horny case, and an inward conical shaped substance, somewhat intermediate between indurated hair and bone. The first process consists in separating these two parts, by means of a blow against a block of wood. The horny exterior is then cut into three portions by means of a frame saw.

1. The lowest of these, next to the root of the hair, after undergoing several processes, by which it is rendered flat, is made into combs.

2. The middle of the horn, after being flattened by heat, and its transparency improved by oil, is split into thin layers, and forms a substitute for glass in lanterns of the commonest kind.

3. The tip of the horn is used by the makers of knife handles, and of the tops of whips, and for other similar purposes.

4. The interior, or core, of the horn, is boiled down in water. A large quantity of fat rises to the surface; this is put aside, and sold to the makers of yellow soap.

5. The liquid itself is used as a kind of glue, and is purchased by the cloth dressers for stiffening.

6. The bony substance, which remains behind, is then sent to the mill, and, being ground down, is sold to the farmers for manure.

Besides these various purposes to which the different parts of the horn are applied, the clippings which arise in comb making are sold to the farmer for manure, at about one shilling a bushel. In the first year after they are spread over the soil, they have comparatively little effect, but during the next four or five their efficiency is considerable. The shavings which form the refuse of the lantern maker, are of a much thinner texture: a few of them are cut into various figures and painted, and used as toys; for being hygrometric, they crawl up when placed in the palm of a warm hand, But the greater part of these shavings are also sold for manure, which, from their extremely thin and divided form, produce its full effect upon the first crop.

Manufacture of Eyes for Dolls.

The person examined on this occasion was Mr. Ostler, a manufacturer of glass beads, and other toys of the same substance, from Birmingham. Several of the articles made by him were placed upon the table, for the inspection of the committee of the House of Commons, which held its meetings in one of the committee rooms.

Question. Is there any thing else you have to state upon this subject?

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Answer. Gentlemen may consider the articles upon the table as extremely insignificant; but perhaps I may surprise them a little by mentioning the following fact. Eighteen years ago, on my first journey to London, a respectable looking man in the city, asked me if I could supply him with doll's eyes; and I was foolish enough to feel half offended; I thought it derogatory to my new dignity as a manufacturer, to make doll's eyes. He took me into a room quite as wide,

and perhaps twice the length of this, and we had just room to walk between stacks, from the floor to the ceiling, of parts of dolls. He said, these are only the legs and arms; the trunks are below.' But I saw enough to convince me that he wanted a great many eyes; and as the article appeared quite in my line of business, I said I would take an order by way of experiment; and he showed me several specimens. I copied the order. He ordered various quantities, and of various sizes and qualities. On returning to the Tavistock hotel, I found that the order amounted to £500. I went into the country, and endeavoured to make them. I had some of the most ingenious glass toy-makers in the kingdom in my service; but when I showed the eyes to them, they shook their heads, and said they had often seen the article before, but could not make them. I engaged them by presents to use their best exertions; but after trying and wasting a great deal of time for three or four weeks, I was obliged to relinquish the attempt. Soon afterwards I engaged in another branch of business, (chandelier furniture,) and took no more notice of it. About eighteen months ago, I resumed the trinket trade, and then determined to think of the dolls' eyes, and about eight months since, I accidentally met with a poor fellow who had impoverished himself by drinking, and who was dying in a consumption in a state of great want. I showed him ten sovereigns, and he said he would instruct me in the process. He was in such a state that he could not bear the effluvia of his own lamp; but though I was very conversant with the manual part of the business, and it related to things I was daily in the habit of seeing, I felt I could do nothing by his description, (I mention this to show how difficult it is to convey, by description, the mode of working.) He took me into his garret, where the poor fellow had economized to such a degree that he had actually used the entrails and fat of poultry from Leadenhall market to save oil, (the price of the article having been latterly so much reduced by competition at home.) In an instant, before I had seen him make three, I felt competent to make a gross; and the difference between his mode and that of my own workmen was so trifling, that I felt the utmost astonishment.

"Quest. You can now make dolls' eyes?

"Ans. I can. As it was eighteen years ago that I received the order I have mentioned, and feeling doubtful of my own recollection, though very strong, and suspecting that it could [not] have been to the amount stated, I last night took the present reduced price of that article, (now less than half what it was then,) and calculating that every child in this country not using a doll till two years old, and throwing it aside at seven, and having a new one annually, I satisfied myself that the eyes alone would produce the circulation of a great many thousand pounds. I mention this merely to show the importance of trifles, and to assign one reason, amongst many, for my conviction, that nothing but personal communication can enable our manufactures to be transplanted."

VOL. X.-No. 6.-DECEMBER, 1832.

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Tanning.

