will each buy and mount up £20,000 or £25,000 worth of gems in a year. It is now a recognised and distinct name of this branch of the trade, “Diamond and Gem Mounter,” and the Directory gives about 25 of those who do not ordinarily interfere with other jewellery. Many Birmingham factors now carry magnificent stocks of diamond goods manufactured here, which was not the case twenty years ago.

PRICES AND CHEAPNESS.--Any comparative notes which did not recognise the cheapness of modern jewellery would be incomplete. This cheapness is a real thing and not a delusion. Genuine gold and silver brooches, rings, bracelets, &c. set with gems, are now offered throughout the country, at prices which often cause doubts of their quality. Gold, it is true, remains at the same standard value; but silver is one-fifth lower in price. Several causes have acted together, resulting in this considerable reduction in retail selling prices of both gold and silver goods. First, workmen’s prices are much lower, although their total weekly earnings are not materially altered. This is effected by mechanical improvements; by the larger quantities of one pattern made at once; and by the employment of girls and youths under men. Secondly, the rates of profit realised by manufacturer, factor, and shopkeeper are lower. Lastly, diamonds and some other gems extensively used are much lower in price, especially their second and third qualities, than at date of last report.

DISTRIBUTION.--as a rule, manufacturing jewellers neither cultivate trade with shopkeepers nor with the private purchaser, but sell to the factors, or middle men. A factor sees all their stocks, selecting from each to compose his own, and so offers a better variety to the shopkeepers throughout the kingdom than could otherwise be done. There are in Birmingham about fifty of such factors. But the line of demarcation is somewhat indefinite, because many of them manufacture certain specialities for themselves. Still the system is the best under present circumstances, and works on the whole to the mutual good of all parties. The factors in London, and merchants generally, are also large purchasers from Birmingham manufacturers. The Post Office is the chief engine of distribution for small parcels, and all little orders and repairs. Two private firms, however, do a considerable business by collecting, through agents, in London, Coventry, and Birmingham, small jewellery parcels, conveying them by rail, and then delivering them very quickly and cheaply in those towns. The losses are practically nil, although perfect shoals of such little packages are despatched and delivered daily by these means, together with the railways.

=Lighthouse Apparatus.=--[J. KENWARD].--(B. 153). The Lighthouse Works of Chance Brothers and Co., Spon Lane, near Birmingham, are the only works of the kind in the kingdom. The improvements since 1865 may be noted under: (1) the optical agents, (2) the lamps and burners with the illuminant or fuel used in them, (3) the mechanical appliances. The six original orders of optical apparatus distinguished by their radii and height are no longer the only types. There is the hyper-radial first order lens, whose focal distance is 1,330 millimetres, and diameter about 104¾ inches, the usual first order being about 72½ inches diameter, and there are several varieties below the 6th order whose radius is 150 mm. Of these the Ship Light introduced by Messrs. Chance with a focal distance of 125 mm., is the most important. Various new arrangements of condensing lights where from one flame, certain sea sectors are strongly illuminated by means of vertical prisms, while other sectors are less intensely lighted, have been adopted with signal success, as have also several special designs where a coloured and a white beam of equal intensity are concerned. The new lenses for port and harbour lights, and those used with the electric arc on board vessels of war for search purposes, introduced by Messrs. Chance, may be named. The present two most powerful lights in the world are the Macquarie at Sydney Heads (a revolving electric light of the first order) and the Tino near Spezia, a revolving electric light of the second order. In both a single optical agent is employed, and carbons from 15 to 25 mm. diameter. Another improvement is the ship light lens designed to give adequate intensity and penetrating power in a vessel’s signal lights, especially her side lights, whereby an increased luminous range can be secured and the risk of collision greatly lessened. The vertical angle subtended by lenticular refracting apparatus has been increased from 45° and 47° to 80°, and even by the use of dense flint glass to 92°. In this way the normal power of the central or lens portion of a light, always two-thirds of the whole power, has been so augmented that it is found advisable to dispense with the prisms both upper and lower, and to depend on the refractors alone. When higher degrees of intensity are needed, a second tier of lenses can be superposed on the first, and a third and fourth added, a separate flame being in the focus of each tier. This has been done by Mr. Wigham, of Dublin, with gas flames, and by Sir James Douglas with oil flames. The two great divisions of lighthouse apparatus into fixed sections and revolving sections have been extended. Thus the old fixed light, the revolving light with equally recurring single flashes, the composite fixed and flashing light, always objectionable from its unequal power, have been supplemented by the occulting light, and the group flashing light which last was designed by Dr. John Hopkinson, and first constructed by Messrs. Chance. In this arrangement the beams are sent out in groups, each beam of the group being separated from one another by a short interval of time, and each group by a longer interval. The lights on a coast can thus be distinguished by their single flash, double flash, or triple flash.[56]

