Chapter X: Part 10

One day the house of Char-Lee was burned to the ground. The cause of the fire is unknown. Char-Lee was filled with remorse and, as he walked about among the ruins of his home, he felt that the gods of Good Luck had indeed turned their backs on him. As he was thus bewailing his misfortunes, he stumbled over a charred timber and fell flat on the ground. In lifting himself to his feet, he burned the fingers of his right hand, and, as does a child, he immediately proceeded to suck those fingers.

Imagine his amazement to find clinging to his fingers a substance most luscious to the taste, and most gratifying to the palate! He looked to see what it could be, and--behold, he saw that it was the remains of “Scraps,” who had been lost in the burning house and roasted as perhaps never has a pig been roasted since.

Eager to further enjoy this new delicacy, Char-Lee proceeded to feast himself, and it was then he found that pork not only pleases and gratifies--but satisfies. Desiring to share his new delights with his friends and neighbors, he called them together and they had a wonderful feast. From that day to this we have eaten roasted pork.

It was many, many years later that a Roman farmer, living on a beautiful little farm at the mouth of the Tiber, formed the habit of putting fresh pork in a covered pan and burying the whole deep in the cool sands by the water’s edge. But one day he put the pan too near the edge and at high tide the salt water from the ocean came up, filled the pan, and so smoothed the surface of the sands that he was unable to find the place where he had buried the container.

After several fortnights he accidentally found his meat again. He examined it carefully and was surprised to find that it had seemingly kept in perfect condition, the only trouble being that the water had gotten into his pan and his meat was all wet. So he carried it to his house, and, putting a long skewer through the piece, he hung it high above the fire in his open hearth, to dry it off before he should wish to roast it.

Later in the day he set out with two companions for a two-days’ hunting expedition in the woods. As the party returned, laden with the spoils of the hunt, his cook was preparing a meal for them. As he walked into the house, he thought of his piece of pork. You can readily imagine his astonishment when he found that the smoke from the smouldering embers, while he was away, had turned the meat a deep cherry hue, and that the fire, built up to prepare the home-coming feast, had broiled the piece to a nicety. It savored of an aroma so rare that it was given preference over even the choice pheasants which had been prepared.

This was the first time a cured and smoked piece of pork had ever been eaten, but could you have seen how delighted these men were with the result of this accidental preparation, you would have known from their enthusiasm that cured, smoked pork would one day have a very great popularity.

Later, a farmer and his family decided that they would like to eat meat even during the summer months when the activity of haying season made it impossible to prepare it in the usual way, and so, in March, or during some other convenient cool period, he would kill the pig which had been fattening all winter, and dissect the carcass into hams, shoulders, bacon sides and mess pork.

These parts were cured by different methods; one very popular way was to put the hams and shoulders on about an inch of salt in the bottom of a barrel, keeping these parts around the edge so as to leave room for the mess pork and bacon sides in the center. Each part would be carefully rubbed with salt before it was packed away, and slits were cut from the surface of the hams to the bone, so that one might force salt in them, thus keeping the meat from turning sour. The top of the meat was sprinkled with sugar and saltpetre. A small barrel head was laid on the top of the meat and a heavy stone placed on the head so as to hold the meat firmly in place. At the end of a week just enough water was added to cover the barrel head.

Lard Type Hogs]

Another way was to make a very strong salt brine. To this brine would be added a little sugar and saltpetre, and, after packing the meat the same as in the other case, enough of this brine would be added to entirely cover the meat. By not letting the brine get old, or by keeping plenty of salt on it, the meat could be kept in this way for several months, but would be available for use at any time.

Hams and shoulders were always smoked at the end of about two months. When getting ready to smoke some pieces, the farmer would first soak them twenty-four hours in clear, cold water. By tying a string through the shank of a ham and running this string up through a hole in the bottom of an inverted barrel, he could secure it by tying to a small stick on the outside of the hole. Under the barrel he would build a small fire, sometimes of corncobs, sometimes of hardwood and sawdust. It was the task of the small boy of the family to start this fire in the morning and maintain it all day, the idea being to keep a fire which was not too hot but which would give off plenty of smoke.

Bacon Type Hog.]

Bacon Type Hog.]

]

Dual Purpose Hog.]

At the end of three days the meat was considered thoroughly smoked, although some men liked it smoked much longer. After it had cooled off from the smoking it was hung in a cool, dry place or packed in a barrel of oats, so as to keep it from getting a damp mold and spoiling.

When a farmer had killed a hog, he would render out certain of the fats in an iron caldron. He would take certain parts of the meat and make his home-made sausages, but further than that, by-products were practically unknown.

The foregoing might be considered a short synopsis of the pork-packing industry up to the point which we will call the Modern Era.

This period had a small start back in the early days when a small dealer would kill a few hogs, sell the sausage and lard and cure and smoke the parts, carrying them as far into the summer months as he could, selling them out to his trade. Various methods were resorted to in order to keep mold and insects from spoiling the product. Perhaps the most generally used of these methods was to sew the piece of meat in a canvas sack and paint it with barytes. This gave them an airtight container for the meat and enabled them to keep smoked meats all during the summer months.

