The workmen that are now em ployed are chiefly French; but English children are daily bound apprentices to them, that the fecrets and mysteries of the feveral branches may foon become our

own.

:

From the fpecimens already exhibited, there is great reafon to conclude, that this manufactory will fucceed the establishing it has already had a wonderful effect on this town and neighbourhood: every thing feems alive; and old Winchelfea is, as it were arifen, like the phoenix, out of its afhes. It was a very difficult matter to procure workmen skilful enough to manufacture this fine cloth and it was ftill more difficult to get flax proper for making yarn fine enough yet both these difficulties are furmounted; the first by procuring proper hands from France, and from among the French prifoners, who were maintained here for fo many years during the late war; and the latter by improving the culture of the flax they fowed in the neighbourhood, in the following particulars.

It was neceffary for them, that the fibres of the flax fhould be fine, flender, and long, and that in a much greater degree than in the

linen made in Ireland for fhirting, theeting, &c. for this reafon they proceed, in the culture of their flax, in a manner very different from the practice of the Irish farmers,

The land on which the plant is to be fown must be 'very fresh †, but not rank, for that would defeat their intentions of having the fibres fine. If it will do without dunging, fo much the better. For the crop to fucceed well, the foil of this land fhould be reduced, by frequent tillage, as fine as garden mould; the ftones fhould be all picked; and the land, whilft it lies fallow, that is, before the feed is fown, fhould be kept as clear as poffible from every kind of weed.

After every preparation is made, the beft feed that can be procured is fown very thick on the land, and if the weeds have been previously well deftroyed, they will not afterwards hurt the crop, the plants ftanding very thick run up flender without branching: but in order ftill to promote their growth, the planters ftick the crop very full of long fticks ; and on these they lay bufhes, which, fhading the plants from the intense heat of the fun-beams, make them run up very flender; and they yet enjoy air

rank.

and

and warmth enough to prevent their ftems, or ftalks, from rotting by too much moisture.

This method may poffibly by fome of your readers be thought very troublesome and expenfive, and not to be practifed in large concerns; and this is certainly the truth: but we are then to confider that in thefe fine manufactures a fmall quantity of flax will go a great way; and that the planter's. aim is to procure not a large crop, but a valuable one.

If the flax is of a proper growth for making very fine yarn, fit to be used in the Winchelfea maŋu, factory, it fetches a great price; if, on the contrary, by the planters faving either pain or expence, it fhould be too coarfe or fhort, it will not there be faleable.

For the reason above recited, it is the planter's intereft to be as nice as poffible in the culture of this plant, and to procure every intelligence he can, that may enable him to improve the quality not the quantity of his crop; for on that only, in a great meafure, depends his future profit.

The manufacturing the yarn, by weaving it into linen, is very delicate work; and this is chiefly done in the fine ftone vaults, with which this town abounds +; for the skilful workmen fay, that the

thread is fo fine and delicate, that it will not before weaving, bear the influence of the upper and freely circulating air; for after being but a very little time expefed to it, the yarn becomes unfit for the loom, as it would be brittle, and in working break into short lengths, as if it was rotten.

Before French cambricks were prohibited by act of parliament, the quantities of them confumed in England was almost incredible: it is therefore to be hoped, that our ladies will not be lefs fond of this Winchelfea linen, (which equals the French cambricks in quality) merely because it happens to be manufactured in England. Foreign fripperies have been too long admired it is time that a patriotic fpirit of emulation fhould take place among us, and that we should vye with each other in our endeavours to promote the commerce of our native land.

On the quantity of commodities manufactured in this kingdom des pends, in a great meafure, the prefervation of the balance of trade, which has been of late years fo much in our favour; must we not therefore be infatuated to prefer making any part of our apparel of foreign materials particularly when every article, neceffary for the drefs of the rich or poor of either

either fex, is as handfome, as good in its kind, if not better; as fumptuous, rich and elegant, and what would render it ftill more accept able to many, may be made as expenfive as any France, &c. can produce? Would the court fet the example, nothing but the produce of English manufactories would be worn in the kingdom.

Much is due to the fuccefsful endeavours of the fociety to which you belong; the acting members have all along difcovered a fpirit of patriotifm that is truly laudable, and will doubtless be of the greatest benefit, as well to the prefent race of our countrymen as to our pofterity.

ration; whence he concludes, that the eastern porcelain confifts of two. fubftances, one of which only is vitrifiable, and the European of vitrifiable fubftance heated only to a certain degree fhort of vitrification. To this it has been objected, that all fubftances are vitrifi able in a certain degree of heat, long continued, but though it may be true, that a degree of heat is phyfically poflible, in which all fubftances will become glafs, and that we can produce fuch heat, yet Reaumur's diftinction will ftill be good; for porcelain may confift either of two fubtances which vitrify with degrees of heat widely different; or of one fubftance, all the parts of which vitrify together. What degree of heat, or

manufactory.

IN the account of the life of the celebrated French academift M. de Reaumur, (fee p. 26.) there are fome obfervations upon the art of making porcelain, and a comparifon of the Oriental and European porcelain with each other. M. Reaumur fays, that all porcelain is an imperfect vitrification, produced either by giving a vitrifiable fubftance fuch a degree of heat as will not perfectly vitrify it, or by mixing two fubftances together, one of which will vitrify and the other will not, in which cafe degree of heat may be given that is found best to incorporate its parts, and frengthen its texture: he adds, that bringing the Eaftern and European porcelain to the test of fire, he found that all the vas rious kinds of porcelain made in Europe, came out glafs, and the Eaftern porcelain fuffered no alte

any

duceable in our furnaces will vitrify Oriental porcelain we do not know, but there is reafon to great believe that thofe particulars in in which it excels European porcelain are effentially connected with its specific difference from them, viz. its enduring, without vitri fication, that degree of heat, in which the European porcelain is found to vitrify.

