The Employments of Women: A Cyclopædia of Woman's Work

248. Watches.

A watch is said to consist of 992 pieces. We have seen it stated that two hundred persons are employed in the entire process of making a watch, and that, with the exception of the watch finishers (who put the parts together), not one of the workmen could perform any but his own specific part. In Switzerland, families, for generation after generation, devote themselves to making particular parts of watches. Women have proved their ability to execute the most delicate parts. Twenty thousand Swiss women earn a comfortable livelihood by watch making. They make the movements, but men mostly put them together. I think a few women work as finishers. We quote from the Englishwoman's Review: "Geneva has always refused to employ women, and has now totally lost the watch trade. None of the Geneva watches, so called, come from that part of Switzerland, but are manufactured elsewhere, and principally in the canton of Neufchatel, where women have been employed from the first." Mr. Bennett, of London, "states facts relative to the mental culture of both sexes, which is deemed requisite in Switzerland to prepare the intellect, the eye, and the hand for watch manufacture, and he refers to the salubrious dwellings of the operatives." A traveller states: "We see women at the head of some of the heaviest manufactories of Switzerland and France, particularly in the watch and jewelry line." In England, women have been until lately excluded from watch making by men, but some are now employed in one establishment in London and in several of the provincial towns. "There is a manufactory at Christchurch, England, where five hundred women are employed in making the interior chains for chronometers. They are preferred to men, on account of their being naturally more dexterous with their fingers, and therefore being found to require less training." From the November number of the Knickerbocker we quote: "All imported watches are made by hand, the American watches being the only ones made by machinery in a single establishment by connected and uniform processes. The Waltham watches have fewer parts and are more easily kept in order than any others; and are warranted for ten years by the manufacturers. They have over one hundred artisans employed, more than half of whom are women." The manufactory occupies a space more than half an acre in extent. Hand labor is cheaper in Europe than this country, but American watches are cheaper, because made by machinery. Making the cases is a distinct branch from the interior work, and furnishes employment to some women. Cleaning watches would form a pretty and suitable employment for women. I was told of some Swiss women living in Camden, New Jersey, that make the inside work of watches very prettily and very accurately. A manufacturer of chronometers in Boston writes: "We employ women in cutting the teeth of watch and chronometer wheels, polishing, &c. They are generally employed by the week or year, and work nine or ten hours a day. Women might be employed in large establishments in merely cleaning or polishing the parts of watches repaired, without putting them together; and they might learn to do it in a short time, a few months perhaps. We pay our women for such work from $4 to $6 a week, according to their capacity. The qualifications needed are delicacy of touch, patience, and great carefulness. The employment will be very limited. Work is steady the year round. The principal objection to employing women is that they are very apt to marry just as they become skilful enough to be reliable; therefore, what does not require long apprenticeship or a great expense to learn, is most desirable for them. A good degree of intelligence is indispensable. The more, of course, the better." We would add to the requisites for a watchmaker, patience and ingenuity. The secretary of the American Watch Company at Waltham writes: "Women are employed at our factory. The employment is entirely healthy. We pay from $4 to $7 per week for intelligent girls, and women's average pay is $5. About half are paid by the piece. Men earn about double the wages of women, because, first, they do more difficult work, are more ingenious, more thoughtful and contriving, more reliant on themselves in matters of mechanics, are stronger, and therefore worth more, though not perhaps double, as an average; second, because it is the custom to pay women less than men for the same labor. Women and girls are paid from $2.50 to $4 per week during the first four months, while they are learning the particular part of our business we set them at. The requisites are a good common-school education, general intelligence, and quickness; light, small hands are best. The business is new to the country. We work every working day in the year, without detriment to the health of women, who seem to endure their labor as well as men. We work ten hours a day. There is little demand for labor in the watch-making business generally in this country, but we think women could be taught successfully the art of watch making, so as to be able at least to earn a living as watch repairers. We employ seventy-five women out of two hundred hands, and because there are many parts of our work they can do equally well with men; but it is generally light and simple work, for which no high degree of mechanical skill is requisite. Nine tenths are American born. Our hands are all made perfectly comfortable in their labor. We employ female labor, where we can, as being cheaper; but we find women do not reach the posts where a high degree of skill is needed, as of course they do not those for which their strength is insufficient. They have abundant facilities for mental culture in the evenings. About half live with parents or relatives; the rest board, and pay from $2 to $3 a week, according to quality."

