BLUE GLASS. 133 



It is difi&cult now to read all this and resist the 

 idea that General Pleasanton was engaged in per- 

 petrating a huge joke upon the world. In vain did 

 eminent scientific men attempt to show the fallacy 

 of his reasoning and the inconclusiveness of his ex- 

 periments. In vain did the Scientific American 

 and other able journals repeatedly expose the 

 " blue glass deception." There were always others 

 ready to publish every claim that was made. To 

 the general public one man's experiments were as 

 good as another's. Few had the time or desire to 

 reason closely on the subject, and in case of doubt 

 it was easier to test the matter for one's self than 

 to decide who was right and who wrong in the 

 great controversy. And so the experiment was 

 tried far and wide, and whether tested fairly or 

 not, the wonderful results claimed from its use 

 have not been attained, and blue glass forms no 

 part of our present green houses or dwellings, save 

 here and there for the purpose of ornament. The 

 " blue-glass craze " has died out, and probably few 

 persons will ever hear of it again. 



It is well enough now to examine the subject, if 

 we choose, and see if we can determine how much 

 truth, if any, there was in the blue glass theory. It 

 is the peculiar property of error that its effect 

 is temporary. However much it may attract 

 attention and accomplish for a time, it cannot stand 