ILLUMINANTS AND BURNERS.--Mineral oil has been introduced, and special burners designed in order to burn it. The largest of the old colza oil burners (known as Fresnel burners) has an intensity of 230 candle units, or 23·6 candle units per square inch, while a similar burner for paraffin has been reported as affording 415 candle units, or 44·3 units. The latest developed Trimley burner of Sir James Douglas, with nine concentric wicks, gives 49·8 units. The oil used has a flashing point of 154° F. The average cost of mineral oil is one-fourth that of vegetable oil. Gas is also freely employed, and in the 108-jet burner of Mr. Wigham it has attained a power of 2,433 candles, and in the 10-ring burner of Sir James Douglas, a power of 2,619 candles. Beyond the highest reach of oil or gas burners, say 2,500 or 2,600 candles, is the electric arc giving an intensity of beam of ten millions of candles. At the other end of the scale is the duplex burner, which, with the new Chance lenses, is available in the smallest apparatus for a horizon of from seven to ten miles.

The Spon Lane Lighthouse Works have been extended greatly since the last visit of the Association. The unique methods of grinding and polishing the optical glass have not been materially changed, but the number and variety of machines have been largely increased. In the mechanical shops there is now a complete _outillage_ for turning, drilling, shaping, screwing, &c., applicable to all the old designs and processes, and also the newer branches introduced since 1865. There are about 200 workpeople employed, many with consummate skill and intelligence, as may be assumed from the precise and highly finished work in which they are engaged.

At this date about 260 complete sea lights and about 300 complete harbour lights have been sent out, together with about 200 smaller port lights and about 370 of the recently designed ship lights.

Very striking specimens of optical science have been contributed by Messrs. Chance, as exemplified in the list of dioptric lights they have supplied around our own coasts, of which The Longships, the Wolf Rock, the Flamborough Head, the Hartland Point, the Start Point, the South Stack Rock, The Casquets, Bull Point, Anvil Point, the Eddystone, and many others are examples.

Mr. Kenward will be glad to give further information to any member of the Association who may take an interest in the subject.

=Locks and Lock Making.=--[J. C. TILDESLEY.]--(B. 77.) The price of cheap padlocks is still lower. Iron padlocks of the cheapest class are now being made in this district (Willenhall) and delivered free in Bombay and Calcutta, at _fivepence halfpenny per dozen_!

In reference to the table (B. 89), the number of employers may be set down as 100 less (that is 350) and at least 1,000 must be deducted from the total number of workpeople, bringing it to about 3,950.

The production of locks in the district may now be computed at 25,000 dozens per week, as against 31,500 dozens per week, as estimated in 1865. The reductions being chiefly in the pad, cabinet, chest, and till departments, which are being driven hard by America and continental competition. On the other hand, door locks (rim, dead, mortice, and drawback) are being made in larger quantities than ever, and are being sold at prices which would have been regarded as fabulous twenty years ago.

The average earnings of locksmiths are 15 to 20 per cent. less than the figures given at (B. 89.) American competition in castings has, so far as the lock trade is concerned, considerably diminished since 1865. By grinding English sand to the fineness of flour, and by the adoption of Plaster of Paris moulds and improved methods of casting, transatlantic supremacy over England no longer prevails. While in the matter of cheap and clear castings they have maintained for their productions the reputation for practical qualities which has so long distinguished them. Artistic design and ornamentation have improved. Germany is now the most formidable rival to the English lockmaker, owing to the low wages and long hours endured by the German locksmiths. The remedy for this state of affairs ought, in the interests both of commerce and humanity to be found not in a retrograde movement on the part of England to Germany, but in the uprising of the German workman, to secure the same _status_ as that enjoyed by his English confrere.

=Magic Lantern Slide Painting.=--[H. H. STANTON.]--The old fashioned method of tracing from a drawing or engraving though still used, has given way to a great extent to the introduction of photography. Special drawings are made, photographed on to glass, and subsequently painted. Girls and also artists are employed in the work. Photographic slides from various parts of the world come to Birmingham to be finished.

=Measuring Rules and Tapes.=--[JOHN RABONE.] (B. 628.) It is noteworthy that in the “garret” at Heathfield Hall, near Birmingham, where Watt amused himself during the latter years of his life with his copying machines--the prototypes of those afterwards known as the American and Enfield--is still to be seen an example of Watt’s early work in London before he entered upon his remodelling of the steam engine in connection with Matthew Boulton.