The advent of refrigeration, however, really marked the beginning of the modern packing era. When men learned the control of temperature it became possible for slaughter houses to assume such proportions as to warrant scientific research for the best possible methods of carrying on the business.

The story of the development of these methods would be almost endless, but a trip through an up-to-date packing plant of the present day will show what time has brought about.

As the hogs come in from the farmers and shippers they are received by the live stock department, where they are carefully sorted and graded, and then run into holding pens, to carry over until they shall be driven to slaughter. These pens must hold thousands of hogs, for although the stock is held two or three days at the most before it is slaughtered, we must remember that the more important of the packing houses kill thousands of hogs each day, so these pens must be more or less gigantic affairs. The more modern of them are constructed of concrete and brick, and are a picture of cleanliness and sanitation. They are well protected by substantially built roofs and side walls so that the animals are not exposed to the weather at any time of the year.

Veterinarians in the employ of the government examine all the hogs that come into these pens, and any that seem to be at all sickly, or for any reason unfit for food, are held out.

On the killing floor a small army of men is engaged in the business of cleaning and dressing the carcass of the hog. Each man has his particular part of the work to do, and to this end the hogs are conveyed around the room past the various workmen by means of an endless chain and trolley, so that each butcher’s work is put right before him and he does not have to make any unnecessary moves. The whole department works like one vast machine, and each man is a very definite and necessary cog in the whole scheme of procedure.

Perhaps the most wonderful thing about this department is the perfection that they are able to reach in cleaning the carcasses. The hogs are first run through a great machine which takes all but a few stray hairs from them. This machine contains a number of rotating beaters and high-pressure streams of water.

As soon as they come out of the machine, the men on the rail finish the job of cleaning the carcass and each animal is then run through a high-pressure washing machine so that it is absolutely clean before a single incision is made in it.

These great pumps are used for circulating the brine through the cooling system of one of the great packing houses in Buenos Ayres, Argentine

_Reproduced by permission of The Philadelphia Museums._]

Cattle from the Western plains gathered in the Union Stockyards awaiting slaughter and subsequent shipment. The great Union Stockyards in Chicago are the largest live-stock market in the world. Beef is slaughtered and cleansed very much in the same manner as the pork described in “The Story in a Sausage.”

_Copyright by Underwood & Underwood, N. Y._]

The workmen all stand on high benches, up from the floor, and under the hogs we find troughs to keep any scraps from getting under the workmen’s feet. The floors at all times are kept as clean as can be, and the meat is taken away quickly so that there is no chance of contamination of the finished product with the hogs which are just coming from the slaughter house.

Trained men, some of them veterinarians, in the employ of the government, make a thorough inspection of the glands and other organs of the hog. They are so particular that even bruises must be trimmed out before the animals are allowed to pass and go on with the bulk which are fit for food. It is surprising to learn how many carcasses, or parts, are condemned because of one thing or another, for the least sign of sickness or unfitness of any kind calls forth a government “Condemned Tag” and holds the animal out to one side to be used for fertilizer or some other inedible purpose.

Passing through the hog chill rooms, on the way from the killing floor, one is impressed with the great number of hogs hanging there in a temperature near the freezing point. This temperature is maintained both winter and summer, so that the hogs may be thoroughly chilled and the animal heat entirely eliminated as quickly as possible after the killing, so that there will be no chance of the meat souring or any unwholesome condition arising.

After about forty-eight hours in these chill rooms, the hogs are run onto the cutting floor, where they are made into the various commercial cuts which are seen in the meat markets at home. They start out with the whole side of a hog and work it through, until they have what the packers call the “Commercial Cuts”--that is to say, the hams, loins, spare ribs, the bacon sides, and so on.

The cutting room is a light, airy room with a high ceiling, and everything in it seems a perfect example of cleanliness, and men all work with white aprons, jackets and caps.

The next stop is in the by-products building. As the writer entered, his guide told him the old bromide about “everything about a packing house being saved except the squeal, and even that having been known to appear on a phonographic record.” He thought to have some fun by asking the guide about the smell, but the laugh was on him, for the guide showed him how the air containing any odor was simply run through a condenser into a great volume of water, which absorbed it. The gases which had made the odor in the first place were then taken out in the form of solids, simply by evaporating the water away. The big evaporators which take care of this work are extremely interesting pieces of machinery to see.

There is a surprisingly large amount of expensive machinery in the hair plant. Hog hair would probably not appeal to the average person as being a thing of particular value, but it is processed so as to make the finished product worth as much as the meat itself.

Certain parts of the hog carcasses which would not be palatable enough to go into human consumption are made up into stock foods. These are sold under a guaranteed analysis. Highly-paid chemists are busy all the time checking up the analysis of these foods, for they must contain certain amounts of protein and crude fiber, which is said to be very beneficial to stock in general.

