One common source of eyedroppers I remember (other than in bottles of 
potions from the drugstore) was in laundry bluing bottles (my 
grandmothers, mother and aunts all used these ... when still a very 
little lad, my Indian grandmother still did laundry, outside, in a big 
wash-pot in her backyard ... and I remember on several occasions being 
warned-away from the bluing bottle, which was always conspicuously 
present atop a stool made of a section of a big log, nearby). Although 
the bottles were invariably cobalt blue (at least all I ever personally 
saw in use), the eyedropper tube was clear glass about 4 inches long, 
and about the size described.

I suspect that's the most likely source of those found in the back-yards 
of mining-town houses.

Another common source of eye-droppers was the ubiquitous ink bottle (but 
not common until after the invention of the fountain-pen, in 1884).


On 2/4/2013 5:52 PM, Bob Skiles wrote:
> Dan,
>
> Your idea of the fragmentary tubes having been used as a connector 
> (for rubber tubing ... which might have been used in several other 
> applications around a household, in addition to medical or hygienic)  
> has a higher probability than being remnants of leech tubes.
>
> Now that I think about it, I remember them still being used EVERYWHERE 
> for that purpose when I was a kid (a long time ago, yes, but not 
> nearly so long as Sarah's context).
>
> And, I've personally broken a few glass tubing connectors, myself 
> (very easy to do working with the natural rubber tubing, before the 
> advent of the modern stuff that doesn't have the same penchant for 
> hardening and gluing itself to the glass over time), and not just the 
> ones that came in my chemistry kit!
>
> However, I believe Carl's idea of being remnants of eyedroppers 
> (whether for dispensing acids in tests, or antiseptic at home) is 
> probably closer to reality (more probable because eyedroppers were 
> more prevalent than connectors and MUCH more prevalent than leech 
> tubes) than either of our (albeit still very good) ideas.
>
> Regards,
> Bob Skiles
>
>
> On 2/4/2013 5:03 PM, Daniel Martin wrote:
>> The leech tubes are awesome! I can think of a couple other 
>> explanations for the tubes as that are also in the medicinal 
>> category: Ligature spools(sterilized catgut or thread wound on a 
>> spool, submerged in alcohol and sealed in glass)  or as connectors 
>> (between the soft rubber reservoir of a douche kit and the hose that 
>> led to an irrigator). I also like the idea of a syringe or 
>> eyedropper. It really depends on a good picture in order to see how 
>> complete the example is.
>> Dan Martin
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of 
>> Bob Skiles
>> Sent: Monday, February 04, 2013 11:23 AM
>> To: [log in to unmask]
>> Subject: Re: clear glass tubes
>>
>> "Leeching," or "bleeding" was a far more common medical practice than 
>> TB treatment. The tube fragments, as described, are more in the 
>> diameter range expected for "leeching tubes" than medical vials or 
>> ampules. For a photo of an intact example, see:
>>
>> http://phisick.com/item/leech-tube-antique-glass/
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> On 2/4/2013 12:56 PM, Nancy S. Dickinson wrote:
>>> 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
>