249. Watch Case and Jewelry Polishers.

Quite a number of women are employed in polishing watch cases, and a few in polishing jewelry. It requires some time to learn to do the finest work, and some can never learn. The polishing of good gold is done by hand and the lathe—common jewelry, by the lathe alone. A good polisher can earn $1 a day of ten hours' work. C. & Co. employ girls, because they do not have to pay them so high, and they do it as well. B. & H., who have a factory in Jersey City, employ a number of lady polishers. The rouge renders it dirty work, but not unhealthy. Very good hands can earn $7 or $8 a week. They employ four sisters, French girls, who have bought a farm for their parents. They have generally paid $23 a week to the four sisters. The prospect for learners is good. They generally pay by the week, and have their hands work ten hours a day. They take learners, and pay something from the first. It requires two years' practice to become very good polishers. They prefer to make an agreement with the learner to retain her some time, as the material is costly, and considerable is wasted by a learner. In good times they have work steadily all the year. Polishers can either sit or stand while at work. Burnishing and polishing are different. Burnishing is done with steel, polishing with buffs. Plated ware is burnished, silver and gold are polished. S. thinks several girls might, in busy times, find employment in polishing jewelry. He often advertises for workers, but receives few answers. It requires two or three years to learn, and four or five to become perfect workers. In Germany and France, girls have polished jewelry for many years. In the Southern and Western U. States, there are no manufactories of any extent. They have not the machinery for such work. What little is made and repaired is done in the jeweller's shop, or above his store. F. & P. employ small girls about thirteen years old to polish, paying $1.50 per week, while learning. It requires about a year for young girls to become expert. We were told women are the best polishers of jewelry. A maker of gold buttons, who has employed girls to polish, paid $2 a week to small girls, and $3 to older and more experienced hands. The girls are also employed in putting them up. Care is needed in polishing, that the work be evenly done. A watch-case polisher told me a woman cannot earn more than $2 or $3 a week at polishing. (It may be all he pays.) Mrs. C. is teaching a girl to polish watch cases. She boards her, and pays her $30 the first year, and furnishes her with a certain number of dresses. A good polisher may earn from $6 to $8 a week. She told me a lady in Philadelphia, that she taught, is making $27 a week. C. has most of his polishing done by a lady. He pays boys he takes as apprentices, $2.25 a week, from the first. He says a good lady polisher can earn $1 a day. He pays his men from $10 to $15 a week, because they do more, and do it better than women. In good seasons there is so much polishing to do that experienced hands are very much hurried. The work is not confined to seasons. It does not require long to learn to polish. Such work is mostly done in New York, but considerable is done in the small towns around. At S.'s we saw a girl polishing, who told us she received $1 a day. She says there a girl spends six months learning. For three months she receives nothing, after that $3 a week. At B.'s, the lathes are moved by steam, but have treadles also, that the work may not cease when the engine or machinery is out of order. Less and less watch work is done by hand in the United States every year, owing no doubt to the large number imported and the increased use of machinery. The work in the business has fallen to European rates. A good polisher has been earning $6 or $7 a week, but very few can do so now, and the prospect of employment is poor for a learner. Some years ago he employed a lady at $15 a week, for fitting movements to the case. The sister of a watch-case maker and importer, in Brooklyn, told me that she worked at the business some years ago, and received seventy-five cents apiece for polishing watch cases—now but fifty cents is paid. The lady often polished four cases in a day of ten hours, and so earned $3. In the European countries, some years back, a man was paid $1 for making a watch case; in the United States, $5. Prices have fallen greatly in the United States for this kind of work, because the duty on imported goods is so low. She says the work is not very clean, because the oil and rouge get on your clothes and person. Everybody should wear working clothes, if their labor is such as to soil them. The motion of the foot in moving the lathe tries the back greatly. When the polishing is done by steam, it is not so. As men and women are paid by the piece, women receive as good wages. A smart person can learn to polish in a few days, but to learn it thoroughly would require three months. Women are paid in this country while learning, but in Europe they are not. In prosperous times, work is good all the year. In summer, work is done for the North; in winter, for the South. A locality in or near a large city is preferable. Prices vary in different establishments. Usually, where the best quality of work is done, the best prices are paid the work people—where cheaper work is done, lower wages are paid. The usual price paid to girls as polishers, when they are employed by the week, is $6—a better remuneration for mechanical labor than most women receive.

