FIRE AS AN AGENT IN HUMAN CXJLTUKE 123 



Connected with tinder is the meche of the matchlock gun, a cord 

 or fuse of nitrified cotton flax, paper, or bark, used before the appli- 

 cation of the principle of the strike-a-li^^ht to firearms. This fuse is 

 an essential part of the pocket strike-a-light still occasionally used in 

 Europe by those affecting old customs, or practically by the people 

 to defeat the high excise on matches. 



Asia. — At Cachar, Assam, the scurf from a species of Caryota was 

 used for tinder. In various parts also fungus tinder was employed. 

 At Leh, Ladak, tinder wtis made from scrapings from the stems and 

 leaves of the Echinops cornigerus De Candolle. These identifications 

 were made at the Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew, England. Infor- 

 mation by W. W. Rockhill is to the effect that in Tibet tinder is made 

 from flowers similar to edelweiss prepared by rubbing dry after mix- 

 ing a powder and water. In Japan a number of kinds of tinder were 

 carefully prepared and quite effective. The flowers of the Artemisia 

 moxa made good tinder. The specific name of the plant is derived 

 from its use as a cautery in moxa. Another tinder, called " hokutchi," 

 was commonly used with the flint and steel. It is of cotton impreg- 

 nated with gunpowder. A similar kind made of shredded cloth and 

 gray in color is sold in packets. Another Japanese tinder is the soft 

 brown scurf down of some plant. A common tinder used in China 

 is of sliredded paper, probably nitrified. 



Through lack of data little can be said of tinder in other geographic 

 areas. In New Guinea the bark of the Melaleuca is employed as 

 tinder.^* 



Among the Hottentots the decayed mimosa and willow, as also 

 the aloe, are vised for tinder and answer the purpose well.*' 



MATCHES 



To transfer the glowing bit of tinder into a flame requires more 

 forethought and skill than is usually recognized. The coal secured by 

 wood friction is placed in dry, inflammable material and given an 

 extra supply of oxygen by gentle blowing or by waving in the air. 

 Between the coal and a flame there is many a shp. With the coal 

 derived from striking flint and steel on tinder a similar process would 

 be required, and to bridge this gap a number of inventions have been 

 made, culminatmg in the match. The Chinese accomplish this with 

 a roll of paper like a "spill," which, if lighted, smoulders until blown 

 upon dexterously, when it bursts into flame. These spills are of 

 great use to smokers of the water pipe, who constantly refill the small 

 bowl and relight the pipe. The name "pe-i-Jiu" indicates the sound 

 made by blowing up the lighter. It requires much skill to blow the 

 lighter into a flame. In the West, where chemistry was more and 



M E. Beardman. Journ. Anthrop. Inst., vol 14, 1884, p. 470. 

 * Archibald Campbell's Travels, Lonrton, 1818, p. 169. 



102837—26 10 



