The proprietors of this Journal have requested me to thank those gentlemen who have testified, by their prompt post-office orders and their letters of congratulation, the interest they take in this enterprise, I have no need to remark that they are deter mined to merit a much greater support than has as yet been vouchsafed them. They contemplate many new and interesting features, not foreshadowed in the prospectus, but which their active minds are now busy in elaborating and evolving. The JOURNAL, I am desired to remark, is a commercial venture intended to attain commercial success. Like that lazy man who, on principle, did all his work punctually, because he found it involved such an exertion to deal with an accumulation, the proprietors of the JOURNAL will make their paper an unexampled literary miscellany, because they know that by that means alone will they be enabled to achieve a success sufficient to satisfy their mercenary motives. They regret that they cannot wholly coincide with that unsuccessful American Editor who once wrote with such biting sarcasm "No man of talent writes for nothing; don't point at us—we are an anomaly." I have authority to state that a partnership has been arranged between Messrs. Doulton & Co., of Lambeth, and Mr. T. Stradford Pinder, of Burslem, to take over and carry on under the same name the business of Messrs. Pinder, Bourne & Co. The business in question was first commenced by the present Mr. Pinder's father, and it will be remembered that that gentleman was elected to represent the interests of the North Staffordshire potteries in Brussels and Paris, when the treaties of commerce with this country FEBRUARY, 1878. Messrs. Pinder, Bourne & Co. have now, upon the almost entire collapse of the foreign and colonial trade, turned their attention to the home markets. The reputation and large connection of Messrs. Doulton will undoubtedly rapidly place the new firm amongst the first of English manufacturers. Messrs. W. & T. Adams, of Tunstall, have shown me the returns of one of their biscuit ovens for the past seventeen firings, which gives the astonishing average number of 3776 dozens to each firing. The largest firing at once was 4,140 dozens. This is counting by the dozen dinner plates-other articles according to scale. How is it that for some considerable time the freights from Dutch ports to Peru have been IIS. per measured ton, whilst from Liverpool the current rates are quoted 27s.? Messrs. Minton I understand have withdrawn from the action which they instituted against their designer for taking materials to practice at home with. It seems that there is very little doubt but it is the custom in the potteries for men to work at home, and for themselves, with their employers' colors and materials; and, unfortunately for justice sometimes, custom is law unless overruled by Act of Parliament. If a workman labours at home for himself, and thereby gains skill, and enhances his value to his employer, there is just sufficient quid pro quo to compensate his master for the loss of materials. But when a man has given notice to leave his employment and has accepted a situation elsewhere, and when the materials, which he takes, contain a secret of great value to his present masters, and when there is just a sufficient suspicion that it is his intention, if possible to convey the secret to his new master, the matter is altogether different, and I am PRICE 4d. BY POST, 5d. as yet seen a trial of it, and is quoted at the extremely low rate of 12s. 6d. per lb., with a discount of 10 per cent. The Germans are better chemists than we are, and Messrs. Vivian and Wiggan had better look out as the preparation of cobalt is a branch of manufacture in which chemistry plays a great part. I have tried some experiments with the oxide of Tungsten, and I think, from what I have seen, that it might be extensively used in the pate sur pate process, for producing a beautifully white enamel, without injuring the color in the way that arsenic does. Messrs. Moore Bros., of Longton, are producing some very elegant pate sur pate orna ments. Mr. Harvey Adams, of Longton, has shewn me some very beautiful china plates painted, with scenery, upon a granulated surface. The effect of this method of decoration is very good. There seems to be some contention between Messrs. Minton and Mr. Harvey Adams, as to who was the originator of this process, and as is often the case in such matters, one side of the case is very plausible until you have heard the other. At the moment of going to press last month, I heard, with sincere regret, of the death of my dear friend, Mr. Ralph Wornum, the indefatigable and courteous secretary of the National Gallery. Strictly speaking, it is hardly within the province of this paper to speak of the lamented gentleman at all; yet I cannot but imagine that the loss of so important a contributor to artistic literature will be deeply regretted by everyone who is either commercially or professionally connected with art. Unobtrusive as the career of Mr. Wornum has been, at a time when so many literary mediocrities have above referred to would justify scuh a course, achieved an ephemeral but undeserved popu inclined to doubt whether the custom were being made, and that he was prevented founder, as makers for the foreign and colonial I have been shown by Mr. Arthur Leason, of Hartshill, a new species of prepared cobalt, which he informs me is made in Germany. It certainly looks excellent, although I have not larity, I am glad to think that, although so useful a member of the guild of literature has passed away, posterity for ages will remember him with something more than kindness when they peruse his excellent and graceful works. Only three days after Mr. Wornum's decease, another gentleman unfortunately died, whose name is familiar to