250. Watch Chains.

In Birmingham, several hundred women are employed in making chains, and we suppose fifty or more in this country. The gold wire is prepared and drawn out by men, as it requires too much strength for women. All the work after that is performed by women. The wire is cut into pieces of the right length, then bent into the proper form by means of a die worked by a hand press; each link is then soldered together by means of a jet of gas, a blowpipe, and a tiny piece of solder, when it is finished by polishing. D. & S., Philadelphia, employ three girls in soldering. The wages of the girls vary from $3.50 to $8 a week. They work ten hours a day. It is not an unhealthy business, D. and S. think, and can be learned in two months. M. F. & Co., New York, employ girls in soldering and polishing chains. Those that solder earn from $3 to $8 a week. Some of the girls are paid by the week, and some by the inch. It can be pretty well learned in three months. After two or three weeks they are able to earn about $2 a week. To those girls who instruct learners they give the profits of the learners. Polishing is not clean work, but the women can generally earn more at it. They earn from $3 to $9 a week. They work ten hours a day, when paid by the week, in summer; but in winter, not so long. The building is never lighted. The women have a separate apartment to work in, and change their clothes on entering and leaving the work room; and the polishers tie up their heads, to prevent their hair being covered with rouge. The girls wear the same clothes every day while at work, that they may not carry away any gold. The proprietors sell their waste scraps for $8,000 a year. They require boys to spend five years learning the business, taking them at the age of 16, and retaining them until 21. Men that learn a trade expect to follow it until death. M. thinks women will not spend long learning a trade, for nearly all women look forward to something else than working all their lives at a trade. The heat and fumes of gas used in chain making are said to render the occupation unhealthy, but an extensive manufacturer assured me that the fumes are not inhaled, as the flame is blown from the worker, and that it is not more unhealthy than any other sedentary occupation. I would have thought the minuteness of the particles composing some chains would be trying on the eyes, but the girls said not. The chain makers sit while at work. In summer they cannot sit near an open window, lest any of the gold be blown away. Chain making looked to be very nice, delicate work, requiring care, judgment, and some skill. The Europeans have not got to using steam in any part of the process, and are astonished at the superiority of the American chains. There are no manufactories West or South. I was told at Tiffany's, the making of some kinds of chains can be learned in two or three years, while other kinds require five years. S., at Tiffany's, told me he was the first person that introduced women into the manufacture of jewelry in New York. The hands at chain making receive $1.50 a week at first—as they become more skilful, they receive more. The average payment is $5 a week. They have one woman who has been at the business six years, and earns $8 a week. Another manufacturer told me chain making is not unhealthy. It requires a year to learn to do polishing well, and during that time a learner can earn only from $1.75 to $2 a week. While polishing at a lathe, workers stand. Men do most polishing now. They do it by machinery propelled by steam, and one man can accomplish as much in a day as a woman by a treadle lathe can do in two weeks. Manufacturers in Providence write me, "their girls, from six to fifteen in number, work at home, and are paid by the piece. They earn $1 a day of ten hours on an average. They do not employ men in that department of the business. It requires men five years to learn the business—females to solder, thirty days. Good eyesight is necessary. The business will probably increase with growth of country and increase of wealth. Spring and fall are the most busy seasons. They are all American." Some manufacturer in New York writes: "The work is not more unhealthy than any other so sedentary. It is generally paid for by the piece, the workers earning from $2 to $8 per week. The men average from $10 to $12. Men spend seven years learning—girls, one. Quickness of motion, perseverance, and attention are desirable qualities. The prospect for work in future is moderate. The busy seasons are spring and fall. In July, August, January, and February, the women are employed. We have from thirty to forty females, because the work is light."

251. Watch Jewels.

I called on a Swiss lady who sets jewels in watches. She supports her family by it, but complains of a scarcity of work, because watchmakers can import their jewels at four shillings a dozen from Switzerland, and set them themselves.

252. Indian Goods.

Any one that has ever visited Niagara, knows something of the immense quantity of Indian goods offered for sale. Moccasins and reticules (made of buckskin, and ornamented with beads), pincushions, baskets, &c. (made of birch-wood, and ornamented with figures and flowers of party-colored porcupine quills), can be had. Fans of feathers and a thousand little fancy articles may be bought in a dozen different shapes at Niagara. The Indians make most of them, but quite a number are made by fairer hands. The duty on goods purchased in Her Majesty's realm, and brought into the States, is ten per cent. So, if a person is careful of his purse, or disposed to encourage home manufactures, he had as well purchase on the American side. On most of the steamboats and cars of the Western waters, while in port or at the depot, genuine Indian women may be seen, with (we suppose) genuine Indian articles for sale.

253. Inkstands.

Manufacturers of inkstands in Connecticut write: "We employ from twelve to fifteen American women in painting, varnishing, and bronzing inkstands, and pay from fifty to sixty cents per day of ten hours. Females do not perform the same kind of labor that the males do. The wages of women are less, because there is a surplus in consequence of there being so little diversity in female employment. The occupation is learned in from one to two years. That part done by females may be learned in one month. They are paid while learning. Some mechanical ingenuity is required. The business will depend on general commercial prosperity. Summer and fall are the most busy seasons. No cessation of employment during the year. The other parts of the work are too laborious for women. Our location is preferable, as we have water power and are convenient to market. Board, $1.75 per week."

