The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1898-03-11
MAkINo oLAss EYES.
Nor. Of rAsn In Use Nov rA.s Ever n
fore.

More ef Them In Use Nov Than Ever ~ ]
fore.
1.-THE demand for artificial eyes"
said the proprietor of a glass eye I
factory in New York to q writer re-
Gently. twas larger during the last |
two years than have ever known
il to be, and have been engaged IN |
the manufacture of the article in
question for Tie past quarter of a
century. Last year we sold 35.Co0
artificial eyes. or an increase of
1000 over the previous year. Prior
to that our sales would not excec'l
30, 900 annually. The recent dema=d
indicates that more people ere wear
ing glass eyes than formerly, and
one of the chief reasons for this is
that the false articles are sold cheap
er and are made to resemble the
natural organs more perfectly now
than ever before. Hence the poor
who are compelled to wear glass
eyes have little difficulty in obtain
ing them, and rich people are less
sensitive about wearing the artifi-
cal product when necessary. Ten
years. ago an ordinary glass eye cost
from 90 to 81, while those made TO
order with the pupil and the cornea
carefully colored, sold anywhere
from $12 to $50. Competition has
out these prices down, until now an
ordinary eye sells for $5 and the
finer grades are worth from $40 10
$50, according to finish.
More gray eyes are manufacture
ed than any other color, then comes
the blue and next the brown eye
The call for black eyes is quite rare.
They are only made to order and
are seldom if ever kept in stock.
Ophthalmia hospitals are the largest
consumers of false eyes. These in
stitutions buy in quantities, and
naturally obtain their supply at re-
duced rates. They generally pur-
chase the ready made eyes, which
are used on poor patients who are
not in a financial position to be fas-
tidious either as to the quality or
finish of the article. We have hun
dreds of customers scattered all over
the country, for all of whom we
keep duplicates, ready TO ship when
ordered. The best glass eyes do not
last for more than a year, owing to
the action of such moisture az the
tear, the acids of which affect the
enamel, roughen the edges of the
surface, and very often cause pain
full irritation of the eyelids.
1.-The process of manufacture is
interesting. In its initial stage the
eye il long, slender stick of en-
amel, made of perfectly transparent
and fusible flint glass. This is put
into a crucible and exposed to great
heat. Now the globemaker places
the enamel over a blowpipe supp, 4
with air, which is pumped by =
machine into a huge cylinder ard
stored under water pressure. Then
under the careful manipulation Of
the workman the enamel tube il
formed into an oblong globe, just
the size and shape of the human
eye. Next it passes into the coloring
room, where correct tint Is APP
piled to the summit of the globe,
and this is gently heated by n small
flame and continuously rotated.
When il has assumed the correct
form of the iris, more coloring
matter is added to represent the pu-
pill, and ii is then covered by thick
layer of crystal to form the cornea.
This done, the eye is cooled and
sent TO the cutting room, where il
is formed into a small hollow oval,
with irregular edges. These edges
are again heated and the eye allow
ed to cool slowly. This tempering
process toughens the enamel aud
renders it less liable To break. The
finish work consists in polishing the
eye, and when this has been COM
pleted it is ready for the market. -
Washington Star.