138 CHEMICAL INDUSTRY IN KWANGTUNG PROVINCE 



small dish is completed in 8 seconds, is taken by the other 

 man with a bamboo, and is placed on a piece of board and 

 taken to be dried. Sometimes the partly dried mud is 

 pressed in moulds to form one surface of the article, the other 

 being completed on the wheel as is the case with plates and 

 dishes. 



The articles are very slowly dried at atmospheric tem- 

 perature, and then burned at a low red heat to give them 

 sufficient coherence to permit of glazing. 



II. — Some of the articles are made in the mould. At 

 first the mould is made of wood and then from the wooden 

 form a clay mould is made, which is burned in a less hot 

 fire, and using less time. The moulds are only burned in the 

 kilm for 4-6 hours, while the articles are burned for from 

 12 to 24 hours. The moulds are filled with a sheet of clay, 

 and the edges are cut off in order to make it smooth. 



III. — Figures of animals are made with small tools by 

 hand. These require more time and skill than those made 

 on the potter's wheel or in the moulds. Some of the articles 

 such as tiles are formed in the moulds and completed by 

 hand work. For instance, two pieces of tiles are joined 

 together, and a band is put around the joint and smoothed 

 out by the hands. 



In making large jars like Kam Ta sfe^f?, five pieces of 

 clay are used, the pieces are made separately and are joined 

 together forming a truncated cylinder and are then worked 

 to the shape desired. 



After the articles are formed they are piled in a kiln to be 

 burned. The kilns are long tunnels, about 200 feet in length. 

 The smaller end of the kiln is at the bottom which is 3^ feet 

 in width and is 3 J feet high. The wall of the kiln is 8 inches 

 thick, and they are built of vitrified bricks. The kiln is built 

 on the slope of the hill and inclines with an angle of 15 to 

 20 deg. It is not uniform, the higher up it goes the larger 

 it gets. Fire is started at the bottom of the kiln as in an 

 ordinary furnace. About 2,000 catties of wood are used for 

 one burning, depending on the length of kiln and the kinds of 

 things to be baked. Firing is begun at the bottom in the 

 morning and goes up to the top at night. On the top and 

 sides of the kiln are holes which are 32 inches apart. They 

 are for putting in fuel from time to time. There are five 

 holes in each row. These holes are not very large, but the 

 draft underneath is very strong. 



The top of the kiln is covered with the dishes to dry. 

 The articles which require a stronger fire to burn are placed 

 near the upper end of the kiln. For instance, flower pots, 

 tiles and fancy things are burned at the upper end of the 



