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