Scientific American, September 29, 1883 Supplement. No. 404Various
Science
Scientific American, September 29, 1883 Supplement. No. 404
Various
Science -- Periodicals
The establishment is worked by a company known as the Societé Anonyme
des Cristalleries du Val St. Lambert, under the Presidency of M. Jules
Deprez; and the company possess four distinct establishments, namely,
that at Val St. Lambert; one at D'Herbatte, near Namur, founded in
1851; a third in the Rue Barre-Neuvill, at Namur, founded in 1753; and,
lastly, one at Jambes, near the same town, founded in 1850.
We need not trace at length, says _The Engineer_, the history of the
works. It will be enough to say that for a long time they were carried
on with small or no profits; but a great advance was made when, in
1830, coal was first substituted for wood for heating purposes. Further
capital was introduced in 1836, and operations have been carried
on practically without intermission ever since. In 1850 the annual
turn-over was about £60,000. In 1880 the turn-over of the company was
£200,000. To give an idea of the magnitude of the operations carried
on, we may say that no fewer than 120,000 pieces are turned out _every
day_. To pack this there are used 50,000 kilos. of heather, 55,000
kilos. of straw, and 250,000 feet of boards per month. The sand of all
kinds used per year weighs 7,000,000 kilogs., and the weight of the
fire clay 1,500,000 kilogs. The weight of the finished goods sent out
per year exceeds 9,000,000 kilogs. The company employs in all about
3,000 hands, 1,800 of whom are at Val St. Lambert. Much attention is
paid to the welfare of the operatives by the company, and a species
of co-operative store is worked with great success. Many of the hands
have been on the works of the company for fifty years, and the managers
speak in the highest terms of their servants. They know nothing of "St.
Monday." They are laborious, assiduous, intelligent, and attached to
the works and the locality, which they rarely quit. These conditions
are the most favorable possible for the employers, and they are far
too rare in Great Britain. The Val St. Lambert hands, men, women, and
children, work uninterruptedly for eleven hours a day all the week
through, and some of the men even longer. This affords a remarkable
contrast with the hours of labor and customs of our English glass
workers.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account