MISCELLANEOUS OCCUPATIONS, AND WORKERS THEREIN.

456. Backgammon-Board Finishers.

We called at L.'s backgammon-board manufactory, and saw a girl about thirteen years old, who has worked at the business for one year. She pastes the morocco on the back of the boards, and lays the gold leaf on, which is passed under a press, and receives, from a man who has charge of it, the ornamental gilding. They used to employ girls, and paid $4 a week, working from 7 to 6 o'clock—eleven hours. L. does not take learners—it is too much trouble. K. used to employ girls in finishing boards, but those he had were not steady and reliable.

457. Balloon Makers.

Large balloons are stitched up by sewing machines. Prof. L.'s required several days' work. Prof. W.'s sister and niece make both cotton and silk balloons. They have the substance put on the silk by men with a brush. They think that part of the work would be rather hard on women, because of the stooping and bending.

458. Billiard-Table Finishers.

I saw G., who employs one woman to make and put on the billiard bags at the corners and sides. He pays her such wages for her work that she can by industry earn $1.50 a day. He does not know of any woman that makes it a regular business, but thinks, if a woman could engage all that kind of work to be had at the billiard manufactories in New York city, it would be a good business, and probably pay about $3 a day. It is very easy work, and would require but a few weeks' practice. Besides, it would not require any capital, as the manufacturers furnish the materials. They pay twenty-five cents for making a cover of unbleached domestic, when two seams are sewed and it is hemmed at the ends. The cloth that is fastened on the table could not be put on by a woman, as it requires too much strength. Netting the bags is done by hand. I was told by a manufacturer that two women could do all the work for New York.

459. Bill Posters.

This is a business confined to cities. W. heard of one woman that went through New York distributing circulars for some benevolent institution. I do not see why a woman might not be so employed. An immense quantity of waste paper is sold in London to grocers, butchers, fishmongers, poulterers, and others that need paper for wrapping up the articles they sell to purchasers.

460. Block Cutters.

Block cutters prepare blocks of wood for the coloring of wall paper. A block about eighteen inches square and two inches thick is made perfectly smooth. The pattern is then traced on it with a lead pencil. It is then cut with chisels, which are of all sizes and many shapes. Each one, as required, is driven into the wood with a mallet. It requires considerable physical strength, but is remunerative when sufficient orders are given to keep one constantly employed. Each color, and even shade, in wall paper, requires a separate block. It is the same case where wooden blocks are used for printing calicoes. The wall-paper establishments in Philadelphia are the most extensive in the United States. A lady in Philadelphia, engaged in the business, told me that she got about $10 a week, working ten hours a day, but that she had not orders enough to keep her constantly employed. At N. & C.'s paper-hanging factory, New York, they employ six male block cutters, who earn from $2 to $2.25 a day. A boy, when apprenticed to a block cutter, receives $2.50 a week the first year, $3 the next, $4 the next, and $5 the last. There are probably from sixty to one hundred block cutters in New York city. Block letters, we were told, are made by machinery. A gentleman in Maine writes: "There are but very few females in this section who work at block cutting (blocks for printing oil carpets); but three or four in this State, I think. I have none with me excepting my wife. It is a branch of business that females cannot carry on alone, as the most of it requires considerable labor that women are not able to perform." In the census returns of Great Britain for 1850, we find four women under the head of block cutters.

461. Boatwomen.

In the countries of Europe, it is not unusual to see women employed as rowers of boats, on the lakes and rivers. On the lakes of Scotland, made famous by the poetry and fiction of Sir Walter Scott, women are seen waiting in their little boats to take passengers out on the lakes. In the sealochs of Scotland, fisherwomen manage their own boats. In Germany, women also ply the oar. In the United States, it is seldom done; but I think Miss Murray, in her Travels, mentions being rowed upon a lake in New York State by a woman. Some of the Indian women, of the Arctic regions, are noted for their skill in the management of a boat; and some of the women of the Polynesian Islands are distinguished in the same way. In the census of Great Britain for 1850, in class eight, and third division (Carriers on Canals), are reported 1,708 bargewomen over twenty years of age, and 525 under that age.

462. Bone Collectors.

Some collectors of bones sell them to people who make soup of them, and sell it to the poor at a penny a bowl. Some sell their bones to soap manufacturers, who boil them to obtain the marrow and oily substance, and then sell them to button makers, or makers of cane and whip handles. Some sell them to glue manufacturers, who boil them to obtain the gelatine for making glue. Some have establishments where they are ground and sold as a fertilizer for the soil. Some bone gatherers give toys to children for collecting bones. I saw a girl gathering some, who told me she sold them at fifteen cents a half bushel. She gathers sometimes half a bushel a day, and sometimes more. A boy told me he got thirty cents a bushel for bones; and another, that he got one cent a pound. The profit must be great of those who sell them again, judging from the price paid by the makers of cane handles. Yet it may be, so much is not paid by manufacturers for those taken from the street as for new ones.

463. Bottlers and Labellers.

In large establishments where wine, porter, ale, or beer is corked, women could, and in some places do, have the job. When it is done from day to day, it affords a reliable resource. The payment is generally, I believe, by the dozen or hundred bottles. "In one house or more, in London, are seen from one hundred to one hundred and fifty women bottling pickles all day long, at the charge of sixpence a score of bottles, at which an industrious woman, without any extra exertion, will earn her two shillings a day." In establishments for the sale of patent medicines and other articles of a similar nature, women are employed. I saw a man bottling lager beer by hand. He is paid $15 a month, and full board. For labelling, another received $6 a month, and full board. In Europe, where women do such work, they wear wooden shoes to keep their feet dry. A woman could as well cork as a man, when it is done by hand, and, no doubt, could use the machines employed for corking. A large manufacturer of hair restorative employs two girls to put it up, and pays from $3 to $4 a week. A brewer writes that "women might be employed in the bottling department, cleaning, filling, corking, &c., but the proportion would be small in comparison with the number of men at work." A woman that buys and sells empty bottles says she and her husband made a comfortable living at it. If they make three cents profit on a dozen they do well. They send a wagon to hotels, groceries, and private houses, if the number is sufficient to justify it. They find a ready sale for their bottles. The bottles must be washed clean before they will buy them. I was told at the office of Mrs. W.'s S. Syrup, that girls are paid by the week, from $5 to $6. R., in putting up his Ready Relief, employs several girls to fill bottles, cork and label them. They earn from $3 to $6 a week. They are paid by the quantity, and the work is all done in daylight. Until the last few days they have had work all the year round. S. employs from five to ten girls, and pays from $4 to $5 a week for bottling medicines and putting up Seidlitz powders. He keeps his hands all the year. They can either sit or stand. He does not know of any women being so employed South or West. L. employs three, and pays $5 a week, ten hours a day. One is employed in putting up Seidlitz powders—the others in bottling. All three work at the store. K. employs three girls to put up Seidlitz powders, perfumery, &c. He pays from $3 to $3.50 a week. B. & M., stove-polish manufacturers, employ girls to put up the polish in papers. The paper is folded on a wooden block and pasted, then withdrawn, and the polish put in and sealed.

464. Broom Makers.

C. employs a girl to paint the handles of brooms, paying $4 a week, of ten hours a day. After New Year is the most busy season. It requires but a short time to learn. A man can earn at broom making $1.25 to $1.75 a day. At some of the broom factories girls are employed to assort the broom by laying perfect pieces of a certain length in one pile, and those shorter in another, &c. Only strong, robust women could perform the entire process of broom making.

465. Bronzes.

When a bronze appearance is desired for some metals, bronze powders are used. I have been told that a patent has been granted for the making of them. Parties that we think competent to know tell us that "bronze powders are made in very few establishments in this country, and they think women and boys, much more than men, are both here and in Europe engaged in the making and working of bronze. They suggest that manufacturers, printers, japanners, and all who have operatives engaged in handling bronze powders should, in

all cases

, see that their people are protected, by gauze, sponge, or some sort of screen over the mouth and nostrils, from inhaling the fine particles that arise and impregnate the atmosphere where the powders are handled, and which are liable to cause serious injury to those who inhale them. The same might also be said of Dutch metal or gold leaf used in gilding house paper and other things." Magnetic masks are used by some grinders and polishers to prevent iron filings from passing down their throats. We suppose they would answer also for bronzers. Men oppose the introduction of women into the business. I saw three sisters bronzing in New York. They told me each receives $5 a week, and works about nine hours a day. It requires but a few months' practice to become perfect, and seemed to be an easy business. The young ladies employed at it looked genteel enough to grace any calling. Men get $10 a week. Women do it just as well, if not a little better, and accomplish just as much, yet receive only $5. I called in the store of the Ornamental Iron Works, New York. The young man says they employ about twenty-five German bronzers. It is a work easily done, and would require but a short time to learn. Women could just as well do it as men. If women were employed, it would be desirable to have a separate room for them to work in. Their men work ten hours a day, and receive from $1.50 to $2 a day.

