strings or thongs of leather until
securely joined. Afterward the base is inserted in its proper
place. The inside seams are then leveled and sponged away, and the
mould sent to the drying room. Later it is returned; the outside seams
moistened and smoothed; the moulded handles put on; and the piece is
ready to be decorated and fired. It is a difficult ware to make, for
unless the workmen are skilled at giving the clay an even pressure it
is liable to be thicker in some places than others. Sometimes, too, if
the seams are not strongly united the article will crack. It demands a
strong, even touch. Remember that hollow ware is pressed from the
outside; and that flat ware is just the opposite, and is pressed from
the inside. The top surfaces of such things as plates, platters and
trays are thus formed, their outer side being shaped by hand or by a
jolly, which we shall see presently."

Mr. Marwood passed on through the crowded room until he suddenly
paused beside a workman at another machine.

"This," explained Theo's conductor, "is a jigger. There are two
machines very commonly used in the United States for shaping the
cheaper wares: one is a jigger, a device of this type; and the other a
jolly, an invention very similar in construction but having a tool
attached that forms the outside, or bottom of the piece, the inside of
which has previously been shaped by the jigger. You may recall that I
spoke of the jigger; and told you how a revolving mould was inserted
into it, and how afterward a sheet of clay was laid on the outside of
this mould and rapidly shaped. The jolly, on the other hand, is used
for making such things as covers, the top surface of which has already
been moulded. The profile set in the jolly-lever makes the
bottom. That, as I told you, is how we get the base of our plates. For
certain articles the jigger is preferred; for certain others the
jolly; but the aim of both is the same, and the workers at the
machines are all called jiggermen. After an article is taken from the
jigger or jolly it is dried and carried to the turning-lathe to have
its surface smoothed and finished."

"And does it take all these men to run a jigger?" whispered Theo,
pointing to the moving figures that hurried to and fro.

"An organized group of men is employed at each machine," answered
Mr. Marwood. "First there is the _clay-carrier_, who must bring the
material to the workmen; then there is a second man called the
_batter-ou