Chapter IV: Part 4

13. Adult males, among the Romans, usually wore their hair short, and dressed with great care, especially in later ages, when attention to this part of the person was carried to such excess, that ointments and perfumes were used even in the army. The hair was cut for the first time, when the boy had attained his seventh year, and the second time, when he was fourteen years old. His locks, at each cutting, were commonly dedicated to Apollo or Bacchus.

14. Both men and women, among the Greeks and Romans, sometimes permitted their hair to grow in honor of some divinity. The Jews, also, when under the vow of a Nazarite, were not permitted to trim their hair or beards. In grief and mourning, the Romans suffered their hair and beards to grow. The Greeks, on the contrary, when in grief, cut their hair and shaved their beards, as likewise did some of the barbarous nations of early time.

15. Artificial hair began to be fashionable, at an early period, and was used by the Greeks, Carthaginians, and Romans. In the time of Ovid, blond hair was in great favour at Rome; and those ladies who did not choose to wear wigs, powdered their hair with a kind of gold dust. They wore hanging curls all round the head, to which they were fastened with circular pins of silver. Every wealthy Roman lady of fashion kept at least one slave to frizzle and curl the hair.

16. The time, when wigs first came into use, cannot now be ascertained. It is certain, however, that they were worn by females a long time before they became fashionable among the men.

17. Wigs, perukes, or periwigs, were revived in the seventeenth century. In the reign of Louis XIII., or about the year 1629, they became fashionable at Paris; and, as that city was generally imitated by the rest of Europe in things of this nature, they soon became common. The wigs were very large, as may be seen by examining ancient portraits, and were covered with a profusion of hair-powder. At first, it was disreputable for young people to wear them, as the loss of the hair at an early age was attributed to a disease, which was, of itself, discreditable.

18. When wigs were first introduced into England, some of the clergy opposed them violently, considering their use more culpable than wearing long hair; since, as they alleged, it was more unnatural. Many preachers inveighed against wigs in their sermons, and cut their own hair shorter to manifest their abhorrence of the reigning mode.

19. The worldly-wise, however, observed that a periwig procured for the wearer a degree of respect and deference which otherwise might not have been accorded; and hence there was a strong tendency to the use of this appendage. The judges and physicians, especially, understood well this influence of the wig, and gave to it all the advantages of length and breadth. The fashion, at length, was adopted by the ecclesiastics themselves, not only in England, but in most of the European kingdoms, as well as in the British colonies of America.

20. The fashion, however, except in cases of baldness, wherein alone it is excusable, is now nearly banished from Europe and America. This desirable change was effected principally by the example of republican America, and by the influence of the French Revolution. The law passed in England in 1795, imposing a tax of a guinea a head per annum on those who wore hair-powder, contributed to the same result, as well as to diminish the use of that article.

21. The manufacture of wigs and false curls is an important branch of the business of the barber. The first process in forming a wig is to produce, in the hair about to be used for this purpose, a disposition to curl. This is done by winding it on a cylinder of wood or earth, and afterwards boiling it in water. It is then dried, and baked in an oven. Thus prepared, it is woven on a strong thread, and is subsequently sewn on a caul fitted to the head. False curls are made on the same principle.

22. Wigs and false curls were not made in ancient times precisely in the same manner; although their appearance, when finished, was probably similar. The hair was then attached directly to a piece of thin leather, by means of some adhesive substance, or composition.

23. Many barbers, especially those who have a reputation for making wigs and false curls in a fashionable style, keep for sale perfumery, as well as a variety of cosmetics.

24. From the eleventh to the eighteenth century, surgical operations were almost exclusively performed by the barbers and bath-keepers. As phlebotomy was one of the chief sources of profit to the barbers, they adopted a sign emblematical of this operation. It consisted of a pole, representing the staff which the individual held in his hand, while the blood was flowing from the arm. The white band wound spirally about the pole, represented the fillet of linen with which the arm was afterwards secured.

