The Red Cloud chief., 1901-08-02
HOUSE OF HI FUTURE
A FRENCH SCIENTIST ADVOCATES
THE USE OF GLASS MANSIONS.
Some of the Advantages-An I%nexhausti-
BILE supply of Building Material For q
Dwelling That WouId he Easy TO
I1ean-Days Of Brick Numbered

Dwelling That Would BE Easy 10
~tIcan-Dsys Of Brick Numbered
A French savant. NJ. Jules Henri
vaux. until lately the director of the
great glass mandatory at st. Gobain,
believes that we are approaching an
age Of glass.
NJ. Hepriyaux Is an enthusiast on
glass, says the London Express. He
believes ID to be the material of the
future. He does not pretend that we
can look for glass %cannons, or glass
men.o'.war, or glass g%reyhOunds of the
ocean, nor does he contemplate the
substitution Of vitreous machinery for
that which we now employ In our vari-
u processes Of manufacture, but he
does claim that glass II the best sub
stance known to us for every kind OF
structural purpose. and especially for
dwelling houses. In short, IL the vi
sions of NJ. Hcnrivaux are realized we
shall all he living in glass houses be.
fore very long.
The point Of tho Idea Is found in
the in~exhaustible supply OF the ina
tcrials from which glass is made, In
Its adaptGbility to all shapes and
forms, its durability, and its cleanli-
ness. With regard TO the second point,
II Is Obvious that glass can be shaped,
cOlOTed. and decorated to an extent
OF which no other material Is capable,
and it Is Upon this aspect OF the idea
that NJ. Iicnrlvaux lavishcs hic inag-
nation.
There ere six ways in which glass
can be manipulated. 1t can be cast
into window pares. paving stones, pan.
els. etc. II can be moulded into corn.
Ices. states. wall decorations. and even
statues. II can be blown into bottles.
tumblers. vases and all the utensils
comprised under the name Of ''glass.
ware" It can be blown and ground
into crystals. lenses, prisms and other
objects Of art and utility. 1t can be
drawn into the finest threads and made
into pipes, baskets and dress materials.
Ii can be turned into mosaic and en-
amels. and can he brought into the
closest imitation of most of the preci-
GUS stones.
Imagine. with NJ. Hcnrivaux, the
construction of Il glass house. The
foundations and walls could be con
structed of n variety of glass, recent
ly Invented. called "stone glass;" which
has already successfully withstood the
severest tests. When crushed 1t gives
a resistance three times as great as
granite. When subjected to heat or
cold Il Is found less sensitive than
steel. When submitted to friction it
shows less wear than porphyry. Shock.
rs II n hammer blow, it resists to a
degree twenty-five times as severe rs
that which would fracture marble. The
test Of tension has practically no cf.
feet on II whatever.
The walls, then, would be built OF
glass held together by angle-iron SO
rs to permit of a hollow space through
which pipes could pass (the pipes
themselves being glass work. convey.
ing hot air. hot and cold water, gas,
electric wires. drains, and everything
needed for the health and comfort of
the inhabitants. Stairs and balus-
trades. ceilings and wall decorations,
mantlepiece and iireplaces. would all
be constructed of glass. Some of NJ.
Hcnrivaux's conceptions In the way
OF decorations. In which the glass Is
made opaque or tinted with brilliant
cOlors. or made silver and golden, or
arranged in prisms and crystals with
facets like diamonds, are perhaps too
fanciful TO be taken seriously. but
through them all there runs the same
enthusiasm. the same belief that glass,
as Theirs once said Of Louis Napoleon,
IL capable of anything.
Our chairs and tables, In the new
glass ~ will be made of vitrifed
material, %t0ughened to the strength Of
oak and mahogany. Our cooking uten.
sils. u plates and cups and saucers,
will be made OF the same substance.
Even our knives and forks will have
glass handles, II not glass blades.
The new glass house will be abso.
lutely clean, and practically indestruct-
lille. The whole of its surface can be
washed from the top story to the base.
ment, without a trace OF humidity b e
ing left. Dust cannO collect Oh It's
polished face, and the spider will find
no place on which TO hang its cob
webs.
The question OF cost has not been
left out Of account. Glass can be made
out OF almost anything amenable to
the influence OF fire. The stone glass
to which reference has already been
made. Is manufactured mainly from
what have hitherto been regarded as
waste substances. The Stag heaps
which disHgurc our mining ana iron
districts are all convertible into glass
Evidently the days OF bricks and
states are numbered.
Not Born Onicialiy.