lished steel hammer. The
next process is that of shanking, or attaching small metal loops, by
which they are fastened to garments. The shank manufacture is a distinct
branch of the trade in Birmingham, although at times carried on in the
same factory.

The shanks are made by a machine, in which a coil of wire is gradually
advanced towards a pair of shears, which cut off short pieces. A metal
finger then presses against the middle of each piece, first bending it
and then pressing it into a vice, where it is compressed so as to form a
loop; a hammer then strikes the two ends, spreading them into a flat
surface, and the shank is pushed out of the machine ready for use. The
shanks in some instances are attached to the blanks by women with iron
wire, solder, and resin, after which they are placed in an oven, and
when firmly united are removed and form plain buttons. In the majority
of cases, however, soldering is dispensed with, the shanks being made
secure in the press.

If the button is to be finished without a shank, it is passed on from
the press, which it leaves as a blank, to another where the holes are
pierced, and then to a third where the roughness is removed from the
edges of the holes.

The commonest metal buttons which I have seen in process of making were
cut out of scraps of tin, similar to what may be seen on the refuse heap
of any shop where tin goods are made. The hand presses worked by women
cut out the blanks, made a simple impression on the outside, and turned
up the edges all round at the same time. The blanks were then passed on
to another press, where pieces of cardboard were inserted, and the edges
turned over to keep them firm. The holes were next pierced, and a finish
given by a blow from a stamp.

I felt deeply interested in seeing all kinds of buttons in process of
being made, some for India, others for Chili, and our own army, but the
prettiest and most interesting to witness while passing through the
presses, stamps, and hands of the workers were some which were being
made for Malta. In passing through the first press the blank was
embossed and cut out. By another press the edge was scalloped, and by a
third press the open work was effected. The next process was that of so
pressing each disc to such an extent that the scalloped edges of two
might meet, and thus form a round button of pretty design when united,
and a shank fastened in the centre of one of the blanks.

Military buttons, like