Another department manufactures what is called a balanced ration, consisting of a certain amount of grain and a certain amount of this stock food, or “digester tankage,” as it is called. This balanced ration is said to be the most nutritious food and the quickest fattener which can be given to animals. It is made up as a result of protracted experiments and much scientific research, both by state institutions and by private individuals.

There is always a certain amount of grease which is not edible, but which is suitable for soap stocks, and the tank products which are not fit for food are made into commercial fertilizers, which are gotten up under chemical formulas, and are made up particularly for different kinds of grains, grasses, flowers and the like.

Interior of one of the great South American cold storage plants. Much of the meat consumed in Europe is shipped from this point.

_Reproduced by permission of The Philadelphia Museums._]

PACKING BACON

The girls are packing sliced bacon into glass jars, taking the slices from a moving belt which passes in front of them. The rooms are light, thoroughly ventilated, and cleaned at the end of each day. The girls’ hands are manicured at frequent intervals by manicurists employed by the company.]

The next place is the lard department. Here great closed tanks cook the fats, under high steam pressure, and make them into snow-white lard. There are great open caldrons, steam jacketed, where an even and uniform temperature is maintained. Only the pure leaf lard, which is supposed to be the choicest fat of the hog, is cooked in these kettles. In the lard packing room there is much automatic machinery, with which the various sized packages of lard are weighed out. Machines hermetically seal the tins, and men pack them in crates and carefully weigh them over two scales.

The average person does not have even an idea of what the modern curing cellar is like. The brines and curing mixtures are prepared by trained men who do no other work but this. Everything goes exactly according to formula, and the different ingredients are weighed out to the ounce. The guide insisted that a bare ten per cent of all the hams or bacon sides produced in the plant are finally allowed to bear the company’s trade-mark. The men who finally select these goods are the oldest and most trusted employees of the firm. They weigh out a certain amount of this meat for each tierce, or vat, to be packed, and then an exact number of gallons of pickle is put in with the meat so that each pound of meat will have just a certain amount of pickle to cure it. This is said to insure a uniform product so that one trade-marked ham is exactly like another.

Even the length of time which these are left in cure must not vary a day. In the great curing room thousands of vats and tierces are piled, and the usual tierces hold about three hundred pounds of meat, while the vats hold nearly fifteen hundred pounds.

In the dry-salt curing cellars are kept enormous stocks of the cheaper kinds of meat. These, instead of being cured in brine, are rubbed in salt and piled away. These piles are perhaps three or four feet high, and are so neat and true that they appear to have been the work of a master mason. A single one of these dry-salt curing rooms holds over three million pounds.

Sliced bacon, fancy sausage and other specialties are usually packed in a separate room, into attractive cartons for the retail trade.

The standard of cleanliness in the sausage kitchen has to be unusually high. Wherever white tile is not possible, white paint is used in profusion. The shining metal tables and trucks, on which the product is handled, give a new confidence in sausage. The girls and men employed all wear clean white aprons, jackets and caps, and no effort is spared in keeping everything and everybody in the place in an ideal condition.

The meat is run through enormous automatic grinders and choppers, and through mixers that approach a dairy churn in size. After it has been properly mixed and thoroughly taken care of, it is put into automatic machinery, run by air pressure, which stuffs it into the ham sacks and casings, in which we see the sausage in the markets. The cooking is done in great vats and in enormous electric ovens.

When we stop to think of the proportion of our food which is a packing-house product, we can be glad indeed that conditions such as those described above are becoming available more and more every day.

* * * * *

Why do We Call them “Dog-Days”?

When we talk about “dog-days” now, we mean the period of the year between July 3d and August 11th, twenty days before and after the rising of the “dog-star.”

The name was applied by the ancients to a period of about forty days, the hottest season of the year, at the time of the rising of Sirius, the dog-star.

The time of the rising is now, owing to the precession of the equinoxes, different from what it was then (July 1st). It is now about July 23d.

Woman feeding planchets to brass tubes, from the bottom of which they are carried to the steel dies which form the coins.]

How is a Five Dollar Gold Piece Made?

The process of converting the precious metals into coins is an interesting one.

The rolling machines through which the ingots are passed are adjustable, the space between the rollers being governed by the operator. About two hundred ingots are run through per hour on each pair of rollers.

When the rolling is completed the strip of metal is about six feet long. As it is impossible to roll perfectly true, it is necessary to “draw” these strips, after being softened by annealing. The drawing benches resemble long tables, with a bench on either side, at one end of which is an iron box secured to the table. In this are fastened two perpendicular steel cylinders. These are at the same distance apart that the thickness of the strip is required to be. It is drawn between the cylinders, which reduces the whole to an equal thickness.

These strips are now taken to the cutting machines, each of which will cut 225 planchets per minute. The press used consists of a vertical steel punch. From a strip worth $1,100 about $800 of planchets will be cut. These are then removed to the adjusting room, where they are adjusted. After inspection they are weighed on very accurate scales. If a planchet is too heavy, but near the weight, it is filed off at the edges; if too heavy for filing, it is thrown aside with the light ones to be remelted.