25. It is hardly necessary to remark, that the same sign is still employed by the barbers; although, with a few exceptions, they have ceased to perform the operation of which it was significant.

THE TANNER, AND THE CURRIER.

THE TANNER.

1. The art of tanning consists in converting hides and skins into leather, by impregnating them with astringent matter.

2. It is impossible to determine the period at which the art of tanning was discovered. It was doubtless known to the ancients, and probably to the antediluvians, in some degree of perfection; since skins were applied as means of clothing the human body, before the arts of spinning and weaving were practised. It is likely, however, that they were applied to this purpose, for a considerable time, in their natural state; and that accident, at length, suggested the means of rendering them more applicable, by saturating them with certain mineral or vegetable substances.

3. Although the art of converting skins into leather was practised in remote ages, yet it was not until near the end of the eighteenth century, that the true principle of the process was understood. Before this time, it was supposed, that the astringent principle of the agents employed, was a resinous substance, which adhered mechanically to the fibres, and thus rendered them firm and insoluble. The correct explanation was first given by Deyeux, and afterwards more fully developed by M. Seguin. These chemists clearly proved, that the formation of leather was the result of a chemical union between a substance called tannin, and the gelatinous part of the skin.

4. The subject, however, was not thoroughly understood, and reduced to scientific principles, until the year 1803, when Sir Humphrey Davy gave it a careful investigation, in a series of chemical experiments. These inquiries resulted in the conviction, that the method of tanning which had been in general use, may, with a few alterations, be considered preferable to that by which the process is carried on with more rapidity.

5. The skin which envelopes the bodies of animals, consists of three layers. That on the outside is a thin, white, elastic membrane, called the _cuticle_, or _scarf skin_; that on the inside is a strong membrane, denominated the _cutis_, or _true skin_; between these two is a very thin membrane, to which anatomists have given the name _rete mucosum_, and in which is situated the substance which gives color to the animal. The cutis is composed of fibres, which run in every direction, and, being by far the thickest layer, is the one that is converted into leather.

6. The skins of large animals, such as those of the ox and horse, are denominated hides; and those of smaller animals, as of the calf, goat, and sheep, are called skins. Of the former description, is made thick, of the latter, thin leather. The process of tanning different skins varies in many particulars, according to the nature of the leather, and the uses to which it is to be applied.

7. The general process of changing thick hides into sole-leather, is as follows: They are first soaked in water, to free them from dirt and blood; and then, if rigid, they are beaten and rubbed, or rolled under a large stone, to render them pliable. They are next soaked in lime-water, or hung up in a warm room, and smoked, until a slight putrescency takes place. The hair, cuticle, rete mucosum, on one side, and the fleshy parts on the other, are then scraped off, on a _beam_, with a circular knife.

8. Nothing now remains but the cutis, or true skin. Several hides, in this state of preparation, are put together into a vat, for the purpose of impregnating them with tannin. This substance is found in astringent vegetables, and is obtained, in a proper state for application, by infusion in water. In that condition, it is called _ooze_, which is first applied in a weak state.

9. After the ooze, of different degrees of strength, has been renewed several times, they are put between layers of bark, and suffered to remain several months, fresh bark, from time to time, being supplied. The whole process generally occupies from twelve to sixteen months. When strong solutions of tannin are used, the leather is formed in a much shorter time; but, in that case, it is much more rigid, and more liable to crack. It is rendered smooth and compact, by beating it with a wooden beetle, or by passing it between rollers.

10. Oak bark, on account of its cheapness, and the quantity of tannin which it contains, is more extensively employed by tanners than any other vegetable substance. In sections of country, where this kind cannot be conveniently obtained, the bark of the hemlock, spruce, and chestnut, the leaves of the sumach, and various other astringents, are substituted.

