460  CONTRIBUTIONS    TO    ECONOMIC    GEOLOGY,  1905. 
distance.  Therefore,  it  is  important  that  plants  using  coal  should  also  be  relatively  near  i 
supply  of  sand.  When  natural  gas  in  a  fresh  field  is  the  fuel  il  is  so  much  cheaper  t ha  i 
producer  gas  made  from  coal  near  the  mines  that  the  glass  can  stand  the  cost  of  a  long  hat  [ 
for  sand  and  other  materials  if  necessary. 
St.  Louis  district. — About  eight  factories  are  situated  in  this  district  two  at  St.  LouisiJ 
one  at  Valley  Park,  and  one  at  Crystal  City,  Mo.,  and  one  each  at  East  St.  Louis,  Bellevill< 
Alton,  and  Litchfield,  111.  The  factories  in  St.  Louis  itself  are  situated  well  between  the  sane 
35  miles  or  more  to  the  west ,  and  the  Illinois  coal  fields  10  to  1  5  miles  to  the  east.  The  otho 
factories  range  in  location  from  the  one  situated  on  the  glass  sand  at  Crystal  City  to  the  on 
situated  on  the  coal  at  Belleville.  Producer  gas  from  southern  Illinois  coal  is  common! 
employed  as  fuel,  although  one  furnace  at  Alton  is  fired  direct  from  coal.  Plate  glass  is  mad 
by  Pittsburg  firms  at  ( !rystal  City  and  at  Valley  Park.  The  factory  at  Crystal  City  has  bee! 
established  about  thirty  years.  Its  present  capacity  is  two  furnaces  of  20  pots  each.  1 
new  pot  house  is  under  construction,  and  other  new  buildings  of  a  value  of  $2,000,000  an 
under  contract .  The  factory  at  Valley  Park  has  been  erected  within  the  last  few  years.  I 
contains  four  Furnaces  of  20  pots  each. 
The  main  products  of  the  other  factories  are  bott  les  of  various  grades,  certain  ones  makinf 
1 r  bottles  exclusively.     The  plant  at  Alton,  -aid  to  be  the  largesl  in  the  United  States 
makes  bottles  of  every  description,  besides  miscellaneous  articles  from  both  common  am 
flint  glass.  Eight  glass  houses  are  operated  at  Alton,  both  (he  pot  and  the  continuous  lanl 
-\  stems  being  employed. 
Southeastern  Kansas  district.  The  manufacture  of  glass  in  the  Kansas  gas  belt  was  begin 
less  than  three  years  ago.  There  are  now  21  plant  -  in  the  held,  including  one  just  across  t lu 
fmeai  Bartlesville,  Ind.  T.,  all  using  natural  gas  for  fuel.  These  glass  factories  are  locatec 
as  follows:  Coffeyville  7.  Independence  .">.  Peru  2,  ( lhanute  '_'.  Altoona  2,  Caney,  CherryvaH 
NTeodesha,  Fredonia,  and  Bartlesville  1  each.  Many  of  them  have  been  moved  from  the 
waning  gas  fields  of  Indiana,  attracted  by  the  cheapness  and  abundance  of  gas  in  the  new 
Held.  Whereas  the  cosl  of  producer  gas  or  of  gas  made  from  oil  in  the  St .  Louis  district ,  and 
in  Indiana  and  Pennsylvania,  is  from  8  to  12  cents  per  thousand  cubic  feet ,  Kansas  man™ 
facturers  are  paying  only  3  cents  per  thousand  for  natural  gas  and  some  plants  are  said  to 
obtain  it  as  low  as  2  cents.  No  plate  glass  is  made  in  this  field  al  present,  but  practically  all 
the  other  grades  of  window  glass  and  all  the  wares  of  glass  except  the  finest  material  for 
chemical  and  opt  ical  purposes  are  made. 
A  run  of  glass  was  made  in  L903  at  t  he  works  of  the  Midland  Class  Company  at  Inde- 
pendence under  the  direction  of  Superintendent  Thornberg.  Kansas  materials  were  used, 
including  sand  from  the  Buxton  formation  near  Fredonia  (corresponding  to  samples  I 
and  2,  p.  462),  limestone  from  Sedan,  and  salt  cake  from  the  sulphuric-acid  works  at 
Argentine.  The  glass  was  clear  and  of  high  quality,  and  the  character  of  the  materials 
seemed  to  be  all  that  could  be  desired.  Interes1  in  the  development  of  this  glass  sand 
lias  been  revived  recently  and  it  may  be  opened  up  if  the  project  can  be  placed  on  a 
practicable  basi*..  At  CoHey\  die  three  plants  make  window  glass,  and  certain  of  the  others 
make  bottles,  fruit  jars,  table  ware,  and  lantern  chimneys.  AH  three  plants  at  Independence 
and  the  plant  at  Fredonia  make  window  glass.  The  plant  at  Caney  makes  a  variety  of  wares. 
That  at  Cherryvale  makes  a  special  feature  of  tumblers  and  table  ware,  using  an  excellent 
grade  of  clear  lead  flint  glass  At  Xeodesha  flasks  and  prescription  bottles  of  flint  glass  are 
mada.  Sand  is  supplied  most  ly  from  the  bell  west  of  St .  Louis,  and  the  freight  charges  bring 
the  total  cost  of  material  per  ton  to  about  lour  times  its  selling  price.  A  little  sand  has  been 
imported  from  the  Ottawa,  III.,  (list  rict  at  a  total  cost  per  ton  of  nearly  eight  t  imes  its  selling 
price.  In  regard  to  limestone  supplies  the  Kansas  factories  are  situated  mor<  advantageously. 
Some  crushed  limestone  has  been  obtained  from  neighboring  cement  mills  and  considerable 
is  shipped  from  Sedan.  Still  it  seems  to  be  necessary  to  import  the  greater  portion  of  it 
from  Missouri  points,  Ash  drove  being  an  important  center.  Salt  cake  is  brought  from 
Argentine,  Kans.,  and  the  Kansas  plants  are  thus  nearer  to  this  important  requisite  than  any 
others  except  one  located  at  Kansas  City.     The  first  plants  erected  in  southeastern  Kansas 
