Year: 1876

Throwing No Longer Incompatible.


From the Pittsturg Leader.


| One day last week the Leader published
an article detailing the tests to which the
Labastie (French) glass had been subjected,
and by which it was shown TO possess re-
markable strength. The article recalled
to the memory of this writer certain rumors
concerning experiments Mr.. Paul thinner
man, of Dithridge s. Co., proprietors of
the Fort Pitt Glass Works, at the corner
of Washington and franklin streets, was
engaged in, which, it was said, gave prom
Use of resulting in something more astonish-
ing still, and he determined to investigate
for the benefit Of the reading public. Ae-
cordingly he called at the Office and made
the object of his visit known to Mr.. Zina-
norman, who kindly and with great will
! ingness conducted him through the works
and made numerous tests, demonstrating
the almost impossibility of breaking the
glass they now manufacture. 1t may be as
we'll to explain here that the Labastie glass
is ordinary lime glass treated by immersion
in a preparation of parafine at certain
temperature, which hardens the surface,
but does not affect the glass deeper, leaving
it brittle as ever, except thin skin, SO to
speak, which is deprived of it's temper !"
by heating and cooling once or twice on a
lamp, or even by the atmosphere when not
used. This process Mr.. Zimmerman
thought imperfect and inefficient, because,
he reasoned, the element of strength should
be in the glass itse!f-should be a part of it
incorporated by the method Of manufac-
ture or by the introduction of some mate
rial capable of toughening the glass and
he made the subject one of study and
experiment, the result of which is most
astounding. Tests were made with Chin
neys of Labastie glass and with their own
manufacture. The Dithridge glass would
withstand much severer and many fold
more frequent tests than the other-in
fact, SO repeatedly that the patience of the
experimenter was exhausted and the tests
abandoned. The first test was to hold a
chimney as high as one could reach and
let it fall upon carpeted floor. Some of
Labastie broke at the first fall, others stood
it as many as four or perhaps five times,
while not one of the Dithridge chimneys
was injured, though subjected to the test
upward of forty times. The next tes. was
with their chimneys alone. They were
thrown, OR tossed, to the ceiling and allowed
to fall upon rough, uncafpeted floor, and
not one was damaged though large num-
Der were thus tested. When they struck
the floor they would rebound two or three
feet high. Then both Mr.. Zimm srman
and the writer threw several across the
room-say twenty-four feet-against a
board wall, with such force that they re-
bounded halfway to our feet. In this test
two chimneys were damaged-both but
slightly. One, thrown by Mr.. Zimmerman
with great force, struck knot; the other,
thrown by the reporter, struck nail and
had very small bit Clipped out of the
top.


The next test was as severe as it was
extraordinary. Mr.. Zimmerman called for
some tenpenny nails, which were brought,
and he proceeded to drive them into two
and-a-half-inch hard plank, using chimneys
as hammers. He would take chimney at
1andom from those ready for packing, and,
using the same force and vigor that he
would with a hatchet, drive the nails (they
were all rusty and hard to drive) clear in,
sinking the head even with the surface of
the wood, and then throw the chimney to
the other end of the room, over thirty feet,
and repeat the operation with another nail
and another chimney. After seeing the
thing done few times the reporter tried
it himself, but, with all his awkwardness
and clumsiness, he failed to break single
chimney. About half a pound of nails
were thus driven and not chimney was
cracked. This finished the tests by strik-
ing and knocking about, which. while they
fully prove the toughness and elasticity of
the glass, establish nothing with regard to
their power to Withstand the effects of
heating and cooling, which is really the all
inpOlttub IA CAlu4AVyos CSGo WCzO
then made with heat and cold, by the use
both Of coal oil and gas flame. They were
subjected to sudden and intense heat by
having the full power of the burners turned
on them at once when perfectly cold they
were then removed and placed in strong
current of cold air, where they would cool
as suddenly as they had been heated, and
every one defied both the heat and the cold
as often as tested, which was as long as
we had patience or curiosity in the matter.
No severer tests than this could be desired.


Many other tests were made, and in no
case, except the two chimneys mentioned
above, was any of the Dithridge glass
broken. Another excellence of these
chimneys is their extraordinary transpar-
eLcy, which exceed all other glass we ever
saw. They are bright and transmit light
as readily as watch crystals, which gives
them an immeasurable advantage over all
other chimneys made. Summing it all up,
we are satisfied that this new discovery
will revolutlonize the manufacture of glass.
The great difference between the Labastie
and this new glass is, that while the former
is hard the latter is tough and elastic, and
by the tests witnessed and made by the
writer the Dithridge chimney is shown to
surpass the Labastie as far as the Labastie
exceeds the common article.


Distinguished Progenltors.


About 1860 Robert and NagdaIen Pol
lock, together with their six sons and two
daughters, set sail from the county Done