Graphite and the Sportsman. 
The fisherman is proverbially a philosopher, 
and this one was particularly a philosopher. I 
was ending a gloriqus day with game fish with 
a most unhappy half hour with a “stuck'’ ferrule 
and a good deal of language. 
“For one who is handy with hist’ lead pencil,” 
remarked the philosopher, “you are chary of 
using lead where it will do the most good. That 
rod would come apart easier for some, and,” he 
added with a grunt as he pulled on the oars, “this 
boat would move faster with a coat of graphite 
on the bottom and be a good deal dryer as well.” 
The next day saw the ferrules of my rod well 
coated, and somehow or other the philosopher’s 
remarks lingered in my mind until I got to think¬ 
ing of just how much the outdoor man is in¬ 
debted to the substance which is only another 
form of the black diamonds we shovel into the 
furnace. I resolved to find out something about 
it, and my search for information led me straight 
to the office of the Joseph Dixon Crucible Com¬ 
pany, at Jersey City. A very short visit to the 
big plant sufficed to convince me that graphite 
■—to forget the lead—was not only indispensable 
to the sportsman, but one of the most important 
things in the world of manufacturing and com¬ 
merce. 
First a word about the Joseph Dixon Com¬ 
pany. It ranks not only as the pioneer firm in 
the graphite field, but its big plant at Jersey City 
is a splendid example of orderly and progressive 
development, extending over nearly a century, 
with the result that to-day it is the largest com¬ 
pany engaged in the business. 
It was in 1827 that Joseph Dixon, the founder 
of the company, put a climax of success on a 
series of laborious experiments by making the 
first successful graphite crucible. To-day every 
brass founder and crucible steel worker uses a 
Dixon crucible or one made after the Dixon 
method. In the same year the Joseph Dixon 
Company was founded, and the small factories 
at Jersey City began the manufacture of cruci¬ 
bles and stove polish. 
Keen-sighted inventor that he was, it is doubt¬ 
ful if the original Dixon could in his most 
roseate dreams have imagined either the extent 
of the future development of the industry he 
founded, or the multitude of uses to which 
graphite would be put. To-day’the imposing 
plant of the Dixon Company covers nearly four 
city blocks and occupies seven modern manufac¬ 
turing buildings with a total Qoor space of more 
than 301,000 square feet. The present officers 
of the company are: President, George T. 
Smith; Vice-President, William H. Corbin; 
Treasurer, George E. Long; Secretary. Harry 
Daily. 
It was about twenty-five years ago that the 
Dixon Company, at the instance of George E. 
Long, now its treasurer, took the initiative in 
exploiting graphite for lubricating purposes, and 
it was then that the real interest of sportsmen 
in graphite was first aroused. 
It is in the adaptation of graphite to a won¬ 
derful variety of uses rather than in the char¬ 
acter of the mechanical processes employed that 
the visitor to the plant finds his interest cen¬ 
tered. Graphite is practically pure carbon and 
as such is not susceptible of much modification 
through manufacturing processes. It differs from 
other carbon forms in the peculiarly unctuous 
quality which makes it so valuable as a lubricant 
whether in liquid form or as dry powder. It is 
unaffected by heat, cold, acids and alkalies, and 
has a strong attraction for metal surfaces.. Al¬ 
though absolutely insoluble, it mixes readily with 
grease or oil and remains permanently in sus¬ 
pension. 
Graphite is one of the most widely distributed 
of all minerals. It is found in varying quanti- 
Founder of the Great Crucible Company of Jersey City. 
ties in nearly every State and Territory, but is 
most generally mined in our States bordering 
the Appalachian range. It is found in narrow 
veins which are sometimes very shallow, but 
where actual mining operations are carried on 
they usually run to a great depth. Much of the 
graphite comes from small deposits, which are 
not regularly mined. 
All the graphite used in the Dixon works is 
taken from the*company’s own mines and is of 
a thin, flaky formation. It is mined by very 
much the same methods as other minerals and 
comes out of the ground in black chunks of pure 
graphite mixed with various impurities. It is 
then crushed and goes through various refining 
processes, some of which are secret, and at last 
is “air floated,” a process which separates the 
last particles of dust and grit from the graphite 
itself. 
The pure graphite is next prepared to meet 
the demands of the consumer. Some is put up 
in the form of fine powder, some as flaked and 
some mixed with various oils and greases as 
lubricants for special purposes. Paints are made 
of graphite,' as are also the great crucibles in 
which brass and steel are reduced to a liquid 
state in the foundries. Last of all it is pressed 
into tiny cylinders, cased in wood and becomes 
the lead pencil of commerce. The brass and 
steel worker, the electrician, the engineer, the 
machinist, the printer, the bridge builder, all must 
have graphite, and the great mass of humanity 
of all vocations would be lost without the humble 
lead pencil. 
But it is with graphite in its relation to the 
sportsman that we are most interested. A list 
of these relations is enlightening. To its peculiar 
ability to fill up surfaces, smooth down inequali¬ 
ties and preserve metals, graphite owes its big 
place as a lubricant. For the yachtsman or 
motor boat owner, graphite, applied to the ordi¬ 
narily wetted surfaces, by reducing the friction 
increases the speed qf the wooden boat. It also 
preserves the hulls of iron or steel craft, is a 
general lubricant, preserves metal fixtures, in one 
form is a metal paint, is a waterproofing for 
steering gears, shaft-bearings, etc., and a valuable 
pipe joint compound. 
The fisherman finds it invaluable to his peace 
of mind. Applied to ferrules it prevents stick¬ 
ing. If put dry into the gear cases of reels it 
insures quiet and easy action. The bicycle rider 
and the motorist use it as a chain lubricant and 
a metal preservative. 
Hunters and trapshooters are no less indebted 
to graphite. It “oils” the loading and ejecting 
mechanisms; placed on the inside or outside of 
barrels it is a sure preventive of rust; inside the 
barrel it prevents leading and the sticking of 
powder residue and of swelled paper shells. 
When a little dry graphite^ has been blown into 
the breech of a gun, it has. been found adhering 
to the bore after more than 200 discharges. 
Go where he will, with what tools of the craft 
he may. or by what conveyance, the outdoor man 
cannot escape the assistance of graphite. 
H. A. S. 
Uncle John’s Joke. 
Raleigh, N. C., July 30. — Editor Forest and 
Stream: Is there any place on earth where the 
negroes are quite so amusing as they are in 
North Carolina? A few days ago, in a visit to 
the country, one of the old-time negroes was 
found. Uncle John is neatly eighty years of age, 
with grizzled hair and the beginning of a stoop. 
He is yet “mighty spry,” as he puts it. 
The place is set about with orchards, the trees 
bending with pears, apples, peaches and plums-; 
.with fig trees thick with the second crop of 
fruit to ripen in September, and out in a flat 
sandy stretch, between the house and the most 
wonderful cornfield I ever saw, is the thing 
most dear to the heart of Uncle John, namely 
“de melon phtch.” Hard by is a wide spreading 
vine, thick hung with scuppernong grapes, that 
finest of all the Southern grapes which never 
fails and which no disease seems to attack. 
Once when his eyes roved over the melon 
patch and I ^aid, “Uncle John, do you like 
