Chapter II: Part 2

From what we gather from the foregoing facts, we are inclined to the belief that, in fine fancy work, in colors, and in the imitation of gems, the ancient glass-makers excelled the modern ones. They were also acquainted with the art of making and using moulds for blown and pressed glass, and forming what in England is now called patent pillar glass. All these operations, however, were evidently on a very limited scale, their views being mainly directed to the production of small but costly articles. Although in the time of the Roman manufacturers vases of extra size were made, requiring larger crucibles and furnaces than those used by the glass-makers of Tyre, yet it is evident that they produced few articles except such as were held sacred for sepulchral purposes, or designed for luxury. And while they possessed the knowledge of the use of moulds to press and blow glass by expansion, it does not appear that they produced any articles for domestic use. If it were not thus, some evidences would be found among the various specimens which have been preserved.

LEGENDS OF THE GLASS-HOUSE, ETC.

Enough has been adduced to show the peculiar estimation in which the art of glass-making was formerly held, and the privileges conferred on it by the various governments of Europe.

The art was thus almost invested with an air of romance; and a manufacture commanding so much attention on the part of the governments was regarded with a great share of awe and wonder.

It is not strange that, in this state of things, various legends should have been identified with the manufacture and its localities. Among these legends was that which ascribed to the furnace-fire the property of creating the monster called the Salamander. It was believed, too, that at certain times this wonderful being issued from his abode, and, as opportunity offered, carried back some victim to his fiery bed. The absence of workmen, who sometimes departed secretly for foreign lands, was always accounted for by the hypothesis that in some unguarded moment they had fallen a prey to the Salamander. Visitors, too, whose courage could sustain them, were directed to look through the bye-hole to the interior of the furnace, and no one failed to discover the monster coiled in his glowing bed, and glaring with fiery eyes upon the intruder, much to his discomfiture, and effectually as to his retreat. Some gallant knights, armed _cap-a-pie_, it is said, dared a combat with the fiery dragon, but always returned defeated; the important fact being doubtless then unknown or overlooked, that steel armor, being a rapid conductor of heat, would be likely to tempt a more ready approach of the fabled monster.

There was another current notion, that glass was as easily rendered malleable as brittle, but that the workmen concealed the art, and the life of any one attempting the discovery was surely forfeited. An ancient writer on glass, "Isidorus," states that, in the reign of Tiberius, an artist, banished from Rome on political considerations, in his retirement discovered the art of rendering glass malleable; he ventured to return to Rome, in hopes of procuring a remission of his sentence, and a reward for his invention; the glass-makers, supposing their interest to be at stake, employed so powerful an influence with the Emperor (who was made to believe that the value of gold might be diminished by the discovery), that he caused the artist to be beheaded, and his secret died with him. "Blancourt" relates that, as late as the time of Louis XIII., an inventor having presented to Cardinal Richelieu a specimen of malleable glass of his own manufacture, he was rewarded by a sentence of perpetual imprisonment, lest the "vested interest" of French glass manufacturers might be injured by the discovery. Even at the present day the error is a popular one, that if the art of making glass malleable were made known, it would have the effect of closing nearly all the existing glass-works; while the truth is, that quite the reverse would be the result. Whenever the art of making glass malleable is made known, it will assuredly multiply the manufacture to a tenfold degree.

It was formerly the custom for the workmen, in setting pots in the glass-furnace, to protect themselves from the heat by dressing in the skins of wild animals from head to foot; to this "outre" garb were added glass goggle-eyes, and thus the most hideous-looking monsters were readily presented to the eye. Show was then made of themselves in the neighborhood, to the infinite alarm of children, old women, and others. This always occurred, with other mysterious doings, on the occasion of setting the pot, or any other important movement attendant on the business. The ground was thus furnished for very much of the horrible _diablerie_ connected with the whole history of the manufacture.

A belief was long prevalent that glass drinking vessels, made under certain astronomical influences, would certainly fly to pieces if any poisonous liquid was placed in them; and sales of vessels of this kind were made at enormous prices. Another idea pervaded the community, that vessels of a certain form, made in a peculiar state of the atmosphere, and after midnight, would allow a pure diamond to pass directly through the bottom of the vessel. Various articles, such as colored goblets, were thought to add to the flavor of wine, and to detract materially from its intoxicating quality.

All these, and many other popular notions, added greatly to the mystery and renown of glass manufacturers. We close this number with an extract from "Howell's Familiar Letters." "Murano," says he, "a little island about one mile from Venice, is the place where crystal glass is made, and it is a rare sight to see whole streets where on one side there are twenty furnaces at work. They say here, that although one should transfer a furnace from Murano to Venice, or to any of the little assembled islands about here, or to any other part of the earth beside, to use the same materials, the same workmen, the same fuel, and the selfsame ingredients every way, yet they cannot make crystal glass in that perfection for beauty and lustre as at Murano. Some impute it to the circumambient air, which is purified and attenuated by the concurrence of so many fires, that are in these furnaces night and day perpetually, for they are like the vestal fires, never going out."

There is no manufacturing business carried on by man combining so many inherent contingencies, as that of the working of flint glass. There is none demanding more untiring vigilance on the part of the daily superintendent, or requiring so much ability and interest in the work. Unlike all other branches of labor, it is carried on by night and day, is governed by no motive power connected with steam or water, and has no analogy to the production of labor by looms or machinery.

