Rogue River courier. (Grants Pass, Or.) 1886-1927, 1900-10-18
OUR PARIS EXPOSITION LETTER
Wonderful Exhibition Of Glass Creations
Glass Cloth, Glass Eyes,
Glass Dough
(From Our Regular Correspondent

idTib ialf httfactb I'll WHO ike Rlllte
and sparkle. The interior OF the hal
looks like perpetual exhibition OF fire
works, flashes radiating from all th,
cut edges Of the glass, reproduced in
thousand reflections, and appearing il
fugitive rainbows on every side.
There Is strong emulation between th,
glass workers Of every country. and th'
artistic genius OF the various races il
shown in the divers forms and th,
details OF ornamentation Of all thi
crystal work, in which color itself offer
appears. Especially charming are th'
goblets, carafes, and bottles Of all sorts
Some Of the objects are blown to dimen
sions truly colossal, and one wonder
from what human lungs could hav,
issued the breath that inflated them
As matter OF fact, the pieces are nov
blown mechanically, by means Of com
pressed air. One sphere is nearly iy,
feet in diameter; from this enormous
bubble, three thousand watch glasses
could be cut.
Here we see the glass thread, as Gin,
as silk, from which dresses are made
These are not for every day wear, 1t il
true, but quantities OF the glass threat
are used by ladies for different purposes
notable for making aiQrettes for tn,
hair or for hats. There are also speci
mems oi glass cotton and wooden, which
IS used for purposes Of insulation, or tc
prevent the passage OF heat.
A novel employment Of glass thread
In Germany Is the fabrication of ia.
destructihle burners for lamps; the
inventors claim that they are incom.
parable for allowing the regular passage
of the liquid where petroleum or alcohol
is used. These burners have not yet
come into general use, however.
Glass is also utilized by the manu-
facturers oil artificial flowers. Crushed
In special manner. IL takes the form
oil very fine powder, resembling
diamond dust. 1t ls supposed to give
the effect Of dew on the flowers, thus
increasing the naturalness Of their
appearance.
In one corner you fancy you have
stumbled into mythology, and have
encountered Argus himself. All around
are eyes that stare at you fxedly; eyes
that have a disturbing air OF vitality,
eyes oil all colors, eyes TO suit all tastes,
eyes more beautiful than many In
nature. You wonder involuntarily how
80 many false eyes can be CONSUMED. :"
TO use the word in the commercial
sense. Certainly, 1t is not yet the
fashion to have false eyes fitted in, as
one would false teeth. The man in
charge courteously explained that there
are many more people with only one
eye than the world in general imagines.
Artificial eyes are so well made that the
iniirmity passes almost unnoliced. But
the greatest demand comes from doll
makers and from naturalists who stuff
animals. Doll eyes, especially, must be
very carefully prepared, and must not
be the least crossed; The youthful
purchasers Of this line Of goods are very
particular on this point.
One OF the curious things in this
curious exhibit Is what specialists call
glass dough-" Imagine glass, real
glass, that one can knead and mold, and
into which one can drive nails as into
lead, without chipping or cracking il.
This way OF preparing glass, II seems,
was known to the ancients. They
modelled il like clay and made all sorts
OF objects that could be thrown ON the
ground or even at somebody's head.
without breaking them. IL is fecounted
that an artisan who discovered an
especially excellent formula for making
glass dough had the unfortunate idea of
showing samples, with an explanation
oil Their merits, to the Emperor Tiberius.
The Emperor examined them and
listened with oondescending interest,
ana Immediately had the inventors head
cut off. Historians assign as the reason
ior this imperial decision, that Tiberius
saw something unnatural IN the dis
covery, and in order 20 avoid the
trouble OF investigating the unpatented
invention, he suppressed it in the
person OF its author.
Among the other interesting objects
In tins section are the beads, the paste,
the pearls, and above all the stained
glass, which in design aud execution
very nearly approaches the famous pro.
ductions OF the middle ayes.
An exposition where all the produo.
tons OF the globe are collected, with
the documents necessary to show the
progress of civilization and the social
movement in the different countries.
The development Of their agriculture and
their Industries, permits the most in.
teresting comparisons. Oriental agrl-
culture is represented on the Champ de
Mars, by the exhibits of Russia, Japan,
hungary Roumania, Servia and Bosnia
Herzegovina, and although these nations
differ widely in geographical location,
IN climate nature of soil, etc. they have
certain characteristics IN common. In
ALL the right OF holding land belonged,
until relatively recent date, to the
sovereigns aud the nobility and in ALL
ut about the same time, there WAS
remarkable development in the applca.