466. Canvas and Cotton Bag Makers.

The firm of B. E. C. & Co. employ about forty females during the whole year, and seventy during the summer. Men cut out the bags. The folding and turning is done by little girls, who receive, some $1.50 per week, and some more, while the sewing is done by machines, for which the operators receive $4.50 per week. I do not remember what the spoolers were paid. This business is confined exclusively to seaports or river cities, and is not very extensive. The usual time required is ten hours. For extra work, girls receive double wages. C. & Co. have certain regulations, requiring morality and order. The girls were more cheerful, neat, and genteel-looking than the general run of work girls. They have a dressing room, where each one has a peg for her bonnet and shawl, and a small box in which to lay her dinner. They have washbowls and all the conveniences needed. Spring and fall are their most busy times, but they are able to keep their hands all the year in prosperous times. They are always busy just before the sailing of vessels, as they supply many vessels with bags to carry grain. They are well located for their business, being immediately on the river. The prospect for learners C. thinks very good, as bags are considered almost as essential as boats; and now they can be purchased so cheaply they are used for purposes to which they were never applied before. V. employs fifteen girls all the year, and sometimes extra help. Some girls get $3.50, and some $4 a week, of ten hours a day. Most of their machines are propelled by hot air. They never have any trouble in getting hands. There are a few bag factories in the West. W. & O. make cotton bags for flour, seed, grain, &c. We saw the girls sewing on machines moved by steam. They are paid $3 a week, ten hours a day. Their girls are not punctual, and are so often absent that they find it necessary to employ more hands than they want, that they may not get out of a supply. I met an old woman with bolts of heavy unbleached cotton, who was going to make up bags, sewing them with the needle. She receives seventy-five cents for one hundred bags. A bag manufacturer in Boston writes: "We pay by the week; girls, from $3 to $4—men, $7.25. The men's branch requires from six to twelve months to become proficient and reliable. Women require about one week. Perseverance and industry are needed by workers. Business in future is dubious. Winter and spring are the best seasons, but we are generally employed ten months out of the year. The hands work ten hours, unless driven up by brisk trade, when extra wages are paid

pro rata

. They receive all the comforts which women of this class require, viz., sufficient to live upon, with a small surplus for the priest, and to send to 'ould Ireland.' The labor of the men and women are entirely dissimilar. The advantages have been entirely in favor of the city of Boston; but from present indications, I fear that this business, if done at all, will be done in the cities of Charleston, Savannah, Mobile, and New Orleans. The women can scarcely read; none can write. They can have free access to the city library and free evening schools. Board, $1.25—mostly whole families in one room."

467. Carriage and Car Painters.

At a very large car establishment in New York, I was told that when they take boys to learn ornamental painting, they pay $2.40 a week the first year. After that, eight cents a day more, the next year; and so continue until the apprenticeship expires. Three or four years are usually given. We saw a foreman ornamenting the side of a car to be sent to Liverpool, who was taken by the firm when a penniless boy. He now has $3,000 deposited with his employers, drawing a handsome interest. The painters are paid twenty-five cents an hour while ornamenting cars, and omnibuses. They do their work better than when paid by the piece. They prefer Germans, as they have more taste, and are more easily obtained. Miss H. knew a young lady that painted a cutter. Her father was a coach painter, and she painted in oils on canvas. A lady, if she would give time and attention, might become an ornamental painter of carriages, omnibuses, and cars. E. G. & Co., car builders, in Troy, write: "There are some portions of our ornamental painting women might be instructed to perform, that would be suitable for them, and, if proficient, they could make good wages at it."

468. Carriage Trimmers.

I was told by G., a carriage maker, that women usually make the cushions and trimmings for carriages. At a railroad-car and omnibus factory, the trimmer told me the work was too hard for women. The sewing is all done by hand. Much wax must be used on the thread, and a machine will not draw the threads tight enough. A shield of leather is worn on the little finger. I have read that "landscape painters, upholsterers, and trimmers of cars and carriages receive from $1.50 to $2 per day, of ten hours, in New York and New Jersey. Women are not generally employed; but they are occasionally serviceable in preparing the hair for seats, by which they could make, at steady employment, from $3 to $5 per week." B., at his carriage manufactory, said he intends employing two women to make curtains for his carriages. He now employs a girl to make covers for them. He thinks the curtains and much of the lining might be stitched by a machine. He thinks women might make fair wages at it—say, $4 or $5 a week. A carriage maker in Boston writes me: "I employ female labor only to the amount of about $50 a year. It is done by the piece, and a woman who is tolerably smart with her needle can in a very short time learn to do it, and can earn from eight to ten cents an hour. The work is irregular, a large portion of it coming in the months of April, May, and June, and sometimes requiring to be done at short notice." Car builders in Albany, N. Y., write: "Dear Madam—In reply to your inquiries, would say that, out of seventy-five to eighty hands employed by us, two only are women. One has charge of a sewing machine, the other picks curled hair. They have constant employment, at $5 a week." Carriage makers in Syracuse reply to a circular, saying: "We employ one lady to run the sewing machine in making leather and cloth tops for carriages. The work is healthy. We pay from $3 to $4 per week, of ten hours a day. Girls receive from one third to one half as much as men. It requires about two months to learn. Learners receive from $2 to $2.50 per week. The prospect for more such work to women is increasing. The employment is steady. There is a demand for women capable of good, heavy stitching." C—s, of New Haven, write: "We employ about twelve women in carriage trimming, running sewing machines, &c. Good wages are earned—from $5 to $9 per week, of ten hours a day. We pay mostly by the week. At the same kind of work our girls earn as much as men. The main part of their business being sewing, women are preferable at the same wages as men. In two days any ordinary person can learn to use a sewing machine; but to learn all parts of the business would require from two to three months' time. Girls receive a small compensation while learning. They are never out of employment, except in hard times, like the past winter. Two thirds are American girls. The girls employed by us are intelligent and happy; earning good wages, and always have work when we are doing anything. Board, $2.50."

469. Chair Seaters.

The putting of seats in chairs, the material being of cane, hickory, flags, willow, and corn husks, is carried on very often in orphan asylums, institutions for the blind, or for the deaf and dumb, and in penitentiaries. There is a large establishment in Worcester, Mass., where women are employed. At the House of Refuge, on Randall's Island, I saw the boys seating chairs with rattan. It is learned in three months. It is very severe on the fingers at first. In a small second-hand furniture store, I saw a woman seating chairs with cane. I stepped in and inquired of the woman how long it required to learn the work. She said she learned it in one day, of a German who kept a furniture store next door, and who wished her to work for him. She could seat two chairs in a day, and earn by doing so a dollar. For such a chair as she would be paid sixty-two cents the cane would cost twelve cents, leaving her a profit of fifty cents a chair for her work. It cuts the fingers some. She has most family work in winter; but her husband can always get enough for her from the stores. Another German woman seating chairs said she could seat three in a day. She charged fifty cents apiece for ordinary chairs. At a chair-seating factory, I saw several girls caning chairs for the proprietor, who receives orders from stores. We were told that it is always piecework. Some girls earn from sixty to seventy-five cents a day. They have work all the year. The girls were very clean-looking. They stood while at work. A girl told us it would take but three weeks to learn. Work is most apt to be slack in January, February, August, and September. The work is mostly done by German women. At another factory, I was told the prospect for work is very good. The man said, three years ago he had more work for his women than they could do. They are not paid while learning, and have work the same all the year. His best hands can earn $4 or $5 a week. The work is always paid for by the piece. The superintendent of the Monroe County Penitentiary, N. Y., writes: "We employ our female convicts at the manufacture of both flag and cane chair seats. They are equally adapted to the employment of women; the flag seats, however, cannot be made except near a chair manufactory, because of the expense of transporting the frames upon which they are made. The cane-seat frames can be easily transported; but the market is overstocked, and has been for years. They are made in many Northern and more Eastern prisons, and are made by both sexes. At the Albany (N. Y.) Prison, the females are employed at cane-chair seating, and at some part of the manufacture of shoes. At the Erie County Penitentiary, Buffalo, N. Y., the female convicts are employed at cane chair seating and packing hardware, manufactured by the male convicts; and at the Onondago County Penitentiary, Syracuse, caning chair seats. New York, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Michigan are the only States, probably, having county prisons, where the convicts are regularly employed. Cane seating is a business employing many females (free labor) in Massachusetts and New Hampshire, and is well adapted to girls and women of the lower grades of intelligence; and the same is applicable to flag seating. They can earn, on an average, about thirty cents per day. The business may be acquired in a few days—say, thirty." The proprietor of the Oswego chair factory writes: "I have in my employ about forty women and girls in the cane-seating department. An attentive worker, possessing ordinary skill, can earn about fifty cents per day, of ten hours. Young persons of either sex are much more sprightly at the work than older persons." By a chair manufacturer in Fitchburg, Mass., several hundreds of women, girls, and children are employed in seating chairs, which they do at home.