The crude material of earth being used, each portion requires careful refining from natural impurities, and when compounded, being dependent upon combustion in the furnace for its completion, (which combustion is effected by change of the atmosphere beyond the power of man to direct, but exercises a power to affect the heat of the furnace acting for good or for evil,) much responsibility rests upon the furnace-tenders; constant care on their part is required. A slight neglect affects the quality of the glass. A check upon the furnace in founding-time will spoil every pot of metal for the best work. Overheat, too, will destroy the pots, and the entire weekly melt will be launched into the cave, at a loss of several thousand dollars. Even with the utmost care, a rush of air will not uncommonly pass through the furnace and destroy one or more pots in a minute's space. And when the furnace has yielded a full melt, and is ready for work, many evils are at hand, and among the ever-jarring materials of a glass-house, some one becomes adverse to a full week's work; vigilance is not always the price of success.

Again: no branch of mechanical labor possesses more of attraction for the eye of the stranger or the curious, than is to be witnessed in a glass-house in full play. The crowded and bee-like movements of the workmen, with irons and hot metal, yet each, like the spheres of his own orbit, presents a scene apparently of inextricable confusion.

It is a difficult task to describe the curious and interesting operations of the glass-blowers; for the present we may say, that there is no other employment so largely dependent upon steadiness of nerve and calm self-possession. The power of manipulation is the result of long experience. The business of the glass-blower is literally at his "fingers' ends." It is most interesting to witness the progress of his labor, from the first gathering of the liquid metal from the pot, and the passing it from hand to hand, until the shapeless and apparently uncontrollable mass is converted into some elegant article. Equally interesting is it to witness with what dexterity he commands, and with what entire ease he controls the melted mass; the care, also, with which he swings it with force just enough to give it the desired length, joins it to other pieces, or with shears cuts it with the same ease as paper. The whole process, indeed, is one filled with the most fascinating interest and power.

Of all the articles of glass manufacture, none command a greater degree of attention than the article called the salver, and no other develops so pleasing and surprising effects in its processes. When seen for the first time, the change from a shapeless mass, the force with which it flies open at the end of the process, changing in an instant into a perfect article, all combine to astonish and delight the beholder.

Mystery is as much a characteristic of the art now as at any former period; but it is a mystery unallied to superstition,--a mystery whose interpreter is science,--a mystery which, instead of repelling the curious and frightening the ignorant, now invites the inquiring and delights the unlearned.

By the following, we find that the romance of glass-making has not yet died out. We copy from the "Paris Annual of Scientific Discovery," for 1863, the following:--

"It would appear there is yet some secret in glass-making unknown to the world at large, as the manufactory of Mr. Daguet, of Soletere, France, is known to be in possession of an undivulged method, which enables them to make glass of a purity which all other manufacturers are not able to rival. A railway, recently constructed and running past Mr. Daguet's works, has so affected the glass-pots, by the tremor occasioned by the locomotives and trains, that work has had to be suspended. For this Mr. Daguet brought an action, during the past year, against the railway company for damages; but when the case came on for trial, the court held that it would be impossible to assess damages unless it were made cognizant of the secret, and its pecuniary advantage to Mr. Daguet. The latter declined imparting this, and the court refused to proceed further."

We have shown that glass, while it has contributed so largely to the material well-being of man, has also administered profusely to the pleasure of woman. The belle enjoys the reflection of her beauty in its silvered face,--a pleasure peculiarly her own, as we all know,--and if we may believe poesy, the mermaid, her rival of the coral groves in the fathomless ocean, looks with equal satisfaction upon her dubious form, as seen in her hand-mirror. And what would Cinderella be to the nursery without her glass slipper!

But leaving poetry to its own prolific devices, where would science find itself without the aid of glass? The astronomer's and chemist's vocation would be gone. Suns, planets, and stars would have no exact existence to us, and their laws be unknown. The seaman would blunder his way on the ocean, lucky if he guessed aright his course, and cursing his "stars," when he did not. In short, glass is the indispensable servant of science in almost all its forms, and where it does not discover it protects. Its loss would throw back the world into antediluvian ignorance, not to mention the countless eyes it would deprive of sight, of their intellectual food, and freedom of way.

MANUFACTURE OF GLASS IN THE UNITED STATES, ETC.

The last number of our series of articles upon this highly interesting subject--interesting both as concerns the various features of the manufacture, and as indicative of the progress of the art in the successive ages of the world's history--closed the sketch of the rise and progress of the manufacture of flint glass. Our sketch has covered the ground so far as time would allow, from the introduction of the art into Egypt, through its transfer to Tyre and Sidon, and from thence, in its order, to Rome, Venice, France, and finally into England.

The reader will notice that this progress, like that of many others, is almost identical, for a time at least, with the gradual extension of conquest, and especially with this, as connected with the extension of the Roman sway.

We now reach the period of its introduction into the Western continent, and propose giving an outline of its gradual extension and characteristics in our own land.

Our opportunity of research as to the period of the introduction of glass manufacture into this country, induce the belief that the first effort was made some years before the American Revolution.

