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."]