USEFUL PROJECTS. 



501 



I 



iron pins were driven through it 

 in various directions. After this 

 had been dried for some time in 

 the sun, the wax was liquified by 

 putting the form in a place suflRci- 

 ently heated, and discharged 

 through the hole, by which the 

 melted metal is poured in to oc- 

 cupy its place. It is scarcely ne- 

 cessary to say that when the metal 

 is sufficiently cooled the form is 

 broken, and the vessel found of 

 the desired shape. 



Colouring the ware with the 

 standing black, for which they are 

 celebrated, is the next, and in my 

 opinion the most remarkable ope- 

 ration. It consists in taking equal 

 parts of muriate of ammonia, and 

 saltpetre earth, such as is found at 

 the bottom of old mud walls in 

 old and populous villages in India, 

 mixing them together with water, 

 and rubbing the paste which is 

 thus produced on the vessel, 

 which has been previously scraped 

 with a knife. The change of co- 

 lour is almost instantaneous, and, 

 what is surprising to me, lasting. 



The saltpetre earth of this place 

 has, when dry, a reddish colour, 

 like the soil about Biddery. It is 

 very likely that the carbonate, or 

 oxide of iron, which it contains, is 

 essentially necessary for the pro- 

 duction of the black colour. The 

 muriate and nitrate of lime, which 

 is in considerable proportion in all 

 eartii from which saltpetre is ma- 

 nufactured in India, may be per- 

 haps not an useless ingredient in 

 this respect. 



The hooker-bottoms of this ware 

 happen sometimes to get tarnished, 

 acquiring a brownish, or shillering 

 colour, which is easily removed, and 

 the black restored, by rubljing the 

 whole surface with a little oil or 

 butler. 



As nothing looks handsome in 

 the eyes of an Indian but what is 

 glittering with gold and silver, it 

 may be imagined that their hooker 

 and betel dishes, which are chiefly 

 used on festive occasions, are not 

 left destitute of these ornaments; 

 they are chiefly decorated with 

 silver, in the form of festoons, fan- 

 ciful flowers and leaves. Some- 

 times I have seen a little gold in- 

 terspersed. 



The way of inlaying them is 

 very simple ; but of course as te- 

 dious as can well be imagined, and 

 could be only practised where time 

 is of little value. The parts of the 

 projected figure are first cut out in 

 silver leaf, which are placed in a 

 piece of broken earthen ware before 

 the artist, who cuts with a pointed 

 instrument the same figure on the 

 vessel, applies the silver leaf, piece 

 after piece, and gently hammers it 

 into its place. 



The greatest skill consists in 

 tracing the pieces of the figure on 

 the vessel exactly of the same size 

 as they are in the silver leaf, and 

 in this I have never seen they are 

 mistaken. 



They do their work very expe- 

 ditiously, and will make any figure 

 on copper with the greatest nicety, 

 according to the sample which is 

 laid before them. 



Note.— Mr. Wilkins informed 

 Dr. Heyne that the Biddery ware 

 is likewise manufactured in Be- 

 nares, and he thinks that zinc is 

 used as an alloy in that part of 

 India. I examined a piece of a 

 metal statue which Mr. Wilkins 

 considered as Biddery ware ; it was 

 zinc alloyed with a very little 



copper. — T. 



MISCELLANIES. 