every one connected with the glass trade. I allude to Mr. James Ballantine, of Edinburgh, whose reputation as a glass-painter and literateur is world-wide. Although in another portion of this paper an attempt has been made to render adequate justice to Mr. Ballantine's career, I cannot refrain from expressing my personal regret at his loss whilst I have the opportunity. Mr. Ballantine's age was only one year short of the scriptural three-scoreand-ten. Speaking to a well known portrait-painter the other day, the conversation turned upon miniature portraits. The gentleman informed me that he used porcelain for this purpose instead of ivory, and, whilst lauding its superior adaptability for his purposes, remarked that the uses to which porcelain could be applied would be a very interesting subject for literary investigation. This conversation occurs to me just at this moment apropos of a curious incident which comes to me from Venice There is living in that romantic town an Italian who has succeeded in making a violin of porcelain, which is reported to be very successful as a musical instrument. The ingenious maker was formerly a workman at Meissen, but, being now superannuated, has " It is pleasing to reflect that whilst on the one hand "Giaour Muscovs" are cutting and carving their fellow creatures, and doing their best to turn material interests of every kind topsy-turvy, in the interest of a dubious Christianity, at home the friends of true religion are continually manifesting the character of their meditations by generous gifts of stained glass windows to churches, and similar edifices. It is certainly a very glorious thing to atrocity," the infidel Turk, and it is also a commendable thing to send glass windows to churches; but, speaking personally-without intending any offence to the Eastern Question Association-I must say that I prefer the latter course; not, mark you, because I affect any advanced evangelical sympathies, but because the punishment of the "unspeakable" is rather a dangerous method of demonstrating one's A recent recipient of a stained glass window is the St. Chad's Church, Over, Cheshire. The subject is the Ascension. It is the gift of Miss Davenport, of Barton-upon-Irwell, in memory of her parents. transforms sour milk into jewellery? The milk is said to come in the shape of curd, from butter and cheese-making counties in New York, and looks upon its arrival a great deal like popped corn; but before it leaves the shop it undergoes a wonderful change, and receives the name of American coral. The secret, in making it up, is carefully guarded, but it is certain that it has to be heated very much, during which coloring matter is introduced, followed by a very heavy pressure. Some of it is coloured black and called jet, while some appears as celluloid. If this be true, it is certainly extraordinary. Sour milk into jewellery! Well, probably, when steam escaped from the primitive tea-kettle in the shape of valueless vapour, it would have appeared as ridiculous had any prophet told us that the future would see it the most In an age like the present, when the lamen- From New York I hear of the introduction of a novelty in reading lamps by a Mr. C. F. A. Hinrichs, of the Empire City. It is called the "Universal," is said to be adapted to receive any species of wick, either round or flat. In quality and workmanship the new lamp is fully equal to Kleeman's celebrated Germain" lamp. I am very glad to hear this, as a really good lamp is an incalculable boon to students. a sort of continuous stream. A I have already had occasion to say a great deal about American enterprise and ingenuity when dealing with commercial subjects one cannot help it—but I have recently heard of a "Yankee notion" which I certainly do think may be classed with, say, the flying machine and the Keeley Motor. In Mansfield, Mass., our cousins have commenced the manufacture of jewellery out of what think you! Nothing more than sour milk. If the man who causes two blades of grass to grow, where previously only one grew is a public benefactor, what is the man who, by a single wave of the magic wand of science, "St. manufacturers in this country to know that Apropos of lamps, it may interest their the German Minister of Instruction has recently issued a report on the influence of gaslight on the eye. The conclusion arrived at in this report-the result of frequent conferences with well-known physicians—is that no evil results follow a moderate use of gas if the direct action of the yellow flame on the eye is prevented. For this purpose screens or shades are employed. Very grave objection, however, exist to the use of the zinc or lead shades, most evils affecting the eyes being traceable to them. Their use, it is said, inevitably tends to blindness or inflammation, and other harmful effects. The milky-white glass shade is the best, as it distributes the light, and has a grateful effect on the eye. The burner should not be too close to the head, as congestions of the forehead and headaches result from the radiated heat. The glass plate below the gas, employed in some places, is especially useful for the purpose, as it causes an equal distribution of the lightnecessary where a number are working at one burner-prevents the radiation of heat, and tends to a steady illumination by shielding the flames from currents of air. In cases of highly inflamed eyes dark blue globes can be very beneficially employed. With precautions of this kind no evil effects from the burning of gas need be feared. I think that a careful perusal of the whole report by some enterprising lamp manufacturers might result in great advantages to those who burn the midnight oil. I am very glad to see, after this exercise of parental government in France, that private enterprise is also doing its fair share of the same kind of work. Three prizes of 50/., 30., and 20%. respectively, are offered by Messrs. Watherston & Sons for the three best designs for a three-handled cup. It must be 14 in. high, and illustrate the Biblical story of the labourers in the vineyard. The competition is limited to candidates, British born, who are, or have been bona fide students of Schools of Art recognised by the Science and Art Department. The awards will be made by the Director for Art, Mr. E.J. Poynter, R.A., whose decision will be final. Mr. Sheriff Galbraith, of Glasgow, I salute being apprehended he did not in the least seek to you, I clasp your hand in a spirit of respect excuse the mischievous act, only saying that he for your impartial justice, your freedom from asked why he wanted to see him, to which he rewished to see the Lord Mayor.