THE COMB-MAKER.

The comb is a well-known instrument made .of horn, ivory, tortoise-shell, box, or holly-wood, and if used for separating, adjusting, cleansing, and ornamenting the hair. The commoner sorts of combs are generally made of the horns of bullocks, or of elephants' and sea-horses' teeth ; some are made of tortoise-shell, and others, of box, holly, and other hard woods.

The savages of the islands in the Pacific Ocean, make combs of a kind of wood, which are shaped like a fan, and which prove that the uise of the comb must have been very early introduced amongst mankind. Bullocks' horns are thus prepared, in order to manufacture combs: the tips are first sawn off; they are then held in the flame of a wood fire ; this is called roasting, by which they
become nearly as soft as leather. While in that state they are split open on one side, and pressed in a machine between two iron plates ; they are then plunged into a trough of water, from which they come out hard and fiat.

After the horn is cut to the intended size, three or four pieces are laid upon a pair of tongs over a fire of joiners' shavings, to soften
them; they are turned as many times, and when sufficiently soft, ace put into a vice, and screwed tight, to complete the flattening;
they are suffered to remain a short time, until they become perfectly flat and hard again and they are then given to a man who shaves, planes, or scrapes off the rough parts, with a knife having two handles, similar to those used by coopers, which he works from him across the grain of the horn from one end of the intended comb to the other. When both sides are perfectly smooth it is delivered to the person who cuts the teeth; he fastens it by that part meant for the back, into an instrument for holding it, called a "clam" by wedges; the clam has a long handle, which the workman places under him as he sits : by this means, he steadies the object of his work, as both hands are to be employed in the operation. The cutting of the teeth is commenced by a double saw, each blade of which is like the small one with which joiners and cabinet-makers cut their fine work ; with this he forms the teeth, but as this instrument leaves the work square and rough in the inside edge of each tooth, it is followed by another, about the size and shape of a case knife, having teeth like a file, on each flat side ; after this, two others of the same shape, but each finer cut than the other, follow; one stroke on each side of the comb is then given by a rasping tool, in which, also, a little attention is used, to give the ends of the teeth a small bevel or angle; this tool is used to take off any roughness that may remain on the sides of the teeth ; it is now delivered to another operator who polishes it with rotten stone and oil, applying them with a piece of buff leather; after which the article is ready for sale.

The process used for making ivory combs, is nearly the same & that already described, except that the ivory is first sawed into thin
slices. The best ivory comes from the Islands of Ceylon and Achen, in the East Indies ; this has the property of never turning yellow of course the ivory, from these places, is much dearer than that brought from other parts.

Having described the usual method of making combs, it is right to inform the reader that about ten years ago, Mr. Bundy, of Camden-Town, obtained a patent for cutting combs by means of machinery. It will be thought a very singular circumstance, that
before this period, no method was practised in this oountry for cutting the teeth of combs, but that in which a pair of saws, rudely fastened in a wooden back, was directed by the human hand. With these implements, however, it is that the very delicate, superfine
ivory combs, containing from fifty to sixty teeth in an inch, are manufactured.

By Mr. Bundy's machine, the business of comb-making is greatly expedited ; the teeth of two combs may be cut in about three
minutes. The combs are afterwards pointed, by applying them to an arbor or axis, clothed with cutters having chamfered edges and teeth.

Tortoise-shell combs ure very much used ; and there are methods of staining horn so as to imitate tortoise-shell, of which the following is one : the horn to be dyed, must first be pressed into a fiat form, and then spread over with a paste made of two parts of quick lime and one of litharge, brought into a proper consistence with soap-ley. This paste must be put over all the parts of the horn, except such as are proper to be left transparent to give it a nearer resemblance to tortoise-shell. The horn must remain in this state till the paste is quite dry, when it is to be brushed off. It requires taste and judgement to dispose the paste in such a manner as to form a variety of transparent parts, of different magnitudes and figures to look like nature. Some parts should also be semi-transparent; which may be made by mixing whiting with a part of the paste to weaken its operation in particular places ; by this means, spots of reddish brown will be produced, so as greatly to increase the beauty of the work. Horn, thus dyed, is manu-
factured into combs, and these are frequently sold for real tortoise-shell.

Another method of imitating tortoise-shell in horn, is to take of nitrous acid two ounces, of fine silver one drachm : let the silver be
dissolved, and having spotted or marked your horn with wax, strike the solution over it; let it dry of itself, and the born will be in
those places which are free from wax, a brown or black colour.

A green dye may be given to ivory, by steeping it in nitrous acid, tinged with copper or verdigris ; or in two parts of verdigris and
one of sal ammoniac, ground well together with strong white wine vinegar poured on them ; and by converting the nitrous acid into the oxygenated muriatic acid (aqua regia) ; i. e. by dissolving a fourth part of its weight of sal ammoniac in it, ivory may be stained of a fine purple colour.

Ivory, bone, horn, and other substances, adapted to the manufacture of combs, may be stained yellow, by boiling them. in a solution of one pouud of alum in two quarts of water, and afterwards boiling them in a decoction of turmeric root. Ivory, &c. may be stained blue by first staining it green, and then dipping it in a solution of pearl-ashes made strong and boiling hot. It may be done also by boiling in a tincture of indigo prepared by the dyers, and afterwards in a solution made with three ounces of cream of tartar dissolved in a quart of water. Combs are not only made for the purpose of cleaning the hair but for ornament ; they are sometimes set with brilliant stones, pearls, and even diamonds; some again, are studded with cut steel ; these are of different shapes, and are used to fasten up the hairn when ladies dress without caps. Of course, combs may be had of all prices, from the value of a few pence to almost any sum.

Journeymen Comb-Makers will earn a guinea or thirty shillings a week.

Horn from which combs are generally made, when very thin, becomes transparent, and has been used instead of glass for windows. When, heated it may be bent to any shape, and wrought into trinkets of all forms. Tortoise-shell, upon being analysed, is found -to consist of very thin membranes laid over each other and is in its nature very like the nails that defend the human toes and fingers.