In one of the drawers there are preserved several of the old fashioned tools, formerly, and still used in rule making by hand, and also carefully wrapped up in paper by Watt himself, is a “brass sector with a French joint,” which, unlike his compasses and other mathematical instruments, has undergone no wear, and is as faultlessly clear and perfect as it was on the day it left the maker’s hands. The only assumption that can be made respecting it is that it is the identical “brass sector with a French joint,” of which young Watt so glowingly wrote to his father, now a hundred and thirty years ago; and if that be so, it is the only known specimen of the great engineer’s work as a rule maker.

Prior to the last meeting of the British Association in Birmingham, in 1865, machinery had been brought into the trade to but a small extent compared with what has since been the case in the making and marking of all kinds of rules. Accurately engine-divided, 2-feet folding steel rules, retailed at a shilling each, are a new feature of the trade, which is a boon to mechanics they never before had. The employment of automatic machinery has quite revolutionised the trade, by bringing larger capital into it, and increasing the number of workpeople sixfold, at the same time enabling employers to pay higher wages than they could possibly do when all depended upon unaided hand labour. The trade has always been in comparatively few hands, three-fourths of the names appearing in one directory as makers, being merely dealers, or journeymen; in one case fifteen of the men so described being merely journeymen of one employer. The bulk of the trade is now in the hands of as few makers as might be counted on the fingers of one hand, but competition is not rendered thereby less severe, but is rather more excessive. During the past twenty years a great change has taken place in many countries by the adoption of the metre as a standard measure. Since 1870 all the numberless measures of little German towns, many with both decimal and duo-decimal divisions, have been abolished, and the use of the metre alone legalised. Other nations have followed the example of Germany. Many of the rules made for export to such countries as Russia, which have not legalised the metre, are marked with it in addition to the local measures, thus preparing the way for its future adoption. Its use has been legalised in Great Britain, though not made compulsory, and many of the measures made for export to foreign countries where English customs prevail are marked with both English and metrical divisions.

=Military Arms Trade.=--[J. D. GOODMAN.]--(B. 381.) At the date of the notice of the gun trade, published in the transactions of the meeting of the British Association held in Birmingham in 1865, the British forces were armed with muzzle-loading guns. The arm of the service was that known as the “Enfield Rifle.” It was adopted by a committee of military officers, appointed by Lord Hardinge, Master General of the Ordnance, in 1853.

In 1865 the breech-loading system was receiving much attention. The Wesley Richards’ Breech-loader had been for some time in use in the service on an experimental scale, and had been tested in the field, both in China and New Zealand. So far back as 1861, a thousand breech-loaders, on Terry’s principle, had been issued to the troops, but did not prove successful. Trial was also made of Sharp’s American Breech-loading Rifle. The successful use of the Needlegun Breech-loader, by the Prussians, in the Danish war of 1864, gave great urgency to the enquiry.

In August, 1864, the English Government invited proposals for the conversion of the Enfield rifle into a breechloader. Fifty different systems were sent in, of which five only were ultimately selected for trial. Four of these were capping and one was a non-capping arm--that is, one in which the cartridge carries its own ignition. On 14th March, 1865, the Woolwich Committee issued their Report on the various systems which had been submitted, in which after speaking of the obvious disadvantages which a breechloader requiring a cap presents, when contrasted with one adapted for a cartridge carrying its own ignition, proceeds to say:--

“The Committee have now respectfully to submit their
observations on the whole question.

“The ultimate armament of the infantry with breech-loading
weapons is determined upon. It would be done at a comparatively
small cost by conversion, but it is now well known that the
calibre, twist, and form of rifling of the ‘Enfield’ is not
the most favourable for fine shooting, and it is quite certain
that no converted arms can possess the precision which will
be easily attained in a new breechloader of smaller gauge and
quicker twist. Nor will the soldier be able to carry that
increased quantity of ammunition, which is so desirable,
without a reduction of calibre.

“There are certain circumstances in which, notwithstanding
all the inconveniences which will attend the co-existence
of unaltered arms, converted arms, and new arms, with their
different ammunitions, it may still be desirable to proceed
with the conversion on the ground of its small cost, and of
the less time in which the arms can be turned out; but the
Committee do not feel in a position at present to recommend
such a measure.”

In the end, the economical view prevailed, and it was determined to convert the Enfield rifles to the Snider system. The effect of this decision was to postpone to 1871, when the Martini rifle was adopted, the advantages recognised in the Woolwich Report, which would be obtained by a smaller bore, quicker twist, and a different form of rifling.