470. China Menders.

All parts of this work are very suitable for women. Covering and repairing fans, mending china, wax dolls, works of virtu, &c., require care and taste. Connected with this might be the mending of jewelry, card cases, work boxes, and other ornaments of the toilet. A china mender told me he estimates his time at twenty-five cents an hour. His prices vary, according to the quality of the article, and the time and care required. He sells the composition for cementing at twenty-five cents a bottle. His work was beautifully done. I talked with another china mender and glass driller. After the fourth of July he goes to the country and mends ware. Some learn his business in a short time. He charges $10 to teach to make cement, drill, and mend articles. He thinks, in Boston, Philadelphia, and Brooklyn, there are probably openings. He says money can be made at the business by advertising, and having some one to go for the articles and collect the money. He is recommended by one customer to another, and so has enough to do; yet, from the want of capital, barely makes a living. If he could get a place in a china store, ladies could get their china mended there, and the store would give him some. He makes between thirty and forty kinds of cement. Some of them stand water. If a lady would learn, he would pay her $3 a week for her services.

471. Cigar Makers.

At F.'s, Philadelphia, we were told that girls who make cigars are usually idle; but when we afterward saw the rapid motion of their fingers, we felt disposed to doubt the charge. Habits of order, temperance, industry, and the

reverse

, are said to run in some trades. F. had heard some employer lamenting that there is no such thing as a sober reed-cutter. May not the flavor of tobacco, in making cigars, produce an excitement that craves some artificial stimulus? We think it would not be strange if it did; but have no means of ascertaining, and hope that it does not. Bending over was the only item mentioned by F. as being uncomfortable or injurious in the work. "In Philadelphia, the whole number of employés, journeymen and girls, engaged in making cigars, is fully four thousand. The average labor expended upon each thousand cigars costs $3.50, and the average cost of each thousand cigars is $8." In Philadelphia, many Americans work at the business; but in New York, almost all are Germans. In Germany, many women make cigars. A cigar maker told me that some women find the odor too strong; and even men with weak lungs are likely to have the consumption, if they work at it long. He pays women the same price as men, and he pays according to the quality and the workmanship—$2, $3, $4, $5, and $6 per thousand. Quickness in the use of the fingers is necessary. He has never known women to make the finest cigars. At K.'s, New York, I saw some bright, pleasant-looking girls at work. They are paid six cents a hundred. One girl told me she generally made thirteen hundred a day—seventy-eight cents. Women receive the same rates of wages as men. The son of the proprietor told me he had thought the work not altogether healthy; for the men you see working at the business are pale and thin. His father's girls are kept busy all the year. Girls generally make from $3 to $4 a week. There are enough of girls at it in New York, though there are but few places where girls are employed. The atmosphere almost stifled me, the tobacco scent was so strong. I inquired of a girl if she thought it unhealthy. She said no—that when she first came there, her head ached all the time, and she had constant nausea of the stomach; but now she never notices the smell of the tobacco, and does not feel any bad effects. She said she had learned to make cigars in three weeks; another girl said she learned it in one week. In summer, when the days are long, a girl earns most. A bundler is paid the best price, as she receives six cents a hundred. It is very dirty work. A cigar dealer told me he pays from $2 up to $6 per thousand. A man can make two hundred per day, and so earn from 40 cents to $1.20. He thinks it not unhealthy, where there is a circulation of air. The rapidity in making cigars depends much on the quality of the tobacco. Some leaves are not so well dried, nor so fine and perfect, as others. Such, of course, require a longer time to make. D., New York, says women mostly make the quality called sixes; and he knows that, farther East, in making that kind they often earn $1 a day. They can make the common ones more rapidly than men. He attributes the inability of women to make fine cigars to the want of instruction. Men do not like to teach them, because they are afraid of the competition that may be created, causing them to lose work or have to do it at lower wages. Now and then a woman may be found who makes cigars equal to any man. It requires a knowledge of tobacco, to select the different kinds for the various grades. Some judgment and intelligence are needed to cut the leaf economically, and to select tobacco of proper strength for making various brands. It is usual for a boy to serve three years, who is paid about $30 a year, and boarded. He has boys fifteen years of age working for him as journeymen. He says cigar makers in New York earn from $6 to $15 per week. Good hands can usually find employment. It can easily be learned in one year. All seasons are favorable for the work. From five hundred to fifteen hundred cigars are made in a day, according to the expertness of the manipulator and the kind of tobacco. Machines have not as yet been found to work well. The machine cigars are finished at the end by hand. He remarked that machines never can succeed so well as men, until they have the brains of men. A very nice widow, who kept a cigar store in New York, told me that many more women are employed in making cigars in Philadelphia than in New York; but the cigars made and sold there are mostly of the cheap kind, selling for two or three cents apiece. Six months' practice is required by a learner, to become perfect. Careful and rapid movement of the fingers, and ability to use the left hand, are desirable. I would suggest that a few smart women learn of a competent workman to make the best quality, and instruct several of their own sex. I find the making of cigars is paid for, altogether, by the thousand, and cigar makers earn from $3 to $18 a week. The usual price paid for a thousand cigars is $5, and a fast worker can make fifteen hundred a day.

472. Cigar-End Finders.

Mayhew says: "There are, strictly speaking, none who make a living by picking up the ends of cigars thrown away as useless by the smokers in the streets; but there are very many who employ themselves, from time to time, in collecting them. How they are disposed of, is unknown; but it is supposed that they are resold to some of the large manufacturers of cigars, and go to form a component part of a new stock of the best Havanas. There are five persons, residing in different parts of London, who are known to purchase cigar ends. In Naples, the sale of cigar ends is a regular street traffic. In Paris, the ends thus collected are sold as cheap tobacco to the poor. In the low lodging-houses of London, the ends, when dried, are cut up and sold to such of their fellow lodgers as are anxious to enjoy their pipe at the cheapest possible rate."

473. Cinder Gatherers.

I saw some girls gathering cinders. They burn them at home, after washing them. One pailful lasts from one and a half to two days. The larger girls gather two pails a day, generally; the smaller girls each gather one.

474. Clear Starchers.

The doing up of muslin, in large cities, has made for itself a separate calling. Where there is constant employment, it pays well. Mrs. N. charges from sixteen to twenty-five cents for doing up a set of muslin. She does most of the work herself, as she feels responsible for the way in which it is done, and would be afraid a stranger might tear or burn the muslin. When she has not enough to do, she fills up her time crocheting for the stores. I think the best locations must be in a part of the city where the best residences are.

475. Clock Makers.

The amount and variety of wooden clocks manufactured in this country are very great. The low price at which they sell, puts it in the power of almost every one to purchase. Clock-case and clock-movement making are two distinct branches. Connecticut is the only State in which clock movements are made; but there are many shops all over the North in which the cases are manufactured. In 1845, there were twenty establishments in New York city, in which the cases were made. "Wages of clock makers are poor. Women are occasionally employed in painting the cases of clocks, painting the dials, and making part of the movements." The New Haven Clock Company employ women to paint the glass tablets, and in lettering, or putting the figures on the dial, at which work they can earn from 90 cents to $1 per day, of ten hours. They also use quite a number in making trimmings, and the lighter part of the movements, at which they earn about seventy-five cents per day. All their work is done by the piece. The time necessary to learn depends much on the intelligence and aptness of the person. Manufacturers of clock dials in Farmington, Conn., write: "We employ twelve American women figuring clock dials. The spirit of turpentine used is unhealthy to some. They are paid by the piece, and average $2.50, with board. Men are not employed in the same department. It requires about four weeks to learn, and learners are furnished with board. The amount of employment in future is indefinite. Fall, winter, and spring are the best seasons for work; but constant employment is given by us. Board, $2."

476. Clothes-Pin Makers.

A clothes-pin manufacturer in Vermont writes: "Women are employed in packing clothes pins, and are paid from 25 to 50 cents per day, usually working ten hours. Our women are Americans. The clothes-pin business should be carried on in a sparsely settled community, where timber can be obtained at cheap rates."

