402 



REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1890. 



piston wnich is inserted in the mouth of the cylinder. Holding the 

 cylinder in the left hand the knob of the piston is smartly struck with 

 the open hand with sufficient force to drive the piston home. The 



Fig. 57. cl 



Dyak Fire Syringe, ok Besiafi. 

 One-half natural size. 



a, PISTON; &, CYLINDER; c, TlNDER-BOX ; d, CLEANING 6TICK. 

 (From plate in Jour. Anthrop. In3t., Great Britain, xix, 1890.) 



piston is instantly and quickly withdrawn and the tinder is seen to be 

 alight. Gently breathing on the spark it spreads, fresh tinder is ap- 

 plied, which catches fire immediately; more blowing increases the fire, 

 and first scraped wood and then small sticks catch alight and a fire is 

 produced. 

 It looks very easy but I never succeeded * * * ." * 

 The probabilities are very much against the fire-syringe being an 

 invention of even barbarous peoples of the rank of the Dyaks and 

 Burmese. 



IV.— CHEMICAL METHODS. 



The modern lucifer-match is superior to all other devices for pro- 

 ducing fire, since it combines in one instrument the arrangements for 

 the creation of the spark, for catching it on tinder, and for starting a 

 blaze; steps requiring separate operations in the primitive machines. 



The nearest prototype, of closest resemblance to the friction-matcb, 

 was the splint of inflammable wood tipped with sulphur which accom- 

 panied the tinder-box ; prior to this brimstone-match were all the obso- 

 lete, or well-nigh obsolete, tinder and slow matches. 



The invention of the flint and pyrites and flint and steel strike-a-light 

 necessitated some device to convertthe spark into a flame. The Eskimo 

 applies a wick soaked in oil and blows it alight ; the Chinese slow match, 

 maidzu, as Mr. W. Woodville Rockhill has noticed, only blazes at a 

 quick, dextrous puff of breath. There are many easily ignitible sub- 



S. B. J. Skertchly, Jour. Anthrop. lust., Great Britain, xix, 1890, p. 448. 