11. The process of tanning calf-skins is somewhat different in many of its details. They are first put into a solution of lime, where they remain during ten or fifteen days, and are then scraped on both sides on the beam, with a circular knife, as in the former case, and for the same purpose. They are then washed in water, and afterwards immersed in an infusion of hen or pigeon's dung. Here they are left for a week or ten days, according to the state of the weather and other circumstances; during which time, they are frequently _handled_, and scraped on both sides. By these means, the lime, oil, and saponaceous matter, are discharged, and the skin is rendered pliable.

12. They are next put into a vat containing weak ooze, and afterwards removed to several others of regularly increasing strength. In the mean time, they are taken up and handled every day, that they may be equally acted upon by the tanning principle. The time occupied in the whole process, is from two to six months. The light and thin sorts of hides, designed for upper leather, harnesses, &c., are treated in a similar manner.

13. The tanner procures his hides and skins from various sources, but chiefly from the butcher, and from individuals who kill the animals for their own consumption. Great quantities of dry hides are also obtained from South America, where cattle are killed in great numbers, principally for the sake of this valuable envelope of their bodies.

THE CURRIER.

1. It is the business of the currier to dress the thinner kinds of leather. In most cases, in the United States, except in and near large cities, the business of tanning and currying are usually united in the same individual; or, at least, the two branches of business are carried on together, by the aid of workmen, skilled in their respective trades.

2. The mode of dressing the different kinds of skins, varies in some respects; but, as the general method of operating is the same in every sort, a description applicable in one case will convey a sufficiently accurate idea of the whole. We shall, therefore, select the calf-skin, since it is more frequently the subject of the currier's skill than any other.

3. The skin is first soaked in water, until it has become sufficiently soft, and then shaved with the _currier's knife_, on the inner side, over the _currier's beam_. It is then placed on a table, somewhat inclined from the workman, and scoured on both sides with the edge of a narrow, smooth stone, set in a handle, and again, with an iron _sleeker_ of a similar shape. The skin is next _stuffed_ with a composition of tallow and tanner's oil, on the flesh side, and then hung up to dry. Afterwards it is rubbed on the hair side with a board, and again scraped on the flesh side with the knife. Having been thus prepared, the skin is blacked on the flesh side with lampblack and tanner's oil, and subsequently rubbed with paste, applied with a brush. When it has been dried, the whole process is finished by rubbing both sides with a glass sleeker.

4. Horse hides are blacked on the hair side, or, as the curriers term it, on the _grain_, with a solution of copperas water. Leather designed for harnesses, for covering carriages, and for other similar purposes, is also blacked on that side in the same manner.

5. The trade of the currier is divided into two or three branches. Some dress only calf-skins and other thick leather designed for shoes, harnesses, and carriages; others confine themselves to dressing skins, which are to be applied to binding books, and to other purposes requiring thin leather. It may be well to remark here, that the dressers of thin leather usually tan the skins themselves, using the leaves of sumach, instead of bark.

THE SHOE AND BOOT MAKER.

1. As the shoe is an article of primary utility, it was used, more or less, in the earliest ages. Some writers suppose, that the Deity, in clothing man with skins, did not leave him to go barefooted, but gave him shoes of the same material.

2. The shoes of the ancient Egyptians were made of the papyrus. The Chinese, as well as the inhabitants of India, and some other nations of antiquity, manufactured them from silk, rushes, linen, wood, the bark of trees, iron, brass, silver, and gold, and sometimes ornamented them with precious stones.

3. The Romans had various coverings for the feet, the chief of which were the _calceus_ and the _solea_. The calceus somewhat resembled the shoe we wear at present, and was tied upon the instep with a latchet or lace. The solea, or sandal, was a thick cork sole, covered above and beneath with leather, and neatly stitched on the edge. It left the upper part of the foot bare, and was fastened to it by means of straps, which were crossed over the instep, and wound about the ankle. Roman citizens wore the calceus with the toga, when they went abroad in the city, while the solea was worn at home and on journeys. The solea was also used at entertainments; but it was changed for the calceus, when the guests were about to surround the table.