-The Lord Mayor the influence of clap-trap oratory, and your plied because he wanted to be sent to prison.sense of what is right! I have for a long The Lord Mayor said-Well, that was rather a time been very much angered by the dog-in-curious desire, and asked the prisoner if he had no other excuse. The reply was that he had not.— the-manger attitude of the late Law Court The Lord Mayor told the prisoner that he might stonemasons, and the prejudiced stupidity and have attained his object by breaking a street lamp unreasonableness of nnion men generally. I or doing some trifling damage. It was a reckless thing to destroy property of the value stated, bewas delighted when Mr. Justice Brett marked longing, as it did, to persons who had never done his sense of their views in the case of the gas-him any harm, and, therefore, he would be kept to stokers; and I was greatly pleased when I hard labour for two months. was informed that you had awarded £50 Who will say now that the chief magistrate damages to a glass manufacturing firm of of the City of London does not worthily reGlasgow, as compensation for a member of a present the auri sacra fames of the E.C. distrades' union having intimidated some of trict? Moralists say that there is no degree their workmen, and induced them to leave in crime; but the Lord Mayor of a great comtheir appointment. I have only to hope, sir, mercial city will tell you that a man who gives a list of the exhibitors in the British that your conduct in this matter will induce wants to commit a crime, in order to be sent section of the Paris Exhibition. These numother manufacturers to seek civil redress in to prison, should study economy, and that the ber 505. Amongst them are to be found the such cases. Pecuniary loss will be a much man who destroys a "trifling" piece of public names of Messrs. Maw and Co., Minton and greater blow to the unions than the martyr- property, will much sooner have his desires Minton Hollins & Co., for tiles; Messrs. Wedgdom of their members. gratified, than the man who goes in for reck-wood & Copeland, for artistic pottery; Messrs. less damage of the valuable belongings of Howell & Sons, for mosaics, &c.; Messrs. private merchants. Clayton & Bell, for stained glass, Messrs. Pinder Bourne & Co.; Messrs. Doulton & Co.; the Brownhills' Pottery Co., Messrs. Davonport, and many other well-known names. I did not know until very recently that the slates which were the inseparable companions of my school days-those slates upon which my first caligraphic 'puzzles were committed, and which received my first impressions of my school mistress in the shape of a portrait composed of right angles-to a very great extent are exported from America. The American trade is, I am informed, very large, extending even to China and Japan. The material is, of course, cheap in America, The Pennsylvanian slate is strong and thick, and takes pencil marks without leaving any scratches. The wood used is of very good quality, and in consequence of several improvements, Transatlantic manufacturers claim for their slates an advantage over all others. Messrs. D. C. Pratt and Co., of New York, is one of the largest houses in the trade. They export several specialities, prominent amongst which is the patent D or "Moulded Edge," the edges of which are oval, a decided improvement on the old square corners. Other slates are the G or La Bar's Patent Wire Corners," which has the corners firmly attached and protected with wire, and the "Eureka Rubber Corners," which has the joints cemented with vulcanized rubber, thus protecting the slate, no matter in what position it may fall, and so hindering any rattling in the frame. Slate pencils are also largely made in the United States, although the largest quantities are still made in Germany. The vagaries of City Magistrates have at least one advantage-they are novel; witness On New Year's Day a memorial window, possessing more than a merely local interest, was unveiled in the church of the united A recent number of the London Gazette I said something last month about multa in parvo in inventions; I am, therefore, glad to direct attention to a novelty in this line of which I have recently heard. I need hardly say that the novelty is American. It consists of an ingenious combination in which the frame of a pocketbook, a cigar case, and a revolver are united. The advantage of such a pocket article will be readily perceived, as it forms a convenient mode of carrying a re parishes of St. Clement's, near Eastcheap, Cestrienses qui compluribus linguis divinas and shut by the action of the trigger. This smacks somewhat of the bowie-knife and Colt's-revolver usages of California. Paris it seems is not to have everything its own way. The merchants of Bremen have I hear that the French Societe d Encourage-opened an exhibition in which all the prinment pour l'Industrie Nationale, 44, Rue de cipal articles of commerce are displayed in The excellent purpose is to Rennes, Paris, has inter alia offered the fol- specimens. lowing prizes for competition during 1878;— familiarise the trading population and the The grand fine arts medal of Jean Coujon and public with the produce in which they are most interested. A very good advertising the following extract from the police news - prize of 1,000f., in class 27, for greatest pro- scheme might arise from this if similar ex MANSION HOUSE.