This attempt was by a company of Germans, who selected the town of Quincy, in this State, as the place in which to establish the manufacture.

We are acquainted with little beyond the fact, that such an attempt was made; their success, or the length of time during which they carried on the work, are matters equally beyond our knowledge. Some specimens of their articles still exist, showing mainly that they engaged in the manufacture of what is called black metal only; these also are of the rudest style of the art.

The place in Quincy in which their manufactory was established acquired the name from them of "Germantown," which name it retains to the present time. The site of their manufactory is now occupied, we believe, by the institution called "The Sailors' Snug Harbor."

A Connecticut paper states a patent was granted by that State, in 1747, for twenty years, to Thomas Darling, for the exclusive privilege of making glass. This Act appears to have become void, because of the patentee not fulfilling its conditions, and at various times after this special grants were made to others to introduce the manufacture of glass.

The Historical Society of Brooklyn, N.Y., has in their cabinet "a glass bottle, the first one manufactured at a glass-works started, in 1754, near the site of the present glass-works in State Street. This enterprise, we are informed, was brought to an untimely end for want of sand,--that is, the right kind of sand." From this we infer, it must be a flint-glass bottle, as the sand suitable for green or black glass abounds on their shore.

Shortly after the close of the Revolutionary struggle, we think about the year 1785, the late Robert Hewes, a well-known citizen of Boston, made, probably, the first attempt to establish a window-glass manufactory on this continent. This manufactory was modelled upon the German system. Mr. Hewes carried his works to the fuel, and erected his factory in the then forest of New Hampshire. The writer well remembers, when a boy, hearing Mr. Hewes relate, that when building his glass-works the tracks of bears were frequently seen in the morning in and around his works.

From the best information in our possession, we think that to Mr. Robert Hewes must be conceded the first attempt to establish window-glass making in the United States, or in the western world. The aim of Mr. Hewes was doubtless to supply the most important and necessary article made of glass, and called for by the immediate wants of the people, viz., window-glass. It ended, however, in disappointment to the projector, probably from the frequent error of carrying such works into the interior, to the vicinity of fuel, or from lack of skill on the part of the workmen.

This attempt was followed, about the year 1787, by Messrs. Whalley, Hunnewell, and their associates, and by the workmen Plumback and Cooper, who erected a large factory in Essex Street, Boston (where Edinboro' Street now is), for the purpose of making the Crown Window Glass. This was without success, until a German, of the name of Lint, arrived in the year 1803, and from this period there was great success in the manufacture, for the State of Massachusetts, to encourage the manufacture of window-glass, paid the proprietors a bounty on every table of glass made by them. This was done to counteract the effect of the bounty paid by England on the exportation of glass from that kingdom. The State bounty had the effect to encourage the proprietors and sustain their efforts, so that by perseverance many difficulties were overcome, and a well-earned reputation supported for the strength and clearness of their glass; a glass superior to the imported, and well known throughout the United States as "Boston Window-Glass." This reputation they steadily sustained, until they made glass in their new works at South Boston, in the year 1822. Their charter from the State was highly favorable to the stockholders; among the privileges it granted an exclusive right to manufacture for fifteen years, and to manufacture glass without their consent subjected the offender to a fine of five hundred dollars for each offence. Their capital was exempt from taxation for five years, and the workmen exempted from military duty.

From the founding of this establishment may be dated the founding of all the Crown and Cylinder, Window and Flint Glass-Works in the Atlantic States. Indeed, this may be considered the fruitful parent tree of the many branches now so widely spread abroad.

The wonderful mystery attached to the art of glass-making seems to have followed its introduction into this country. The glass-blower was considered a magician, and myriads visited the newly-erected works, and coming away with a somewhat improved idea of an unmentionable place and its occupants; and the man who could compound the materials to make glass was looked upon as an alchemist who could transmute base metal into pure gold.

The fame of the works spread into a neighboring State, and in 1810 or 1811 a company was formed in Utica, to establish glass-works in that place, and quite a number of workmen in the Essex Street Works were induced to leave their employ and break their indentures from the offer of increased wages; while, however, on their way, and just before they reached the State line, they, with the agent, were arrested, brought back, and expensive lawsuits incurred. The Utica Works were abandoned, and, we believe, never revived.

Subsequently another company was formed in New York, being influenced by a fallacious view of the silicious sand. This company erected their works at Sandy Lake, a locality abounding both in silex and fuel. A few years' trial convinced the proprietors the place was ill chosen, and, after the experience of heavy losses, it was abandoned.

A Doctor Adams, of Richmond, Virginia, made large offers of increased wages to the workmen of the Essex Street Works, who were then induced to abandon their place of work and violate their indentures. They succeeded in reaching Richmond to try their fortune under the auspices of the Doctor. A few years' experience convinced them of the fallacy of increased pay; for, after very heavy losses, the works were abandoned and the workmen thrown out of employ. The proprietors of the Essex Street Works had engaged workmen in the mean time, at a very heavy expense, from England--a most difficult task, for the English government made it a penal offence to entice workmen to leave the kingdom at that period.

In 1811 the proprietors of the Essex Street Works erected large and improved works on the shore at South Boston. To supply the workmen enticed away, and also to meet the wants of their factory, an agent was sent to England to procure a set of glass-workers. By the time they reached this country the war with England broke out, and the enterprise was thus defeated; for it became difficult to procure fuel and the various means for carrying on the Essex Street Works.

