The Sun.
London, England, 1860-09-18 00:00:00

GLASS CASTING.

The sand having been well washed to get rid of impuri-
ties, the " ingrediments," as I once heard a Birmingham
glass-blower call them, are carefully mixed and. conveyed
to the furnace, which is a huge cone of brickwork, gorged
with fire, and roaring in a way that may enable you to
imagine the mouth of a volcano. You will start back from
the frightful glare when the doors are opened, shaving the
interior all at an intense white heat, and a row of enormous
crucibles—pots the men call them, standing within the
mouth, quivering and glowing like all the rest. You could
not desire a better example of the stubborn nature of Stour-
bridge fire. clay, and its defiance of conflagration. I made
the same inquiry here as in other places, as to the duration
of the fire; but not one had been alight long enough to
breed a salamander—namely, seven years, as was believed
in days of old.. You would think that no ono could go near
that inferno and live; yet the men, handling their spades
expeditiously, throw the material above-described into the
pots, till each is filled with its allowance of nine hundred-
weight. Then the doors are shut, and the fierce fire is
maintained for fourteen hours—so long does it take to melt
the sandy mixture.
The casting is about to begin. We are in a large, gloomy
shed where, along each side, appear the mouths of anneal-
ing ovens. Against one of the mouths stands a large ob-
long iron table, moveable on wheels, its top warmd by
boxes of fire placed underneath, an& its smooth surface
level with the bottom of the oven. At one end rests a large.
iron roller connected by a chain-tackle with a windlass at
the other, which when in motion rum upon a bar of iron
about half an inch thick, placed near each side of the
table. According to the thickness of the bars so is that of
the plate.
At the sound of the foreman's whistle, his party, all well
drilled to their several tasks, betake themselves to their
posts. There is no confusion, no shouting ; indeed scarcely
a word is spoken, for each kllows what ho 1153 to do, The

furnace doors are flung open; a wheeled crane bearing a
largo ring at the end of its arm, is thrust forward, and one
of the pots being encircled thereby, the men drag it away
to the shed. Even at four yards distance we find its scorch-
ing glare intolerable, inspiring a sense of dread. When
near the table two men, who stand ready with scoops, and
wear goggles to protect their eyes, skim off the impurities
which rise to the surface of the molten mass, and one then
dips out a scoopful as a test. Meanwhile the glare spreads
around, illuminating the dusky walls in strange patches,
streaming on the earthen floor, and penetrating to the
sombre span of the lofty roof. And there stand the men in
expectant attitudes, awaiting the signal, their faces glisten..
ing in the glare, composing many a striking effect of light
and shadow, and varied emotion.

The foreman examines the test through a hand-screen of
smoke-coloured glass. He beckoned me to approach; and
I saw what may be described as a ladleful of red-hot boil-

ing paste, across the surface of which gleams of colour
played as on the sides of a dying dolphin. The foreman
having satisfied himself as to the quality, the pot is lifted
by a crane, brought over the table, when the men seizing
the long projecting handles from each side, give a swing to
and fro, and, tilting at the exact moment, the fiery paste
is poured out immediately in front of the roller. At once
the men at the windlass begin to turn; the roller moves;
spreads out the paste before it, till it covers the whole table
between the bars, and having travelled the whole length of
the table, it stops at the windlass. How the great red-hot
plate seems to quiver still, for now a blush, now a paleness,
now a cloud passes across its surface, and gleams of sur-
prising hue. It appears leathery in consistence as a man
passes an iron " sword" under its outer end, while some
five or six others lifting a gigantic peel, pass it under the
end of the plate just raised, other men seize the ropes at-
tached to the long handle, and at the word "pull altogether"
the plate is driven into the oven, and there pushed to the,
furthest corner, for each oven will hold four plates. Forth-
with another pot is brought and another plate cast, and
when the oven has received its charge the mouth is stopped,
and the whole left to cool gradually for two days. By this
slow cooling the plates are annealed, and brought into the
condition which such glass requires to make it useful.

