The daily gazette., 1881-12-08

The Brittle Substance BETTER for
Building Purposes than Stone.
The Pittsburg Despatch says
Perhaps not one builder or contrac.
tor In ten, If told that the common
grades of glass made at the factories
In that city have a crushing strength
rearly four times as great as that
credited by experienced engineers
to the strongest quality Of granite,
would accept the statement as true.
Yet it is fact, and being so, the
query as to why glass has NOT re-.
ceived more attention from archi~
tects as q structural material naturally
suggests itself. A reporter had a
talk with several prominent glass
manufacturers on the subject, and
in answer to an interrogatory as to
whether blocks of glass could be
made in suitable lengths and sizes
and 30 annealed as to be utilized
in the construction of q building 10
place of stone, they said that it
could be done. Said one of these
gentlemeu:-"This question has
been considered by myself a number
of times and although l do not want
to advocate the absolute abolition
of brick and stone yet in the cree.
ton of art galleries, memorial
buildings, ETC., structure composed
Of blocks Of glass in prismatic colors
would be a unique, beautiful, and
lasting structure. With the nuns
erous inventions which have come
into use of late years in connection
with the production Of glass, the cost
has been gradually going down,
while the quality Of the fabric is
ste adily becoming better.
"One objection which would be raised
TO the durability OF q glass house, In the
literal sense of the words, might be that
the blocks would not take q bind, or
adhere together with common mortar.
This objectioncan be readily set aside by
the use Of = good cement, and when
completed the structure will stand for
ages, barring extraordinary accidents.
As to the cost Of glass house, 1t can be
kept down to but small percentage
above the price of cut granite. In build
ing with stone you have to pay the stone
masons, and when II comes TO elaborate
examples Of carving, in Corinthian
pillars, collars and capitals, etc., why,
the work Is rather costly as compared
with glass, when the latter can be moul-
ded Into any shape or form, and the
work accomplished In much less time.
l am convinced that the time will come
when we will see such q building erec-
ted. Scarcely day passes but what the
sphere of glass as an article of use be.
comes widened. In parts of Germany
and on one line in England glass ties
are being used on railroads, and thus
far have gwen satisfaction, combining
all Of the requisites Of wooden ties with
the virtue OF being susceptible TO usage
at least 10 per cent. longer than wood
Then by the Bastra process glass articles
are now being made for common use
which can be thrown on the floor and
will rebound like q rubber ball. Pro
gress is also being made towards render
ing glass, which has ever been charac.
terized as the brittle fabric,' ductile, and
to day threads of glass can be made that
can be tried In knots and woven into
cloth. Were one disposed to give play
to fancy and fuse 1t into fact, house
entirely composed of glass could be built
with walls and roof and floors fashioned
from melted sand. Carpets of glass
could cover the floors. The most ultra
aesthetic, sitting on glass chairs or reclin-
ing on glass couches, arrayed In glass
garments, eating and drinking from
glass dishes, such one could realize
that the age OF glass had come. Yet
nearly all Of this fifty years ago would
have been classed with the then imposs
Bile telephone and electic light, and this
statement would have likely found its
place in the Catalogue Expurgatoros.'