The process of tanning will furnish us with a striking illustration of the power of machinery in accelerating certain processes in which natural operations have a principal effect. The object of this art is to combine a certain principle, called tannin, with every particle of the skin to be tanned. This, in the ordinary process, is accomplished by allowing the skins to soak in pits containing a solution of tanning matter; they remain in the pits six, twelve, or eighteen months; and in some instances (if the hides are very thick) they are exposed to the operation for two years, or even during a longer period. This length of time is apparently required in order to allow the tanning matter to penetrate into the interior of a thick hide. The improved process consists in placing the hides, with the solution of tan, in close vessels, and then exhausting the air. The consequences of this is to withdraw any air which might be contained in the pores of the hides, and to employ the pressure of the atmosphere to aid capillary attraction in forcing the tan into the interior of the skins. The effect of the additional force thus brought into action can be equal only to one atmosphere; but a further improvement has been made: the vessel containing the hides is, after exhaustion, filled up with a solution of tan; a small additional quantity is then injected with a forcing pump. By these means any degree of pressure may be given which the containing vessel is capable of supporting; and it has been found, that by employing such a method, the thickest hides may be tanned in six weeks or two months.

The same process of injection might be applied to impregnate timber with tar, or any other substance adapted to preserve it from decay; and if it were not too expensive, the deal floors of houses might be thus impregnated with alumine or other substances, which would render them much less liable to be accidentally set on fire. Some idea of the quantity of matter which can be injected into wood by great pressure may be formed from considering the fact stated by Mr. Scoresby respecting an accident which occurred to a boat of one of our whaling ships. The line of the harpoon being fastened to it, the whale in this instance dived directly down, and carried the boat along with him. On returning to the surface, the animal was killed, but the boat, instead of rising, was found suspended beneath the whale by the rope of the harpoon; and on drawing it up, every part of the wood was found to be so completely saturated with water as to sink to the bottom.

Durability of Watches.

The durability of common watches, when well made, is very considerable. One was produced, in "going order," before a committee of the House of Commons, to inquire into the watch trade, which was made in the year 1660; and there are many of ancient date in the possession of the Clock-makers' Company, which are actually kept going. The number of watches manufactured for home con

sumption was, in the year 1798, about 50,000 annually. If this supply was for Great Britain only, it was consumed by about ten and a half millions of persons.

Process in the art of Needle Making.

To arrange 20,000 needles thrown promiscuously into a box, mixed and entangled with each other in every possible direction, in such a form that they shall be all parallel to each other, would at first sight appear a most tedious occupation; in fact, if each needle were to be separated individually, many hours would be consumed in the process. Yet this is an operation which must be performed many times in the manufacture of needles, and it is accomplished in a few minutes by a very simple tool; nothing more being requisite than a small flat tray of sheet iron, slightly concave at the bottom. The needles are placed in it, and shaken in a peculiar manner, by throwing them up a very little, and giving at the same time a slight longitudinal motion to the tray. The shape of the needles assists their arrangement, for if two needles cross each other, (unless, which is exceedingly improbable, they happened to be precisely balanced,) they will, when they fall to the bottom of the tray, tend to place themselves side by side, and the hollow form of the tray assists this disposition. As they have no projection in any part to impede this tendency, or to entangle each other, they are, by continual shaking, arranged lengthwise in three or four minutes. The direction of the shake is now changed, the needles are but little thrown up, but the tray is shaken endwise, the result of which is, that in a minute or two the needles which were previously arranged end wise, become heaped up in a wall, with their ends against the extremity of the tray. They are now removed by hundreds at a time, by raising them with a broad iron spatula, on which they are retained by the fore finger of the left hand. During the progress of the needles towards their finished state, this parallel arrangement must be repeated many times, and unless a cheap and expeditious method had been devised, the expense of manufacturing needles would have been considerably enhanced.

Another process in the art of making needles furnishes an example of one of the simplest contrivances which can come under the denomination of a tool. After the needles have been arranged in the manner just described, it is necessary to separate them into two parcels, in order that their points may all be in one direction. This is usually done by women and children. The needles are placed sideways in a heap on a table, in front of each operator, just as they are arranged in the process above described. From five to ten are rolled towards the person by the fore finger of the left hand; this separates them a very small space from each other, and each in its turn, is pushed lengthwise to the right or to the left, according as its eye is on the right or left hand. This is the usual process, and in it every needle passes individually under the finger of the operator. A

small alteration expedites the process considerably; the child puts on the fore finger of its right hand, a small cloth cap or finger-stall, and rolling out of the heap from six to twelve needles, he keeps them down by the finger of the left hand, whilst he presses the fore finger of the right hand gently against their ends: those which have the points towards the right hand stick into the finger-stall, and the child removing the finger of the left hand, slightly raises the needles sticking into the cloth, and then pushes them towards the left side. Those needles which had their eyes on the right hand do not stick into the finger cover, and are pushed into the heap on the right hand previously to the repetition of this process. By means of this simple contrivance each movement of the finger from one side to the other carries five or six needles to their proper heap; whereas, in the former method, frequently only one was moved, and rarely more than two or three were transported at one movement to their place.