INGENUITY AND LUXURY 



dency by some substance that does not have molecules 

 containing water of combination. Such a substance 

 is flint; and being very hard and very white, it makes 

 an ideal addition to the pottery mixture. 



For firing, the ware is placed in fire-clay boxes 

 called "saggers." These saggers may be of any shape, 

 but the usual forms are either round or oval, saggers 

 of the same size being piled one above another in the 

 biscuit-ovens, resembling somewhat the tall piles of 

 half-bushel measures of vegetables seen in the markets. 

 The saggers are made of fire-clay and a mixture of 

 ground-up biscuit- ware, saggers, and other scraps. 

 They must be very strong and infusible, and able to 

 withstand the repeated heating and cooling processes. 

 The piles of saggers in the oven are known as " bungs." 



Filling these saggers with ware and placing them 

 properly in the ovens requires a good deal of skill and 

 much hard labor, as when filled with such flat ware as 

 plates, for example, each sagger weighs from forty to 

 fifty pounds. The workman takes a sagger on his 

 head into the oven, when the pile is higher than his 

 head, climbs a ladder placed for the purpose, and 

 carefully transfers his load to its place in the bung, 

 being careful not to jar or disturb the ware in any 

 way. 



Such flat dishes as plates, saucers, soup-plates, etc., 

 are placed one above another in the sagger, from ten 

 to twenty high, according to size. The bottom dish 

 rests on a setter, which may be a thick plate made es- 

 pecially for the purpose, or a suitable piece that has 

 shown some defect after firing. Cups are placed edge 



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