254. Lithoconia

, or artificial stone, is being used as a substitute for terra cotta, papier-maché, &c. It is composed of mineral substances, and is insoluble in water. It is used for making photograph frames, busts, and statuary, and for architectural purposes. It is made in Roxbury, Mass. The proprietor and inventor writes: "I employ fourteen women in manufacturing and finishing lithoconia photograph frames. Their wages average $5 a week, ten hours a day. Some are paid by the piece, and some by the day. Men earn from $1 to $2 per day. Women learn in from one to four weeks. Cultivation of the eye and finger, and great neatness are desirable in a learner. Girls accustomed to drawing or fine needle work answer well. The prospect of more work is good. My women work the year round. Women, I think, are more reliable than men; that is, if told to do a work in a certain way, they will do it. Men are more apt to experiment in a new business. Women might be employed in gilding the frames. We have twelve men in New York doing that for us now. My girls pay from $1.75 to $2 per week for board. I hear no complaint of their houses; but, judging from my Scotch experience, the accommodations in Scotland are far superior in an intellectual point of view; but so far as pies and doughnuts go, American boarding houses have the advantage."

255. Marble Workers.

The rough parts of marble working are wet, dirty, and laborious, but not the finishing. Constant standing on the feet, and having the hands wet much of the time, would not do for very delicate females. A marble worker writes: "Sawing marble is heavy and wet work, and performed in the night as well as the day. I do not see that women could be employed at it to any advantage." Theodore Parker mentioned seeing a woman, in a marble yard in Paris, sawing marble. I have been told that in Italy whole families engage in chiselling the beautiful marble ornaments brought to this country. As a stone cutter, Charlotte Rebecca Schild, of Hanau, worked in Paris. Miss McD. told me that she got situations for two girls with a marble cutter in Hollidaysburg to do the fine part of marble chiselling.

256. Mineral Door Knobs.

Manufacturers of mineral door knobs write: "We have women to make mineral door knobs, and to pack locks. They are paid by the piece, and average $5 per week. They work from nine to ten hours a day. It requires six months to learn. The prospect for further employment is small. Seasons make no difference in the work. We find men better adapted to the work. Our business affords little or no opportunity for the employment of women to advantage. We have about two hundred women in busy seasons. When men and women are employed in the same department, they talk too much."

257. Paper Cutters.

We read in "Women Artists" of a Dutch lady, "Joanna Koertin Block, who produced from paper very beautiful cuttings. All that the engraver accomplishes with the burin, she was able to do with the scissors. Country scenes, marine views, animals, flowers, with portraits of perfect resemblance, she executed in a marvellous manner." "Mrs. Dards opened a new exhibition with flower paintings in the richest colors. They were exact imitations of nature, done with fish bones."

258. Papier-Maché Finishers.

Papier-maché is made of paper ground into a pulp, and bleached if necessary. It is moulded into various forms. It has been cast into figures of life size. It is made into mouldings for the ornamental parts of bronzes. It is lighter, more lasting, and less brittle than plaster. It can be colored or gilt. Another article of the same name is made by gluing and pressing together, very powerfully, sheets of prepared paper until they acquire the thickness of pasteboard. They must be shaped while moist into the articles desired. When dry, they will be very hard and firm. They must be covered with japan, or other varnish, and may be beautifully painted with flowers, birds, landscapes, &c. Workboxes, portfolios, waiters, miniature cases, clock faces, and many other beautiful articles may be made of it. The varnishing, painting, and inlaying is done by women in the factories of England. Papier-maché manufacturers in Boston write: "We employ women in pressing and painting. The work is healthy. We pay $4 per week of ten hours a day. Men and women do not perform the same kind of work. We pay learners $2.50 the first month, $3 the second, $3.50 the third, and $4 afterward. The prospect of future employment is good. We find women have not a mechanical eye. Board, $2 per week."

259. Pipes.

Meerschaum means "foam of the sea." The pipes are made from earth found in the island of Samos. They are light, porous, and not easily broken. Some pipes are sold as genuine that are made from the clay left after forming and cutting the real pipes, but are of an inferior quality. A manufacturer of meerschaum pipes told me he employs a woman to polish the pipes. It is done by hand. She is paid $1.25 a dozen, and can do two or three dozen a day, but they have not enough of work to give her more than a dozen a week. A maker of white clay pipes told me: "The clay is brought from England. Nimbleness of fingers is most that is required for success. There is not much of that kind of work done now in our country, because pipes are imported from Germany for what the labor costs here. They are retailed at one penny apiece. Women used to make them here, and do now in European countries. They can do all parts of the work. Putting them in the furnace and baking them is warm work, but not more so than any other baking. The work is paid for according to the number of pipes made. A woman can earn about fifty cents a day for moulding, yet a man can earn $5 a day, because he can mould faster, and also attend the furnace." Besides, the man owns the tools and furnace, which do not cost a great deal, and I suppose would last a lifetime. We have seen it stated that white clay smoking pipes are made in Philadelphia by one person, who recently sent to England to procure additional assistance.