The making of window-glass in Boston led to the introduction of the manufacture of flint-glass, arising from the excess of window-glass blowers, brought into the country by the enterprise of the Boston Window-Glass Company; many among the number from Europe had worked more or less in flint-glass works (no unusual thing in England), for a good flint-glass blower, with manual strength, can fill the part of a window-glass blower, and exceedingly well.

Among the number was a Mr. Thomas Caines, now living at South Boston, having retired from the business with an independent property, the honest fruit of his skill and industry; he may be truly considered as the father of the flint-glass business in the Atlantic States.

Mr. Caines proved competent to the task, not only as a first-rate workman, but possessed the art of mixing the materials and being able to sustain all the other departments appertaining to the business. He prevailed upon the proprietors to erect a small six-pot flint furnace in part of their large unoccupied manufactory in South Boston.

At that time the articles of flint-glass imported by the earthenware trade were confined to a very few articles, such as German straw tumblers, cruets, salts, and plain decanters of cheap fabric; of the finer articles, to cut finger tumblers, sham diamond cut dishes, and Rodney decanters; a quality of glass and cutting that would not at the present day command one-fifth of their then cost.

War having interrupted the importation of glass, the manufactory supplied the then limited demand, and gave full employ for their factory.

Contemporaneous with the South Boston enterprise, a company was formed and incorporated under the title of the Porcelain and Glass Manufacturing Company. Their factory was located at East Cambridge, then called Craigie's Point. Their china department was directed by a Mr. Bruitan, but for want of proper materials it proved an entire failure. Their glass-works were under the direction of a Mr. Thompson, who built a small six-pot furnace, similar in size to the one at South Boston. Thompson brought out a set of hands, at a heavy expense, to work the furnace, but the result proved he was in no way qualified for the task, nor possessed of the least practical skill or knowledge of the business, and of course proving an entire failure. The attempt to make porcelain and glass was abandoned by the company.

In 1815, some of the workmen left the South Boston Factory and hired of the Porcelain Company their six-pot furnace, and commenced the making of flint-glass under the firm of Emmet, Fisher & Flowers. They succeeded for a time very well, and turned out glass suitable for the trade; but want of concert of action prevented a successful result, and they dissolved without loss. The Porcelain Company, discouraged by so many failures, agreed to wind up their concern, and in November, 1817, they disposed of their entire property at public auction.

As one manufactory dies out only to give place to another, so the present New England Glass Company was formed, and became the purchasers of the Porcelain Works. That company, from 1817, to the present time, have pursued the business with signal success; beginning with the small capital of forty thousand dollars, they have from time to time increased it, until it amounts at the present time to half a million of dollars. They commenced business with a small six-pot furnace, holding seven hundred pounds to each pot; employed, all told, about forty hands, and the yearly product did not exceed forty thousand dollars. They now run five furnaces, averaging ten pots to each, capacity of two thousand pounds to each pot. They employ over five hundred men and boys, and the yearly product is not less than five hundred thousand dollars.

In 1820 some of their workmen left them, built a factory in New York City, and conducted their business under the firm of Fisher & Gillerland. In 1823 Gillerland dissolved the connection and built, on his own account, a manufactory in Brooklyn, N.Y., which he conducts at this period with great skill and success, and is considered the best metal mixer in the United States.

In 1825 a Flint-Glass Manufactory was established by individual enterprise in Sandwich, Mass. Ground was broke in April, dwellings for the workmen built, and manufactory completed; and on the 4th day of July, 1825, they commenced blowing glass--three months from first breaking ground. In the following year it was purchased of the proprietor, a company formed, and incorporated under the title of Boston and Sandwich Glass Company. Like their predecessors, they commenced in a small way; beginning with an eight-pot furnace, each holding eight hundred pounds. The weekly melts at that period did not exceed seven thousand pounds, and yearly product seventy-five thousand dollars; giving employment to from sixty to seventy hands. From time to time, as their business warranted, they increased their capital until it reached the present sum of four hundred thousand dollars. Their weekly melts have increased from seven thousand pounds to much over one hundred thousand pounds; their hands employed from seventy to over five hundred; their one furnace of eight pots to four furnaces of ten pots; and yearly product from seventy-five thousand dollars to six hundred thousand dollars.

In 1820 another secession of workmen from the New England Glass Company took place, to embark on their own account their savings of many years in the doubtful enterprise of establishing flint-glass works in Kensington, Philadelphia, under the title of the Union Flint-Glass Company. The proprietors, being all workmen, were enthusiastic in the project, happy in the belief that they could carry it on successfully, work when convenient, and enjoy much leisure. All was _then_ to them sunshine. Ere long they realized the many inherent evils attendant on flint-glass works; the demon of discord appeared among them, and they discovered, when too late, that they had left a place of comfort and ease for a doubtful enterprise. Death thinned their ranks, and the works, after passing into other hands for a short trial, have years since ceased to exist.

