rn the colors in and blend them with the frit."

"It must be hard always to get the designs where you want them,"
observed Theo meditatively. "I used to trace patterns at school
sometimes, and often they slipped and made the spacing wrong."

"That is one of the difficulties our designers encounter, too,"
replied Mr. Marwood. "Sometimes you will see pieces where the spacing
is not equal, or where a border does not join. That indicates
inaccurate placing of the pattern, or an incorrect estimate of the
space."

"I don't wonder they get it wrong sometimes," declared Theo. "It isn't
so easy. I remember once decorating a card for Mother with some
decalcomania pictures. It was mighty hard to get them where I wanted
them."

"Decalcomania?" exclaimed Mr. Marwood. "We do that kind of work here
too. In fact, a great many of our most beautiful gold borders are
transferred to the ware by that method. I see you will be quite at
home, Theo, in our decorating department."

"I guess you would find me a pretty poor hand at it," laughed the
lad. "My fingers would be all thumbs."

"Possibly at first. It is very fussy work, I must admit. But the
processes are at least easy for you to understand. Another type of
decoration that will interest you is that employed when we wish to put
bands of solid color around the edges of plates or dishes; also when
we wish to color their entire surface. We call it ground-laying. Now
how do you suppose we do that?"

Theo thought a moment.

"I can't imagine," he said at last. "Of course you could not get the
color even with a brush."

"No," answered Mr. Marwood. "We must first apply to the space we wish
to color a peculiar kind of oil, and afterward dust over this
moistened surface a finely ground metallic color."

"Which sticks only to the oiled part!" Theo exclaimed, quickly.

"You have the idea. Then the superfluous powder is blown off, and when
fired the dust fuses into a solid liquid color, giving us a smoothly
laid band of red, blue, green, or what you will; or perhaps a dish of
solid tone if that has been the intent. We do not use this method for
every type of flat color work, however, because when the powdered
color blows about the workers are apt to inhale it, and it is very bad
for their health. Therefore when it is possible we tint the china by
hand, which can be done if the color is a delicate one and spreads
smoothly; or we color the clay itself."

All this time Theo and Mr. Marwo