477. Clothes Repairers.

We have seen it suggested that shops for repairing, remodelling, and remaking ladies' clothes, would, in large cities, if conducted by competent persons, probably yield a support. The mending of ladies' shoes, and mending second-hand ones to sell again, could employ the time of a number.

478. Cork Assorters and Sole Stitchers.

The principal use made of cork in this country is for bottle stoppers. It is also used in making cork soles for shoes. Cork is mostly imported from Spain, Portugal, and the south of France, in large blocks, and cut in the shapes wanted. A member of a large cork-cutting company at the East writes: "In France, Spain, and Portugal, women are employed to a limited extent in cutting the smaller description of corks, and a few are also employed in England, but not to any extent." He thinks the employment not suitable for women, and says none are employed in this country. But from the public reports of the city of his residence, I find women are employed as cork cutters in that city. At one establishment, we saw men at work cutting corks. There did not appear any objection to women employing themselves in this trade. A good deal of practice is required. S., of New York, cuts by machine, and employs six girls to assort. He pays 50 cents a day, of ten hours. At another cork store, I was told they employ boys and girls to assort, who receive from $2 to $3 a week. The coverings of cork soles are put on by women with sewing machines. A good hand, we were told, can make eight dozen pairs a day, and is paid eighteen cents a dozen. I suppose it requires at least a day to cut out and baste on the covering of that number; so the compensation is not as great as one might at first suppose. Some can baste five dozen a day, and could stitch from twelve to twenty dozen a day. Girls are paid 10 cents a dozen for basting, and 6 cents per dozen for stitching them on machines. A cork-sole manufacturer in the upper part of the city, pays for basting covers on, 10 cents a dozen. Some women baste five or six dozen a day. It requires care and a little skill. If not properly done, it is almost impossible to stitch them correctly. He pays 6 cents a dozen for stitching, and an operator can stitch from twelve to twenty dozen a day. He has often sold two hundred dozen in a year.

479. Daguerreotype Apparatus.

In most large cities, daguerreotype apparatus is manufactured. A maker of daguerreotype cases and materials told me that his girls earn from 50 to 75 cents a day, the latter being the highest price ever paid. S., whose factory is in New Haven, employs about one hundred and fifty girls. It is piecework. The business is increasing, but still is so limited that it cannot furnish employment for a great many. No difficulty is found in getting hands, as there are a great many girls in New Haven. No factory in the South or West. New York is the depot for everything made in a limited quantity, and for everything new in style. G. Brothers have given work all the year until lately. It is piecework. Girls earn from $4 to $6 a week. It does not take a smart girl more than eight days to learn. The busy time commences in April. It is an increasing business. The foreman at A.'s factory said a nice, steady, cleanly girl, that has sufficient dignity to command respect, can always get work. One that is not very sensitive to ridicule, and independent in the performance of duty, will be sure to succeed in that establishment; for so many learners are taken in and need supervision, that such a one is sure to be prized. He has seventy-five girls. It requires but a week to learn, and the girl that instructs gets the profit of that week's labor. In some branches they stand, in some they sit. They are paid by the piece, and earn from $2 to $6 a week. Some of their girls learn bookbinding; so, when there is much to do in that line, they find it difficult to get hands. The manufacture of daguerreotype apparatus is increasing; so the prospect for learners is good. Most of his hands have work all the year. He has found many work girls very trifling. (No wonder, with such training, and so little encouragement to do right.) They have all their photograph pictures colored by ladies in New York, except the glass ones. It pays well, and is done at home. I think some lady would do well to learn to color the glass ones. No manufactories West or South. A firm in Waterbury write: "We employ twelve women making daguerreotype mattings, &c. We prefer them, because men work better with a few women to work with them. We pay by the piece. They earn $3 per week, ten hours a day. They are paid the same as male labor in the same business. It requires one month to learn. Activity and common sense are all that is necessary for a learner. The majority are Americans, and pay for board $1.75 per week."

480. Feather Dressers.

Those that purify the feathers of beds, also renovate the hair and moss of mattresses. A gentleman told me he thought the business of a feather dresser too hard for a woman. Carrying bags of feathers, weighing them, assorting and filling other bags, he considered too heavy. Feathers are cleaned by steam. Some people, to renovate feathers, place them in the sun for a few days in summer, and then bake them. There is never any need of renovating feathers, if they are properly cured at first.

481. Flag Makers.

At A.'s, New York, the young man said it requires about a year to learn the business thoroughly. The hands employed in the house are paid by the week, and receive $4. They work from half-past seven to six o'clock, having an hour at noon. Those working out of the house are paid by the piece. They do not always have enough of good hands. They do not require the girls to invent designs, but like to have them quick to understand and execute any particular device or new pattern. To sew well and rapidly are the principal qualifications. He thinks about two hundred women are employed in this way in summer, but not more than fifty in winter. The sewing and embroidering are confined exclusively to females. The cutting is mostly done by those who carry on the business, whether men or women. Learners receive a compensation of $2 per week while learning, after which they receive from $4 to $6 per week. Some employers require their hands to spend six months at it as learners; but any one that can sew neatly, and has taste, could as well make a flag, after it is cut out and basted, as a bedquilt. The most busy seasons are spring, summer, and fall. When employed by the week, the hours are ten. The business is pretty well filled. Probably the most flags are made for vessels, and the next most for military and other processions. A flag maker told me he employs some girls and women, paying from thirty-seven to fifty cents a day, of ten hours, to those working in his rooms. Those that work at home, often earn seventy-five cents, as they sew in the evening also, and are paid by the piece. He does all his cutting. He has most work to do in summer and in political campaigns. In winter, vessels are laid up, and consequently no flags are wanted for them. Most work is done in seaports. More is probably done in Boston than any other city. In Philadelphia, flag stitching is done by machines. He will not have it done so, because it will throw women out of employment, and their pay is small enough at best. He takes those that can sew, and pays from the first. He complains that most women are mere machines, and display no intelligence in their work. (Query: Whose fault is it?) Mrs. McF. pays her girls $3 a week, of nine and a half hours. She employs eight now (January, 1861), but sixteen in summer. In summer she makes flags for vessels, but in winter she has made national flags. When she wants any intricate pattern prepared, she employs a regular designer, but cuts the goods herself. Ability to draw well is a great assistance to a flag maker. She does all her own cutting, even to the letters that are placed on her flags. Her forewoman sometimes assists in cutting the figures. She works some for a house in Mobile that sells flags. It requires taste and ingenuity to succeed, but a good sewer can soon do the mechanical part. She has been in the business nineteen years. We suppose there are some openings in the South for this business.

482. Furniture Painters.

F., who confines his business to the ornamenting of furniture, says it requires taste and a knowledge of colors. He thinks the Americans excel the Europeans in applying ornament to works of utility. He has a man of twenty-five that he employed when a boy in his store. He observed that he had such talents as would make him a good ornamental painter, so he gave him instruction. The first year he paid him $4 a week; the next, $6; and now he earns from $12 to $20. The young man invents when F. has given him an idea of the style he wishes. A manufacturer of enamelled furniture said no women are employed in enamelling, to his knowledge; that lifting and turning the furniture about would be too heavy for women. So it would; but they might have a man to do that. Another one told us he did not know of any women employed in enamelling furniture; but with a knowledge of painting, they might be. Men often earn $20 a week at it. A manufacturer of chairs told me that he pays ornamenters (men) from $9 to $18 a week, of ten hours a day. The men sit while painting them. A girl must have a natural taste for such work to succeed. The coloring requires experience. The French and Germans do most of it. It is piecework. A girl, no doubt, could get work, if she were competent. The Heywood Chair Company write: "We employ women to some extent in ornamenting chairs. The work is not considered especially unhealthy. We pay by the piece, and our women earn from $5 to $6 per week, averaging ten hours a day, the year round. There is no difference in the prices between the two sexes. Six months' apprenticeship is required, at $3 per week. Nimbleness, neatness, taste, and a true eye are needed in a worker. In ordinary times, there is no difference in the amount of work. We employ women, because they will do the same work better, faster, and cheaper than men. We would employ more, if they could perform other parts of the work. Women are inferior in strength to men, superior in manual dexterity, neatness, and taste. All are Americans. We can hardly speak with confidence of any considerable opening for female labor in our business. Most of our work requires skilled mechanics, or hard, rough bone and muscle. We have for five or six years employed all the females we could find room or work for, and can see no chance for any increase." According to the census of 1860, the number of hands employed in the New England, Middle, and Western States, in

making

furniture, were 21,953 males and 1,880 females.