From 1820 to 1840 very many attempts were made, by corporations and firms, to establish the manufacture of flint-glass in the Atlantic States, but almost with entire failure. The parent tree, the old South Boston concern, failed; the works were revived from time to time by at least five different concerns, and all ended in failure; and for years the works remained closed, till the present occupant, Mr. Patrick Slane, hired the premises, and by his enterprise and great industry has greatly enlarged the works, and is now carrying on a large and active business. In his factory we learn the old system among the operatives he does not allow to have a foothold, and the individual industry of his hands is not cramped or limited by the oppressive system of the old school operative.

As a record of the past and a reference for the future, we find, in reviewing the various attempts to establish flint-glass works in the Atlantic States, that it would not be just to place the names of those identified with them before the reader; for many were deluded by the projectors with promises of the most flattering success, but realized only disappointment and loss.

In enumerating all the concerns, companies, and corporations that have been engaged in the manufacture of flint-glass in the Atlantic States, we find the number to be forty-two; of which number two concerns have retired, and ten are now in operation, viz., two at East Cambridge, three at South Boston, one at Sandwich, three near New York City, and one at Philadelphia; leaving two concerns who retired with property, and twenty-eight out of the forty-two concerns entire failures, involving the parties interested in heavy loss, the fate of the existing ten to be determined by future events.

Before closing, we may allude to the repeated failure of permanently establishing window- and bottle-glass works in this vicinity. The primary cause has been in the construction of the furnaces, no improvement for centuries having taken place, but the old defective plan being adhered to by workmen from Europe. A casual observer must see they are defective, and consume double the quantity of fuel really required for the weekly melts. The rate of wages for experienced workmen, about threefold over the German rates, has heretofore checked success, but at the present time is more than compensated by machinery and materials.

The manufacture of plate-glass offers a profitable and inviting field that should be improved. The consumption in this country is large and increasing yearly. Materials are cheaper than in Europe, and as the most essential part is performed by machinery and motive power, this will more than equalize the extra rate of wages that may be taxed upon a new undertaking.

We have recorded the rise and progress of the Glass Manufacture in the Atlantic States, showing its course from its introduction in 1812 to the present period, _i.e._ 1852, covering a space of time of just forty years.

We now turn to the introduction of the manufacture in the Western States, for the account of which we are indebted to Mr. Thomas Bakewell, of Pittsburg, Penn. Mr. Bakewell advises us, that, prior to the year 1808, glass-works were established by a company of Germans, near Fredericktown, Maryland, under the direct control of a Mr. Amelong, for the purpose of manufacturing glass in all its branches. We have not ascertained the precise year in which Mr. Amelong commenced the manufacture; but previous to the year 1808 the establishment was broken up, and the workmen dispersed. Most of them reached Pittsburg, Penn., and a part of them were engaged by Col. James O'Hara, in the establishment of the first window-glass factory in the Western States. The same factory is in operation to the present day, and others of the Fredericktown company were instrumental in introducing the same branch of the glass business into Pennsylvania, at New Geneva, upon the property of the late Albert Gallatin. Others of the number, previously mentioned, established themselves in Baltimore, and in all of the places noticed. Some of their descendants still continue the business.

There are at this time ten window-glass factories in the vicinity of Pittsburg, and fifteen in the river towns,--in all twenty-five works,--manufacturing over 220,000 boxes of window-glass of 100 feet each annually.

We now proceed to examine a more interesting topic, viz., the rise and progress of the flint-glass business in the West. We have shown that most of the workmen, on the breaking up of the glass-works in Fredericktown, migrated to Pittsburg, attracted there, doubtless, by the coal mines. Some of these persons were successful in establishing the manufacture of window-glass, while a portion of the workmen, in the spring of the year 1808, attempted to establish a flint-glass manufactory upon part of the premises now occupied by Bakewell & Pears, extensive flint-glass manufacturers. The persons engaged in the enterprise, however, were deficient, both in the requisite knowledge and capital; the effort proved abortive, the parties quarrelled, and the establishment, in an incomplete condition, was offered for sale.

In the August following, a Mr. Bakewell and his friend, Mr. Page, being on a visit to Pittsburg, were induced to purchase the concern, under the representation of one of the owners that he possessed the information and skill requisite for the proper pursuit of the business, having been engaged (as he stated) in the business before he left England. Mr. Bakewell had scarcely entered upon his new pursuit before he discovered that the qualification of the person alluded to had been entirely misrepresented, and that to succeed he must rely upon his own experience and diligence in the attainment of the peculiar knowledge indispensable to the success of his undertaking. In this the fortune of his family and friend were, of course, deeply involved, and he therefore set himself to the accomplishment of his task most manfully. Those only who have practical experience of the character of the undertaking can fully appreciate the various and almost insurmountable difficulties to be encountered and overcome before success could be attained.

His first difficulty arose from want of skill in the workmen, and the inferiority of the materials employed in the manufacture of flint-glass. So little were the resources of the West developed at that day, that Mr. Bakewell had to procure his pearlash and red lead from Philadelphia, the pot clay from Burlington, N.J.,--the whole being transported over the mountains in wagons to Pittsburg. The only sand then known was the yellow kind, obtained in the vicinity, and used at this time only for window-glass. For many years Mr. Bakewell obtained the saltpetre needed from the caves of Kentucky, in a crude state, which article he was obliged to purify, until the period of 1815, when the required supply was obtained from Calcutta.

