MATCHES (OF. mesche, Fr. meche, It.
miecia, match, from »ii,z2a, Lat. myxus, wick, from Gk. Aqa,mysa, lamp-nozzle). Specially pre pared pieces of inflammable material designed to enable the user to obtain tire readily. At present the name match, or friction ma telt, is usually applied to a splinter of wood, tipped with some combustible material which will ignite on being rubbed against either a specially prepared, or any rough surface. One of the first forms of this useful article was the brimstone mulch, made by cutting dry pine wood into thin strips about six inches long, pointing the ends, and clipping the latter into melted sulphur; thus prepared, the sulphur points instantly ignited when applied to a spark obtained by striking fire into tin der from a flint and steel. Early in the nineteenth century was invented the in stantaneous light boa', which consisted of a small tin box containing a bottle in which was placed sulphuric acid, with sufficient fibrous asbestos to soak it up, and a supply of properly prepared matches. The latter were splints of wood which had been dipped first into melted sulphur and afterwards into a paste composed of chlorate of potash, powdered loaf sugar, pow dered gum srabie, and a little vermilion as col oring matter. By clipping these prepared points into the sulphuric acid the matches were in stantly ignited. The chief disadvantages of this device were the danger of using a material so destructive as sulphuric acid, together with its great power of absorbing moisture, which soon rendered it inert.
In 1827 the lucifer match, the first true fric tion match, was invented. The inflammable mixture was a compound of of potash and sulphnret of antimony with enough of pow dered gum to render it adhesive when mixed with water and applied to the end of the match, which had previously been dipped in melted brimstone. These matches were ignited by the friction caused by drawing them through a piece of bent sandpaper.
The ignition of sulphur and phosphorus by friction was discovered by Godfrey Haukwitz in 1680, and it was one hundred and fifty years be fore this discovery was applied to matches. It
is stated that in '1833 phosphorus friction matches were made at Vienna. About the same time John Walker, of England. who invented the original friction match. substituted phos phorus for the former mixture. In 1836 the first improved friction matches were made in the United States by Alonzo Phillips of Springfield, I Mass. The body of these matches is usually of i wood, but sonic. called restas, are of very thin wax-taper strips. The composition consists of phosphorus and nitre. or phosphorus, sulphur, and chlorate of potash, mixed with melted gum j or glue. and colored with vermilion, umber, soot, or other coloring material.
To obviate the danger of fire incurred by using matches so readily ignitible as the ordinary luci fer match, safety matches were put upon the market in 1855. Their inventor was a Swede named Lundstrom. The safety match differs from the ordinary match in having the phos phorus omitted from the composition applied to the match and combined instead with sand to form a friction surface on the match-box, where the matches must be rubbed in order to be lighted.
The constant handling of onlinary phosphorus is a very unhealthful occupation, the emanation of phosphoric acid giving rise to necrosis, or mortification of the bones. In the early of the industry the manufacture of matches was largely carried on, in European countries, in cellars, and deaths from necrosis were so com mon that Government intervention was neces sary to drive the manufacturers into more sani tary quarters. In the modern match factory, better surroundings, the increased use of me chanical appliances, an/1 the smaller amount of phosphorus used have greatly decreased the danger incurred by match-makers. It might, however, be entirely removed were the more expensive red or amorphous phosphate alone used.