* * * * *


PICTURE OF SHEFFIELD.


(_Concluded from page 396_.)

In the manufacture of a razor, it proceeds through a dozen hands; but it
is afterwards submitted to a process of grinding, by which the concavity
is perfected, and the fine edge produced. They are made from 1 s. per
dozen, to 20 s. per razor, in which last the handle is valued at 16s.6d.

"Scissors, in like manner, are made by hand, and every pair passes
through sixteen or seventeen hands, including fifty or sixty operations,
before they are ready for sale. Common scissors are cast, and when
riveted, are sold as low as 4s. 6d. per gross! Small pocket knives, too,
are cast, both in blades and handles, and sold at 6 s. per gross, or a
halfpenny each! These low articles are exported in vast quantities in
casks to all parts of the world.

"Snuffers and trays are also articles of extensive production, and the
latter are ornamented with landscapes, etched by a Sheffield artist, on
a resinous varnish, and finished by being dipped in diluted nitric acid
for a few seconds or minutes.

"Messrs. Rodgers also introduced me to an extensive range of workshops
for the manufacture of plated and silver ware, in which are produced the
most superb breakfast and dinner services. The method of making the
silver plate here and at Birmingham merits special notice, because the