4. The senators wore shoes, which came up to the middle of the leg, and which had a golden or silver crescent on the top of the foot. The shoes of the women were generally white, sometimes red, scarlet, or purple, and were adorned with embroidery and pearls; but those of the men were mostly black. On days of public ceremony, however, the magistrates wore red shoes.

5. Boots were used in very ancient times, and were primarily worn, as a kind of armor, with a view of protecting the lower extremities in battle. They were, at first, made of leather, afterwards of brass or iron, and were proof against the thrusts and cuts of warlike weapons. The boot was called _ocrea_ by the Romans, who, as well as the Greeks, used it in the army, and in riding on horseback, and sometimes in pedestrian journeys.

6. The fashion of boots and shoes, like every other part of dress, has been subject to a number of changes, as regards both their form and material. In Europe, about one thousand years ago, the greatest princes wore shoes with wooden soles. In the reign of William Rufus, of England, the shoes of the great had long, sharp points, stuffed with tow, and twisted like a ram's horn. The clergy preached against this fashion; but the points continued to increase in length, until the reign of Richard the Second, when they were tied to the knees with chains of silver or gold. In the year 1463, Parliament interposed, and prohibited the manufacture or use of shoes or boots with _pikes_ exceeding two inches in length.

7. Lasts adapted to each foot, commonly called _rights and lefts_, were not introduced into England, until about the year 1785; nor was cramping, or _crimping_, the front part of boots practised there for ten years after that period. These improvements did not become generally known, or, at least, were not much used, in the United States, for many years after their adoption in Great Britain.

8. Many facts, besides the preceding, might be adduced to prove, that the art of making shoes and boots, although uninterruptedly practised from the earliest ages, has received many important improvements within the last fifty years.

9. In Europe and America, boots and shoes are commonly made of leather. In shoes for females, however, it is not unusual to use prunello, which is a kind of twilled, worsted cloth. In all cases, thick leather is used for the soles.

10. The business of _making_ boots and shoes is carried on very systematically in large establishments. The materials are cut out and fitted by the foreman, or by the person who carries on the business, whilst the pieces are stitched together, and the work finished, by workmen who sit upon _the bench_.

11. As a matter of convenience, the trade have fixed upon certain sizes, which are designated by numbers; and, corresponding to these, the lasts are formed by the last-maker; but, to be still more exact, individuals sometimes procure lasts corresponding to their feet, on which they cause their boots and shoes to be made.

12. The following is a description of the process of making a leather shoe: after the materials have been cut out according to the measure, or size, and the parts of the _uppers_ have been stitched together, the sole-leather is hammered on the _lapstone_, tacked to the last, and trimmed with a knife. The upper leather is next stretched on the last with a pair of pincers, fastened to its proper place with tacks, and then sewed to the bottom of the sole with a waxed thread. A narrow strip of leather, called a _welt_, is also fastened to the sole by similar means, and to this is stitched another sole. A heel being added, the shoe is finished by trimming and polishing it with appropriate instruments.

13. The edges of fine leather shoes and boots, are trimmed with thin strips of the like material, whilst those of prunello, and other thin shoes for ladies, are bound with narrow tape. The binding is applied by females with thread, by means of a common needle.

14. Shoe-thread is commonly spun from flax; that from hemp is much stronger, and was formerly preferred; but it is now used only for very strong work. The greater part of the shoe-thread used in the United States, is spun by machinery, at Leeds, in England, from Russian flax. The wax employed by shoemakers, was formerly composed of tar and rosin; but it is now most usually made of pitch.

15. The shoemaker, in sewing together different parts of his work, uses threads of various sizes, which are composed of several small threads of different lengths. A hog's bristle is fastened to each end of it, which enables the workman to pass it with facility through the holes made with the awl.

16. An expeditious way of fastening the soles of boots and shoes to the upper leathers, is found in the use of wooden pegs or brass nails. The old method, however, is generally preferred, on several accounts; but chiefly, because the work is more durable, and because it can be more easily repaired.

