38 Transactions of the 



at a short distance, and which is ten times the diameter of the 

 pulley. The wheel, when turned by a handle, sets the lathe in 

 motion. The clay to be thrown is first cut and weighed, being 

 formed into a ball. It is then placed on the face of the circular 

 board, which being put in motion, the thrower, dipping his hands 

 from time to time into water or slip that the clay may not adhere 

 to them, fashions it first into a long thin column, which he forces 

 again down into a lump, repeating these operations until assured 

 that no air bubbles can possibly remain in the body of the clay. 

 He then directs the speed of the wheel to be moderated, and pro- 

 ceeds to give the first form to the vessel. This is done with his 

 fingers alone, or with the aid of an instrument shaped according 

 to the desired form. The instruments employed for this purpose 

 are called profiles or rihs. By the assistance of one of these 

 the inside is smoothed and made to assume the requisite shape, 

 when any inequalities, technically termed slurry, are removed. 

 Finished to the artist's satisfaction, the work is removed and cut 

 from the lathe by passing a thin brass wire through the lowest 

 part of the clay. The vessel is then lifted off and placed on a 

 board or shelf, where it is left to dry partially before it is further 

 smoothed and shaped in the turning-lathe. 



To some earthenware they impart a milled edge in what is called 

 an engine-lathe, where, in addition to the rotary motion communi- 

 cated to the article, it has likewise a horizontal movement to and 

 fro, enabling the workman to make the requisite incisions at proper 

 and definite intervals. Taken from the turning-lathe, handles, 

 spouts, &c., are affixed. In the present state they are ready to 

 undergo the first application of fire in the oven. For this purpose 

 they are placed in deep boxes called saggars, made of a mixture 

 of fire-clay and old ground saggars, which should be well 

 baked, and capable of sustaining the most intense degree of heat 

 without being fused. The porcelain manufacturers labour under 

 a considerable disadvantage in this respect, being unable to pro- 

 cure materials for the construction of these cases that will suffi- 

 ciently withstand the direct heat of the furnace. To prevent any 

 adhesion of the pieces to the saggars, the flat bottom of each 

 is covered with a thin layer of fine white sand. That this even 

 may not adhere to the porcelain, the Chinese strew over the sand 

 some dry kaolin in powder. Pieces of any considerable size 

 must each be enclosed in a separate case, but smaller objects, such 

 as cups and saucers, may be placed together ; but no piece may be 

 placed in or on one another in a saggar, and all must be so arranged 

 that the heat will be equally applied to every part of each. If 

 the clay whereof they are composed be well chosen and carefully 

 managed, the saggars may be placed from fifteen to twenty several 