The planchets, after being adjusted, are taken to the coining and milling rooms, and are passed through the milling machine. They are fed to this machine through an upright tube, and as they descend are caught upon the edge of a revolving wheel and carried about a quarter of a revolution, during which the edge is compressed and forced up. By this apparatus 560 nickels can be milled in a minute; for large pieces the average is 120.

The massive but delicate coining presses coin from 80 to 100 pieces a minute. These presses do their work in a perfect manner. After being stamped the coins are taken to the coiner’s room. The light and heavy coins are kept separate in coining, and when delivered to the treasurer they are mixed in such proportions as to give him full weight in every delivery. By law, the deviation from the standard weight, in delivering to him, must not exceed three pennyweights in one thousand double eagles.

The coinage of the United States mints since the organization of the government has amounted to nearly 6,000,000,000 pieces, valued at over $4,000,000,000.

How does a Bird Fly?

The wing of a bird is an elastic, flexible organ, with a thick anterior and a thin posterior margin; hence the wing does not act like a solid board, but is thrown into a succession of curves. When a bird rises from the ground it leaps up with head stuck out and expanded tail, so that the body is in the position of a boy’s kite when thrown up. The wings are strongly flapped, striking forward and downward, and the bird quickly ascends. It has been shown that the wing describes a figure 8 in its action, the margin being brought down so that the tip of the wing gives the last blow after the part next the trunk has ceased to strike; hence, standing in front of a bird, the wing would be divided into two, the upper surface of one-half and the lower surface of the other being visible at the same time. These portions are reversed when the wing is drawn back and towards the body, before beginning another stroke; but it will be observed that during retraction the wing is still sloped, so that the resemblance to a kite is maintained. There are many varieties of flight among birds; of these the most remarkable is the sailing motion, in which the wings are but slightly moved. Probably the original impetus is maintained by the kite-like slope of the wing, and advantage may be taken of currents by a rotation of the wing at the shoulder, a movement invisible at any distance.

The Story of the Big Redwood Trees[23]

The “Big Trees” of California are the most magnificent specimens of tree growth that have ever been found. In addition, they are the oldest known living things; they connect the present with the past in a chain of living rings in the tree that betray their great age to the modern scientist. Estimates of the age of the “Big Trees” vary from the Christian Era through a period dating back beyond the coming of the Christian Saviour about 4,000 years.

The “Big Trees” of California are known as the “Sequoias,” and they are divided into two different although closely related species. The few enormous trees of great age which are now preserved in groves are known as the _Sequoia Gigantia_. These big trees grow at an altitude between 4,000 and 7,000 feet, and, whether individual or in groves, they are found in protected valleys, canyons, etc.

What is known as the Redwoods, or scientifically listed as _Sequoia Sempervirens_, grow in heavy stands and really are a younger growth of the “Big Trees.” The redwoods grow in the fog belt in the counties bordering the coast from Monterey Bay north to the Oregon line. These trees range in age from 500 to 2,000 years, and are generally supposed by the scientists to be a reproduction growth that began their earthly existence shortly after the glacial period. The _Sequoia Gigantia_ reproduce from cones, while the redwoods reproduce from suckers that grow from the stump. The redwoods bear non-fertile cones. Both species of the sequoias are evergreen.

These trees, including both species, range in height from 100 to 400 feet and in circumference from 15 to 90 feet. When full grown the “Big Trees” are proportionate and symmetrical in girth and height and the beauty of the tree is enhanced by flutings that traverse the bark from the base to the apex. The root system is a remarkable feature of the “Big Trees,” for they have a very poor footing for trees of their great size and weight. The roots radiate a short distance below the surface of the ground and there is no stabilizer in the shape of a tap root such as in other woods. The bark ranges in thickness from four to thirty inches, although in rare instances it has been found fifty inches thick. The bark is light, soft and of a bright cinnamon color. The lumber from the redwood tree is light, and ranges in color from medium to light cherry, while the lumber from the “Big Trees,” or _Sequoia Gigantia_, has a decided pink cast.

John Muir, the eminent California naturalist, evolved the theory from the topographical position of the enormously big trees, which grow only in the vicinity of Yosemite Park, that they escaped the glacial action because they were located in protected places in the mountains.

Commercial redwood--and there are twenty-one mills cutting redwood--is one of the most valuable woods on the Pacific coast. It carries with it into lumber two traits of the tree itself--fire retardance and rot resistance. These two qualities are the real secrets of the “Big Trees.” There is no fungus growth on the redwoods neither are the redwoods attacked by boring worms or other insects so common to other species of wood.

Some of the giant redwood logs must be split in the woods with powder before they can be handled on the saw carriage, and the average yield per acre is in the neighborhood of 150,000 feet. At the present rate of cutting, about 400,000,000 feet a year, there is more than one hundred years’ supply of redwood still standing.