17. Journeymen working at this trade most usually confine their labours to particular kinds of work; as few can follow every branch with advantage. Some make shoes and boots for men; others confine their labours to those designed for ladies; but, by their aid, the master-shoemaker can, and usually does, supply every kind at his store.

18. It is no uncommon thing in the country, for the farmers to purchase leather, and employ the shoemaker to make it up; and this is done, in most cases, on their own premises. The shoemaker employed in this way, removes from house to house, changing his location, whenever he has completely served a whole family in his vocation. In such cases, he is said, by the trade, to be _whipping the cat_. The set of tools with which he operates, is called his _kit_.

19. The shoemaker usually buys his leather from the manufacturer; and procures his tools, tacks, and various other articles of a similar nature, at the _finding stores_. In some cases, the shoemaker with little or no capital, gets his materials from the _leather-cutter_, who makes it a business to supply them ready cut to the proper size and shape. There are, however, but few leather-cutters in our country; but, in England, this branch of trade is one of considerable importance, and is frequently connected with that of the leather-dresser.

THE SADDLER AND HARNESS-MAKER, AND THE TRUNK-MAKER.

THE SADDLER AND HARNESS-MAKER.

1. The invention of the saddle has been attributed to the Selians, a people of ancient Franconia. Under this impression, it has been supposed that the Latins gave it the name of _sella_. The period at which it was first used, cannot be ascertained. It is certain, however, that the horse had been rendered subservient to man, several centuries before this convenient article was thought of.

2. At first, the rider sat upon the bare back of the animal, and guided him with a switch, but afterwards with a strap put round the nose. In the course of time, the rider came to use, upon the back of the horse, the skins of beasts, in order to render his seat more easy. The Greeks, and many other refined nations of antiquity, sometimes used superb trappings, composed of cloth, leather, and skins dressed with the hair on; and, in addition to the gold, silver, and precious stones, with which these were ornamented, the horses were often otherwise decked with bells, collars, and devices of various kinds.

3. The Romans, in the days of the republic, deemed it more manly to ride on the bare back of the animal than on coverings. At a later period, they used a kind of square pannel, without stirrups; and about the year 340 of the Christian era, they began to ride on saddles. It appears, that those first employed were very heavy, as the Emperor Theodosius, in the same century, forbade the use of any which weighed over sixty pounds. The use of saddles was established in England by Henry the Seventh, who enjoined on his nobility the practice of riding upon them.

4. The frame of a saddle is called a _tree_. It is not made by the saddlers, but by persons who confine their attention to this branch of business. The trees are constructed of wood, with a small quantity of iron, and covered with canvas.

5. In making a common saddle, the workman first extends two strips of _straining web_ from the pommel to the hinder part of the tree, and fastens them with tacks. The tree is then covered on the upper side with two thicknesses of linen cloth, between which a quantity of wool is afterwards interposed. A covering of thin leather, usually made of hog's-skin, is next tacked on, and the flaps added. Under the whole are placed the pads and saddle-cloth; the former of which is made of thin cotton or linen cloth, and thin leather, stuffed with hair. The addition of four straps, two girths, two stirrup-leathers, and as many stirrups, completes the whole operation.

6. The roughness, or the little indentations in the flaps, are produced by passing the leather between rollers, in contact with a rough surface, or by beating it with a mallet, on the face of which has been fastened a piece of the skin from a species of shark, commonly called the dog-fish.

7. Saddles are often covered with buckskin, curiously stitched into figures, and having the spaces between the seams stuffed with wool; this is particularly the case in side-saddles. The form of saddles, and the quality of the materials, together with the workmanship, are considerably varied, to suit the purposes to which they are to be applied, and to accommodate the fancy of customers.

8. The process of making bridles and harness for horses, is extremely simple. The leather is first cut out with a knife of some description, but usually with one of a crescent-like form, or with a blade set in a gauge, and then stitched together with the kind of thread used by shoemakers. The awl employed in punching the holes is straight; and needles are most commonly used, instead of the bristles which point the shoemaker's threads. The mode of manufacturing saddle-bags, portmanteaus, and valises, is too obvious to need description.

