=How Earthenware is made.=--A good deal of theory has found its way into print, but it is not every one, even among collectors, who has actually seen the various stages through which a lump of clay passes before it finally takes its place on the table as a teapot or a breakfast cup.
[Illustration: MILL FOR GRINDING RAW MATERIALS.
_By the courtesy of Messrs. Josiah Wedgwood & Sons._]
It has, therefore, been thought of interest to illustrate a few steps in the process of this transformation of clay into vessels of utility and beauty. By the kindness of Messrs. Josiah Wedgwood and Sons, of Etruria, this series of illustrations appears, and the subjects have been chosen with a view to showing those processes of the potter which are practically the same as in the days of the great Josiah.
The first illustration (p. 37) shows an _Exterior View of the Etruria Works_, with the Cornish stone and the ball clays from Dorset and Devon and the flints lying in heaps exposed to the sun and frost in order to "weather." This exposure is considered advantageous, as the longer the clay is in the open the better it will work when required for use.
The second illustration (p. 41) shows a _Corner of the old Etruria Works_. The structure is practically the same as in the early days, and the bottom windows on the right have remained unaltered. The farthest at the bottom corner on the right was the room of old Josiah.
The third illustration shows the _Mill for grinding raw materials_. The clays are put into this vat and crushed between two stones. There is nothing different now from the early days. The old oak beams tell their story. It is true that steam is now used, but that is all to make this process differ from that employed a century and a half ago--first when wind-power was used, as in flour mills, and later when a horse was substituted.
This grinding is done with water, and the mixture comes out a thick liquid. The mixing-tank is the next stage. These liquid constituents, such as ball clay, china clay, flint, &c., according to the formula of the pottery, are carefully admitted into the tank in correct proportions and thoroughly "blended" together. The body is now in its "slip" state, and is pressed and dried to make it more malleable when not required for casting. In its later stage, in more solid form, it is ready to be thrown on the potter's wheel.