The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1875-01-14

| ~Ahu INV II Is ali 1Sduy 10 U6 tdh6u u
the "presS-room" and made into tea cups
plates, sugar bowls, soup dishes and
things, only in potters' dictionary, a
plate is flat" a soup dish "soup,'
while sugar bowl is simply sugar"
L have seen flats" that weren't plates
though
The workmen were just in the act of
making lot of "1ats" when we entered
| the press-roOm. Just as we entered the
door [ observed sort of table along one
| side of the room, and at this table was a
boy hammering away for dear life on u
great chunk of clay. First he would lift
it high, and then smash it down upon
the table with vengeance; then he
would pound it with his fists, then
squeeze il in his hands, and anon lift it in
the air and whack it down upon the table
again. And he did all this with a par
ticular wickedness, as if he had some
spite at the helpless chunk of mud.
There" said |, whats that boy doing
[ thought the pug mills did all that
work"
"Yes'' said he, "they do-with one ex-
ception. Some times the boys neglect
their work, and let the clay get crusty be-
fore they mould it, Then we make each
fellow pug over by the hand the clay he
has allowed to get Crusty. We are obliged
to dO it. If we let lhem put put it back
in the mill again, the clay would be going
back to the pug mills all the time.'
"DO they work by the peace?''
YES" said he, they work by the piece"
Poor human nature! 1t has to be dashed
like donkey all the time, to make it
mind its business.
This is how plates are shaped; The
potter throws lump of clay upon table
Then he hits it bat with something
which looks like a great fiat potato mash
Aer, and which he calls a batter" From
Eing simply shapeless lump, the clay
~ now about the size and form of
layer of pie crust. Then it is fitted into
the plaster-of Paris mould, precisely as you
would lift pie-crust into a pie-p an-(it
everlastingly puts you in mind of cooking
and baking you will observe). The main
difference is that the plate maker puts MS
upon the outside Of the pan instead of
the inside of the plate Then it is fasten-
ed, mould and all, upon little table which
revolves rapidly by machinery, and while
it revolves, the potter takes little knife
like instrument and shapes the outsideof
the plate to his liking. The revolving
table is called digger"
"Formerly," said Mr.. Tempest, 9the.
jigger was turned by hand, and the potter
had to keep it whiriing with one hand
while he shaped his plate with the other,
and it was sight of work. Bnt that slow
hand work is all now done away with
now, and the jiggers are turned by ma
chinery"
Verify, this is labor-saving age think
it's labor-bating age, too.
When the potter has shaped the plate to
his liking, the mould, with the is-to-be
plate still upon it, is taken off the jigger
and put away for the is-tc be plate to dry.
1t must get quite dry before it is taken to
the kiln to be burnt. 1t takes the dishes
that are to be about week to get dry
enough to be burnt, and meanwhile they
are removed from the pressing room into
the greenhouse"
"What do you call it greenhouse for?"
said [.
Because the ware we put in there is
green, not baked yet" answered Mr.. Tenn
pest.
[ noticed that every "green" plate or
dish had mark or number on the bottom
of it,
"What's that figure on the bottom of the
plates for?" | asked.
"That's the mark of the workman that
made them. We require each man tC put
his number on every article he makes, so
that if any of the work is sighted or done
wrong, we can trace it back to the fellow
that made lt.''
So when you see figure on the bottom
of your plates and saucers, you will know
that that simple figure is a whole sermon
on the undependability of poor human
nature again.
Those are sugars" said Mr. Tempest,
pointing to a row of objects which [ had
always heard called sugar bowls. "They
haven't the handles on 'em yet"
Il thought they were all nodded on one
piece, handles and all"
"No," said Mr.. Tempest, 'the handles
are made separate and put on afterward.
That is how they make the handles over
there'
A man did something to a queer-look-
ing little machine on bench before him.
Immediately there shot out of the little
machine smooth rope of clay, yard or
more long Before you could count six,
the man had cut off the clay rope, laid it
upon table, cut short strip again from
that, touched first one end, then the other
end of the short strip, to little mold,
which left a tiny, leaflike figure upon it,
after which he gave ii an infinitesimal
crook with his finger, and behold it was
done, much more quickly than you could
follow with your eye. The man held it
up for US to admire-a slim, pretty tea
cup handle.
the hands of the potter sure enough"
At one table they were making large,
water pitchers. The potter took large,
clay pie-crust and laid it inside of mold
representing half or pitcher; then he
put another pie-crust inside another
mold representing half pitcher, after
which he laid the two molds together and
spliced the clay seams inside with thin
strip of clay, smoothed it all off inside,
and laid the big mold away on shelf to
dry, This is how water pitchers are
made.
Mr. Tempest led the way to another
part of his dshery. "These are the bis
cult kilns, where the ware is baked, after
it is brought from the green house." said
he.
The word "biscuit' seems to be used
here in its original French sense of "twice
baked, although in point Of fact the ware
is not baked twice in the biscuit kilns,
but only once very hard. And after the
ware comes put of this kiln, they cali it
"biscult." Queer looking biscuit it is,
and not particularly eatable.
ut takes about fifty hours to bake the
ware in the bisbuit kilns," said Mr.. lem
pest.
So now, we have brought our tea cup
from a chunk Of drab mud to biscuit.
1t has been nodded, dried and baked, and
is, to all intents and purposes, tea-cup.
What more? Glazing. Although the ware
comes from the biscuit kiln completely
shaped and baked, yet it would never do
in the world to be used in that state, be-