034
[Clash XXIX.
(to whom the Reporters take this opportunity of ex-pressing their thanks for most of the statistical ami otherinformation respecting the progress of the art in Ger-many ), there are in the province of Starkenburg, GrandDuchy of Hesse Darmstadt, no less than eight manufac-tories, producing weekly about 500,000 boxes of matches,which, are valued at 3000 florins (257/.), yet the GrandDuchy is unrepresented in the Great Exhibition as tothe production of (artificial) chemical matches.
In Austria , the manufacture of chemical matches hasbeen of late developed to so great an extent, that it sup-plies not only what is required for home consumption,but also enough to form an important article of exposi-tion ; indeed it appears that the most important item ofAustrian commerce with Chili consists of matches.
The matches manufactured in Austria amounted in1849 to 50,000 cwt., of which four-fifths were consumedin the country, and one-fifth was exported. From Trieste
3,787 cwt. were shipped, viz., to
Cw ts.
- 1,226
- 596
492
- - - -
382
336
Naples - - —
225
Other Countries -
- 530
Total -
— 3.787
That the export trade of Austria in matches is rapidlyincreasing, appears from the following statement of thequantities shipped on the Elbe during the last threeyears:—
Quantities shipped
Cwts.
on the Kibe in
1S48
286
1849
790
1S50
1,SG0
As matches are not always specified in the Official Re-port on Commerce, it is not possible to give a detailedstatement of all the quantities exported.
It is estimated that of the total production of matches inAustria, one-third is manufactured in Bohemia , and two-thirds in the factories of Vienna and its vicinity. Thenumber of factories in Bohemia is ten ; of these thereare two in Prague , one of which exhibits; one at Schilt-tenhofen, which also exhibits; one at Budweis , one atTeplitz, one at Taus, one at Tschernoschin, one at Schon-tlial, one at Xahoschitz, and one at Ilohenelbe. Theseestablishments give employment to about 1,000 work-people.
In Austria Proper there are twenty-two factories,namely, sixteen at Vienna , two of which exhibit, threeat Fimfhaus, one at Schiirding, one at Tulle, aud one atPottenstein ; there is also one in Moravia , which like-wise exhibits. The number of workpeople employed isabout 2,000.
In illustration of the quantities of the different mate-rials employed, it may be stated that a Bohemian ma-nufactory employing 100 workpeople produces annuallyabout 200,000 boxes, each containing 5,000 matches. Itconsumes annually 25 cwt. of nitre, 64 cwt. of phosphorus,and 300 cwt. of sulphur. Calculating on these data thetotal amount of materials consumed in all Austria , thefollowing numbers are obtained:—
Cwts.
Nitre ----- 1,250
Phosphorus - - - 325Sulphur - - - - 15,000
The quantity of soft wood consumed annually amountsto 5,000 klafters or fathoms ; and it is worthy of noticethat a large portion of it is manufactured into splints inBudweis, and thence sent to Vienna . About 50,000 mil-lions of single matches are produced annually in Austria .These are made with astonishing rapidity, in consequenceof the employment of a simple plane of peculiar con-struction ; with this instrument a single workman cuts off1,814,000 splints in a day of twelve hours.
From other parts of Germany there are Four Exhibitors;namely, one from Prussia, two from Wurtemburg , unilone from Mecklenburg-Sehwerin; the Reporter?, how-ever, have not been able to ascertain how far they repre-sent tlie manufacture in all those places; but they areenabled to state that there were twenty-one manufactories,employing five hundred and sixty-one workpeople, inPrussia in 1846.
According to a statement of M. Payen, the quantityof phosphorus consumed in France for lucifer-matchesamounts to 30,000 kilogs. (590 cwt.\ whilst 100 kilogs.(2 cwt.) suffice for all the other purposes for which it isused. In 1850* 220 kilogs. (4-jjj cwt.) were exported toEngland. From these numbers, it would appear that thequantity of lueifers manufactured in France must exceedthat of Austria in the ratio of 590 to 325, or as 18 to 10.Yet France is unrepresented in this art, the only con-tributor exhibiting sliding-boxes to contain the matches.
The Reporters have not been able to collect any in-formation respecting the extent of this manufacture inthe United Kingdom . In 1850 there were 50,000 grossof matches imported into the port of Hull; hut the Re-porters are unable to state the total number importedinto the United Kingdom , as chemical matches are en-tered in the Customs returns under the general head of“ Goods non-enumerated.”
Formerly large quantities of phosphorus were im-ported into the United Kingdom for the purpose ofchemical-matchmaking; but it will be seen by the follow-ing table, that this substance must now be made withinthe British * dominions in sufficient quantity to supply theentire demand.
From
From
From the
I’rum
F rom
F rom
9lh July.
4-*
18-121
1
45
14
1.102
1.162
1843
_
1
20
2,349
2,370
1344
—
—
83
2,431
2,7)67
1845
—
—
25
1,474
1,499
1846
_
12
—
619
631
1847
—
90
52
493
572
1848
_
16
15
149
ISO
1849
—
29
60
33
122
1850
—
9
—
1
3
Although lucifer-matches are made to some extent inthe United States , there is no exhibitor of them in theAmerican Section.
In continuing the narrative of the progress of thismanufacture, we may next observe that, as it extended,all the processes were much simplified aud, as a conse-quence, the prices of the articles produced were lowered.Nor was this the only improvement, for a whole seriesof intlammable compounds was successively tried: and atlast, by substituting, entirely or partially, saltpetre forchlorate of potash, the detonation attendant on the earliermatches was avoided. It was also found that the sulphur-coating of the match could be to a great extent, or evenentirely, dispensed with, and the cause of the unpleasantodour previously accompanying ignition in a great mea-sure removed. Besides the ordinary match of wood, nume-rous other materials were devised, which could not havebeen made with the original composition of sulphide ofantimony and chlorate of potash ; as, for instance, wax-taper matches, fusees of Amadou (German tinder) andbrown paper, Vesuvians for insertion into a cigar, See.The roughly formed wood-matches, also, which had beenpreviously cut by hand, were superseded by others care-fully rounded by machinery.
* Previous to 1850, phosphorus was comprised among the“ Produits Cliimiques.”
t Previous to the 9th of July 1S42, the imports of phos-phorus were entered under the general head cf ** Goodsnon-enumerated.”