Mary Everett, age 13 of Memphis, Tenn. for her questions.

What is spun glass?

We think of glass as the hard, shiny, stuff used to make tumblers, marbles and mirrors. And so it is. Then we hear that spot proof tablecloths, waterproof awnings and fireproof drapes are made of a material called spun glass. 17hen we get a look at it, we think that maybe this handsome, sturdy fabric has borrowed its name because it shines like glass. Surely flexible cloth cannot be made from firm glass. But it is. That beautiful material is exactly what it says it is    spun glass,

All sorts of miracles go to work in the mills and factories to spin a thread from tough, glossy glass. First a batch of glass is made, just as a batch of window pane glass is made    from soda, lime and silica    in a seething furnace. If the glass fabric is to be tinted, then the coloring chemicals must be added to the boiling brew, For glass cloth, unlike ordinary fabrics, will not take dyes once it has cooled.

The batch of glass is then molded into small marbles and allowed to cool. It is then very carefully inspected for flaws, bubbles and impurities. The glass balls that pass the inspection are then piled into a fierce electric furnace. There they are heated until they again reach the melting point.

The molding of glass is done as the seething liquid cools, When taken from the furnace it is in a plastic state and can be pressed or blown into shape. The glass to be used for making fabric can also be blown or pressed into the threads for weaving.

Sometimes the hot liquid is let out drip by drip from the base of the cauldron. Each drip is caught by a powerful jet of air which rips it apart and blows it into a thread about twelve inches long. Sometimes the liquid glass is pressed out from the furnace in an unbroken thread. This thread is carried and twisted on a spinneret to form a kind of yarns

Special care is needed in the weaving of these spun glass threads into cloth. Each thread must be coated to make it pliable and to protect the machines from minute cuts. Usually oil and starch are used to coat the threads and after the weaving is done they are washed from the cloth with soap and hot water.

This wonderful cloth can be woven into all sorts of patterns  ¬ fancy brocades and damasks, stripes, plaids and all sorts of designs. No insect will take a bite of it, no fire will burn it. It cannot mildew or be damage by acid or water. Truly a wonderful invention.