It is useful to be able to distinguish the different kinds of glass by the colour. This is best observed by looking towards a bright surface along the whole length of the tube and through the glass. Lead glass is yellow, soda glass is green, and hard glass purple in the samples in my laboratory, and I expect this is practically true of most samples. [Footnote: Some new lead glass I have is also almost purple in hue. If any doubt exists as to the kind of glass, it may be tested at once in the blow-pipe flame, or by a mixture of oils of different refractive indices, as will be explained later.] Sec. 12. The question of the solubility of glass in reagents is one of great importance in accurate work, though it does not always meet with the attention it deserves. It is impossible here to go into the matter with sufficient detail, and the reader is therefore referred to the Abstracts of the Chemical Society, particularly for the years 1889 and 1892. The memoir by F. Kohlrausch, Wied. Ann. xliv, should be consulted in the original. The following points may be noted. A method of testing the quality of glass is given by Mylius (C. S. J. Abstracts, 1889, p. 549), and it is stated that the resistance of glass to the action of water can generally be much increased by leaving it in contact with cold water for several days, and then heating it to 300 deg. to 400 deg. C. This improvement seems to be due to the formation of a layer of moist silica on the surface, and its subsequent condensation into a resisting layer by the heating. Mylius (C. S. J. Abstracts, 1892, p. 411), and Weber, and Sauer (C. S. J. Abstracts, 1892, p. 410) have also shown that the best glass for general chemical purposes consists of: Silica, 7 to 8 parts Lime, 1 part Alkali, 1.5 to 1.1 parts. This is practically "Bohemian" tube glass. The exact results are given in the Berichte of the German Chemical Society, vol. xxv. An excellent account of the properties of glass will be found in Grove's edition of Miller's Elements of Chemistry. Sec. 13. Cleaning Glass Tubes. This is one of the most important arts in chemistry. If the tubes are new, they are generally only soiled by dust, and can be cleaned fairly easily--first by pushing a bit of cotton waste through with a cane, or pulling a rag through with string--and then washing with sand and commercial hydrochloric acid. I have heard of glass becoming scratched by this process, and breaking in consequence when heated, but have never myself experienced this inconvenience. In German laboratories little bits of bibulous paper are sometimes used instead of sand; they soon break into a pulp, and this pulp has a slightly scouring action.