I am only guessing, but perhaps the thin glass tubes, less  than 3 inches 
long, may have to do with some sort of therapy for tuberculosis. 
N
 
 
In a message dated 2/2/2013 4:23:54 P.M. Eastern Standard Time,  
[log in to unmask] writes:

I  thought about light bulbs, but it seems unlikely to me that worker 
housing in  a mining town in the mountains would have been wired for electricity 
so early.  The place was abandoned in the 1890s. 

Sent from my iPhone

On  Feb 2, 2013, at 2:13 PM, sent <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

>  although your date is earlier I would check electronic tubes for radios  
etc....
> lightbulbs also possible
> also insulator
> have  fun
> 
> Conrad
> 
> -----Original Message----- From:  Doug Ross
> Sent: Saturday, February 02, 2013 1:28 PM
> To:  [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: clear glass tubes
> 
> Could  they be from the inside of a light bulb?
> 
> Doug
>  
> On 2013-02-02, at 10:19, Sarah Sportman  <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> 
>>  Hello,
>> 
>> I'm trying to identify a few artifacts we  recovered from back yard 
contexts in a 19th century mining town in the  Adirondacks.  We found six 
fragments of thin, clear glass tubes. They are  a little smaller in diameter than 
a modern drinking straw and round in  cross-section.  All are broken and 
each fragment is less than 3 inches  long.  The fragments came from the yards 
of three different domestic  sites, including a tenement house, a double 
house, and the superintendent's  house. The sites were occupied from the mid 
1870s to the mid 1890s.  Any  help in identifying them would be greatly 
appreciated!
>>  
>> thanks,
>> Sarah