In July, 1866, the Birmingham Small Arms Company was instructed to proceed with the conversion of the Enfield rifles to breech-loaders to the full extent of their power. The London Small Arms Company was very shortly afterwards established. They received similar instructions. The result was that the whole of the Enfield rifles available were converted, as follows:--

Enfield (Government Factory) 296,352
Birmingham Small Arms Company 156,000
London Small Arms Company 85,200
-------
537,552

As this number was insufficient for the requirements of the service, and as it was indispensable that there should be but one description of arm in use, it became necessary that new Sniders should be made. In 1869, and subsequently, orders were issued to the trade, and the following supplies were made:--

Enfield 200,523
Birmingham Small Arms Company 92,837
London Small Arms Company 42,525
National Arms Company 2,000
-------
337,885

Making a total of 875,437 Snider arms.

The adoption of the Martini-Henry rifle resulted from an invitation to inventors, issued by the War Department first in 1866. More than 100 different arms and 49 descriptions of ammunition were sent in, but the committee appointed to make the selection reported that none came up to the requirements. The invitation was repeated in December, 1867, resulting in 45 additional arms being submitted. In February, 1869, the Committee reported recommending a combination of the Martini Breech Action and the Henry rifling, and for the ammunition, the Boxer coiled case. During the following year, trials of this arm were made in the service, and finally, in 1871, it was definitely adopted. Orders were afterwards issued to the trade, and the following statement shows the numbers which have been manufactured at the Government Factory, and by the trade, up to March, 1885:--

Enfield 583,798
Birmingham Small Arms Company 107,219
London Small Arms Company 74,131
National Arms Company 12,456
-------
777,604

It has now (July, 1886) been decided to adopt a new arm, embodying the improvements suggested by the experience gained in the use of the Martini, during the service it has undergone. It has been found that the calibre of the barrel if still further reduced would much improve the shooting, an increase being made at the same time in the twist of the rifling. A Committee has for some time past had the matter under consideration, and finally have recommended an arm which is to be known as the Enfield-Martini.

In the new arm, the Martini action is retained, the outside dimensions of the barrel are the same, but the bore is reduced from ·45 inch to ·4 inch. While the twist of the rifling is increased from 1 turn in 22 inches to 1 turn in 15 inches. The weight of the bullet is reduced from 480 grains to 384, the powder charge being the same as in the former rifle, 85 grains. A wooden hand guard is fixed over the breech end of the barrel to protect the hand of the soldier when the barrel becomes heated by rapid firing. The barrel is no longer imbedded in the fore-end of the stock; it was found that the exterior of the barrel was liable to rust from contact with the wood. The fore-end is now so shaped that the barrel simply lies upon it, held in place by the bands which surround both stock and barrel. The back sight is provided with a wind gauge, and a locking bolt secures the trigger when the arm is at full cock. A sword bayonet is substituted for the former triangular-shaped bayonet. A “quick loader” will be used with this arm. It hangs on the side of the body of the action, and holds six cartridges. The cartridges are acted upon by a spring which forces the head of the cartridge through an aperture in the lid, ready for the soldier’s hand. With this “quick loader,” six rounds can be fired in about 25 seconds, whereas, in loading from the pouch, 40 seconds are required. This description, of the new arm may be subsequently modified, as the recommendation of the Committee has not yet been confirmed.

DIMENSIONS, &C., OF THE BREECH-LOADING ARMS OF THE BRITISH SERVICE.

----------------------------------+----------+-----------+-----------
| | MARTINI | ENFIELD-
| SNIDER. | HENRY. | MARTINI.
----------------------------------+----------+-----------+-----------
RIFLE. | | |
| | |
Length of Barrel | 39in. | 33³⁄₁₆in. | 33³⁄₁₆in.
Length over all |4ft. 7in. |4ft. 1½in. |4ft. 1½in.
Length with Bayonet |6ft. ½in. |5ft. 11½in.|5ft. 11½in.
Weight with Bayonet |9lb. 14oz.| 9lb. 14oz.|10lb. 4oz.
Weight without Bayonet | 9lb. | 9lb. | 9lb. 6oz.
No. of Grooves in Barrel | 3 | 7 | 7
Calibre | .577 | .45 | .4
Twist of Rifling 1 turn in | 78in. | 22in. | 15in.
Velocity of Muzzle per second | 1240ft. | 1315ft. | 1570ft.
Trajectory at 500 yards | 11.35ft. | 8.594ft. | 6.704ft.
Figure of Merit at 500 yards | 0.89ft. | 0.55ft. | 0.30ft.
| | |
AMMUNITION. | | |
| | |
Weight of Loaded Cartridge, grains| 715 | 758 | 718
Powder ” | 70 | 85 | 85
Bullet ” | 480 | 480 | 384
----------------------------------+----------+-----------+-----------

DESCRIPTION OF ARMS USED BY OTHER COUNTRIES.

