escribed,--ten rods being polished at once. The bayonet is
polished upon emery-wheels. These wheels are made of wood bound with
leather, upon which there is placed a sizing composed of glue and
pulverized emery. The polishing by this process is very rapid.

The number of workmen employed at the water-shops is ten hundred and
forty. The last time the writer had occasion to visit them was upon the
recurrence of an important occasion to the workmen employed there,
namely, pay-day. A temporary wooden structure has been erected
contiguous to the shops for the purpose of paying-off, and upon this
occasion it bore, from time to time, various placards, announcing which
shop was being paid, according as the paymaster arrived in succession at
the various departments. Within the densely thronged shops, and amidst
the deafening noise of hundreds of trip-hammers, perambulated a herald,
with bell in hand, and placard raised upon a pole, upon which was
painted a huge capital letter, thus designating, in alphabetical order,
the names of the workmen whose turn had arrived to affix their
signatures to rolls for a month's work, and receive in exchange a sheaf
of Uncle Sam's greenbacks.

The works at the water-shops are surrounded by a high wooden fence, and
guarded by a small force of watchmen armed with muskets. Should occasion
require, however, a force of five thousand men, armed with the best of
small arms, could be mustered at once from among the workmen in the
armory and the citizens of the town. Ammunition of all kinds is stored
within the establishment, sufficient for all emergencies.

I stated the number of pieces used in the construction of a musket to be
forty-nine; but this conveys no idea of the number of separate
operations which are performed upon it. The latter amount to over four
hundred, no two of which are by the same hand. Indeed, so distinct are
the various processes by which the grand result is obtained, that an
artisan employed upon one part of a musket may have no knowledge of the
process by which another part is fabricated. This, in fact, is the case
to a very large extent. Many persons employed upon particular parts of
the work in this establishment have never even seen other parts
manufactured, and in general the workmen understand only the process of
making the portions upon which they are engaged. The different parts are
of various grades in respect to character and price, and are regularly
rated, and the wor