The Human Salamanders 121 



develop that crack which it has been the 

 endeavour of its maker to avoid. The 

 pot is broken in gradually, like a young 

 horse to harness, passing through an oven 

 which is heated only to a certain degree. 

 Passing this preliminary test, it is added 

 to those which have been proved out. 

 The question of when a pot will crack is 

 left to the judgment of the man in charge, 

 and so expert does he become in this 

 deciding that it is rare indeed that, in 

 normal course, a pot gives in whilst 

 in use. 



Pot-setting is one of the red letter days 

 or rather nights in the glass-house. The 

 man in charge having decided that the old 

 pot must come out of the furnace and be 

 replaced, the staff remains on overtime for 

 a few hours. They have to break open the 

 furnace by pulling down one of its brick 

 sides. The men are prepared for a hectic 

 evening, and they come along armed with 

 strange-looking implements, most of which 

 have quaint names, usually of local origin. 

 The new pot has been tested and is reported 