THE TRUNK-MAKER.

1. The manufacture of trunks is equally simple with that of making harness. In common cases, it consists chiefly in lining the inside of a wooden box with paper, or some kind of cloth, and covering the outside with a skin, or with leather, which is fastened to the wood by means of tacks. Narrow strips of leather are fastened upon hair trunks with brass nails, by way of ornament, as well as to confine the work.

2. Instead of a wooden box, oblong rims of iron, and very thick, solid pasteboard, fastened together by means of strong thread, are used in the best kinds of trunks. The frame or body, thus formed, is covered with some substantial leather, which is first stuck on with paste, and then secured by sewing it to the pasteboard with a waxed thread. Over the whole, are applied strips of iron, fastened with brass or copper nails with large heads. The lines and figures on the leather, added by way of ornament, are produced by a _crease_, a tool made of wood, ivory, or whalebone. Its form is much like that of the blade of a common paper-folder.

3. How long trunk-making has been a separate trade, cannot be exactly ascertained. The trunk-makers in France were incorporated into a company, in 1596. In the United States, this branch of business is very commonly united with that of the saddler and harness-maker.

THE SOAP-BOILER, AND THE CANDLE-MAKER.

THE SOAP-BOILER.

1. The business of the soap-boiler consists in manufacturing soap, by the combination of certain oily and alkaline substances.

2. The earliest notice of this useful article occurs in the works of Pliny, in which it is stated, that soap was composed of tallow and ashes; that the mode of combining them was discovered by the Gauls; but that the German soap was the best.

3. For many ages before the invention of soap, saponaceous plants, and several kinds of earth, together with animal matters and the ley from ashes, were employed for the purpose of cleansing the skin, and articles of clothing. The idea of combining some of these substances, with the view of forming soap, probably originated in accident.

4. The vegetable oils and animal fats, capable of saponification, are very numerous; but those most commonly employed in the manufacture of the soaps of commerce, are olive-oil, whale-oil, tallow, lard, palm-oil, and rosin; and the alkalies with which these are most frequently combined, are soda, the ley of ashes, or its residuum, potash.

5. Soda is sometimes called the _mineral alkali_; because it is found, in some parts of the world, in the earth. It was known to the ancients, at a very early period, under the denomination of _natron_. It received this appellation from the lakes of Natron, in Egypt, from the waters of which it was produced by evaporation, during the summer season.

6. The soda of commerce is now chiefly obtained from the _salsola_, a genus of plants which grows on the sea-shore. In Spain, the plant from which soda is obtained is denominated _barilla_; hence, the substance produced from it by incineration has received the same appellation. The ashes of a sea-weed which grows on the coasts of Scotland and Ireland, is called _kelp_. In Europe, barilla and kelp are more extensively employed in the manufacture of soap than any other alkaline substances; but, in this country, where wood is so much used for fuel, common ashes are generally preferred.

7. The process of making the ordinary brown or yellow soap, from wood-ashes, is conducted in the following manner. The alkali is first obtained in a state of solution in water, by _leeching_ the ashes as described in page 26, and then poured, in a weak state, into a copper or iron caldron, having a large wooden tub carefully affixed to the top of it.

8. When the ley has been properly heated, the tallow, either in a _tried_ state or in the suet, is gradually added. More ley, of greater concentration, is poured in; and the ingredients are moderately boiled for several hours; while a person, as represented in the preceding cut, aids their chemical union by agitating them with a wooden spatula.

9. After a quantity of rosin has been added, and properly incorporated with the other materials, the fire is withdrawn until the next morning, when it is again raised; then, with the view of forming the _paste_ into hard soap, a quantity of muriate of soda (common salt) is added. The muriatic acid of this substance, uniting with the potash, forms with it muriate of potash, which dissolves in the water, while the soda combines with the tallow and rosin. Hard soap, therefore, contains no potash; although this alkali is generally employed during the early part of the process of making it.