It is well known that porcelain ware, as well as pottery, confifts of two fubftances, the body and the glazing; and upon the adaption of these two fubftances to each other, the excellence of this

manufacture greatly depends, with refpect to its usefulness and per

manency.

All metals and metallic fub. ftances are known to expand with heat, and contract with cold; fubftances therefore that are highly elaftic, frequently crack when heated fuddenly and partially, becaufe

H 4

the

the parts expanding unequally, the continuity is furmounted by the effort of one particle to difengage itfelf from another, in confequence of the parts in contact poffeffing unequal spaces: for this reafon veffels of glafs, and other fubftances a-kin to glafs, frequently break when hot water is poured into them.

It is also known, that though all metallic fubftances expand with heat, yet they do not expand in the fame degree; for this reafon it is that the glazing of many kinds of pottery, and of fome ware, called china, frequently cracks upon receiving hot water, though the veffel itself continues whole; for the veffel and the glazing being of fubftances widely different, expand unequally, which alfo produces a farther inconveniency; for the fame caufe that makes the glazing crack, makes it alfo fcale off after it is cracked, which is univerfally the cafe with all earthen ware, particularly that called delft.

The defiderata, therefore, in making china are these :

To have a body fine and white. To be tough enough to refift the force of expanfion unequally excited by partial heat, and

To be glazed with a fubftance that will expand and contract in the fame degree, and that has alfo the fame degree of tenuity.

If the body is fine and white, the ware will never grow brown, for the porcelain ware becomes brown by the wearing away of the glazing to which it owes its white

nefs.

If it has the requifite degree of toughness, it will never break by receiving boiling water.

And if its glazing is of a fub. ftance that has a fimilar texture and properties, it will neither crack nor fcale off.

I have feen porcelain of all the manufactures in Europe. Thofe of Drefden in Poland, and Chatillon in France, are well known for their elegance and beauty: with thefe I may clafs our own of Chelfea, which is scarce inferior to any of the others; but thefe are calculated rather for ornament than ufe, and if they were equally ufeful with the Oriental china, they could yet be used but by few, becaufe they are fold at high prices. We have, indeed, here, many other manufactories of porcelain which are fold at a cheaper rate than any that is imported; but, except the Worcester, they all wear brown, and are fubject to crack, efpecially the glazing, by boiling water: the Worcester has a good body,, fcarce inferior to that of Eastern china, it is equally tough, and its glazing never cracks or scales off,

But this is confined, comparatively, to few articles; the teatable, indeed, it compleatly furnithes; and fome of it is fo well enamelled as to refemble the finest foreign china; fo that it makes up coftly fets that are broken, without a perceptible difference: yet fome how or another this manufacture has never yet found its way to the dining table, except perhaps in fauce-boats, and toys for pickles, and hors de'œuvres; but by communicating this defect to the public, fome remedy may, perhaps, be found for it. Perhaps the fociety for encouraging arts, &c. might think it an interesting abject of their attention, as the

manu

manufacture is now, as far as it extends, greatly fuperior to all others of the kind, and might, as a writer in the public papers obferves, not only keep very large fums in the kingdom, which are ftill paid for a foreign commodity, but may also be improved into a valuable branch of exportation.

I am, &

New method of preferving birds, with their elegant plumes unhurt.

fecret would not be difficult to come at; yet, after various trials, I was convinced to the contrary, and gave up this method; for the pickle glued the feathers clofe, always took away more or lefs of their gloffy hue, and beauty of their plumage, fo as to appear difagreeable to the eye; this was a point I was a long time at a lofs to account for, as I well remembered that in all the preparations of ftill life, in the above gentleman's collection, the feathers were remarkably free, fine in colour, and equal in every refpect to life itself. In water fowls I fucceeded much better, their feathers being of a more oily nature, and confequently not fo easily disturbed by the pickle as the land birds. Tho frequently foiled in my attempts, I refolved not to give it up fo eafily, and at length accomplished what I was fo anxious to perfect. I have lately preferved fome scores of both land and fea fowls after this new method, all of which come as near real life as poffible; therefore, to gratify thofe who are pleased with this ftudy and innocent employment, I fhall now infert the whole apparatus neceffary to be obferved, and if thefe hints can draw their attention, my pleasure will be compleat. When I receive a fowl frefh killed, I open the venter, from the lower part of the breast bone down to the anus, with a pair of fine pointed fciffars, and extract all the contents, fuch as the inteftines, liver, ftomach, &c. This cavity I immediately fill with the following mixture of falts and fpice, and then bring the lips of the wound together by future, fo as to prevent the stuffing from falling out. The gullet or paffage muft

A Few years ago I had frequent opportunities of viewing the curious museum of Monf. Reaumur in Paris: his collections of natural and artificial productions were carefully preferved in feveral departments but what most attracted my notice was three rooms filled with a great number of foreign fowls, preferved in their lively and beautiful colours, whofe brilliant appearance, freedom in their plumage, and animated attitudes, feem as natural in this lifelefs ftate as if they still breathed. I was very defirous to know the method of bringing them to this perfection; but after various fruitlefs enquiries, was obliged to reft contented with barely admiring them, as all their preparation was kept a profound fecret among a few naturalifts. I was determined, however, to make a trial with a few birds upon this fingle thought, that many good old houfe-wives preferve hams, beef, tongues, &c. for a long time, with falt only. Now I imagined that if a ftronger antifeptic was used by way of a pickle, and the fowls placed therein for fome time and dried, the

then