483. Gilders of Mirror Frames.

About the same arrangements are made with apprentices in this as in other trades. In the old country, women do as much of the work in all its branches as men; but in this country, the custom of women working in shops with men is not so common, and consequently some females that learned it in the old country will not engage in it, because of having to work with the men. I have been informed that in Dublin there are at least forty women employed in gilding—some in business for themselves. A good male worker earns $12 a week. Gilders calculate to make twenty cents an hour, the most usual price for good hands in all trades. In some trades men are paid twenty-five, some twenty, some eighteen, and in some but fifteen cents an hour. Gilders that manufacture frames for mirrors and artists, are most likely to have work all the year. In most shops there is a slack time just after New Year, and after the Fourth of July. It is a very close, confining business, in summer, while laying the gold leaf on, as it is so light it is apt to fly, and should be done in a close room. It is not at all unhealthy. Most of the work is done standing; but, I think, in gilding, women are permitted to sit. A German that sells ornamental furniture, thinks women might do the gilding on furniture. G. employs a number of girls in gilding oval frames. They earn, on an average, from $4 to $4.50. It requires but a short time to learn the business. B. used to employ some for the same purpose, paying $4, $5, and $6 a week. I think this work preferable for women to most mechanical employments, and, no doubt, in a few years many will be so occupied. I was told by a gilder that women are employed, because they can be had cheaper than men, seldom, if ever, receiving over $5 a week, of ten hours a day; and they have no knowledge of the business, except the one department in which they work. The frames are sold cheaply for photographs. There are no extensive gilders in the South or West, except one in Cincinnati, and one in Chicago. In the mirror and picture frame departments, there are now a great many stores that cut up the business of the large establishments, and the times are hard—so the business is dull. Not more than forty women in New York city are employed in gilding frames, and twenty of them are at G.'s. A gilder in New Hampshire writes: "It depends upon how much painted work there is in the same room whether the occupation is unhealthy. As far as my observation goes, women are as good workers at this business as men." One in Massachusetts writes: "My wife sometimes does my gilding, which is no harder than sewing. The carver's daughter in Essex, near here, did all his gilding for ten years." Gilders in Boston write: "We employ a girl to burnish, and pay from $3 to $5 per week, ten hours a day. Men get from $9 to $12. Fall and spring are the most busy seasons. Most of the cities northeast of Baltimore are good for this work. Board, $2 to $3."

484. Globe Makers.

H., manufacturer of school apparatus in Connecticut, writes: "From four to six women are employed by us, in the construction of globes and other articles. Some are paid by the piece, and some by the week, and earn from $3 to $5 per week, ten hours a day. Women receive less than one half the wages of men. They do not perform the same kind of labor. Women are employed at the lighter work, requiring less strength, but an even amount of skill. The abundance of the supply of labor prevents the increase of wages. Learners are paid, and it requires but a few weeks to succeed. A nicety of eye and readiness of hand are necessary for a worker. The prospect of employment is good, but limited. The winter is best for the work, but hands are occupied at all seasons. The employment is pleasant, and as well paid as any in this vicinity. Women are employed in all parts of the work suitable for them. The work is best adapted to the Eastern States. All our employés are Americans, and live at home. Board here, $2 a week."

485. Hobby Horse Finishers.

In summer time, Mr. —— has children's carriages trimmed by women. They are paid by the piece, and earn from $3 to $4 a week. At B.'s they are employed all the year. The horses and carriages could be painted by women, and the manes, tails, saddles and bridles could be put on by them. At C.'s, one lady is employed for trimming children's carriages—$5 a week—ten hours a day. She sews by machine. C.'s busy season for children's carriages, is from February to November, and he employs his hands the rest of the time at hobby horses. He says there is one factory in Columbus, two in Chicago. He thinks there are good openings (1860) in Richmond and Petersburg, Va., for they sell many there. He thinks wrong must succumb to right—that there is no justice in withholding from women their proper compensation for labor, and the time will come when the prejudice will be done away that now exists on that subject.

486. Horse Coverings.

I was told, at a store in Philadelphia, they pay twenty-five cents a piece for ordinary blankets and linens, and a woman can make from three to four a day. One, on which was considerable chain stitching, the storekeeper paid $2 for making, and he thought a woman could make one in a day. A saddle and harness maker, New York, told me the prospect of getting such work is good. The wives of his workmen make his blankets, and can earn from $1 to $1.50 a day, as he pays thirty-seven cents a blanket. Another one told me his girls earn from $4 to $6 a week at such work; and another rated the payments still higher, from $1.25 to $1.50 a day. At a large store on Broadway, I was told all the work is given to one woman, who employs other women to help her. Her workers can earn $4 a week, if industrious. They make horse linens and blankets, and rosettes for head ornaments. Netting for horses is made by hand, in a large establishment near New York. L. L. & Co. pay for the coarsest blankets twenty cents apiece, and a woman can make two a day. For some they pay as high as from $4 to $5. A very swift sewer could make one such in little over two days—consequently her day's wages would be $2. So the prices vary according to style. The chain stitch, so much used for ornamenting, is done by hand, because in that way the edges of the cloth can be more neatly and securely turned under. L. L. & Co. employ ladies, who in their turn employ others. The coarse heavy blankets are generally lined, and the work is mostly done by Irish women. They are most busy on blankets from June to January, and on linen from February 1st to May 1st. Linen covers are used on horses in stables, as flies annoy horses much where they are standing quiet. Out of doors, nets answer, because they are kept in motion by the horse. When busy, L. & L. employ about one hundred girls. The business is growing. The blankets are mostly used in the country. The manufacture of them is confined principally to New York and Boston. Those in the cities are different in style; indeed, each city has its own style. Many are made in Chicago. The rosettes pay very well, but it requires a long time to become expert. One lady they employ earns occasionally $50 a week. Tassels are paid for by the piece, and girls can earn from $2 to $4. Tassel making requires some time to learn perfectly. Cloth goods are confined to seasons, and consequently occupations in which they are involved are confined to seasons. Styles of trimming are apt to change. A man who makes blankets for a large wholesale house, employs from one hundred to two hundred women. They earn from $3 to $7 a week. The stitching is done by machine, but the ornamental part by hand. Men do all the cutting. He has paid as high as $100 for one pattern of blankets and ornaments. There are no blankets made in the South or West, except here and there a saddler's wife will make a few. In Williamsburg, I saw a number of women in the basement of the employer's residence. They looked sad, and the rooms were small, damp, and filthy. The employer told me most of his stitching is done by machine. Anybody that can sew tolerably well, and has strength, can do it. Women seldom, if ever, cut them out; but I think they could. A manufacturer in Brooklyn writes: "We employ women for making horse clothing, who are paid by the piece, and earn from seventy-five cents to $1 per day. Spring and fall are the best seasons for work. We have no difficulty in procuring hands."

487. House Painters.

The tools of a painter cost but little. Women might be employed in glazing, and in painting the inside work of houses. Their ingenuity and taste might be successfully exercised in embellishing walls and ornamenting doors. The style for doors, called graining, would be particularly appropriate. The business could be best carried on by men and women in partnership, as the outdoor work is most suitable for men. An apprenticeship should be served of two or three years. The work would pay well. Most of it is done in spring. A woman would need to make some change in her style of dress. The Bloomer would probably be best—at any rate, hoops should be laid aside. The vocation presents a very good opening to women, who could best engage in it, at first, in towns and villages.