10. After the addition of the muriate of soda, the boiling and stirring are continued two or three hours, when the fire is withdrawn, and the contents of the caldron are suffered to be at rest. When the soap has completely separated from the watery part and extraneous matters, it is laded into another caldron, again diluted with strong ley, and heated. The _paste_ having been brought to a proper consistence, more common salt is added as before, and for the same purposes.

11. The chemical part of the process having been thus completed, the soap is laded into single wooden boxes, or into one or more composed of several distinct frames, which can be removed separately from the soap, after it has become solid enough to stand without such support. The soap is cut into bars, of nearly a uniform size, by means of a small brass wire.

12. Manufacturers of soap have contrived various methods of adulterating this article, or of adding ingredients which increase its weight, without adding to its value. The most common means employed for this purpose is water, which may be added, in some cases, in considerable quantities, without greatly diminishing the consistence of the soap.

13. This fraud may be detected by letting the soap lie for some time exposed to the atmosphere. The water will thus be evaporated, and its quantity can be known by weighing the soap, after its loss of the superfluous liquid. To prevent evaporation, while the soap remains on hand, it is said, that some dealers keep it in saturated solutions of common salt. Another method of adulteration is found in the use of pulverized lime, gypsum, or pipe-clay. These substances, however, can be easily detected by means of a solution in alcohol, which precipitates them.

14. The process of manufacturing soft soap, differs but little in its details from that described in the preceding paragraphs. The chief difference consists in omitting the use of salt. Soft soap, therefore, is composed of a greater proportion of water, and more alkali than is necessary to saturate the unctuous matters. Soft soap is made by almost every family in the country, from ashes, grease, and oily matters, reserved for the purpose.

15. The celebrated Marseilles white soap, is composed of

Soda, 6.
Olive-oil, 60.
Water, 34.

Castile soap, of

Soda, 9.
Olive-oil, 76.5.
Water, with a little coloring matter, 14.5.

Fine toilet-soaps are made with oil of almonds, nut-oil, palm-oil, suet, or butter, combined with soda or potash, according to their preparation in a solid or pasty state.

16. In the manufacture of white soap, the tallow is more carefully purified, and no rosin is used. In other particulars, the process differs but little from that employed in the production of the common kind. Two tons of tallow should yield three tons of white soap. In making the same quantity of common brown or yellow soap, twelve hundred weight less is required, on account of the substitution of that amount of yellow rosin.

17. The mottled appearance of some soaps is caused by dispersing the ley through it, towards the close of the operation, or by adding a quantity of sulphate of iron, indigo, or the oxide of manganese. Castile soap, now manufactured in the greatest perfection at Marseilles, in France, receives its beautifully marbled appearance from the sulphate of iron.

THE CANDLE-MAKER.

1. The subject of the candle-maker's labors may be defined to be a wick, covered with tallow, wax, or spermaceti, in a cylindrical form, which serves, when lighted, for the illumination of objects in the absence of the sun. The business of candle-making is divided into two branches; the one is confined to the manufacturing of tallow candles, and the other, to making those composed of wax or spermaceti.

2. The process of making candles from tallow, as conducted by the tallow-chandler, needs only a brief description, since it differs but little from the method pursued by families in the country, with which most persons are familiar. The difference lies chiefly in the employment of a few conveniences, by which the candles are more rapidly multiplied.

3. The first part of the process consists in preparing a wick, to serve as a foundation. The coarse and slightly twisted yarn used for this purpose, is spun in the cotton-factories; and, being wound into balls, is, in that form, sold to the tallow-chandlers, as well as to individuals who make candles for their own consumption.

4. A sufficient number of threads is combined, to form a wick of a proper size; and, as they are wound from the balls, they are measured off, and cut to the proper length, by a simple contrivance, which consists of a narrow board, a wooden pin, and the blade of a razor. The pin and razor are placed perpendicular to the board, at a distance determined by the length of the proposed wick. The wicks are next put upon cylindrical rods, about three feet long; and a great number of these are arranged on a long frame.