The few workmen then in the country were not well instructed in the making of glass articles, after the glass was prepared, to which was added the great evil (which has too usually prevailed among the imported workmen) of a determination to prevent the instruction of apprentices by the most arbitrary and unjust means, and, so far as it was in their power, endeavoring to prevent competition, by not only controlling the hours of work, but the quantity of manufacture; in fact, doing the least amount of work possible for the largest amount of pay that could be coerced from the proprietors. Experience, however, showed Mr. Bakewell how to construct his furnaces, or, at least, to improve on the old; and he discovered better materials in his immediate vicinity, and succeeded in making purer glass than he had before made. The oppressive acts of the workmen, in the mean time, compelled Mr. Bakewell to resort to England for new workmen, at a time when the prohibitory laws there in regard to mechanics leaving England were in full force,--an undertaking requiring great secrecy, and at the risk of long imprisonment if detected.

Such were some of the embarrassing circumstances with which Mr. Bakewell had to contend. Of the full force and extent of these, those only can conceive who have been under like necessities and circumstances. But a brighter day was dawning upon his exertions, and at length his arduous and untiring labor was crowned with the desired success. Good clay was procured from Holland, and purer materials discovered; competent workmen were either imported or instructed, and the flint-glass manufacture was firmly established at Pittsburg. From this first establishment there originated, in a few years, many other glass-works, erected chiefly by persons who had acquired the art with Mr. Bakewell, or had obtained the requisite means while in his employ. We may well consider Mr. Bakewell as the father of the flint-glass business in this country; for he commenced the work in 1808, and by untiring efforts and industry brought it to a successful issue.

For the skill, judgment, labor, and perseverance devoted by him to the progress of the art, he truly merits the "Artium Magister" so often bestowed on those least worthy of its dignity and honor. Theory in Science too often receives the meed which practical progress in its walks so richly deserves. Mr. Bakewell lived to realize an ample fortune as the fruit of his industry, and his sons still carry on a profitable business on the premises originally occupied by their father. By father and sons this has covered a space of forty-four years, a length of time rarely finding a business in the same family in America. May the factory be always occupied and conducted by a Bakewell.

The furnace built by Mr. Bakewell in 1808 contained only six pots, twenty inches in diameter, which were replaced in 1810 by a ten-pot furnace of a larger capacity, and in 1814 another furnace was added to the works, of like capacity.

In 1809 another concern sprung up, and carried on the business on a limited scale; in 1812 another succeeded, making three concerns carrying on the business; and in 1810 another company was formed, but failed in a few years.

There are now in Pittsburg nine concerns manufacturing flint-glass, running thirteen furnaces and one hundred and five pots. There are also three concerns at Wheeling, running five furnaces and forty-five pots. There are also at Wellsville, Steubenville, and Cincinnati one or two factories each, besides several manufactories for green glass jars, and one for the making of porter bottles; one also for mineral-water bottles.

The first glass-cutting works were opened in 1809 by a German of the name of Echbaum, who had settled in Pittsburg some years previously. Mr. Bakewell also carried on glass-cutting, and among his workmen was an Englishman who had served as a soldier in Canada, being taken as a prisoner in one of the battles on the Lakes in 1813. He proved not only a good glass-cutter, but an excellent mechanic, in various branches; but still a dissipated and idle man, and of course of but little service in the manufactory.

One of the amusing incidents connected with the manufacture occurred when General Clark (then Governor of Missouri) took a party of Osage Chiefs to Washington. On their way they visited Bakewell's Glass-Works, and their attention was greatly excited; they watched with great curiosity the process of making various articles, and the mode of affixing the handle to a glass pitcher quite disturbed the equanimity of the head chief, who, after shaking hands with the workmen, said, through the interpreter, "That man must have had some intercourse with the Great Spirit."

The following, from Sigma's pen, shows a decanter-stopper can be made to point a moral or illustrate a satire:--"Mr. Flint, in his 'Ten Years in the Valley of the Mississippi,' tells a pleasant story of an Indian who told him he had _big diamond_, for which he had given trader _much beaver_. A time was appointed, and Mr. Flint visited the wigwam to examine the diamond, which, after considerable mystery, was brought forth from its place of concealment, and proved to be a broken glass decanter-stopper. When an individual, eminent for his talents and learning, has been justly decorated with the degree of LL.D., and finds the same mark of distinction bestowed upon others who are remarkable for neither, he cannot fail to perceive an amusing resemblance between his diploma and Kunkerpot's diamond."

IMITATION OF MUSLIN-GLASS.

Here is a simple and ingenious means of giving to glass the appearance of delicately wrought muslin:--

The process, which comes to us from Germany, consists in spreading very smoothly a piece of lace or tulle, and covering it with some fatty substance by means of a printer's roller. The glass being carefully cleaned, the cloth is laid upon it so as to leave in fat a print on the surface of all the threads of the fabric.

The glass is then exposed about five minutes to the vapors of hydrofluoric acid, which roughens the spaces between the lines, and leaves the polish on the surface under the fat.

A glass thus prepared becomes like a veil, protecting from exterior indiscretion persons who, from their apartment, desire to look commodiously outside.