488. Japanners.

Japanning is one of the few arts that had its origin in a heathen country. It is now practised in all civilized countries. Many metal articles are japanned—as tea trays, candlesticks, &c. Wood is also japanned. In a late report of one of the schools of design in England, we observed on the list of female students the names of two japanners. Care, and ability to stand, are all that are required for success, to those doing the plain painting; but some taste is required for ornamental japanning. There is a good prospect for employment, as the tin trade has been increasing rapidly in the last two years, and is likely to, as our country grows older, and depends less on other countries for a supply. California has created quite a demand in the last few years, and it is supplied mostly from New York. M., in New York, told us he and his partner employ some women to japan. They pay from $3 to $4 a week. They have one woman to do the ornamental work, painting flowers and gilding. To ornamental painters they pay from $10 to $15 a week. They had a man to whom they often paid $15 a week. Most of the men that have been employed in ornamental japanning have gone to painting clocks, which pays better. They sometimes find it difficult to get hands—so if some women could take it up, they would be likely to find employment. The painters design as they paint, not using a pattern. Japanning of the heavy kind could not be done by women. The pieces are too heavy to lift. B., an ornamental japanner, used to employ women to put on the pearl scraps, but now employs boys, because he can get them cheaper and take them as apprentices. He can send them on errands and make use of them in that way. He pays an apprentice $1.50 a week for one year, then increases at the rate of fifty cents a week the next year, and so on. B. thinks no women are employed at it. Women are employed at such work in Paris. Japanning, he thinks, is not unhealthy, although the ovens into which japanners must pass are often heated to 260°. The spirits of tar used in japanning renders it healthy, and consumptives go frequently into japanning furnaces, feeling that they are benefited by it. At a firm of japanners, the boy told me they employ an artist to come and paint for them. They once had a lady that painted landscapes and flowers on piano boards in oils. They were not baked in a furnace afterward, but the oil permitted to dry, as with a painting on canvas. S. used to employ women in making pearl piecework, but it is not much used now. For painting clocks, not more than six cents a piece is paid for many. Men are so rapid that they can make money, but women could not earn more than $2.50 a week. Some men earn $25 a week, and formerly even $35, at painting the finer clocks; but there are now so many in the business that wages have fallen, though the business is increasing. At a tin manufactory in Williamsburg, I saw two girls employed in tying up goods, and seven girls employed in putting the first coat of paint on tin ware—grounding, it is called. They are paid from $1.25 up. One woman they have earns $6 a week. She is an English woman, and has been at the business nearly all her life. She is quick and skilful. A boy who paints flowers on tin ware, after the first coat is put on by the girls, gets $1 a day for his work. Japanning is done in England by women. Many women are employed through the country, in the Eastern States, in making tin canisters, &c., and some in japanning; but japanners carry their work into ovens, which he thought would be too hard for women. Yet he thinks doing so is not unhealthy. If the employment is unhealthy, it arises from the evaporation of the turpentine in the paint. The unhealthiness of the common painter's business arises from the turpentine, in evaporating, carrying off with it white lead, but no white lead is employed on the tin ware. Girls are paid by the week. Men, for graining, a style resembling the graining of wood, and in fact being the same except on a different material, received $2.50 per day. Male labor is twice or three times as high in their establishment. Why women are not better paid the man could not answer, but, like many other men with whom I have talked, thought it unjust they were not paid at the same rate as men. Their girls are employed all the year. They work ten hours a day. They were mostly Americans, and miserably dressed. The work soils their clothes greatly. They wore old skirts over their dresses to work in. I think some men and boys work in the same room with them. The fine work could be well done by them, if they would take time to learn it efficiently, for it requires taste, ingenuity, and delicacy of touch. At an ornamental japanner's, I was told it requires three or four years to learn the business well. A good workman earns from $12 to $18 a week. It is piecework.

489. Knitters.

The knitting done by machinery is not so soft, so warm, or so durable as that done by hand. It is almost impossible to obtain ladies' hand-knit hose in cities. Gentlemen's are sometimes made by the Shakers, and bring a very high price. We have no doubt but some old ladies might even now find it profitable to knit to order, or supply some store where their goods would be brought forward and disposed of to those who can appreciate the difference between machine and hand knitting. The Germans are famous knitters. "The peasant women of the Channel Islands, Jersey, Guernsey, &c., knit a great deal. They are seldom, if ever, without the materials for this occupation. On the way to and from market, and at other times, knitting forms their almost constant employment." A knitting machine has been invented in Seneca, N. Y., that is said to knit a perfect stocking in less than five minutes. Aiken's knitting machines are very popular. We have thought ladies would do well to try them, and devote themselves to making up hosiery. We doubt not but it would pay very well. The cloth is knit in a straight piece, and another lady cuts it into shape and sews into the articles wanted. A machine has been invented by Mr. Aiken, also, for toeing and heeling socks. A manufacturer of knit goods writes: "We employ about twenty hands, one half of whom are girls. Their wages are from $3 to $5 per week, except when working by the piece. Those who run the knitting machines are paid by the piece, and earn from 75 cents to $1 per day. Males receive from $1 to $1.75 per day. The work done by them is generally harder, and such as females could not well do. To effectually superintend the knitting business would require at least five years. The part performed by females can be learned in six months. They are paid while learning, from $2.75 to $3 per week. The business is overdone at present; although there is always a demand in our section of country for girls. They work regularly throughout the year, twelve hours in summer, ten in winter. It would be better for all parties to run their mills only ten hours per day, and thus tend to keep down the production, and so keep up the prices to a fair profit. Those tending sewing machines are generally married, or widows with children, and in general support their families. Their machines are repaired by a foreman, but with a little practice they can learn to do it themselves. In other branches generally pursued by girls, they earn sufficient to dress well, but seldom accumulate. A location is preferred in some thickly settled place, on account of getting sewing done by hand, as all the goods are finished off by hand. After working twelve hours a day, they will be necessarily rather too much fatigued to go through any mental processes otherwise than reading a novel. If all the mills of all descriptions would work ten hours only, and establish evening schools, and request all to attend, it would greatly elevate them in the social scale. But selfishness rules, and where one manufacturer would agree to this arrangement, two would not. Board, $1.50 per week, including washing." A hose manufacturer in Holderness writes: "We employ about sixty females in the mill. Work is given out to three hundred. Almost all are American. Their wages are from $3 to $6 per week. The wages in the knitting department are not much less for women than men. Women learn the knitting so as to earn good pay in three months. Women are paid $2 per week for the first four weeks; after that, by the piece. A learner should be steady and quick with her fingers. The employment is healthy, as the knitters sit only about half the time. We run all the year eleven hours a day. There is not female help enough. We are trying women where men have been employed. I think women are in some respects superior workers to men." Manufacturers of seamless hosiery, in Connecticut, write they "pay from $3 to $5 per week, eleven hours a day—that it requires from six to eight weeks to learn—that their hands have access to libraries; and board is for men $3, for women $2." At Cohoes, N. Y., is a manufactory of shirts, drawers, &c. I have a letter from the company saying: "We employ two hundred and fifty women, and pay from 40 cents to $1 per day. Some are paid by the piece, and some by the week. Men receive from 75 cents to $2.50 per day, of twelve hours. The reason why they obtain better wages is that they do work which women cannot do. (Query: Do not the women perform work that men cannot do?) Men are continually learning. Women can learn to perform certain work in a few days. The best qualifications are soundness of mind and body, activity, steadiness, quick perception, and a desire to make money. The business is increasing yearly. Occasionally, in the winter, the mills stop for a month. There is at present (October, 1860) a surplus of labor. Board, $1.75 to $2." At L.'s knitting factory, in Brooklyn, the foreman told me there are six machines in operation, each of which cost between $5,000 and $6,000. The articles made by them are softer than any knitting done by machine I have seen; but it may be owing to the quality of the wool: I cannot say. Those working at machines stand, the others sit. The machine operators receive from $1.50 to $3.50: those in the finishing room are paid by the piece, and earn from $2 to $5. A foreman superintends the work and puts the machinery in order. A woman of good abilities can learn in three months, if the factory is in a position to put her forward. From May to December is the best time for work. Double price is paid the hands for night work in busy times. They prefer American girls, because they are neater. A manufacturer of factory supplies, in Massachusetts, writes: "We employ thirty women in knitting loom harnesses. The work is not more unhealthy than any employment that requires one to sit all the time. They are paid by the piece. The employment is sure so long as cotton manufacturing is good. The work is equally good all seasons. Board, $1.62 to $2.25 per week." The secretary of the Waterbury Knitting Company writes: "We employ one hundred hands, at from 50 cents to $1 per day, working twelve hours in summer, ten in winter. Women are paid as well or better than men of the same age; working by the piece, they are paid the same. The women are not thrown out of work at any season. Women are inferior in mechanical genius. We are obliged to keep a man to every fifteen women to overlook them. A woman will run a knitting machine for seven years, and never be able to straighten a needle, or knit the cloth slack or tight. A boy or man will learn to oversee a whole room in half that time. Women cannot be made to think or act for themselves in the least thing, or in any case to rely on their own judgment. This is equally true of the stupid Irish, German, and English, and of the more acute Yankee. Women are superior perhaps in good looks." S., of Enfield, N. H., has his daughter write: "I use three of Aikens's knitting machines, and other machinery for making yarn. The wool is first made into yarn and then knit into webbing, and marked for heeling and toeing. It is then divided into dozens, and distributed around the country to be heeled and toed, in which branch we employ usually five hundred American women. We pay $1 a dozen for heeling and toeing; for tending the machine, $2 per week, of eleven hours a day. Women are paid less, because they are not usually as strong as men, and therefore cannot do the same work, or, if the same kind, not so great an amount in a limited time. Men can be employed by paying them what they require, and as they are considered, or rather seem to consider themselves the 'lords of creation,' they demand higher wages than women. In four weeks the females can perform their part without trouble. Learners receive their board. The prospect is good for the same number employed as at present. The summer season is the best for work. If at any time there is a want of work, it is in January and February."