The redwoods thrive in moisture--it is taken into the roots, the foliage and the bark. This accounts for the remarkable rot-resisting quality. The railroads prefer redwood for ties because of its resistance to decay in contact with moist soil. The Southern Pacific Company today has in service in some of its sidings redwood ties that were put down under its rails fifty-five years ago.

“Grizzly Giant,” a redwood in Mariposa Grove, California, one of the most wonderful of all wonderful sights in the West

_Copyright by Underwood & Underwood, N. Y._]

Fire retardance is a remarkable feature of redwood. In the early days of logging, when modern machinery was not available, the woodsmen were confronted with the problem of moving tremendously heavy trees. About sixty per cent of redwood is moisture, and what is known as the “butt cut” logs--the first cut above the ground, which is usually sixteen feet in length, will weigh from thirty to fifty tons. In order to move these heavy logs, therefore, it was necessary for the woodsmen to get rid of the bark, the undergrowth and the branches, which, in logging parlance, is known as “slash.” He soon learned that redwood so strongly resists fire that it was entirely safe to set fire to the logged-over field, burning out this slash without any damage whatever to the logs, although they were exposed to a fierce fire for a period of eight to twelve hours. Redwood does burn, but very slowly, and those who are familiar with California redwood know that it is the despair of the camper to endeavor to build a fire with it. Redwood does not contain pitch, the inflammable element in wood, and, in addition, it is extremely porous, quickly absorbing water. These two traits, in addition to the chemical composition of the wood itself, give it the fire retardance quality.

Redwood lumber, being light in weight and singularly free from many of the defects so prevalent in other wood, is extremely easy to work. When properly dried it does not shrink, warp or swell. It is capable of producing magnificent tones for interior finish, and some of the most charming homes on the Pacific coast have been made so by reason of the wonderful possibilities of redwood in this respect. Remarkable color-tone finishes are done by acid stains. Redwood is also a specialty wood. It has been used for years by the organ manufacturers in the West for organ pipes, giving eminent satisfaction. For incubators it is particularly desirable, while for concrete form lumber, and particularly in hot sections where the fierce heat of the sun is liable to warp other woods, it gives wonderful service by “staying put.” Redwood is one of the few woods that can be used over again for concrete work. For siding, sheathing, sub-flooring, shingles, window casings and frames, redwood is much used, because of its resistance to decay, both from contact with moisture or dry rot.

Redwood’s hardihood, due to the natural acids in the wood, make it so weather-resisting that it will last just as long unpainted as it does painted. However, there is no wood that takes and holds paint better. This is due to the absence of pitch and the porosity of the wood. It also possesses a remarkable resistance to corrosive acids and for this reason is the preferred material for tanks and vats in wineries, breweries, chemical works, mines, tanneries, etc.

The great bulk of redwood lumber has for years been consumed in the State of California, with about 50,000,000 feet annually going to Australia and the Orient and about 50,000,000 feet shipped by rail to the Middle West and East, the eastern shipments consisting practically of house materials and finishing stock.

* * * * *

How did the Expression “Forlorn Hope” Originate?

In the expression “forlorn hope” we have made the Dutch word “hoop” meaning a “company” into hope.

The “forlorn hoop” was a body of men, usually volunteers, selected from different regiments, to lead an assault, enter a breach or perform some other service attended with uncommon peril.

_Photo by Brown Bros._]

Why is “Wall Street” Known Around the World?

This narrow canyon street in the lower part of the Borough of Manhattan is the financial center of New York City. The various exchanges and the largest banking institutions are situated here, and stocks and bonds are dealt in to a vast extent. Its control over finance has spread until now it affects the whole country and is a rival of the great financial centers of Europe.

In the picture, Trinity Church is shown, lying at the head of Wall Street, on Broadway, with its quaint old churchyard and its spire insignificant amid the giant skyscrapers that surround it. Trinity Church was founded in 1696 and rebuilt in 1839. It is probably the wealthiest and most influential of the churches in the United States, controlling many valuable real estate properties in New York City, and having some of the richest and most prominent people in the country among its members.

Starting approximately a quarter of a mile south of Wall Street, Broadway, New York City’s main business thoroughfare, extends for fifteen miles to the northern end of Manhattan Island. The activity and variety of its traffic, the elegance of its shops, and the massiveness and grandeur of many of its public and private buildings, makes it one of the most interesting streets in the world.

What Makes a Stick Seem to Bend in Water?

When we hold a stick partly in the water, it looks as though the stick bends just where it enters the water. That is due to the change of the direction of the light after it enters the water. This change in the direction of the light rays is called refraction. Glass, water and other solids and fluids each have different powers of refraction.

The law of refraction comes into operation when a ray of light passes through a smooth surface bounding two media not homogeneous, such as air and water, or when rays traverse a medium the density of which is not uniform, such as the atmosphere.

What Causes a Lump in a Person’s Throat?

When we eat anything, it passes into the throat after we have chewed it, and instead of just dropping down into our stomachs, there is a nine or ten inch series of rings in our throats, that takes the food, passing or squeezing it from one set of muscle rings to the other. These muscle rings are capable of working both up and down. If something is eaten which causes vomiting, the muscles work the other way and force the matter from the stomach.

