Marshall County Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1856-1878, 1868-02-13
Natural Qualities and Pecu-
lfarIttes Of Glass.

This material is as old as reliable history,
The fable which ascribes its invention OI
discovery To the accidental fusion of an
alkali with seashore sand by a fire made
by shipwrecked PhGnician sailors is moi
worthy the degree of credence we usually
Weld 10 P.iny's relations. Glass beads and
imitation gems have been inferred over
3.o0oxvears ago. In fact, at Thebcs was
discovered glass bead OF rare beauty,
which had the name of a monarch inscrib-
ed upon it who livee l,500 years before
Christ. Glass lenses, bottles, and vases
have been found i'm the ruins of Ninevch
aud it is not improbable that glass was
known long before it was manufactured
into articles of use or ornament; for in the
process of the reduction of metallic ores
and in the baking of pottery the virtreous
debris must have been noticed. Accor-
ding to Tbeopbrastus the manufacture OF
glass was practiced $40 years B. c., and
the processes of grinding, coloI;ng, and
gliding were then in use. Coiored glass
was used in church windows in the eighth
century, and in the time of the crusades
the art of ornamenting and decorating ar
ticles of glass was introduced from the
East. Works were established at Murano
near Venice, and for long period the
Venetian glass was justly celebrated for its
elegance. Many of the ornamental objects
made in Venice have been lately repro
duced; that known as the Nenitian ball, SO
popular now for use as q paper weight
being an instance. They are made by
combining pieces of colored glass to imi-
tate flowers, etc, and introducing these
into globes which are compressed or fiat
tened upon the designs by the blowe,
drawing in his breath and thus exhausiing
the air from the interior. The lens form
of the envelope has the effect of magnify
ing the ornamental objects. Frosted glass
is produced by dipping the hot glass, be-
fore blowing. into cold water, relocating
and blowing before the cracks on the ex-
terror are closed by fusion. Probably the
finest specimens of ornamental glass now
made are those manufactured by the Bohe-
mian peasantry. The cause of this excel
lence is partly the superiority ofth mate
rials existing in Bohemia, and partly to the
wonderful skill in manipulation attained
by patient and constant practice.
Glass Is a chemical combination ol
silica, potash, lead, lime, aluinina, and
other substances intended to produce
silicaies of these bases. The colors are
produced by metallic oxides. The specific
gravity Of glass varies with its composition
from "a to SO. When cooled il is ex-
ceedingly brittle, but when softened by
heat is very tenacious and may be nodded
at will. 1t can he drawn into threads oil
extreme .enuity, and in this form has been
woven into silk, producing an elegant
effect. These threads are quite elastic. as
is also solid globe; even hollow balls
have been dropped upon an anvil at a
hight oftcn feet, when they would rebound
to at leaet one-third of that hight without
sustaining a fracture. This quality OF
elasticity when in the form of thread has
lately given rise to the story of an attempt
by French chemist to unite masses OF
these elastic threads by partial fusion, with
the object of producing a flexible glass.
The project is too ridiculous to merit scri-
Gus remark. When glass ceases to be
brittle it will probably lose some of its
most valuable properties, which seem to
be inseparable from this obiectionabl quail