260. Porcelain.

Porcelain partakes of the nature of both earthenware and glass. It is a connecting link between the two. Few men are willing to run the risk of establishing porcelain and china-ware manufactories in this country, for they have nearly all proved failures. The porcelain of China and Japan is harder and more durable than that manufactured in Europe, but in beauty of form and elegance of design the European excels. Our best articles of household ware are mostly from England, those of an ornamental kind from France. Much of the work in a porcelain factory could be done by women, such as cutting the porcelain with wires, moulding the articles with a press, and washing them over with dissolved porcelain to produce a gloss. They could also bake them. Some do decorate and burnish them. (See China Decorators.) Women and children are employed in Cornwall, England, in preparing clay from china stone to be used by porcelain manufacturers, paper makers, and calico dressers. Miss B. told me that, much of the fine lacework seen on Dresden china is executed by women. It is very beautiful and delicate. At Greenpoint, L. I., the proprietor once employed girls, but now employs boys in preference. The men earn about $10 a week on an average for their work, being paid by the piece. The best of materials for making porcelain are found in this country, particularly in New Hampshire, where porcelain, parian, and enamel flint are manufactured. Porcelain earths are also found at Wilmington, Del., near Philadelphia, and in Alabama and Texas.

261. Pottery and Earthenware.

"In Africa, in the manufacture of common earthen vessels for domestic use, the women are as skilful as the men." In the making of stone and earthenware, women could, if properly instructed, perform most of the processes: those of throwing, turning, attaching handles, &c. Pressing might perhaps tax their strength, and burning prove rather warm work. In Germany, where the finer clay is used, women tramp the clay with their feet, and cut it with wires to remove any small stones it may contain. One of the disagreeable parts that fall to women in the potteries of Great Britain is that of washing and straining the clay. For turning large articles it requires men of a peculiar make. They must be tall and have long arms, to enable them to reach to the bottom of the vessels as they are being turned. Small articles made by the hand are stronger than those formed by pressing. The construction and management of wheels differ in Germany, England, and the United States. The materials for making earthenware are obtained in almost every part of the globe. At an earthenware factory I was told they pay $2.50 a week to a boy the first year he is learning, and increase that according to ability and industry. Flower pots are paid for by the piece, and a man can earn from $1.50 to $5 a day. At C. & M.'s factory I saw girls and women at work. Some were treading the lathe. It was done with the right foot only, and must be very fatiguing. I noticed the hoops of the girls were very much in the way. The girls receive one third as much as the men working at the wheels, which is generally $3 a week for the girls. A woman cutting claws of the clay with a hand press, told me she is paid by the piece, and can earn about $4 a week. She can sit while at work. It requires strength of hand. In another room girls were cutting clay with a wire, kneading with the hand, and giving it to the potter, and, when the vessel is turned, taking it off the wheel and placing it on a board to be baked. They are paid fifty cents a day. In another room a woman was employed dressing the ware, that is, selecting any that is imperfect and removing any surplus clay that may have been accidentally left on, and setting aside any too defective for sale. She receives about $3 a week. The proprietors have been thinking of getting girls in place of some of the boys who are wild and difficult to manage. A firm in East Boston write: "We employ four girls, paying $3.50 a week. Girls are more generally employed in the old countries at potteries than in this, but women will eventually be more employed here in that way. Pottery is now in its infancy in this country. My girls work ten hours. The employment is not unhealthy. My girls are all English. We employ them to do light work only, that boys would do, if we had no women. Board, $2.50. We employ them all the year. Spring and fall are the best seasons for work. We hope to live to see the time when we shall have twenty women and four men, instead of vice versa, as they are more steady and less expensive."

262. Stucco Work.

"Women are not employed at this trade in this country; in England there are some instances, but rarely. It is not unhealthy. The time spent in learning depends altogether on the taste and natural talent of the learner. Boys generally serve from three to five years. For ordinary work the qualifications need not be of a very high order; but for moulding, &c., a knowledge of drawing is essentially necessary. Summer and fall are the best seasons for this work. Ten hours a day are the usual number. Women may be employed at trimming and cleaning ornaments—also at making moulds for casting the same." Rosina Pflauder, in Salzburg, assisted her husband in stucco work.