We recall here that the manipulation of hydrofluoric acid requires great prudence. This acid is so corrosive that a drop of its vapor condensed produces upon the hand a lively inflammation, and may even lead to graver accidents. Breathing the emanations should therefore be avoided with the greatest care.

No art has been characterized, in the course of its progress, by so much of wonder and undefined belief in the supernatural, as that of the manufacture of glass in its various modes and articles.

The old glass-works in Wellsburg, Va., were pulled down a few years since with a tremendous crash. They were erected in 1816, and, with the exception of the establishments at Pittsburg, were the oldest west of the mountains. The beginning of their career was prosperous, but the last owners have invariably sunk money in carrying on the works, and to prevent further losses they have now been finally destroyed, and the ground turned into a potato-patch.

[From the "Scientific American."]

ETCHING AND ORNAMENTING GLASS.

The hardest glass may be etched and frosted with a peculiar liquid acid, and also with this acid in the condition of vapor. When powdered fluor spar is heated with concentrated sulphuric acid in a platinum or a lead retort, and connected with a refrigerator by a tube of lead, a very volatile, colorless liquid is obtained, which emits copious white and suffocating fumes. This is hydrofluoric acid, a dilute solution of which attacks glass with avidity, while neither sulphuric, nitric, nor muriatic acid has the least effect upon it. In a diluted state it is employed for glass etching, for which purpose it is kept in a lead vessel, because it has very little affinity for this metal. The vapor of this acid is also used for the same purpose. The glass to be operated upon is first coated with a ground of wax, and the design to be etched is then traced through the wax with a sharp instrument. In a shallow lead basin some powdered fluor spar is then placed, and a sufficient quantity of sulphuric acid poured upon it to convert it into a thin paste. The glass to be etched is now placed in the basin, to which a gentle heat is applied, when the vapor of the acid is disengaged and attacks the traced lines from which the wax has been removed. The operation is completed in a few minutes, the glass is removed, and the wax cleaned off with warm oil of turpentine. All those parts which have remained covered with the wax are now clear as before, while the other parts drawn by lines to represent figures have a frosted appearance. Any person can produce figures on glass with this acid, but, for reasons before stated, it is dangerous to use.

In October, 1859, a patent was granted to James Napier, of Glasgow, Scotland, for a very simple method of ornamenting glass with fluoric acid. Instead of drawing patterns and figures on the glass with the use of varnish and a graver to prepare the glass for etching, the glass is prepared by simply transferring pictures from prints, which can be performed by almost any person. The method is, to take a print, lithograph, or picture made with printer's ink, and fix the printed surface to the glass by any ordinary paste made from starch. All the air must be carefully excluded from between the print and glass. When perfectly dry, liquid hydrofluoric acid about the specific gravity of 1.14 is applied for about three minutes, when it is washed in water to remove the paper and the acid, and the figure of the print is then found upon the glass. The printed portion of the paper may also be cut in outline and pasted on the glass, then transferred. Glass that is "flashed" on the surface with another color may be treated in this manner, when a portion of the flashing or surface will be removed, and the picture will remain in color.

COLORED GLASS.

The distinguished French chemist, M. Chevreul, who has devoted so much attention to the subject of color, has lately published a memoir on painted windows, in which there are many points which deserve the attention of artists and others who are interested in the manufacture of colored glass. It has often been much noticed that old stained glass windows have a much richer effect than modern ones, and M. Chevreul, speaking of this superiority, attributes it to what moderns regard as defects. In the first place, much of the ancient glass is of unequal thickness, and so presents convex and concave parts, which refract the light differently and produce an agreeable effect. In the next place the old colored glass is not a colorless glass, to which has been added the particular coloring material, such as protoxide of cobalt, &c. Old glass contains a good deal of oxide of iron, which colors it green, and to this must be attributed the peculiar effects of antique glass, colored by cobalt and manganese. M. Chevreul appears to think that modern stained glass is too transparent to produce the best effects. M. Regnault, the chemist, has recommended that all this kind of stained glass should be cast, to avoid the monotonous effect of plain surfaces on the light; and also that foreign substances should be mixed with the glass to diminish its transparency.

Many attempts have been made to color with ruby or other colors gas shades, so as to throw on surrounding objects the color of the glass; but in no case has the ray of light passing through colored glass, to refract the shade, been successful.

But when a ray of solar light is passed through a colorless prism, it is refracted, and forms, when thrown on a wall or screen, a broad band of colored light,--red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet,--which is known as the prismatic or solar spectrum.

ARTIFICIAL DIAMONDS.

We find a report in French journals that M. Gannal has succeeded in obtaining _crystals_, having all the property of the diamond, through the mutual reaction of phosphorus water and bisulphide of carbon upon each other for the space of fifteen weeks.

The crystals were found to be so hard that no file would act upon them. They cut glass like ordinary diamonds, and scratched the hardest steel. In brilliancy and transparency they were in no way inferior to the best jewels, and some possessed a lustre surpassing that of most real stones.

For reference we record the cost of materials for flint-glass, say in 1840 to 1845, as follows:--

Litherage, or red lead, cost 6-1/2 cts. per lb.
Pearlash, 6 " "
Nitre, 6 " "
Silex, 0-1/2 " "

Present price, 1864:--

Red lead, 21 cts. per lb.
Pearlash, 17 " "
Nitre, 6 " "
Silex, 0-3/4 " "

We now refer to the early introduction of the manufacture of glass into England. The English manufacturers, like ourselves, had to struggle with the various evils incident to the introduction of a new art. France and Germany, from their long experience in the making of glass, were enabled for a long time to undersell the English manufacturer in his own market.

