The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1905-04-09
LARGE ARTICLES OF Glass.
Uses TO Which This Material Has Been and
May BE Applied.

Uses 20 Which This Material Has Been and
May he Applied.
That the anolents did big things In glass
we have been assured from many venerable
source. Not only was the great pillar Of
emerald In the temple Of Hercules at Tyre,
spoken Of by Herodotus, simply q cylinder
OF green glass, but the great shaft at Gades,
wherein the lamp burnt perpetually, was
undoubtedly OF the same material. The
imitation Of precious stones was also one
Of the early arts In which the ancient glass
makers eIoelled, and II Ia seriously re-
lated that they had brought this art 70
such perfection that II was the habit Of
monarchs 10 present each other with emer-
aids Of enormous size some being alleged
to have measured four by six feet.
But regardless Of what the ancients
did In glass making, says the National
Glass Budget, we moderns are In a fair
way to Guido them even In the manufacture
OF huge articles. They only at Thebes
and BENZ HAssan, sculptured their glass
makers on their monoliths; We are going
to make the monoliths themselves out Of
glass, pedestal, shaft and apex, not only like
the great lamp at Tyre, Shining brightly
In the night, but made out Of superb
In the starlight, moonlight OF sunlight,
glittering like a diamond, brilliant as the
sun, andNasj ehulgent as the scihtnlating
sPangles OF Gn Egyptian queen.
Then we are going to make belt courses,
door and window stills and lintels, keyst ones
and skewbaoks, beads and mouldipgs,
bases, columns and capitals. chimney tops
dc, in any colored0glass desired. Tomb
stones are 10 be a speciality, because II Is
claimed that they are practically impervtous
to atmospheric influences and therefore
impeTishable.
Glass is especially fitted for collins. There
Is little change OF temperature in the cool
earth OF vaults wherein they are placed,
nor is there much danger from hard raps
or thumpsj besides, wire netting can be
centrally imbedded in glass collins, thus
making them as thump proof as though
they were made Of metal.
When IL comes 10 glass bathtubs, the case
Is different, Prices are low. They are
now making iron enamelled tubs in perfect
finish which are IN every way as cleanly and
beautiful as could be made Of glass (the
enamel surface being glass;, besides having
the advantage Of being impervious TO II pd
heating and cooling, an essential require
ment in a bathtub that glass does not
possess.
Siemens long ago made glass railway
ties, OF sleepers, but they failed Of general
adoption, and latterly a steel tie promises
20 displace the wooden one, which, owing
10 its elasticity, will be preferred as long as
It can be obtained at a reasonable price.
Recently q German architect has under
taken to make glass telegraph and trolley
line poles, and we believe a factory Is now
being built 10 manufacture large articles
Of glass under his patents. Building blocks
of glass are being made in France, though
their adoption Is rather slower than was
anticipated, while the glass street paving
stones put down in France several years
ago, and about which much ado was made
at the time, do not seem TO have proved
markedly successful.