The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-07-02
IN A CHINA SHOP.
How the work Is Done I'm Worces-
ter, England.

From the Boston Transcript.
Close beside Worcester Cathedral are
the ugly workshops and tail chimneys of
the Royal porcelain works. When we
watch the thrower molding on his magic
wheel the plastic clay We are filled with
wonder at his skill and ask ourselves
whence came the clay which takes so
readily any form the potter Wills. The
flint powders found upon the plains OF
Brittany in France. feldspar from Corn
wall and Sweden, bones from America,
besides other things, all pay tribute.
These unlikely constituents are calcined
and then ground exceedingly fine In mills.
Inc grinding takes from twelve hours TO
six days. 1T Is q sight worth seeing,
those powerful mills racing round the
deep trough made out of stone from
Derbyshire) weighted with heavy blocks,
churning each material for each Is
ground separately, into q thick white
cream. When finished, the liquids are
strained through fine hair sleeves, and all
particles of iron Withdrawn by means Of
magnets. The different ingredients are
then mixed together in proper proper
tons and kneaded into the required con-
slstency, and then the clay is ready for
the thrower.
The art of molding clay has become
much more exact since the employment
of plaster OF paris models After the
thrower, with the help of his wheel,
has roughly shaped the clay into what
is termed the Ginning" It Is taken off
the wheel and put into a plaster of paris
cast, which, in turn, Is placed upon The
Wh.rlins Wheel and the -1ining' Is then
deftly nodded to the exact shape. As
plaster of paris absOrbs moisture quickly
the lining is soon firm enough 10 be han
died. 1t is then turned" like ordinary
wood or metal and has handles, which
have been nodded in plaster of PARIS,
liked by the same clay. 1t was always
a puzzle to our minds how the handles
We're induced not only to stick on to
the jugs and cups but to bear the
weights of the same cups and jugs when
full of liquid. The porcelain Is then
ready to be baked. For this it IS packed
in hre-prOOf baking dishes called Seq
gars" and supported on every side by
powdered calcined flint. These seggars
are made to fit exactly one upon the
other. although they are of different
sizes and depths, and they are arranged
in columns side by side in the oven. This
oven is then bricked up and eight fires
are lighted and kept burning for forty
eight hours, night and day. The oven
takes four days to cool and then the
contents are unpacked and are ready for
a variety of processes.
Most of the china is glazed, opera
ton requiring care and skill The arti-
Giles are bathed in the liquid glaze-a
muddy-looking broth-and the greater
part of the superfuous glaze shaken off.
But 1t is impossible TO free them perfect
have to be removed after the glaze has
been dried in hot room. Women
and girls are employed for this work
The ivory glaze is a delicate salmon pink
before IT is baked, the white dark drab.
After it is glazed. the pottery for the
second time is packed in seggars and
baked. After this the colored china is
also baked in. Few people know that the
gilt on china is the purest gold that can
be bought. 1t is ground with mercury
and turpentine into a black-looking paint
and applied with a fine camels hair pen
Gil. Boys are trained for this work from
IA years of age, 1t being nearly impossI-
bic for older people to acquire the accura-
cy of eye and hand necessary. 1t is a
great drawback to the production of ar
tistic pottery that the coloring is totally
different in the paint, to the result after
burning. For instance, gold paint Is black
before and dull gold afterward; the
brightness is produced by polishing 1t
with an agate Other colors are obtained
from metallic oxides; iron gives red, CO.
bait, blue, etc