To foster and protect this branch of national industry, the English government imposed a heavy tax on all foreign glass imported into their dominions. This measure secured to the English manufacturer the entire trade, both with their colonies and with the home market, thus giving such substantial encouragement to the enterprise, that, in a few years, the manufacture was so much increased as to admit of exportation.

To stimulate the exportation of various articles of English production, the government, in the latter part of the eighteenth century, granted bounties, from time to time, on linens, printed cottons, glass, &c, &c. Until the bounty on glass was allowed, the exportation of glass from England to foreign countries was very limited; for the French and Germans, as has before been stated, for various reasons could undersell the English; but the government bounty changed the aspect of affairs, and shortly the English manufacturers not only competed with the Germans and French for the foreign market, but actually excluded them from any participation,--the government bounty being equal to one half the actual cost of the glass exported.

An Act of Parliament levied on flint-glass an excise duty of ninety-eight shillings sterling on all glass made in England, which excise was paid by the manufacturer, being about twenty-five cents per pound weight, without regard to quality; but if such glass was exported, the excise officer repaid the tax which it was presumed the manufacturers had paid, and a clear bounty of twenty-one shillings sterling was paid by the government to the exporter on each hundred weight of flint-glass shipped from England, being equal to five cents per pound. Under such encouragement the export increased from year to year to a very great extent, so that the excise duty of ninety-eight shillings sterling on the amount consumed at home did not equal the amount paid out in bounty. In the year 1812, fifty-second George III., an Act was passed reducing the excise duty to forty-nine shillings, and the export bounty to ten shillings sixpence. In 1815 the Act was renewed, and again in 1816. In 1825, sixth George IV. chap. 117, an Act was passed revising the former as to the mode of levying the excise duty and bounty, so as to prevent frauds on the revenue, which had hitherto been practised to a very great extent. This act remained in force until the Premiership of Sir Robert Peel, when both excise and bounty were abrogated, and the English manufacture stands on the same footing in foreign countries as those of other nations. By the protecting hand of the English government the flint-glass manufactories multiplied with very great rapidity, underselling all other nations, and not only rivalling, but far excelling them in the beauty, brilliancy, and density of the articles manufactured.

The greatest stimulus ever given to the glass manufacture of England was the abolition of the duty on it in 1845. That abolition has produced a somewhat paradoxical result. While the quantity of glass made has increased in the proportion of three to one, the number of manufacturing firms has diminished in the proportion of one to two. In 1844 there were fourteen companies engaged in the manufacture. In 1846 and 1847, following the repeal of the duty, the number had increased to twenty-four. The glass trade, after the removal of the heavy burden imposed upon it, seemed to offer a fair opening for money seeking investment. The demand for glass was so great that the manufacturers were in despair. Glass-houses sprang up like mushrooms. Joint-stock companies were established to satisfy the universal craving for window-panes. And what was the result? Of the four-and-twenty companies existing in the year 1847, there were left, in 1854, but ten. At this time there are but seven in the whole United Kingdom. Two established in Ireland have ceased to exist. In Scotland, the Dumbarton Works, once famous, were closed in 1831, by the death of one of the partners, afterwards reopened, and again closed. The seven now existing are all English.

The manufacture of the finer kinds of glass was introduced into England not many years ago from Germany, and German operatives were employed at very high wages. We understand that the English glass is now superior to the German.

There is only one plate-glass factory in the United States. It was commenced only two years ago near New York, and we understand that it has met with encouraging success.

Soon after the introduction of the business into this country, a very great improvement in the mode of manufacture was introduced. Pallat, in his admirable work on glass, alludes to the American invention in only a few words, and passes it by as of but slight importance; but it has brought about a very great change, and is destined to exert a still greater; in fact, it has revolutionized the whole system of the flint-glass manufacture, simply by mould machines for the purpose of pressing glass into any form. It is well known that glass in its melted state is not in the least degree malleable, but its ductility is next to that of gold, and by steady pressure it can be forced into any shape. The writer has in his possession the first tumbler made by machinery in this or any other country. Great improvement has of course taken place in the machinery, insomuch that articles now turned out by this process so closely resemble cut-glass that the practised eye only can detect the difference. Still, the entire field of improvement is not occupied, and greater advances will yet be made. The tendency, in this particular, has been so to reduce the cost of glass that it has multiplied the consumption at least tenfold; and there can be no reasonable doubt but that, at this period, a much larger quantity of flint-glass is made in this country than in England. The materials composing glass are all of native production, and may be considered as from the earth. The pig lead used is all obtained from the mines in the Western States; ashes from various sources in other States; and silex is also indigenous. The materials consumed yearly, in the manufacture, are something near the following estimate:--

Coal, for fuel, 48,000 tons;
Silex, 6,500 "
Ash, Nitre, &c. 2,500 "
Lead, 3,800 "

for the flint manufacture. How much more is consumed by the window-glass manufacturers, the writer is without data to determine.