490. Lace Bleachers.

Mrs. L. spent five years learning the business in Paris. A girl that spent two years learning with her, is now doing well in the business in St. Louis. She prefers to take learners a week on trial. She charges from $1 to $1.50 a pair for curtains. The French are the most successful in that line. She often has thirty or more pair from a hotel and other large houses. One can make a good living at it. L. says the work is unhealthy, particularly while the vapor of the chemicals is warm. The curtains are not wrung out, but the water pressed out with the hands. The dirt, of course, is first washed out. It requires strength to handle the goods. Curtains are put on frames to dry, and women, he says, are not strong enough. It requires strength to get the extra starch out, as it is done by squeezing. It is surprising how many objections, as regards health and physical strength required, can be presented by selfish men, who do not wish women to engage in their occupations. None but those who have had occasion to test the matter would believe it possible that the majority of men are so selfish and unjust in this respect. Another man told me he does all the washing and drying himself, because he is responsible for the goods, and is not willing to trust them to strangers. He charges $1 a pair, except for a very large size. Different kinds of laces require different methods of washing and ironing.

491. Lacquerers.

Lacquering is warm work, and in summer is done in rooms the temperature of which is over 200°. M. thought women could be employed in burnishing, lacquering, polishing, and bronzing. Girls were at one time employed in lacquering gas fixtures on William street, New York; but they were dismissed, because they did not prove steady and efficient workers. The process previous to lacquering, called dipping, is dirty work. It requires but a short time to learn to lacquer. F. told me that in France women do all the fine lacquering, and they do it much better than men can. They take it home with them to do; and the same plan could be followed in this country, and probably will be before long. The finest lacquering, such as ormolu clocks, &c., is done with gold dust. The varnish must be put on evenly. It requires care and delicacy of touch. Most of the gas fixtures sold as brass are merely zinc gilded, and then lacquered—the bronzed part the same metal, bronzed. Zinc can be bought at six cents a pound—brass is thirty cents a pound. Mathematical instruments, daguerreotype cases, and gas fixtures are lacquered. A man earns from $8 to $10 a week, working ten hours a day. Lacquering, I was told, is not unhealthy, and a person can sit two or three feet from the fire while at work. A firm in New York, manufacturing gas fixtures, wrote to us as follows: "Lacquering is a suitable occupation for women; but we do not employ them, because men are considered more reliable as to regularity of hours, and are more easily managed. Women can be made equally good lacquerers with the men; but when employed by us, some years since, we found, with few exceptions, that they produced inferior work, owing, as we think, to want of application. Women are employed in similar establishments to ours in England and, we learn, in Boston. The employment is not unhealthy. They are paid by the week in England. It requires from three to five years to learn the business. Steady application and a good eye for colors will make a good lacquerer."

492. Life Preservers.

R. employs two women to stitch his life preservers with a sewing machine, and pays the usual price of operatives. None are made South or West. (Would not New Orleans offer an opening?)

493. Lucifer Matches.

This is a business that has been largely entered into in New York. The making and selling of matches have furnished employment for hundreds and thousands of boys and girls in all our large cities. The making of matches is a dangerous employment. Its unhealthy tendency (owing to the use of sulphur), and the long period of twelve, and even fourteen hours' confinement, no doubt serve to account for the sad and woe-begone faces of the poor little operators. At a match factory where I stopped, girls are paid three cents a gross for cutting matches and filling boxes. Some can do as many as forty gross a day; but very few can. It is best for girls to commence early in life, and most do so. Some girls earn as much as $5 to $6 per week, if we may believe the proprietor's statement. Girls are paid for filling the frames in which they are to be dipped, sixty-two cents 100 frames, each frame containing 1,500 double, or 3,000 single matches. The factory is open from seven in the morning to ten at night. The business for women and girls is not crowded. Most learners become discouraged and leave it, because it is so long before they can become expert enough to earn fair wages. It is not as healthy, he says, as some occupations. I should think not, judging from his sallow face, and the pale, spiritless faces of all I have seen in the match factories. He buys bundles of sticks, ready to cut for matches, of those who make it a business to prepare them. They are cut by hand. He pays twenty-five cents a bunch, and a man can cut a bunch in five minutes. They never stop work, except in December and January. A brisk hand can earn from $5 to $7 a week. They make from twenty to forty different kinds of matches, to suit all climates. At the store of this manufacturer, the bookkeeper told me that, if a person has a tooth extracted, the phosphorus will be absorbed by the jaw bone and cause it to decay, if the individual works in the factory before the gum is entirely well. A lady told me she knows a girl that earns $6 a week in a match factory. In H.'s factory, I saw small girls and boys putting matches in the frames to be dipped. They are paid sixty cents 100 frames, containing 1,500 double matches. They can seldom fill more than 85 frames a day. They commence work at 6½ in winter, and work until 8; in summer, they commence at 6, and work until 7½. They are not obliged to work all the time, as they are paid by the piece; but with the exception of an hour at noon, which all have the privilege of taking, they no doubt work the full time. They were poor, dirty-looking children. In the room where the boxes were filled, large girls worked. Most match makers are Germans and Irish. A manufacturer told me that he now employs boys only—that girls he found so wild he could not manage them. He says some of his girls used to earn $5 a week. He thinks none but strong, healthy persons should work at the business, as the fumes of sulphur are injurious. A manufacturer in Vermont writes: "Women are employed to pack matches. They are paid by the thousand, and their wages amount to fifty cents per day, of ten hours, after they get accustomed to it. Women's work in this department is lighter than men's—so will not yield as good wages. A learner will gain the trade in about six months. An increase of this business is not flattering. No difference in the seasons for work. Women are more nimble in the use of their fingers, and consequently succeed better in this kind of work."

494. Mat Makers.

Door mats are made of sea grass, corn husks, worsted, manilla, hemp, and cocoa-nut fibre. At the largest manufactory in the United States, I saw the process of making several kinds. No girls or women were employed. The superintendent told us it was too heavy work for women. In one establishment in Philadelphia, girls are employed as tenders, which is merely picking the substance to be woven—jute, hemp, or wool—into bunches of the right thickness, and handing to the weaver. Some of their mat weavers earn $14 a week—boys, from $1.50 to $3. Mats are sometimes made by women of osier, rushes, and straw.

495. Manufacturers of Musical Instruments.

The manufacture of different musical instruments is engaged in as so many distinct branches of business. Musical instruments are usually classed as follows: 1. Wind instruments, of wood or metal. 2. Stringed instruments. 3. Keyed instruments. 4. Instruments of percussion. 5. Automatic instruments. 6. Miscellaneous articles in connection with musical instruments. On wind instruments made of wood and ornamented with metals, as flutes, clarionets, &c., women might be employed to polish the metal. Those that are all metal, as horns, trumpets, &c., are polished in making, and could not well be divided into a separate branch of work. Of stringed instruments, the ornamental part, as painting, inlaying of pearl, &c., would be very pretty work for women of taste. The smaller strings could be covered by women. Of keyed instruments, some of the smaller and finer work would be very suitable for women. In instruments of percussion, the drum and tambourine are probably the only instruments presenting a field for woman's work. Of automatic instruments, mechanical organs are the only ones, I think, at which women do work. I cannot learn that women are employed in making musical boxes, which are imported from Switzerland, Germany, and France. Women are employed to some extent, in other countries, in the manufacture of musical instruments. Z. thinks the reason women are not employed in the manufacture of musical instruments in this country is, that they do not understand the business.—1.

Wind Instruments.

Women might polish the metal on flutes, and even paint the woodwork. I was told by a manufacturer in New York, whose factory is in Connecticut, that he once employed women in that way, but they did not succeed, because they did not try.—2.

Stringed Instruments.

I called on L., engaged in the manufacture of harps. There are but two harp manufacturers in the United States. Ladies might do the gilding and ornamental painting on harps. Sizing is put on, and then gold leaf laid on, and smoothed down with a small brush. The varnishing could be very well done by women. The same kind of work is executed on guitar frames, of which a number are made in the United States. The painting is done as on enamelled furniture. L. employs an Englishman to do the gilding and ornamental painting. The other manufacturer, B., thinks there is no part of the work in making harps that could be done by a lady. The ornamental part is done by the varnisher, and varnishing requires much strength. It requires a regular apprenticeship, and some artistic taste. So few harps are made in this country, that it would not pay a woman to learn. He was evidently opposed to women having anything to do with the business.—3.

Keyed Instruments.

Accordions.

In making accordions women could put on the keys and kid, and do so in Germany. Accordions are nearly all imported, because they can be made more cheaply in Europe than in this country. L., Philadelphia, says he is in partnership with his brother in Germany, who has musical instruments made there, and employs a number of women and girls.—

Melodeons.