5. To obtain the tallow in a proper state for use, it is separated from the membranous part of the suet, by boiling the latter in an iron or copper kettle, and then subjecting the _cracklings_ to the action of a press. The substance that remains, after the tallow has been expressed, is called _greaves_, which are sometimes applied to fattening ducks for market. This is especially the case in the city of London.

6. The _tried_ tallow is prepared for application to the wicks, by heating it to a proper temperature. It is then poured into a suitable receptacle, where it is kept in _order_ either by a moderate fire underneath, or by the occasional addition of hot tallow.

7. The _broaches_, as the sticks with their wicks are called, are taken up, several at a time, either between the fingers or by means of a simple instrument denominated a _rake_, and dipped into the tallow. They are then returned to the frame, and suffered to cool, while successive broaches are treated in the same way. The dipping is repeated, until the candles have been thickened to the proper size.

8. In the preceding plate, is represented a workman in the act of dipping several broaches of candles, suspended on a rake, which he holds in his hands. The mode of making dipped candles just described, is more generally practised than any other, and in this manner five or six hundred pounds can be made by one hand, in a single day. In some establishments, however, a more complicated apparatus is used, by which every part of the process is greatly expedited.

9. Mould candles are made very differently. The moulds consist of a frame of wood, in which are arranged several hollow cylinders, generally made of pewter. At the lower extremity of each cylinder, is a small hole, for the passage of the wick, which is introduced by means of a hook on the end of a wire. The cotton is fastened at the other end, and placed in a perpendicular situation in the centre of the shafts, by means of a wire, which passes through the loops of the wicks. The melted tallow, having been poured on the top of the wooden frame, descends into each mould. After the candles have become sufficiently cold, they are extracted from the cylinders with a bodkin, which is inserted into the loop of the wick. One person can thus mould two or three hundred pounds in a day.

10. Candles are also made of bees-wax and spermaceti; but the mode of their manufacture differs in no particular from that of common mould candles. The wicks for wax-candles are usually made of a peculiar kind of cotton, which grows in Asiatic Turkey.

11. Before the wax is applied to this purpose, the coloring matter is discharged. This is effected by bleaching the wax, in the following manner. It is first divided into flakes, or thin laminae, by pouring it, in a melted state, through a colander upon a cylindrical wheel, which, at the same time, is kept revolving, while partly immersed in cold water. The wax, having been removed from the water, is placed upon a table or floor covered with some kind of cloth. Here it is occasionally sprinkled with water, until the bleaching has been completed. The process occupies several weeks, or even months, according to the state of the weather, that being best which is most favorable to a rapid evaporation.

12. Spermaceti is a substance separated from sperm oil, which is obtained from a species of whale, called _physeter macrocephalus_, or _spermaceti cachalot_. This oil is obtained from both the head and body of the animal, but that procured from the former contains twice the quantity of spermaceti.

13. To separate the spermaceti from the oil yielded by the body, it is first heated, then put into casks, and suffered to stand two or three weeks, in order to _granulate_. The oily part is now filtrated through strainers; and the remainder, which is called _foots_, is again heated, and put into casks. After having stood several weeks, these are put into bags, and submitted to the action of a powerful press. The spermaceti thus obtained, is melted and moulded into cakes. The oil thus separated from the spermaceti, is called spring or fall strained; because it is filtered and expressed only during those seasons of the year.

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

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

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

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

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

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

THE COMB-MAKER, AND THE BRUSH-MAKER.

THE COMB-MAKER.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

18. Combs for dressing and cleansing the hair, are made of horn, shell, bone, ivory, and wood; but it is unnecessary to be particular in describing the manner in which every kind of comb is manufactured. We will only add, that the teeth of fine ivory and bone combs are cut with a buzz, or circular saw, which, fastened to a mandrel, is moved in a lathe.

THE BRUSH-MAKER.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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