Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1870-05-14

What Glass is made Of.


What do you use sugar? said Law.
renee, as they came to number of upright
open barrels.
Taste it, said the CRATER.
Sand exclaimed Lawrence, the mo.
mcnt his fingers touched it. But don't il
look like pulverizcd white sugar? Where
do you get it
From Berkshire County. 1t is washed
there aud put up wet, to prevent it from
sitting out Of the barrels. Here we are
drying it in the sand overland the gaf
fer showed, heap spread out on large
pan shaped table, heated from beneath.
Sand, he added, is the principle article iu
the manufacture of flint glass.
Why do you call it flint glass?
In the English manufactures, said the
gaffer, it used to be made Of flint stone
broken up and ground. But in this
glass.makers found sand much easier to be
obtained. They got it at first from De.
merara, South America; homeward bound
ships brought it as ballast. But the wal
of 1872 interfercd with the commerce and
compelled them to look at home for their
sand as for many other things, At first
they used the sand of Plymouth Beach
until better was found at Morris River
New Jersey. But few years ago sand
of the first quality turned up in Berkshire
county. This is almost pure silica. Silica
is the article required, whether it occurs
in flint or sand.
And what do you put with it to make
glass ?
You can make glass of two materials
silica and alkali. But it is good for moth.
ing. 1t has no solidty 1t will dissolve
in hot water. To give it density and
hardness, VIC add either lime, or-this ma.
! tcral.
Red sand? said Lawrence No, this
isn't sand! putting his hand into the bar.
rel. What is it:
Red lead, said the Doctor.
Ground and siftcd, ready for use, added
the gaifcr. 1t is not ground fine like the
rel.lcad the painters use. This or lith
argc-which is another form of almost the
same substance, aud answers the same
purposc-is used ii, making glass.
In what proportion do you make your
| h'aACi htt i'i Slu>S.
Three parts of sand, two of red lead
and one of alkali, is about as simple q
statement as can make of it. That will
make you good, strong glass. But there
will BE- tin-c of green in it, such as you
see in pane of common window glass i!
You look across the edge of it. That
comes from minute quantity of iron
which is contained even in the purest
silica. \ little arsenic, or oxide of iron
takes it out or as we say, dccolorizcs it.
Too much lead gives yclowish cast to
the glass. The oxide Of other metals arc
used to give. different cplors. In making
different kinds Of glass the materials may
be varied indefinitely. Boracic acid may
take the place of silica, oxide of zinc may
take the place Of rcd.lcad in window and
plate glass lime takes its place. n variety
| of other substances are used to produce
certain effects. But the common transpa
rent glass ware used in every house is the
kind we call flint, and it is composed OF
the materials have named, silica, oxide
Of lead. and the alkalies, with arsenic and
oxide of manganese to decolorizc it.
| INV w OOu usC tOI IlhUliCS UShSu tut
Doctor.
Pearlash and saltpctre, or pearlash and
soda; Here is where We purity the salt
petrc.
The gafTer showed a tank, the bottom
and sides of which were thickly incrusted
with beautiful large crystals. The salt
petre, he explained, is dissolved in ho|
water. The liquid is skinned and al
lowed to cool. As the crystals form, they
exclude all impurities, which are drained
off with the remaining liquid. The pear
lash is purified in different way. 1t il
dissolved like the saltpetre; but the i'm
puritics, except what are skinned off
settle to the bottom in what we call slurry
which we sell to chemical works. TIL,
liquid is then evaporated in these larg
caldrons, until only the dry, clear, pearlasl
remains. The several materials are theI
all thrown together into large tank ant
mixed.