When one is frightened a sort of a hollow feeling comes into the stomach and the muscles of the throat work upward, pressing against the windpipe and causing one to feel as if there was a lump there.

How are We Able to Hear Through Speaking-Tubes?

We know that when we speak, the sound waves that we set in motion are carried in every direction. Now when we speak into a tube, the sound waves cannot travel in all directions, but must follow the tube, and so we can hear through a tube at a greater distance than we can when speaking in the usual way.

The use of a megaphone or speaking trumpet for conveying the sound of the voice to a distance is based on the same principle.

Why do We Always Shake Hands with Our Right Hand?

The custom of shaking hands with the right hand has come down to us from the time when everyone carried a sword or knife. In those days when one met a stranger it was customary, as an indication of friendly intention, to hold out the right hand to show that it did not hold a sword or knife ready for attack.

The Story in a Billiard Table[24]

The origin of billiards is lost in antiquity. Who invented the game and the early processes of its evolution remain mysteries.

The first known reference to the game with any traditional or historical accuracy occurs in Abbe McGeoghegan’s “History of Ireland.” Cathire More, a sub-king who ruled over Leinster, died A. D. 148. The Abbe, quoting from King Cathire’s will, says, “To Drimoth I bequeath fifty billiard balls of brass with the cues of the same material.”

As early as the fifteenth century we have much evidence of the universality of the game all over southern Europe. It was certainly known in France in the time of Louis IX, who died nine years before Columbus discovered America.

Shakespeare, in Anthony and Cleopatra (Act II, Scene 5), makes the latter say, “Let us to billiards.”

Cotton’s “Compleat Gamster” published in 1674, refers to billiards as “This most gentle, cleanly and ingenious game.” He states that it was first played in France, but later gives Spain as its birthplace.

That the game was well known in England, and in fact in all Europe, is revealed when Cotton says, “For the excellency of the recreation, it is much approved of and played by most nations of Europe, especially England, there being few towns of note therein which hath not a public billiard table; neither are they wanting in many noble and private families in the country.”

Billiards was brought to America by the Spaniards who settled St. Augustine, Florida, in 1565. While we have no direct evidence, it is very safe to assume that the English gentlemen, so familiar with the game in the home land, who colonized Virginia in 1609, were not long in introducing it in Jamestown.

There is also every reason to believe that the French colonists in Maryland and Canada let no great time elapse before importing tables and equipment into those colonies.

In the days of Cromwell, billiards had been tabooed by the Puritan, not on moral grounds, but rather political. Billiards was the game of the aristocracy and the Puritan hated not only the aristocrat, but the style and color of his clothes, the cut of his hair, as well as the games he played.

Doubtless this attitude was carried to America by the New England colonists, and only when those colonies had been diluted by the injection of other social groups did Puritan prejudice die and billiards enter into their recreational life.

However, there is no doubt that by the latter part of the seventeenth century the game was universally played in the United States.

From that time to the present the tide of popularity for billiards as the premier indoor game has been steadily rising.

Unlike most things in the affairs of men, billiards has not developed at either end of society, thus working toward the opposite extreme; but it began at both ends and worked towards the middle.

In the early days we witness the strange spectacle of the game being indulged in by the wealthy and leisurely class on the one hand, and the idle and vicious on the other. It is easy to understand why. The first group was the logical extension of the old-world aristocracy. The second group lived in an age when the great middle class was struggling for a foothold in a new country. Men had very little time and disposition for play, and this, coupled with the remnants of Puritanic influence, left the game in the hands of those who lived by their wits rather than work.

From these two extremes, therefore, the game began to work toward the great middle classes. In process of time recreation became a necessity, until today it is considered a duty. Men learned to play and, casting about for a game worthy of them, naturally laid hold of billiards.

Toward this desired result the Y. M. C. A. and church clubs have contributed greatly. They have broken down much of the illogical prejudice against the games, and have shown the public-room keepers that billiards can flourish under good and healthful conditions.

As the game became more universally played, a better class of billiard-room keepers entered the commercial field, thus helping to eliminate the incompetent and vicious.

Today the game has practically thrown off the last vestige of disrepute. In those sporadic instances where such is not the case, it is due to two causes. First, the majority of people in the community have low ideals. Second, excessive license taxes forces certain room keepers to resort to disreputable means for keeping alive their business.

Nevertheless, billiards today throughout the land is ranked among the highest and cleanest forms of recreation. The exceptions mentioned prove the rule.

Through a long, hard, vigorous opposition the virtues of billiards have asserted themselves. Today the game stands vindicated and triumphant. It is entering thousands of homes, church clubs, industrial welfare, charitable, educational and all other institutions. There are more billiard players in the United States than there are baseball players; not mere spectators, but actual players.

