Many patents have been taken out since 1865 for new styles of pens, the most successful have been those which deal with the points; these have been turned up or turned down, thickened, or planished, all for the purpose of producing smooth points to glide freely over paper even with a rough surface. The fashion in paper and ink materially influences the style of pens. The J pens (so called because that letter was embossed upon one of the first and best known broad points) have been extensively used, and have influenced hand writing, especially that of ladies. Calligraphy as an art has fallen off in this country, and this has influenced pen manufacture. The most delicately made pens are manufactured for foreign use. There are, perhaps, not so many pen works now as there were in 1865, but the productive power has vastly increased. The present _weekly_ average of pens manufactured is about 160,000 grosses, requiring from 16 to 18 tons of steel, of which only 8 tons appears in the article, the rest being loss or waste. Pen steel is still produced in Sheffield, the best being made from Swedish iron. The number of girls and women employed is from 3,200 to 3,600, whilst the number of men employed as tool makers, rollers, engineers, stokers, &c., hardly exceeds 500. The increase in make since 1865, of quite 60 per cent. is mainly due to the export trade. No new pen manufactories have been established since 1865, except in the United States, where there are now four pen works, but of these, only one is of importance. In France, there are now only three pen manufactories, and the production is less than it was three years ago. In Germany there is only one, and its make though improved in quality is very inconsiderable in comparison with the large consumption of steel pens in Germany. An attempt has been made to establish works in Russia, where the duty on steel pens is high, but after existing one or two years, the manufactory was burnt down, and no attempt has been made to re-build it. The Customs duty on steel pens with the exception of Russia, are the United States, where it is 6d. per gross, is very moderate, and prevents the importation of low and middle class pens. The price obtained for steel pens depends more upon the reputation of the maker or of the mark than upon their intrinsic value, hence the difficulty of giving an average value of each gross of pens produced.[58] =Stourbridge Fire Clay.=--[GEORGE KING HARRISON.]--(B. 133.) The district suffers from high railway rates. The quantity of clay raised per week now is about 3,500 tons, say 160,000 tons per annum. About 40 million bricks are made per annum.