BOYS' OWN COLUMN.

Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 46, 23 February 1929, Page 2

BOYS' OWN COLUMN.

THE STORY OF THE MATCH,

§0 TINY, BUT SO USEFUL,

Da : Boys,— Those of you who ar© Scouts know that part of one of the tests in Sco t work is to lay and light a fire, using not more than two matches. To She ininitiated this is no easy thing, but to a practised Scout it is a matter of L moment. I wonder what would have been the test, say, 200 years ago, had ' scouting been in vogue then. There was once a time, very long ago, when man did not know how to j strike a light or make a fire to warm himself, or to cook his food. But one day he found out that by rubbing dry wood together he could produce enough i'.eat to set light to any grass and moss, and thus make a fire. Another way was to twirl a dry stick in a hole or socket cut in a dry plank or tree trunk, until by rapid twisting smoke began to rise, to burst into flame. As time went on various improvements were tried until it was discovered that by striking a piece of metallic stone against a flint a spark i was made. This spark, caught upon a little heap of dry moss, soon kindled into a fire. So firelighting progressed until the first match at all like those which I'vre have to-day was invented by a Frenchman named Chance!, in 1803. | The chemicals which formed its head burst into flame when they were ' dipped into a bottle of acid. A little later matches made of rolled-up paper with a chemically treated head came into use. Within the head was a tiny ' glass bulb filled with acid; and when this was broken, the acid escaped, ; and, mingling with the chemicals, set fire to them. The first really practical lucifer match was invented by John Walker, an Englishman. These, which were sold at one penny each, were struck by drawing them through a piece of folded sandpaper. The safety match which we ; have to-day is one of the simplest j and tiniest of things, yet it took fI) \J man hundreds of years to learn S V 7 f)l how to make it.