One large company alone manufactures 500,000 cues every year, and we must remember that a billiard cue, unlike a baseball bat, can be repaired and lasts for many years. This fact is sufficient to convey an idea of the vast extent to which the game is played.

In the early part of the nineteenth century there were no manufacturers of billiard equipment in the United States.

In 1840 J. M. Brunswick, who operated a small furniture repair shop in Cincinnati, Ohio, conceived the idea of making a pigeonhole table. Success in this line led him to experiment in the manufacture of billiard tables, practically all of which were then imported. The business flourished. At first only the 6 x 12 English pocket tables were made--later the small French carom tables were built.

The two main objects of billiard construction are to create an accurate medium for play and then to keep the table permanently accurate by making it impervious to atmospheric or climatic conditions.

To accomplish this with wood has taken years of experience and experimentation.

Accuracy is obtained by the employment of specially-trained and long-experienced workmen. One large company now has hundreds of men who have been in its employ for twenty years and many who have served from twenty-five to forty years. These men know their business.

Permanent accuracy is obtained by close adherence to two principles. First, to give weight to the table. One model, 5 x 10 feet in size, weighs 2,000 pounds. Second, all wood parts are built up with veneer layers; never are they constructed of solid blocks of wood. A billiard table is the last word in the art of cabinet-making.

There are six principal parts to all tables.

_The Legs._--Massive as these are, they are built up, not turned from solid blocks. In all legs there are at least three veneers, two on the outside and one on the inside. On the highest-grade tables five veneers are used. Six legs are placed on the best and larger tables and four on the smaller.

_The Frame._--Like the legs, the four parts of the frame, which in every case is a perfect parallelogram, are built up and veneered on both sides. When the frame has been bolted to the legs, stretchers or braces are placed within. Two to four, depending on the size of the table, run lengthwise through the center, and two or three running equidistant, crosswise. The top of the stretcher is flush with the top of the frame, making a perfect level upon which the slate bed is to rest.

_The Slate Bed._--Only the highest-grade Vermont slate is used, and on the best tables of standard size, 4 x 8 feet, 4-1/2 x 9 feet, and 5 x 10 feet, the slabs, of which there are three, are 1-1/2 inches thick. At the factory the slate is cut to size and smoothed top and bottom. The pocket holes are next sawed out. On the center slab two are cut, one in the exact middle of either end. On the two end slabs they are cut on the two outside corners.

The slabs, where they join, are then bored along the edges and brass dowels are inserted which engage sockets set in the opposite slab. This keeps all slabs level with each other. All around the outside edge they are bored for the insertion of the bolts to fasten the cushion rails to the slate. Screw holes, countersunk, are bored from the top down through the slabs, around the outer edges, through which the slate is screwed to the frame.

The many triangles will convey an idea of the vastness of the billiard industry.]

When the slate bed is laid, the slabs, doweled as the leaves of an extension dining table, are fitted together and screwed to the frame. The table is then pushed under a huge grinding machine and the slate surface is made plane, as nearly perfect as human ingenuity can make it.

_The Bed Cloth._--Only the finest grade of imported Belgium broadcloth is used on the best tables. It is colored green, which is restful for the eyes.

The bed cloth is first tacked to the frame beneath the slate at one corner. It is then stretched to its utmost to the opposite diagonal corner. When this is fastened the cloth is tacked around the remainder of the bed; being stretched as tightly as possible in every direction.

The table is now ready for the rails and cushions. Like all other wood parts, the rails are built up and veneered, rather than made of a single block of wood. When the rail has been formed, the ivory diamond-shaped squares and name plate are countersunk into the top. The squares are to enable the player to properly judge the angles of play.

The cushions are fastened to the inside of the rail by means of a specially prepared glue.

Only the best grade of rubber is used for good cushions. The rubber is molded in long strips in some form of isosceles triangle, depending on the style of the game to be played. A highly resilient structure is given the cushion for the pocket table, and one less so for the carom. The latter is preferred for more accurate angle play, position and nursing. Nursing, means to keep the three balls as close to one another as possible.

The base of the triangle is grooved for the twofold purpose of making the rubber adhere better to the rail, and to increase resiliency. In fastening the rubber, utmost care must be exercised to have it attached to the rail, so that when the latter is fastened to the bed there shall be uniform height all around the table; otherwise the ball when it strikes the cushion will be deflected from the true course or rebound.

On top of the rail next to the cushion edge a narrow ∟ is cut the entire length. The cushion forms the other side, making a square groove, thus ⊔.

The cushion is now ready to be covered with the cloth.

The latter, made of the same material as the bed cloth, is cut to fit. One edge is tucked into the groove just described, with the outside, or face, downward. A tight-fitting ferule is then forced into the groove, thus holding the cloth firmly between the cushion and the rail. The cloth is then drawn over the top of the ferule, hiding the latter from sight, and is drawn down over the rubber and fastened on the under side of the rail with steel tacks. Great care and much experience is necessary to successfully conduct this apparently simple operation; for it is quite easy to pull the cloth so tightly at different points as to bend out of shape the apex to the rubber triangle. On the other hand, not to pull it tight enough will leave the cloth loose, which is not only unsightly, but will impair the rubber and destroy the accuracy of the balls rebounding from it.