263. Terra Cotta.

The list of articles made of this substance is comprised under two heads, vases and garden pots, and ornaments for architecture. A Gothic church was built of it in 1842 at Lever Bridge, England. The pulpit, reading desk, benches, organ screen, and the whole of the decorations were made of terra cotta. In the making of figures, women could do all except moulding. The finishing up would be suitable and pretty work for them. "Mlle. de Faveau has been peculiarly successful in her adaptation of terra cotta to artistic purposes."

264. Transferrers on Wood.

We do not know whether a distinct class of people engage in this business, or whether it is considered a branch of cabinet work. It is a light, pleasant business, and if there is sufficient demand for it, women would do well to engage in it.

265. Glass Manufacture.

All the materials for making good glass exist in the United States, and a great deal of glassware is made from them. The largest manufactures are in different parts of Massachusetts and in Pittsburg. The best glass for windows and mirrors is imported. I think glass making is not altogether suitable for women on account of the great heat, and necessity there would be for mixing with men, and men there must be. Yet it need not be so in all departments. Of the different kinds of ornamental window glass are enamelled, embossed, etched, painted, white, and colored. At a glass factory in Greenpoint, I saw some girls employed in breaking off the rough edges of mustard cruets, cementing the metal tops on, wiping them clean, and wrapping them up. They also cemented the tops on glass lamps. Occasionally they are employed to tramp with their feet and knead with their hands the English clay of which the vessels are made for holding the materials that are fused to form glass. In a factory I saw a girl washing glass, for which she is paid $3 a week—a day of ten hours. Two others were tying up glass, and were paid $4 a week of ten hours a day. At one factory in the East, they employ some girls to do the rough grinding, making stoppers for bottles, &c. People who silver mirrors are very seriously affected by the fumes of mercury, and more by the touch of the substance. A trembling disease is produced, which carries off its victims early in life. In France, some women are employed in this work. In blowing, moulding, and pressing glass, women of strong lungs and ability to sustain great heat could be employed. Casting glass requires greater physical strength than generally falls to the lot of women. A glass-bottle manufacturer in Stoddard, N. H., writes: "I employ twelve women willowing demijohns. They are paid by the piece, and can make about $3 per week, and board themselves. Men and women are paid the same. The work can be learned in from four to five weeks. They are paid at the same rate while learning. Half are Americans. Price of board here, $1.25." The Bay State Glass Co. "employ seventeen women for selecting and papering ware. They are paid by the week, from $3 to $5. It requires from one week to one month to learn. The prospect for employment depends somewhat upon the secession movement. The women are employed the year round, and work ten hours a day. Board, $1.50 to $2 a week." The Suffolk Glass Co. inform us they "employ one girl in capping lamps, &c. The work affords plenty of air and exercise. Their girl is paid by the day, and earns $4 a week, working ten hours a day. The work done by women could not be given to men. The reason they employ a woman is that women are employed by others for the same work. Men could accomplish much more in their work, but not enough to pay the difference in their wages. Boys are sometimes employed for such work. Women receive $2 while learning. Spring and fall are the busy seasons, but work is furnished all the year. Board, $2 to $2.50." The Union Glass Co., Boston, write: "We employ women in assorting the different qualities of ware, in cementing glass and brass parts together, and in cleaning glass. Their average pay is $3.50 per week, ten hours a day. There is no comparison in the prices of male and female labor, as they do not perform the same kind. The laws of supply and demand regulate pay, excepting that very valuable women get twenty-five to fifty per cent. extra pay. Men spend from seven years to a lifetime learning the business—women a year or so to learn the best paid kind of labor. There is little chance of women rising above $5 per week, as they perform only a certain department of labor. There is generally constant employment to good hands all the year. We employ fifteen, because it is customary and found expedient. Men can be employed at a better profit in other departments. Remuneration twenty-five to fifty per cent. less than men would require. The glass manufacture is carried on chiefly in the New England and Middle States."

266. Blowers.

I called in a factory where men were blowing glass bells to color and gild for Christmas trees. The man, a German, said in Germany women make them. The women there earn fifty cents a week at it, while men earn $2, though they do the work no better, and no more of it. There a person can live as well on $3 a week as on $10 here.

