text: how glasses are made?   glass is a combination of sand, flint, spar, or some other silicious substances, with one or other of the fixed alkalies, and in some cases with a metallic oxide. of the alkalies, soda is commonly preferred; and of the silicious substances, white sand is most in repute at present, as it requires no preparation for coarse goods, while mere washing in water is sufficient for those of a finer quality. the metallic oxide usually employed, is litharge, or some other preparation of lead. iron is used in bottle-glass.   the silicious matter should be fused in contact with something called a flux. the substances proper for this purpose are lead, borax, arsenic, nitre, or any alkaline matter. the lead is used in the state of red-lead; and the alkalies are soda, pearlash, sea-salt, and wood-ashes. when red-lead is used alone, it gives the glass a yellow cast and requires the addition of nitre to correct it. arsenic, in the same manner, if used in excess, is apt to render the glass milky. for a perfectly transparent glass, the pearlash is found much superior to lead; perhaps better than any other flux, except it be borax, which is too expensive to be used, except for experiments, or for the best looking-glasses.   the materials for making glass must first be reduced to powder, which is done in mortars or by horse mills. after sifting out the coarse parts, the proper proportions of silex and flux are mixed together, and put into the calcining furnace, where they are kept in a moderate heat for 5 or 6 hours, being frequently stirred about during the process. when taken out the matter is called frit. frit is easily converted into glass by only pounding it, and vitrifying it in the melting pots of the glass furnace; but in making fine glass, it will sometimes require a small addition of flux to the frit to correct any fault. for, as the flux is the most expensive article, the manufacturer will rather put too little at first than otherwise, as he can remedy this defect in the melting pot. the heat in the furnace must be kept up until the glass is brought to a state of perfect fusion; and during this process any scum which arises must be removed by ladles. when the glass is perfectly melted, the glass-blowers commence their operations.