Richland beacon. [volume] (Rayville, La.) 1869-1890, 1888-01-14
MAKING FINE PORCELAIN
AN OCCUPATION AT WHICH THE
JAPANESE EXCEL.
Shaping the Clay upon the PO,ter's
Whccl-Skill in Pain.in. Porcc-
lain-Small Wages.

w ncct-SKlIt III Ia!usiHr IOECc-
lain-Small Wages.
Probably no country in the world pos
sesscs such resources Tor the manufacture
of fine porcelain and carthcn wares as
Japan, says correspondent of the Pitts
burg Di>j u ch. There are nearly three
hundred localities in the empire where
clay is found suitable !or the manufac
ture of porcelain without being trca,el
to the add tion of forci"n matter. The
constituent elements of porcelain a:c
chiefly silica, alumina ard water
Tie c!ays used ly the Jai ancse pot
tiers are treated by Icing thoroughly
pounded under water in Founders which
are generally work d by hand. After
the earthly matter has settled at the bot
tom of the vessel the water i, poured of
and the residuum is dried aud stored
away in the form of flat cakes uron
boards, or as an impalpab.e powder in
boxes, the shaping is Gone for the most
part upon the potter's wheel, the intro
duction of VIII ch is attributed 10y the
japanese to the Buddhist priest Gio-gi
Bo satsu, born G1c. died 749 \. u.
The po,tcrs wheel in vogue among the
japanese is ex 'ccdingly simple in its
construction. and consists Of roand
piece of hard wood we'll battencd on the
under side TO prevent warp:ng, and work
ing upon ,iyot set in porcelain eye.
The motion = communicated 10 the vince.
in most cases by the hand of the potter
himself. When other thln rounl shapes
are required crude moulIs are sometime
used
After the clay had been shaped upon
the wheel it is dried for IA couple Of days.
1t is then smoothcd with sharp knife
ard converted into ''bisIuc' by briet
preliminary baking. 1t i; then either
painted and fired, or glazed and fired, if
it is designed to lie ptntcd on the gaze.
The ovens are generally constructed upon
ahi!lsidc, one above the other, with the
draft from the lowest to the highest, anC
an arrangement for filing each kiln sep
ara;cd. The consequence of this ar
rangcmcnt is that the upper ki!ns are the
hottest, and the ware which requires the
most insersc heat is accordingly placed
in these. These connecting kilns pcs
sess the merits of cconomizing fuel, but
are not always well constituted, and
there is often a want of uniformity in
the heat.
The Japanese display great ski l in the
painting of their porcelain and carthcn
wares. The blue color Of the common
ware is due to the use Of cobalt. This
ware is painted on the bisluc before
firing. The more handsome and cost!:cr
wares are painted upon the gaze and are
70 I fr-
ings. The OXIDES employed in color ng
are those of coppe:, cobalt, iron, anti
mony, manganese and gold, which are
mixed with a licae Of lead and potash
and baked at low temperature. though
the oxides arc also applied in some cases
intiuxed and baked at temper atu.e
which iluxcs them ard prod ICES the de-
sired color. French and German colors
are beginning to be largely used.
/ was at some pains to ascerta the
prices paid for labor in the cloissone and
porcelain factories. The work is done Ey
the piece. and good turner in pottery
establishment or cramelcr receives from
so to IS cents per diem. The wages are
graded downward from these MAXIMUM
figures to those raid boys and girls en-
ploycd in the simpler operations, who
earn from ten TO fifteen cents a day. But
the truth is that japanese tastes are
simple and wants few, and while from IS
cents to 81 per diem woul1 be accounted
starvation wages in America, they in
reality represent very just and lii eral
compensation in Japan.
l cannot better illustrate what mean
than by relating an incident which oc-
cured in Toxic the other day. A friend
Of mine was met and accos;ed by a
Swedc, who insisted on talking with
him. "What arc you doing here" sad
my friend. 81 am working for japanese
who is in the iron business" "W What
arc you getting9" -Four dollars a
month" "Four dollars a month /!
Why, man, that will not keep soul and
body together" "Uh, yes it will. l
have a jolly good boarding-Eonsc, and
get all the meat and fish and bread l
want, and only pay s. month";"