267. Beads.

Beads are made to a limited extent in this country, but nearly all are of French or German manufacture. Some cheap beads are made of potato and colored, and some made in imitation of coral. E. employs girls to make baskets, headdresses, &c., of beads. They cannot earn more than $2.50 a week of ten hours a day. He has most of it done in winter. Another gentleman, who has beads made into bracelets, necklaces, &c., gives the work mostly to married ladies, who do it in their leisure hours, and to school girls. They do so, because they can get it done more cheaply than if they employed those who do it to earn a living. They pay for such work by the gross, and a person could not earn over $3 a week at it. Putting the necklaces on cards is done by some ladies they employ by the week. Spring and winter are the busy seasons. The importation and selling of beads have formed quite a business in New York for some years. G. judges from the appearance of the applicants whether they are to be trusted with materials, takes an account of the kind and quantity given, and the address of the applicant, requiring them to be returned in a week's time. B. has children's coral bracelets and armlets made up, for which he employs two English girls, who each earn $1 a day at their work.

268. Cutters or Grinders.

It requires strength, firmness of nerve, and cultivation of eye to grind glass. One man told me he spent seven years learning the business in England. In this country, apprentices seldom spend more than three or four years at it, but do not of course learn it so thoroughly. A glass cutter told me that two girls, daughters of his boss in Jersey City, made drops for chandeliers. They were ground on a lapidary's wheel. As drops are no longer fashionable, they are not made. They also cut stones for breastpins. Glass cutters in New York earn from $9 to $10 per week. Glass cutting could be done by women. No women in this country have yet engaged in it. It is not very neat work, as the wet sand will of course get over the clothes. The number of straps and wheels is very numerous, and if any women desire to engage in it, we would advise them to lay aside hoops and don the Bloomer costume. Grinding is tiresome to the lower limbs, which are kept in motion, like a person operating on a sewing machine. It requires taste and ingenuity, as the figures of an experienced workman must be made by the eye, no pattern being used. Apprentices usually receive $2 a week the first year, $3 the next, $4 the next, and so on.

269. Embossers.

In preparing gas and lamp globes to emboss, they are first covered with a dark-colored substance. Girls then trace figures on them with a chemical which corrodes the glass. The tracing is learned in a few hours, and could be done without much practice. At a glass factory, I saw a girl who received $2 a week for tracing. Those who have worked at it for some time become very expeditious, and do piece work. They receive fifty cents a dozen, and a fast hand can do two dozen a day. The operatives work nine hours.

270. Enamellers.

A glass stainer and enameller in Utica writes: "In reply to your circular, I give what information I can. My daughters assist me in staining and enamelling glass. Their wages are worth from $5 to $8 each. Learners are paid from $2 to $4. To learn the work requires from three to five years. Spring and fall are the most busy times. The business will increase. I consider eight hours a day long enough for women to spend at this kind of work, as they have to be on their feet most of the time, but men can work ten hours. All parts are suitable for women except drawing (?) and the heavy parts of the work." A large manufacturer of enamelled glass told me that in England hundreds of women are employed in enamelling glass. He employs a number in Newark, N. J., paying by the week from $4 to $5. He thinks it not more unhealthy than working in any other paint. He thinks the opinion existing that the business is prejudicial to health, arises mostly from the girls being so very careless of themselves. One should be as careful in that work as in any other. He said he knew girls working at it in England for eighteen years, who never suffered any bad effects from it. It requires but a short time to learn to put the enamel on, but some time to acquire proficiency. He and his partner expect to increase the manufacture of it, but think of using a machine that will do away with women's work in applying the enamel. He complained that their girls lacked promptness. They keep them employed all the year. They work nine hours in summer, and eight in winter. He thinks a few women with artistic taste might learn etching, and execute their own designs. He would be willing to pay a good lady designer $8 or $10 a week—yet he pays his men for that work from $12 to $15. (!!!) He thinks, in a factory, a lady so employed would find it most pleasant to have a separate apartment. My opinion is that one or two lady designers and a few enamellers might find employment in this line. M. says enamelling is very deleterious. The enamel is made of three fourths lead and a fine sand, with a small quantity of tin. It is of a softer nature than glass, and is applied with stencil plates and brushes. As the enamel dries a dust arises, which is inhaled, and is more or less injurious to the lungs, producing something like the painter's colic. It also affects the eyes some. A glass stainer in Boston, who employs some women to enamel, writes "he pays them by the day, and they earn from $4 to $6 per week. They receive as much as men would for the same class of work. It requires but a few days to learn enamelling; eight or nine years for glass staining. He sometimes pays part or two thirds wages to learners. The prospect for future employment is uncertain, as little of the above work is done in this country. To get near the materials is an item in selecting a location."

271. Engravers.

An engraver on glass told me there are only from ten to thirteen glass engravers in New York. In Bohemia, whole families engrave glass; and women do so in other parts of Europe also. A good glass engraver is paid $3 a day.

