THE PRODUCTS OF CLAY AND FIRE 



changed the forms of occupation, they have opened 

 new fields to the workmen, helping mankind as a 

 whole, if sometimes injuring the individual. Its most 

 disastrous effect seems to have fallen upon the oldest 

 and most picturesque figure among pottery-makers, 

 the "thrower" or man who makes his wares on the 

 time-honored potter's wheel. 



The passing of the thrower must be a source of re- 

 gret to any person who has ever seen one of these 

 craftsmen work his marvels on a lump of clay placed 

 upon his revolving table, with no other implements 

 than those Nature gave him. The number of men 

 capable of acquiring the necessary skill for doing this 

 well has always been limited even in the days before 

 the introduction of machinery, and a long and tedious 

 apprenticeship is indispensable. 



The potter's wheel is a horizontal disc of wood, so 

 arranged that it revolves at varying speeds at the will 

 of the thrower. In former times the wheel was run 

 by foot power, or with the aid of an assistant who 

 turned the disc at the speed required by the thrower. 

 In the modern-power thrower's wheel the speed is 

 regulated by means of cones controlled by pressure of 

 the thrower's knee or foot. 



Merely being able to fashion things at will out of 

 clay on the wheel is only one of the requirements of 

 the first-class thrower. In addition to this he must 

 know the various properties of the clay he is working, 

 including the amount of shrinkage, so that he can 

 duplicate a finished piece of ware exactly. An expe- 

 rienced thrower can do this with astonishing accuracy. 



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