The completed rail is then covered with a finishing strip, known as the blind rail, which covers the unsightly bolt heads and adds to the artistic effect of the table. On the cheap grades there are no blind rails, the bolts being decorated with brass caps.

The final operation is the construction of pockets.

The pocket irons are semi-circular pieces of metal with flat flanges extending at right angles at both ends of the arc. Stout black leather is stitched around the round part of the iron, thus hiding the latter, and affording a good hold to which the leather, or worsted knitted, baskets are attached, and protection for billiard balls when striking.

The flanges are sunk flush into the top of the rail; thus the pocket iron spans the interstices between the rails. The half of the pocket net not attached to the irons is tacked to the edge of the frame, underneath the bed, and covered with red leather, to withstand wear and for decorative effect.

Four hooks are then fastened to the frame, underneath the table, near the corner legs. These are termed bridge hooks and are for the purpose of having the cue-bridge ready of access for the players when necessary.

The table is thus completed for playing use. There are ingenious devices, termed the “return gutters” and convertible rails, which are worthy of description.

In tables thus equipped, the base of the pocket is opened--a stiff leather, funnel-shaped contrivance being substituted for the woolen or open leather pocket. This funnel opening leads into a wooden canal or gutter, the main stem of which runs on an incline the length of the table underneath. From this center gutter debouches branch to each of the pockets. The gutters are lined with rubber, to render noiseless the balls as they roll from the pocket openings into and along the gutters, at the lowest point of which--the head of the table--they fall into the “receiver.” The latter is a specially designed box, felt lined, with sufficient capacity to contain the fifteen balls used in the pocket game.

The gutter return is a great convenience in collecting the balls to rack them for a new game.

Carom tables have no pockets.

Carom and pocket billiards are so different that either they must be played on separate tables, or else the rails are so constructed as to be interchangeable. The billiard expert is not satisfied unless the whole rail is changed. This is done by building the table without the regular rails, and by having a separate set of rails for each game, which are held in position by clamps and quickly interchanged. They conform to the general design and decoration of the table.

Another method is merely to change the cushions. The back of the rubber is reinforced by a wood strip, into which are placed metal sockets. Bolts or ratchets are inserted through the rail, and clamp the cushion to the wall of the rail. The convertible rails, however, because of their rigidity, are more desirable than the convertible cushions.

The cheapest and most unsatisfactory device is known as pocket plugs. On a permanently constructed pocket table, right-angled plugs of the rubber cushion are screwed to the corner pocket irons and straight sections are screwed to the side pocket irons. These, however, never perfectly fit at the cushion joints, consequently carom play at those points is out of the question.

Cheap cues are made in one continuous piece; or a special piece for the “butt” and one for the shaft of the cue. The “butt” and body are dovetailed together.

In making a high-grade cue, a choice piece of imported wood, such as ebony, mahogany, or rosewood, is cut into blocks about three inches square and twenty inches long. One of these is then roughly turned down on a lathe until it is round and slightly tapers all the way from one end to the other. At the narrow end it is then sawed four ways toward the thicker end, a distance of seven inches. This is the “butt.” The next section of either domestic or imported hard wood is forty-four inches long. This, too, receives a rough rotundity and tapering on a lathe. At the thicker end, a sawing-out process creates an opening, so that the “butt” and shaft can dovetail to a depth of seven inches.

The cue is then sawed across into halves. On the base of the upper half a hard wood screw is inserted and at the top of the butt a threaded hole is bored. To strengthen the joint, the hollow screw-hole end is capped with an ivory ferule sunk flush with the surface. This is the jointed cue--a great convenience to the player who travels or carries his cue home when he plays at the club or public academy.

At the narrow end of the cue, the tapering ceases about three-quarters of an inch from the end and flanges out according to the kind of “tip” the player prefers. This end is capped with an ivory ferule and upon the top of the latter, the leather tip is glued.

Before this latter operation, the finished tapering, smoothing, varnishing and polishing is done by hand.

Sometimes a flat surface a few inches long is planed on the circumference of the cue, extending up from the butt end and a mother-of-pearl name plate is sunk into the handle.

Cues run in weight from fifteen to twenty-two ounces. This means the manufacture of cues according to weight, as well as taper, material, finish and quality of the tip. Each of these embrace a mass of detail too voluminous for recital here.

_The Balls._--In the past, as far as we can historically trace, billiard balls were made of ivory. Until recently no superior substitute had been invented, but it is the consensus of opinion among expert billiardists that the newly manufactured synthetic ivory ball is equal, if not superior, in action and wearing quality, to real ivory.

Elephant-tusk ivory, the only kind used in billiard ball manufacturing, is growing scarcer every year, with a consequent increase in price.

In the ivory storage vaults of one large company, there is held from $150,000 to $300,000 worth of ivory, ranging from the tusk up to the finished product.