Rensselaer Republican, Volume 27, Number 37, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 21 May 1896 — HOW THEY ARE MADE. [ARTICLE]

HOW THEY ARE MADE.

Facts of Interest Concerning Strings for Musical Instruments. Although many people play stringed Jnstrumeta, few know how the strings for their favorite instruments are produced, The Neapolitan provinces maintain their superiority in the production of this article, which requires the greatest care and dexterity on the part of the workmen. The treble strings are particularly difficult to make, and are produced at Naples, probably because the Neapolitan sheep, from their small size and leanness, afford the best raw material. They axe formed from the small intestines, which must be very carefully scraped. The intestines are then! steeped in alkaline lyes, clarified with a little alum for four or five days, until well bleached and swollen. They are next drawn through an open brass thimble, and pressed against it with the nail in order to smooth and equal the surface, after which they are washed, spun or twisted, and sulphured during two hours. The strings are finally polished by friction and dried. Sometimes they ore-sulphured twice or thrice "before the finishing process.