Staunton spectator, and general advertiser. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 183?-1849, 1847-10-20
GLASS.

''iat Is, their rusts, are of great use, with man
other ingredients, according to the sort a
glass which is wanted.
AS the first discovery Of glass-making wa
what we call accidental, observe what / shall
tell you, as II may make you look abou, yo,
That is, remark, consider, aud try; which arr
three things OF great nse, when united.
fliny, an ancient author, says, that som,
merchants were by storm at sea driven W
on the coast of Syria. Desiring to- make ,
fire on the sandy beach in order TO dress ,he
1000. they gathered the weeds growing abou
as luei; this was the herb kali. Alter the,
had made their pot boil. and had eaten thei,
mess, they discovered some strange lumps n
mong the ashes. Some silly people would
have said, "Oh! wha, odd thing!' and then
would have thrown them away but some OF
The company examined and found the Jumps
as hard as stones, as heavy as iron, and
yet SO transparent tina, you might see through
them: this is what is now called glass. The
sands were melted by the fire, and by ming
Ing with the salts of the herb kali, produced
THIS new and wonderful substance.
GU are not to suppose that these Jumps
were as clear as what we now make; or flat
ahG smooth like that in our windows; or
or'Snl, Ike The lustres in drawing GROOM
NO; IL was by many trials, and after many
d'sappoinlmenis, by watching what .hev did,
ana reasoning upon how they did il. that
grass was brought to its present perfection
NOW we know, that if we take one hundred
ana twenty pounds of fine white sand, with
my pounds OF red lead, (this is the oxytle,)
'"r'y pounds "f pearl ash. (this is the kali,)
twenty pounds OF nitre, and five ounces of
lhagnesIa then melt them together in a verv
intense tre, there will he produced large
lump "i flint glass, beautifully clear, and ii. To
be made into the most delicate articles. Win.
dow glass has no lead, it is only soda (alkalD
and line sand. Bottle glass is only kelp and
common sand
NOW. mind how you 90 when i'm the glass
mouse, and do not look too long at the fine
hres, lest You hurt your eyes
man has long tube of iron in his hand
NC d'Ps one end into a pot of melted glass.
some oil winch sucks To the iron tube This
grass IN that Stale Is almost liquid, and will
run any way. The iron being hollow. he
can blow through it. He claps his mouth to
'he nearer end, and blows; his breath is dila-
'eu 10y The heat OF the glass, and the glass
sweilS out, like bladder when blown into
ne more IL swells IN size, the thinner it be-
comes IN substance. He repeatedly rolls it.
100, on flat piece of iron or marble. to shane
and polish it. II he is going to make a COB
let, lie opens The end of the bladder of glass.
ana whirls his iron round, which makes the
glass lily open into the wide shape wanted
were IL a bottle, he would put the lump INTO
mould, and his blowing would force the
grass mo Inc exact shape of the mould
Then he would open the neck, forming i.
with piece OF iron, cutting 1t with scis-
sors.
u man is going TO make some window
glasS mat yo" Know must be quite fla!. he
dips me iron tube several times into the melt
ed glass, and blows i, till it becomes of a lar
ger size. He is Obliged to take his work TO
the furnace frequently to heat it aresh. be-
cause when It gets cool he cannot work il
any longer. This globe of glass is opened
and this opening is worked wider and wider.
TILL the glass, which was a globe, becomes
quite flat-a whole circle of Thin flat glass
| except the knob in the middle, by which the
rod held it.
Al another furnace you will see them ma
king what is called plate glass for mirrors
Here is flat table, covered with copper. with
lodges at the sides TO keep it in. They let
some melted glass from the furnace flow upon
this table, which runs all over it, up to the edg-
es; but in order TO make il perfectly flat. and
OF an even thickness, large metal roller is
passed over it. When cold, this plate of
! glass must be ground on both sides with
sand then polished with emery and putty
till the surfaces are extremely smooth vet i,
is not a looking glass Jill thin coat of quick
silver is fixed on the back Of il.
| The furnace has several mouths. from each
Of which the melted glass can be convenient
| ly taken The fire is exceedingly fierce, and is
kept so by continually feeding it with billets
Of dry wood.
Now, when the glass is brought to its
proper shape, it must undergo another process
before it is fit for use this is called annealing
/ The pieces of ware must be brought so near
! the fire as to be almost in melting state
they must be drawn away in very gradual
manner as TO cool gently, else they would
| be so brittle as not to- bear bot water, and
they. would break, too, with the slightest
| stroke.
The siIverng Of the plate glass for mirrors
is put on in the following manner: IL is call
ed silvering the lass; although, in fact, it is
timing the glass; for IT is sheet of tin foil
fastened upon the glass by the help Of quick
silver, which dissolves and mingles with the
lin foil and thus adheres. Tin foil is pure
tin, beaten TO very thin leaf This must be
the whole size of the glass. The foil is ther
laid on very flat smooth table; quicksve
is poured on this till it is united with it; tho
glass is then placed on it, and pressed dowr
with lcaden weights. 1t remains thus fo
several days Till the mixture cleaves firmly lt
the glass.
You see many wine glasses and decantcr
have formed on them beautiful shapes, knobs
and angles, which glitter and show a variety
f OF coors; so are the drops upon chandeliers