CEKAMICS. 211 



of the government of Orenburg; toward the north, tlie white clays of the govern- 

 nieiit of Tula, namely, those found in the Yassensk clay pits, and those of the Dan- 

 kovsk district of the Eiazan government, are tlie most renowned, used chiefly in the 

 making of lire bricks. The deposits near Gloukhov, government of Chernigov, were 

 ftrst known ; they have until now a great importance for the Russian porcelain 

 manufactories, because it is from here that they get the supply of the very fatty 

 cliina clay to which they are accustomed, and even find necessary to add in small 

 quantities of 5 to 10 per cent to the porcelain mass. The best sort of such kaolin 

 is found at the village Poloshki, 8 versts distant from Gloukhov; at the present 

 time over 200 to 300 thousands poud of this white clay is produced here yearly, 

 the greatest part falling to the estate of Skoropadsky; the mining of the clay only 

 takes place during the cold weather, namely, daring the 2 or 3 winter months. The 

 prices of such material are high ; the Russian china factories pay for it more than 

 a rouble per poud, freight included, that is, over 30 dollars per ton. 



The clay found in the Gloukhovsk locality in its dry state presents pieces of 

 considerable hardness and of a pure white ; the upper layers are sometimes yellowish ; 

 when kneaded into paste with water, which is a rather hard process, it forms a very 

 tender, immensely sticky mass, so that owing to the exuberance of its plasticity the 

 highest sorts of it cannot be used for the shaping of wares without the addition of 

 other more meagre clays. When English Cornwall kaolin is used in the production, 

 most of the Russian manufactories find it necessary to add some of this fatty clay to 

 the mass. Many small porcelain factories were established long ago in the Chernigov 

 government near the deposits of kaolin; but they are no longer in existence. The 

 largest and the most renowned of them was the factory of the proprietor, 

 A. M. Miklashevsky, in the village Volokitino, district of Gloukhov, founded in 1839; 

 this manufactory was able to compete in the quality of its wares with the best foreign 

 makes. Besides perfect plates, objects of considerable dimensions were also made, evi- 

 dences of which are to be found to this day in the villtige Volokitino, namely, all 

 the ikonostases ; the large lustre and the high candlesticks in its church have all been 

 made at this factory. Notwithstanding its great technical success, this establishment 

 closed its doors in the beginning of the sixties for some unknown reason. 



In the government of Kiev among the deposits of fire clays, situated in the 

 districts of Kiev, Vassilkov, Zvenigorod and Kanev, very delicate and pure kaolin, 

 good not only for the making of faience but for china as well, is to be found. One 

 of the most renowned beds is the meshigorsk near Kiev, at which at the end 

 of the last century the first Crown porcelain factory was officially established. In 

 1798 an order was issued to install a Crown faience factory within the walls of 

 the abolished mezhigorsk monastery, and to assign 228 peasants to the works ; later 

 on, the number was doubled. At this manufactory 22 foremen, 80 pupils and 40 

 workmen were formerly engaged. The mezhigorsk Crown factory was during a 

 Jong time the best representative of the production of earthenware in south-eastern 

 Russia ; the plates made there were famous in Russia, and until the thirties were al- 

 most the best, although the cost of the works and still more the expense of 

 the freight to the principal markets, rendering the mezhigorsk wares dearer than 

 the English makes, greatly impeded their sale and embarassed the industry. Now 

 that the development of the large manufactories in the Gzhel has reached such a, 



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