272. Painters.

Painting on glass was practised by nuns and monks some ages back. H. said he used to employ ladies to paint on glass. His wife would give instruction in painting and transferring on glass, for $20—$10 to be paid on entering, the other $10 when the learner feels that she is thorough. To paint on glass, one must understand colors, as opaque paints would not answer. One must have some knowledge of shades to attain excellency in decorative painting. Embellished glass is cheaper than stained glass, and does not require a furnace; yet if burned, has the pigment rendered more durable. In England, many wealthy ladies buy traced glass and paints, and color and shade it. Pictures transferred on glass can be finely finished up and burnt. Painted glass is more brilliant than stained. H. thinks to learn the art is a safe investment. He thought a few ladies might learn painting and transferring on glass, Grecian painting, and wax flowers, and turn it to account by travelling through the country, stopping in small towns, exhibiting and selling specimens and giving instruction. Painting glass need not be merely a source of amusement, but prove an art of utility. H. spoke of some people as speculators—not practitioners in the art (such I would say he would make of ladies). He thinks, among connections and at fairs a lady might meet with ready sale for painted glass. The pieces could be framed to hang at a window or place on a table. Painted glass is less costly than stained glass. A glass gilder can easily earn $2 a day. Women can do the filling in with very little instruction. It would probably take several months' practice to learn to form the letters perfectly.

273. Stainers.

Stained glass is now generally used for churches, and to some extent for dwellings. The Germans are the most successful in staining glass. There are two kinds of stained glass—the pot metal, the coloring substances of which are fused in the glass and then burnt. The pictures of the other kind are formed of small pieces, each one painted separately, burnt, and united with blacklead. Frequently a window is formed of hundreds of these pieces. A picture of stained glass looks on the right side like a rich oil painting on canvas. I have been told there are 18,000 shades of stained glass. G. charges $6 a square foot for stained glass of a fine kind. There is a lady in England, that fills large orders for the stained glass windows of churches and cathedrals. Madame Bodichon writes as follows of a convent of Carmelite nuns she visited at Mans, France: "By the direction of the sisters, glass windows of all sorts, and in every stage of progress, were shown to us by an intelligent young man—one of the artists in the employ of the convent. He told us there were twenty-seven employés, two of them German artists; but the sisters arrange everything, carry on all the immense correspondence, and execute orders not only for France, but for America, Rome, and England, and other countries. Three of the nuns are occupied in painting upon glass themselves, but the principal part of the work is done by the artists, under the direction of the ladies." It requires a person of artistic skill and taste to excel in staining glass, and the work is best appreciated by people acquainted with art. It would require at least three or four years to learn the art well. A knowledge of other styles of painting is not of much assistance. The paint must be put on very thickly, but very evenly. There seems to be a combination of arts in the business to one who performs all the parts. A man must be enough of a glazier to cut glass, enough of a chemist to understand the colors to be used and the length of time the glass should be exposed to heat, enough of a designer to prepare his own patterns, and enough of an artist to color with taste. A man can earn at least $18 or $20 a week, who is proficient in the art. The business has increased greatly during the last few years in the United States, and is continuing to increase. Much of the stained glass used in the United States is of home manufacture. The designs for stained glass are usually made by the proprietor of an establishment. Skill in drawing is very desirable for any one working at the business. The art is one that affords exercise for inventive talent, artistic skill, and good taste. In a few glass-staining establishments, girls do the tracing. It requires an apprenticeship of four years to learn the grinding, enamelling, and staining of glass. A boy is usually paid $1.50 a week the first year, but he is expected to grind colors, clean brushes, go errands, &c. An employer informed me he pays from $1 to $3 a day to men for staining glass. S. spent about seven years in England learning the business. He painted a window not long ago for $5,000. He does his own designing. He says it would not pay to have separate designers. He is acquainted with some secret in coloring, that he would not impart for a great deal. Great progress has been made in the art in this country during the last few years. It requires more skill than painting on canvas.

274. Watch Crystals.

M. told us there are two kinds of watch crystals made in this country: the English and Dutch. The English are the best. The Dutch make them in a cheaper way. Men bend, cut out, and clip them. Females grind the edges. The Dutch can be known from the English by a more sudden rounding near the edges, while the English round from the centre equally. In Williamsburg, German women can be seen at work in watch crystal factories. B. told me he used to "employ girls to grind and polish glasses. They were paid $3 a week—ten hours a day. It requires but two or three weeks to learn, and during that time they are not paid, because of the time lost in giving instruction and the material wasted. Now it is all done by Germans, and Americans need not expect to get in." V. confirmed the statement. He says it is mostly done by German families, and the women that are hired are never paid over $3 a week. It is light and steady work, and they are employed all the year, and do not work in the same apartment as men. In some of the factories of Europe, from one hundred to one hundred and fifty women are employed.