GLASS-MAKING. 



165 



his official position. He thrusts the necks of the incased bottles 

 into the glory-holes, and then one by one withdraws them from 

 their aureole and forms the necks. This he does by means of a 

 convenient implement known under the generic name of tool. It 

 consists of a central stopper, kept moist with oil, which is thrust 

 into the mouth of the bottle, thus determining its gauge ; and of 

 two outside arms of iron, which, by the rotation of the case, the 

 tool remaining stationary, form the smooth ring commonly adorn- 

 ing the necks of glass bottles. The gaffer, like the blower, is a 

 quick workman, and does the finishing for both blowers belonging 

 to his shop. He does not leave his chair, the glass being brought 

 to him and carried away again by the little boys who have been 

 noticed as darting about in such a lively fashion. 



The bottle is now finished, so far as its form is concerned, but, 

 like the window-pane under similar circumstances, it would have 

 scant value if sent out into the world in its present condition. It 

 would be too brittle, on account of its sudden cooling, and must 

 therefore first be annealed. This operation is simply one of grad- 

 ual cooling, and is carried out in ovens or in annealing leers. 



Fig. 6. A View of the Gaffer at Work, showing his Tool and Manner of holding the 



Bottle when forming its Neck. 



The oven is a roomy chamber of brick-work, in which a wood 

 fire is permitted to burn for a couple of hours in the early part of 

 the day. It is opened when the blowers begin work, and during 

 the remainder of the day it is gradually filled with bottles as the 

 different gaffers finish them. At night it is closed and permit- 

 ted to remain so for three days. At the end of that time the oven 

 has become quite cold, and the bottles are thoroughly annealed. 



