The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1885-05-23
The Amount of Sand Consumed Annually
I'm Pittsburg in Manufacturing Glass.

Few people outside of the glass business
know anything of the manufacture Of glass.
That sand is the principal constituent Is
we'll known, but the quantity or quality re-
Quired are things of which little is known
by persons out of the trade. The furnish
ing of sand to the glass factories in and
about Pittsburg is as important an industry
as supplying the iron mills there with ore,
and its magnitude is surprisingly large. A
gentleman named SlOcum, who is known
as man we'll posted on the subject, was
met Yesterday afternoon, and from him
was obtained brief interview on the
subject.
There are different kinds of glass
sand" he said, "hut there are only two
grades now used for the best quality Of
glass. One is known as flat glass and Ia
glass and bottle sand. The latter is the
COarser."
"Where does the sand come from?'
"There is sand in Ohio and West Virgil
MIA, but very little of that comes here.
The sand used in Pittsburg is mined near
Lewiston at the Juniata mines, which are
176 miles east Of Pittsburg; at McVeigh-
town, 12 miles west of Lewiston; at Vine
yard, % miles east of Lewiston, and at
Napoleon, which is $50 miles west of Pitts
burg"
"Do they dig it out of bank ?"
Not exactly" answered Mr.. Slocum,
with a chuckle AT the Juniata mine,
which is four miles this side of Lewiston,
the sand is mined just the same as coal
is taken from the ground. The vein there
has been 60 feet deep, but recently, un
derStanl, they have started another 40.foot
drift under the old one, making 100 feet of
sand. There may be considerable more
than that. II is 4 fine white article, and is
used for the manufacture of flint glass anG
table ware. When first mined it is appar-
emily hard, but when it is blown out with
powder the action of the air and water, in
which il Is afterwards washed, crumbles il
all up into a very fine powdery sand. 1t is
then put into water troughs, and by screw
shaped pump devices it il lifted from one
trough of running water to another until it
has gone through bath of feur different
waters" as they are called. After that it
is taken into tie dryer This is composed
of two cylinders, the smaller placed Inside
the larger, leaving an annular space be-
tween. They are revolved, and the sand is
dried by steam from the exhaust of the en-
CINE When in hurry fresh steam Is
used At this mine there Is a very novel
ferry across the Juniata for the conveyance
of this sand from the mine to the place of
shipping Ii is an endless chain on which
are attached great iron buckets something
similar to the bucket chains in an elevator.
The ferry is a mile and a half in length.
At Mapleton, which is in Huntingdon
county, the sand is mined out openly from
a quarry in the same way limestone is taken
ont in this country. tits of harder nature
than the Juniata sand. When quarried
about one-fourth of II crumbles but the
balance is put through an oarcrusher and
then ground, after which it is washed in
the same way rs the other sand. II Is not
so white or fine as the better grade, but tor
window glass and bottles is equally rs
good"
did they not use to get sand near
here!"
"Yes, but Monongahsla river sand is not
used any more"
How much sand Is used In a year by
the glass houses of Pittsburg and vicinity:"
There are shipped annually TO this city
about twenty-five thousand tons of table
ware and flint sand, and 10000 tons of win
dow glass and bottle sand. That will make
about that many tons Of glass. Putting ten
tons of sand to a car there are received
here every year $500 cars Of sand. Table
ware making larger hulk. there would be
Of course considerably moro cars of glass
shipped than cars OF sand received each