The description of wire-drawing, and the immense
amount consumed 'weekly, may astonish the curi-
ous, as it did a lady visitor, who asked how much
the finest wire was a yard, and received the reply,
"We sell a mile for eightpence." The quantity of
all sizes drawn weekly at the works in question is
from 50 to 100 tons. During the preparation of
the Atlantic telegraph it was always the maximum,
but 'at present, owing to the fashion of steel petti-
coats, even that amount is exceeded. " A tradi-
tion yet occurs here and there in the trade that the
best drawn plates were formerly made in France
and sold for their weight in silver. But though
steel suffices for all ordinary wire, something bet-
ter must be used in drawing wire for philosophical
purposes, and this is commonly a gem of hard
quality. There is an instance on record of nearly
two hundred miles of silver wire having been drawn
through a ruby 'without any perceptible difference
in its diameter from end to end." The manufacture
of such simple articles as hooks and eyes is not
without its marvels. " From the pall of the first
lever to the squeeze of the last there are seven
several movements required in the stamping of a
hook ; and to see how each one takes place pre-
cisely when it ought to take place is to one whose
days are not passed among machinery as surpris-
ing as admirable." The machinery recently in-
vented for their construction appears to be a re-
markable piece of ingenuity. The steel pen works,
where w'omen and girls are mostly employed, are a
pleasing sight. As the writer observes, it ranks
among the most desirable trades for female fingers,
and is besides fairly remunerative. "A girl who
, knows how to make the most of her time will cut
out three hundred gross of blanks—more than
forty thousand a day—and earn from 12s. to 15s.
a week," What becomes of all the steel pens ?
asks the author at the end of his visit. It seems,
he says, a question more difficult to answer than
that as to the fate of the hooks and eyes, for Bir-
mingham uses up from eight to nine tons of steel
every week in the pen manufacture—more than
400 tons a year. It is curious after all these busy
scenes of labour to be transported into the seclusion
of a monastic retreat. Yet so it is, for our author,
among his other exploits, pays a visit to the monks
of St. Bernard's Abbey, near Bardon Hill, whose
lives seem to be scarcely less laborious than these
of the workers of Birmingham. Many, curious
scraps of information are given, and some interest-
ing particulars as to the state of popular:edueation,
and the Quaker's "first day" school and its bene4:
ficial effects are added, which will attract the;
attention of all who concern themselves in the wet:.
fare of the great working masses of the popula-
tion. There is besides plenty of rural description
for the lover of meadows and hedgerows, and we
can assure the general reader he will find pleasant
and profitable entertainment in accompanying Mr.
White in his wanderings All Round the Wrekin.

The North British Review. No. LXV. T. Clark,
Edinburgh.

We learn from the prospectus that the manage-
ment of this review has changed hands. Messrs.
Clark, the publishers, have acquired the copyright,
and it will henceforth come under their control.
These arrangements have, however, been made so
recently that they will not, we are told, come into
full operation until the November number, and
consequently wo are not in a position to judge of
the literary results of the transfer, We can only
say that the prospectus they put forward is fair and
temperate in its tone and liberal in its character,
and we may therefore trust that the character of this
long-established quarterly will not deteriorate, but
that it may assume a position of more importance,
and secure the interest of a wider circle of readers
than it has done of late years. The number before
us is of average merit, containing some good sen-
sible articles, though nothing perhaps of extraordi-
nary merit. An essay on " Scottish Nationality"
is among the most interesting, and is certainly
written without undue partiality, for it scarcely
renders full justice to the indomitable qualities
which have always distinguished the northern race.
Two papers of criticism on " Recent Poetry " and
" Imaginative Literature" will repay perusal ; and
there is also a careful review of Thiers's last
volume on the Empire, which subjects the
brilliant French historian to some keen
analysis. An article on severe winters gives some
curious details of the fluctuations of temperature
noticed by men of science. We shall look with in-
terest to the appearance of Messrs. Clark's new
number, trusting they will not allow the Review to
be too much engrossed with logical•and theological
disquisitions, but will open its pages to free discus-
sion of the questions of the day, and topics of gene-
ral interest.