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stocking is woven, by rotating machines, from the Ramie thread. The
stocking is then cut into lengths, say of four inches, so yielding little
cylindrical tubes. The end of each of these small lengths is treated
with a red-coloured solution and then an asbestos top is tied on and the
end is closed with the aid of a small wooden contrivance. These
embryonic mantles are then put upon trays and are taken into a separate
small chamber where they are saturated in a solution of sodium thoriate.
Iron trays are now packed with these and the trays are carried downstairs
to the "iron and concrete" room on the ground floor. The
expression "iron and concrete room" is our own: it conveys the idea
of a room which is bare as regards ordinary perishable or inflammable
furniture. There are tall iron crates in this room into which the trays
are fitted after their contents, the soaked embryonic mantles, have been
treated, as now to be mentioned. Over near the wall were a number
of burners, burning with a fierce blue flame under a pressure of 14 lbs.
to the square inch. An equal mixture of gas and air is burned, the
resulting flame not yielding any "yellow" or carbon-yielding products.
The mantles are subjected to this intense heat and the fabric of the
mantle, the original stocking made of Ramie fibre, is consumed, leaving
a flame of fine ash in the form of thorium salts. This mantle is now
capable of sustaining 100 times its own weight. The mantles are then
taken into the asbestos chamber where they are stiffened by soaking in
collodion. This is the final process. Finally, the mantles are packed
in boxes and are sent off to the Straits Settlements, Fiji Islands, etc.,
and other places in the British Empire. There are only some eight
other firms engaged in this trade in the United Kingdom.
Premises. The ground floor is constructed of iron and concrete;
the fumes and heat from the burners and mantles are drawn off into a
large tube by means of an exhaust fan. They are then driven up a
shaft by another fan into the outside air. On this floor are two pedestal
w.c.'s, each in a separate compartment, both well ventilated. There
are two enamelled iron sinks with cold water, soap and towels. A
packing room is situated next to the iron room. As regards the
"weaving room" the floor, which is quite dry, is made of wood and
rests on concrete. From this room a passage leads to three w.c.'s of
the same type as those mentioned above. There is a firescape at each
end of the room. The ventilation of the whole is by means of open
doors, casement windows, louvres, and skylights in the roof. In the