4. Opium, ginger, rhubarb, mastic, pellitory of Spain, and orris root, of each 1 dr.; melted spermaceti, q. s. to mix; for 6-gr. pills. As the last, and in toothache and painful gums.
MAS′TICOT. See Massicot.
MATCHES (Cooper’s). Syn. Sweetening matches. These are made by dipping strips of coarse linen or canvas into melted brimstone. For use, the brimstone on one of them is set on fire, and the match is then at once suspended in the cask, and the bung loosely set in its place. After the lapse of 2 or 3 hours the match is removed and the cask filled with liquor. Some persons pour a gallon or two of the liquor into the cask before ‘matching’ it. The object is to allay excessive fermentation. The operation is commonly adopted in the Western Counties for cider intended for shipment, or other long exposure during transport. It is also occasionally employed for inferior and ‘doctored’ wines.
MATCHES (Instantaneous Light). Of these there are several varieties, of which the one best known, and most extensively used, is the common phosphorus match, known as the ‘congreve’ or ‘lucifer.’[25] We need not describe
the ‘chemical matches,’ ‘phosphorus bottles,’ and ‘prometheans,’ in use during the early part of the present century, as these are quite obsolete. We will simply sketch the general process of manufacture now in use for phosphorus matches:
[25] The original ‘LUCIFERS,’ or ‘LIGHT-BEARING MATCHES,’ invented in 1826, consisted of strips of pasteboard, or flat splints of wood, tipped first with sulphur, and then with a mixture of sulphide of antimony and chlorate of potassa, and were ignited by drawing them briskly through folded glass-paper. They required a considerable effort to ignite them, and the composition was apt to be torn off by the violence of the friction. The term ‘lucifer’ having become familiar, was applied to the simpler and more effective match afterwards introduced under the names of ‘CONGREVE’ and ‘CONGREVE LIGHT,’
Manuf. The wooden splints are cut by steam machinery from the very best quality of pine planks, perfectly dried at a temperature of 400° Fahr. English splints are of two sizes—‘large’ and ‘minnikins,’ the former 21⁄4 inches longer, and the latter somewhat shorter. In the manufacture double-lengths are used, so that each splint may be coated with the igniting composition at both ends, and then cut asunder in the middle to form two matches. In England the splints are usually cut square in form, but in Germany they are cylindrical, being prepared by forcing the wood through circular holes in a steel plate. The ends of the double splints having been slightly charred by contact with a red-hot plate, are coated with sulphur by dipping them to the requisite depth in the melted material. In some cases the ends are saturated with melted wax or paraffin instead of sulphur. The splints are then arranged in a frame between grooved boards in such a manner that the prepared ends project on each side of the frame. These projecting ends are then tipped with the phosphorus composition, which is spread to a uniform depth of about 1⁄8 inch on a smooth slab of stone, kept warm by means of steam beneath. When partially dry, the tipped splints are taken from the frames, cut through the middle, and placed in heaps of 100, ready for ‘boxing.’
The different compositions for tipping the matches in use in different countries and factories all consist essentially of emulsions of phosphorus in a solution of glue or gum, with or without other matters for increasing the combustibility, for colouring, &c. In England the composition contains a considerable quantity of chlorate of potassa, which imparts a snapping and flaming quality to the matches tipped with it, and but little phosphorus, on account of the moisture of the climate. In Germany the proportion of phosphorus used is much larger, and nitre, or some metallic peroxide, replaces chlorate of potassa. The German matches light quietly with a mild lambent flame, and are injured quickly by damp. The following formulæ have been selected:
1. (English.) Fine glue, 2 parts, broken into small pieces, and soaked in water till quite soft, is added to water, 4 parts, and heated by means of a water bath until it is quite fluid, and at a temperature of 200° to 212° Fahr. The vessel is then removed from the fire, and phosphorus, 11⁄2 to 2 parts, is gradually added, the mixture being agitated briskly and continually with a ‘stirrer’ having wooden pegs or bristles projecting at its lower end. When a uniform emulsion is obtained, chlorate of potassa, 4 to 5 parts, powdered
glass, 3 to 4 parts, and red lead, smalt, or other colouring matter, a sufficient quantity (all in a state of very fine powder) are added, one at a time, to prevent accidents, and the stirring continued until the mixture is comparatively cool.