C., New York, manufacturer, says he does not know of any women being employed in the making of melodeons; but much of the work, I am sure, could be done by women. Cutting the keys, polishing, gluing them on the board, and fastening the hammers on, are done by hand, and the work is as suitable for women as men. Men receive for such work, $2 a day. Women properly trained, and with a good ear for music could also tune the instruments. Men who do so, earn about $3 a day. A manufacturer of melodeons writes: "We do not employ women, but think larger firms might."—

Organs.

I was told by a manufacturer that in Germany some women assist their husbands in making the action, but there is lighter work and more of it in piano actions. J., another organ builder, told me that in England, in some organ factories, women are employed to gild the pipes. In making the organs turned by a crank, used in some churches in England, women, he said, are employed in putting the pins in the cylinders. They are made on the same principle as the music box. J. seldom makes more than one of these organs in a year, and I think he is the only one in the United States that does make them. Mrs. Dall says "there are women, who strain silk in fluting, across the old-fashioned workbag, or parlor organ front."

Pianos.

In England, the men engaged in making piano actions used to do much of the work at home, and their wives and daughters would assist them. In the United States, each branch in the making of pianos is now done separately, except in very large establishments, and consequently most of the work is done at home by the workmen. At a factory in New York, an apprentice, nearly out of his time, told me that an individual to learn the business is bound, and must remain until of age. Otherwise he could not get a certificate, and is not likely to find employment without one. An apprentice receives $3 a week the first year, $4 the second year, and more afterward if he is bright and quick to learn. A journeyman receives from $10 to $12 a week for his work. At W.'s piano manufactory, New York, we were kindly permitted to pass through and see the entire process of making. Among other parts that I thought could be done by women, were those of varnishing and polishing. This work forms a separate branch of itself, and requires an apprenticeship of three or four years. It looked to be very simple. The pianos are first rubbed with pumice stone, to render them smooth and susceptible of a polish, then with rotten stone. Rubbing with pumice stone all day might be too laborious, except for a very strong woman; but the other process is feasible for any woman of moderate health. Indeed, the finest polish could be better given by women than men, because it is done by the naked hand, and the softer the hand the better. The ornamenting of the sounding boards could be done by women that know anything of painting, and also the gilding on the inside top and outside front. I asked an old Frenchman, doing that kind of work, how long it would require to learn. He said he had been at it fifty years, and had not learned it perfectly yet. It is pretty work, and very suitable for a woman of taste. The delicacy of woman's touch, with some knowledge of drawing and painting, would enable her to succeed. Covering wire, and putting it in, is another branch that might be done by women. Bleaching ivory for the keys, cutting them, and gluing them on, are also within woman's range. Cutting leather and buckskin, and gluing it on the hammers, are very light and simple work. Another branch suitable for women is regulating the tone of pianos. Men, said W., would oppose women working at the piano business in large establishments, but a man would not be likely to suffer inconvenience from employing women in his own house to do the part he carries on. If he were independent of his business it would be better. At ——'s, New York, a manufacturer of pianoforte actions, I saw two girls at work. It is very nice, clean work. Part of the time they stand, and the remainder they sit. One is paid $3 a week, and the other less. The young man who showed us through the factory, said much of the work in making pianoforte action that is now done by men could be done by women. D——'s girls looked to be Americans. They have work all the year. It mostly consists in covering hammers. A manufacturer of pianofortes writes: "Our men are paid both by the piece and by the week, according to the departments in which they are engaged. The time of learning is from five to seven years for men. Apprentices (boys) are paid from 25 cents to $1 per day, beginning with the first amount, and increasing from year to year. In some departments, physical strength is required, in others, aptness and ready tact—in others, a cultivated musical ear. The prospect for future employment is very fine in all branches for men—in some, equally good for women. The majority of workmen are below mediocrity, as compared with most all others in manufacturing." A manufacturer in Meredith, N. H., writes: "We once employed a lady in our key and action department. She was the wife of one of our workmen. She earned as much as her husband, and in every respect did her work as well. She learned her trade in half the time it took her husband to learn the same. Theirs was jobwork; the two earned about $3 per day. She did her housework besides. I think there might be many ladies employed in our business, to the advantage of all concerned. We expect to test the matter further by employing some in our varnish rooms soon."

Seraphines.

A manufacturer writes: "I think women might be employed to advantage in some parts of the work, and in any part of it, if they could adopt a different style of dress, something like the Bloomer. The long dress with hoops, as now worn, must be an insurmountable barrier against their entering many employments. It is injurious to health, and prevents a proper development of form."

496. Musical String Makers.

The manufacture of strings for musical instruments is carried on as a separate branch. A German violin maker told me that women are employed in Germany in winding wire for guitar strings. I find they are also in a factory in Connecticut, and the manufacturer said they could earn as high as $9 a week. It is rather severe on the fingers, but that can be avoided to some extent by wearing a glove finger. In New York, it is mostly done by Germans and French, who have taken the trade from Americans. The preparing of catgut from the intestines of sheep and goats, and making it into strings, is carried on mostly in Germany, and some women are employed at that. Most metal strings are of steel, and covered with fine wire of other metals. Mrs. Z., whose husband, when living, manufactured covered strings for musical instruments, told me, she and her daughters had often assisted in covering guitar strings and the lighter piano strings. She thinks a person of good abilities could learn it in from two to four weeks, with an attentive instructor. She usually rested against a bench while employed. A good worker will earn from $3 to $5 per week. She has never heard of any but English and German women being engaged in it. In some of the up town shops the machinery is moved by steam, but it does not answer so well, because it is not so easily slackened or checked. Harp strings and the larger piano strings cannot be made by women, because of the strength and firmness required.

497. Netters.

Netting is now generally done by machinery. Seines are mostly made in that way. When by hand, it is done by old people, who receive a very inadequate compensation for their labor. The nets so much used for horses are mostly made in a large factory near the city of New York. In England, woollen netting is used by some gardeners for the protection of the bloom of fruit trees from frost. They are also used to prevent birds destroying currants, cherries, raspberries, and other small fruit. The making of purses of different kinds, and of hammocks, have employed a small number of people. Net and seine manufacturers in Gloucester write me: "We employ one hundred women who work at their homes, and are paid by the piece. It requires a year to learn. From October to June are the best seasons for our trade. A few that we employ to work by the week spend ten hours a day at it. The comfort of the occupation is good, but the pay poor. We think women better company than men. Health and strength are the best qualifications for our work." A net and twine company in Boston write: "We employ women for converting twine into netting. It is mostly job work, and they have cash for what they earn. The comparative prices of men and women are the same as those of factories in general. It requires about as long to learn as it takes a woman to learn to knit stockings. The business is good as long as the sea furnishes fish and mankind eat them. The employment of women in the work is a providential necessity. Nearly all ours are American. Women are quicker in their work—men stronger. Our women have the leisure that belongs to nearly all manual occupations."

498. Oakum Pickers.

Perhaps some one reading this book may not know what oakum is. It is old rope, pulled to pieces until it is soft and pliable, like the original material, and used for the purpose of corking vessels. Ten years ago, the picking was done by hand, and many women employed. Now, this work is mostly done by machinery in this country, and very few women are employed. In some factories, women are employed in teazing, that is, untwisting the pieces of rope that are not pulled to pieces by passing through the machinery the first time. They are paid so much per hundred pounds, and do not earn more than $2 a week. It is dirty, disagreeable work. A firm in Maine write: "We have seen females, both young and old, at work in oakum mills in the State of New Jersey. In England (we believe) all oakum is made in their almshouses, consequently a part by females. The business is healthy. We use many boys that do work which might be done by females; but we prefer the boys."

499. Paper Hangers.

An English lady, who has spent much time in various parts of Europe, told me she had known of women being engaged in paper hanging in small towns. I believe it is customary, when papering a room, to have one person put the paste on, and another put it up. We are confident women could do the first-mentioned part of the work.

500. Polishers.

Women are employed in France in polishing furniture. They are mostly the wives of cabinet makers. It requires art to do it that some can never learn. A person must be able to put the gum shellac on evenly. A woman in London earned a very good living by applying French polish to the furniture of cabinet makers. A French woman that polished furniture in Paris, told me that the work is hard on the fingers, and one could not learn it in less than a year. A piano manufacturer told me that women could be profitably employed in polishing pianos. It is better learned by women than men, he thought. It is tedious, however, and requires patience. I have been told that the finest polish is imparted to furniture by the naked hand, and the softer and finer the hand the better. For that reason, women are employed in France to polish piano cases with the palms of their hands, and, when not employed, wear kid gloves to keep their hands soft and smooth.