THE RISE OF THE POTTERY INDUSTRY. 



169 



Until quite recently each establishment made its own saggers 

 or fire-clay" boxes in which the ware is burned, but now they are 

 made in large numbers by machinery and supplied to the 

 trade by the Trenton Terra-Cotta Company at a very low price. 

 In the manufacture of earthenware formerly, " cockspurs " were 

 used to separate the pieces when placed in the kiln. These were 

 small four-pointed objects of clay formed somewhat like the old- 

 fashioned caltrop, three of the arms resting on the lower vessel 

 while the upper supported another above. Three sjjurs being 

 used, it is evident that the upper surface of the lower piece would 

 show nine marks after coming out of the kiln, where the points 

 tore away the glaze, as in old Delft plates. The bottom of the 

 upper vessel would show three. " Cockspurs " and " cones " were 

 superseded by "pins" and by "triangles" and "stilts," having 

 three horizontal arms, equidistant, with double yjoints projecting 

 upward and downward. These were for some time made by hand 

 at the factories where they were to be used, but recently they 

 have been made in assorted sizes by machinery, and sold to pot- 

 ters more cheaply than they could be made by hand. 



Labor-saving machines have greatly simplified the work of 

 the potter. Steam pow- 

 er has to a great extent 

 taken the place of hand 

 and foot power in run- 

 ning wheels, lathes, 

 " jiggers," and " jollies." 

 Steam grinding - mills, 

 "blungers," sifters, and 

 clay-presses now grind, 

 sift, mix, dry, and pre- 

 pare the clay for the 

 workman. There are 

 many other problems to 

 be solved, however, in 

 order to still further 

 cheapen the production 

 of utilitarian articles. 

 The committee appoint- 

 ed by the United States 

 Potters' Association to investigate the subject of potters' ma- 

 chinery, in their report presented at the convention held in 1890, 

 used the following language : " We think we can see in the dis- 

 tance a cloud no bigger than a man's hand, which we trust will 

 speedily increase to such proportions that the industry will feel 

 the outpouring of benefits such as have not entered into the 

 imagination of the potter's mind. We require only to get thf 



VOL. XL. — 14 



Fio. IT. — Slip-decorated Pie Dish. Allentown, 

 Pa., 1826. 



