American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1873-06-28
AMONG THE CLASSMATES
BY CARRIE r. MILLER.

BY CARRIE r. MILLER.
Going into the glassworks, let us look
first into the room where the patches"
are mixed, ready for melting. Here lies
the sand, in a heap, looking something
like snowdriff, it is so white. This Ii
the principal ingredient used in glass
making and must be the very purest and
whitest that can be obtained, or the glass
will not be clear and bright. As nice and
clean as the sand is when brought here, It
has to be thoroughly washed, to free it
from anything that might injure the
quality of the glass. So, too, the peariash
has to go through cleansing process, be-.
fore it will suit the very particular man
who attends to the mixing OF the COM
pound. This is done in another part OF
the building, by teaching the peaElaah in
great bottles, and after it has well settled,
cooperating the water. To the sand and
pearlash are added litharge, or red lead,
little manganese, nitro and arsenic, and
sometimes cobalt. It requires great care
in getting the right proportions OF the
different materials. This will make
very fine quality Of glass, such as is used
for our finest tableware, mirrors, and all
ether articles that require the greatest
purity and brilliancy. For more COM
mon kind of glass, coarser matertals are
used, and lime takes the place of lead:
After the batch is thoroughly mixed, u
is taken to the furnace and poured int q
great pot of f1re-clay, that WIN hold : great
many hundred pounds. The heat OF this
furnace is so terrible that we do not care
to inspect it very closely, and we are GLAD
to get out and breathe cooler air. In
opens the pot, that has been securely
closed, and tries the glass. tits doing nicer
ly, though as yet only parity melted AZ =
has settled down good deal, he puts IN
q fresh lot of the batch, and closes up tho
mouth of the pot again. Once again ~ =
tried, and is then found to be clear ana
bright 1t has taken thirty-fve or forty
hours to change the dry mixture in1o .
molten mass, ready for working.
And now commences busy tinne; for
glass, like candy, must be woaksa while
It is soft. Quite number Of men and
boys are employed at time In making up
the ware. A part oft is to be made into
lamp chimneys. The expefieaced
"blower' sits near the furnace, waiting
for his work to be brought to him. HIS
assistant dips a long iron tube into the
pot ofmelted glass, taking up sufficient
quantity for one chimney, rolls u on . nas
little, hands it to the other to 1nish. He
blows through the tube, pinches the partly
formed himney, whirls it swiftly around,
heats 1t in the furnace to soften it-fOr by
this time it has become too cool to work
nicely-tufns up . rim at the bottom,
tests its width, and with piece OF cold
steel cuts;it off at the right length. All
this has been done in about minute from
the time the glass was taken from the pot.
Further ON the workmen-still called
blowers, though they now have no blow
ing to do-are moulding the glass. Be
fore the mould press, machine for press
ing the glass into various articles, that
could not be shaped by the first method,
the blower sits ready for the lump OF
glass that the assistant is bringing on his
iron rod. This he pours into the open
mould on the platform, and taking pair
of shears, he cuts off just the right guam
tity; then, pushing the mould into its
place, down comes plunger, pressing
the glass into its proper shape. Then the
mould is taken away, and dainty little
vase is turned out Of it, just right to put
upon your table, filled with fresh roses.
These moulds are of cast-iron, and some
of them are engraven with very beautiful
patterns.
Yonder is a pot of red glass, from
which some handsome lamps are being
made; but see how careful the blowers
are of it, They first take q ball of clear
glass, large enough to make the lamp, and
then dipping 1t quickly into the red glass,
coat it with that color. In whatever way
the lamp may be shaped, the color re-
mains the same, and one would hardly
think that the brilliant hue is only ON the
surface. The very great cost of the color
ing-oxydized goid-makes 1t necessary
to use it sparingly, or the articles would
be too expensive for common use.
The wares now made are not allowed
to cool off suddenly. They are taken to
the annealing furnace, which is many feet
in length, with one end heated very hot,
and the other cold. Here is a constant
succession of iron pans moving along on
rollers. The glassware is put into pan
at the hot end, and rolls along, cooling of
gradually till it comes out cold at the
other end. The articles do not look so
well as they did before, for the sulphur in
the coke used in the annealing furnace
has given them a blush tint, but wash
ing in cold water makes them clean and
bright.
Still they do not look quite finished, for
on some of the pieces Jumps have been
left, and the edges are quite rough. so
hey are sent to the cutting shop, where
On coarse stones these imperfections are
ground off. In this room, too, are emery
which cut beautiful patterns on
some of the pieces, changing them from
plain ware to elegant cut glass.
After the melted glass has all been
worked up there are great many Jumps
md threads that have been dropped or
ground off These, vita the imperfect
pieces of work, are called "cullet," and
ire carefully gathered up, mixed with an
other 'batch," and melted oyer.-Lsttte
Corporal.
Melon Wine-How true it is that it
axes everybody to know everything!
and a variety of delicious
grow spontaneously in
arabia. Perhaps they develop more
ichly there than in Persia, where they
ire extremely good. In the great plenty,
beyond the demands of con-
umers where they most abound, the
prudent lockers ahead cut hole through
he riad, while on the vine, down into the
,ulp. 1t is then closed tightly with wax.
Jnder genial sun the cone soon begins
o melt away till it ali disappears, leaving
r. 1,I., ftrth