UNBREAKABLE OR TOUGHENED GLASS. 
233 
tunities which present for its application, and so well adapted 
does it appear to he where cleanliness, transparency, resistance 
to heat and chemical action, and comparative indestructibility 
are desiderata, that it would he idle to attempt to categorise 
them. 
The invention is being taken up practically on the Continent, 
and no less in England. Messrs. Powell, of Whitefriars, are in- 
troducing it in their glass works, and two other firms in the 
north of England are doing the same. It is by no means im- 
probable that its first introduction in practice in this country 
will he at the aquarium now in course of erection at West- 
minster,, where it is intended to use it for the tanks. 
There still remain some questions to he answered with regard 
to the phenomena exhibited by toughened glass ; questions, 
however, which in no way affect the practical value of the 
material. Its peculiarities continue to form the subject of in- 
vestigation, and as soon as any conclusions of value to science 
have been arrived at, they will be made known, so that the 
physical aspect of toughened glass may again be reverted to in 
these pages. In the meantime it may be mentioned, for the 
benefit of those who are prompted by something more than 
mere idle curiosity to look a little deeper into the matter, that 
specimens of toughened glass may be seen at the offices of 
Messrs. Abel Eey and Brothers, 29 Mincing Lane, City, those 
gentlemen being the agents of M. de la Bastie. It only remains 
to observe that the remarkable character and unique nature of 
M. de la Bastie’s invention are such as to render it probable 
that he will not only materially benefit those of his own time, 
but will bequeath to posterity an invaluable legacy. 
