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The Cornell Reading-Courses 



cloth. Silver should always be scalded after polishing as well as after 

 washing ; the utensil that comes into direct contact with the mouth cannot 

 be too carefully looked after. 



Pottery 

 Porcelain, stoneware, and earthenware all have clay for a foundation, 

 but differ in appearance and quality according to the fineness of the clay 

 used, the kind of glaze applied, and the length of time taken for firing. 

 Only long firing at high temperature produces a hard, impervious ware. 

 Some very attractive pieces of porcelain are so soft that if a broken piece 

 were dipped in ink it would absorb the fluid almost as blotting paper 



Fig. 22. — Casseroles and meat plank, utensils in which foods may be both cooked and served. 

 Crater, grater-brush, palette knives, meat fork 



would. If one were buying a quantity of china and had any doubt of 

 its quality, it would pay to sacrifice a piece in order to make this ink 

 test. Good stoneware can hardly be distinguished at first glance from 

 porcelain, but its glaze is of a kind that easily becomes scratched or covered 

 with fine cracks. This makes it unattractive for tableware. Earthen- 

 ware is made of the cheapest grades of clay, and its glaze — which is pro- 

 duced by throwing common salt into the furnace during the firing 

 of the ware — is easily chipped, exposing the very porous ware under- 

 neath. For this reason white stoneware mixing-bowls are in the end 

 cheaper than yellow earthenware. 



Fireproof ware is made of clay which contains little or no iron, and which 

 therefore withstands fire. Utensils of this kind are sometimes left unglazed, 

 but more often they are covered with a glaze that is fired at a sufficiently 

 high temperature to make a hard, smooth, glassy surface, which is proof 

 alike against high heat and the effect of acids. Fireproof earthenware 



