Britain at Work
A Pictorial Description of Our National Industries

I/O BRITAIN AT WORK. DIPPING MATCHES : PHOSPHORUS WORKERS ON THE ROOF'. The roof-workers are all men and boys, and the open-air treatment is the latest advancement in the way of modern sanitary conditions demanded by the authorities. The satisfactory result to the workers (of the change from covered-in rooms to four- winds-free passage of air standing place) is the total disappearance from amongst them of that distressing complaint known amongst match-makers as “ phossy jaw.” 1 he mixing of the phosphorous paste and the heating of it ready for application to the “framed” match lengths takes place practically in the open air, well removed from the rows of little sheds full of shelves, whereon rest countless thousands of freshly topped matches getting dry. The box-making, from the very size and variety of the article, naturally monopolises a large share of space in the factory under our notice. Each division of the industry —wood, cardboard and tin—goes at a truly astounding rate of speed ; and each is under- taken by women and girls, the preparing of the wood and sheets of tin having been previously done by men. The rapid reduction of whole tree trunks to wafer-thin slices of wood by means of a machine revolving against a plane is a sight that borders on the marvellous. Not only are these delicate shavings instantaneously produced, but they are cut into the correct length and breadth to make boxes, and, in the case of the outsides, are gently notched to indicate the spot where the folds must presently come. The timber employed is exclusively Aspen, from Sweden. Each wood match-box, of course, consists of three pieces—the entire outside being one, the base of the “ drainer” the second, and the upstand- ing sides of it the third. The first process in wood box-making is to colour the edges of the outside piece ; then bend it round, and fix it so by means of paste with an (previously printed) encircling label. 1 he strip of sand- paper for striking on the side is then added, and the box-cover is completed. 3 he inside needs but one operation—to attach the bottom to the bent strips of wood which form the four sides by the use of a long narrow piece of pasted paper. In most factories both parts of these boxes are made more frequently by hand. The triumph of ingenuity, however, is surely reached by a machine which not only folds and makes the outer case, but affixes the sand, and simultan- eously prints the label ! 1 his complicated task is accomplished at the rate of 400 gross a day. Such a comprehensive machine is, however, not in very general use. Hand labour is more employed in turning out the cardboard boxes destined for wax matches, though these also are often done by machine ; but in that case the sandpaper strike-piece is invariably affixed by hand, as is also the paper flap which covers the rows of