As it is essential that all arms made for the service should be interchangeable, the orders to the trade have been confined to the factories where the work is done exclusively by machinery, viz., to the Small Arms Company and National Arms Company in Birmingham, and to the London Small Arms Company, whose works are at Bow. The National Arms Company, which was incorporated in January, 1872, is no longer in existence, having gone into liquidation in December, 1882. With a paid up capital of £330,000 they erected gun works at Sparkbrook, and ammunition works at Holdford. The gun works have now been purchased by the Government, and the Holdford Works are on the market for sale. The same irregularity in the Government employment, which proved fatal to the National Arms Company, acted very prejudicially for both the other Companies. The Birmingham Company paid no dividend during the five years 1879-83, and a nominal one only in 1884.

To this uncertainty of Government employment may be attributed the difficulty of obtaining swords and bayonets, to which, a short time since, attention was called in Parliament. When military arms were supplied by the ordinary hand-made trade, there were four bayonet-makers in Birmingham and West Bromwich, where, now, there is not one; and in Birmingham there is only one manufacturer of swords, when formerly there were several. The manufacture of triangular bayonets has been, with trifling exceptions, confined of late to Enfield, while sword bayonets, not made at Enfield, have been procured from Solingen. The future Enfield-Martini is to be provided with a sword bayonet. The plainly expressed wish of the House of Commons is that in future, all swords and sword bayonets shall be made in England, of English material. There will not be the slightest difficulty in carrying out this wish. Birmingham will be able to produce any number that may be wanted, but to keep together the required staff of workmen it is necessary that the demand should be continuous.

In the manufacture of rifles, as well as bayonets, there is every reason to hope that the future employment of the trade will be more regular and continuous. The past bitter experience has shown that the trade cannot live without steady employment, and it is now fully recognised that it is not desirable that this country should remain dependent for its supply of arms on one Government manufactory at Enfield.

AMMUNITION.--Up to the present time the English Government have adhered to the use of the Boxer cartridge, the case of which is made up of thin coiled brass, attached to an iron base, which carries the ignition. For some years past all other European nations have used a solid metal cartridge case, _i.e._, a case in one piece stamped out of a flat disc. The English Government have now decided that the solid case shall be used, with the new Enfield-Martini rifle. A plant for the manufacture of these cartridges is being prepared at Woolwich. It is fully intended also to employ the trade. Orders have already been issued to the Birmingham Small Arms Company and Messrs. Kynoch and Company, Birmingham, and Messrs. Eley Brothers, of London, who have all had long experience in the manufacture of this description of cartridge.

=Nails (cut).=--[R. F. MARTINEAU.]--(B. 613). The machines for cutting tacks and small nails up to 1½ inch are now fed automatically. One unskilled workman can keep five or six machines going. The machines do not work so fast as the hand fed, but there are fewer stoppages, and the quantity turned out is greater. This improvement has reduced the price 30 per cent. The present machines turn out the work so that it need not be looked over and sorted as was formerly the case. The cut nail trade has developed in the North and at the present time, there are as many nails made at Leeds as at Birmingham. The better class of nail is, however, supplied from Birmingham. London brewers send coasting vessels up the east coast with cargoes of stout, and they return from Hull with cut nails at very low freight. The quantity of nails made in Birmingham is about the same as in 1865. The French and Belgians have given up making cut nails, but they make tacks. No French tacks or _tingles_ (the smallest sort of tacks used in the shoe trade) are now imported into England, on the contrary, some are being exported into France.

Mild steel has been introduced since 1865. Steel nails are now being made at only a shilling per cwt. above the price of iron nails. These steel nails will clench, and hence are replacing wrought nails.

The manufacture of wire nails has been introduced into Birmingham since 1865. On its introduction, wire was imported from Germany and Belgium, owing to its cheapness and low freight, but now, as English wire has fallen in price, it is used in preference to the foreign.

Wire nails are suited for hard wood, hence a large trade is done in them in Australia. The Cape, India, and South America, are markets for Birmingham nails. Women get about ten shillings a week. Youths as feeders about 15 to 20 shillings, skilled mechanics from 30 to 50 shillings, and labourers 15 to 20 shillings per week.

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Handbook of BirminghamChapter VIII: Manufacturing Industries (birmingham and District.) (2)

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