154 
PHOSPHORUS  AND  MATCH  MANUFACTURES. 
upon  the  splints  in  them  has  partly  hardened,  they  are  all 
taken,  one  by  one,  in  the  original  order,  and  the  other  ends  of 
the  splints  tipped  in  a  similar  manner.  With  six  dipping- 
stones,  half-a-dozen  workmen  have  dipped  as  many  as  twenty 
millions  of  matches  in  a  single  day.  This  method  of  dipping  is 
termed  "  frame-dip  ;"  but  there  is  another  process  called 
"bundle-dip,"  which  consists  in  taking  a  bundle  of  the  sul- 
phured splints,  and  twisting  it  in  such  a  manner  that  the  ends  of 
the  splints  spread  out  like  a  brush  and  separate  from  each  other  ; 
they  are  then  tipped  with  composition  like  ths  others.  In  this 
process  the  ends  only  of  the  splints  acquire  a  coating  of  the 
mixture,  whereas  in  frame  dipping  the  composition  extends  a 
short  distance  up  the  sides  of  the  splints  and  is  more  firmly 
attached.  Bundle-dipped  matches  are  inferior  to  frame-dipped 
ones. 
In  the  manufacture  as  now  being  described  it  will  be  observed 
that  each  splint  is  4J  inches  long,  coated  with  composition  at 
both  ends,  and  will  therefore  form  two  matches  by  being  cut 
asunder  in  the  middle;  but  this  is  not  always  the  mode  of  pro- 
ceeding ;  in  some  manufactories  the  splints  are  cut  in  two  be- 
fore being  dipped,  and  are  tipped  at  one  end  only. 
As  soon  as  the  composition  is  partly  dry,  and  of  such  a  degree 
of  hardness  as  to  bear  the  next  operation  without  igniting  and 
without  rubbing  off,  the  splints  (those  coated  at  both  ends)  are 
quickly  removed  from  the  frames  into  parallel  heaps,  and  the 
frames  set  at  liberty.  A  man  now  takes  a  heap  of  fifty  of  the 
splints,  places  them  between  two  vertical  supports  in  a 
horizontal  channel  or  trough  of  wood,  passes  a  string  with  a 
weight  over  them  to  prevent  their  falling  about,  and  cuts  them 
through  at  their  middle  by  means  of  a  cork-cutter's  knife,  moving 
upon  a  hinge  like  a  chaff-cutter's  scythe.  He  then  places  them 
in  heaps  of  100  matches  each,  ready  for  boxing.  The  little 
boxes  are  now  filled  by  women  and  children,  who  perform  the 
operation  with  exceeding  rapidity,  and  before  the  matches  are 
dry,  in  order  to  avoid  accidents.  Each  match  passes  through 
the  hands  of  about  seventeen  persons,  chiefly  children,  in  its 
process  of  manufacture. 
Trays  of  sawdust  are  placed  near  the  various  workmen  and 
operators  to  plunge  the  matches  into  in  case  they  ignite. 