-EXTRAORDINARY BEHAVIOUR. An ill-clad young man, named John Williams, was charged before the Lord Mayor with wilfully breaking a pane of glass, of the estimated value of 5, the property of Messrs. Drew and Poupard, booksellers, in Fenchurch Street.-The evidence went to show that on Friday afternoon the prisoner walked deliberately up to the complainants' shop, and with a large stone which he had in his hand smashed to pieces a plate glass window. On gress in application of new metals in indus- hibitions were established in other large towns. I hear that Herr Siemens, of Dresden, is manufacturing compressed glass which is harder and more difficult to break than any toughened or tempered glass yet introduced. DESIGNS OF THE MONTH. The designs and shapes which we have selected for representation this month are by Messrs. Edwards & Sons, Messrs. Pinder Bourne & Co., and the New Wharf Pottery Company, all of Burslem. THE BORAX DEPOSITS OF CALIFORNIA When obtained at the surface the borax is in AND NEVADA. A great deal of very interesting information relative to the mode of working the borax deposits of California and Nevada is given in a report recently made by M. Emile Durand From the show rooms of Messrs. Pinder to the French society for the Encouragement Bourne & Co., we have selected a beer set in of National Industry. It must be observed the Flemish style of decoration made of a that M. Durand speaks with weighty authority buff clay, and handsomely relieved and on this subject, as he has had several years jewelled by rich blue and brown enamelling; experience in the extraction of borax. The two desert plates of celedon body painted with principal utilization of this material for indusbirds, and a vegetable dish and two plates, trial purposes is in glass making and the which we have chosen as specimens of a ceramic arts, as it possesses the property, at a very novel and elegant form of dinner ser-high temperature, of dissolving the metallic vice. The handles and feet of the vegetable oxides, and forming transparent glass, the dish are coloured in a mazarine blue, which colour of which depends upon the metal used. harmonises well with the pattern and enriches It is also very largely employed in the manuits effect. Mr. John Slater, the artist, facture of enamels, of glazings for earthendeserves credit for his appreciation of the fact ware, &c. But in the large glass and porcethat true beauty depends far more upon lain manufacturing centres of Europe, its harmony than upon brilliancy of colour. As employment has been limited in consequence our "Bull in the China Shop" has noticed in of its high cost. With this disadvantage it another column, Messrs. Doulton & Co. of has hitherto been chiefly obtained from Italy; Lambeth have joined Mr. Pinder in partner- but the discovery of the immense borax reship to carry on this business, and we have sources of the Far West has very much tended no doubt but that the new blood and energy towards removing any restrictions upon its thus infused into the concern will rapidly further use in this part of the world, and, enable it to assume position in the front consequently, as a result of the increasing rank of Staffordshire potters. export of the salt from America, its employment in Europe is extending. It is of some importance that the potters and the glass makers of this country should receive some information respecting the borax resources of the American continent, and our readers will be grateful to M. Durand for providing this information. Messrs. James Edwards & Sons have sent us several chaste articles which we have selected for illustration from a number of others, because they are eminently representative of that style of elegant, useful, and at the same time, economical ironstone, which is just now so much in demand. Messrs. Edwards devote their attention to producing the greatest amount of decoration at the least possible cost-a decoration of a chaste and pretty description, avoiding as much as possible those coarse daubs which hitherto it has been considered necessary to apply to ordinary filled in goods. For instance, if we examine the soup tureen, we will find that the body is of a very fine white character, free from spots and pin holes, that the glaze is sound, and that there is no sign of crazing. The decoration is rich in gold, well burnished, and the pattern and shape are recherche and pretty, without being loud and obtrusive; and yet this article is placed upon a 7s. scale with usual discounts. The other articles are entirely new shapes and designs, and speak for themselves. The New Wharf Pottery Company sends us a toilet set, but we are unable to illustrate more than the ewer, which will give a very good idea of the remainder. We should have liked to illus trate some very fine flown blue ware made by Mr. W. Adams, of Tunstall; but our space is limited. The pattern is what is termed the "fern leaf," and the body is very good; the best pieces are ornamented with a gold band. The other illustrations on the sheet are descriptive of an article, which will be found in another place, on Painting on Earthenware and China, and, as such, do not properly class under this head. According to M. Durand's report, the various compounds of boric acid commonly found are the borate of soda, various borates of lime, hayesine, or ulexite, cryptomorphite, and dotalite. Tourmaline may be added to this list, though it is quite rare, except in the tin mines of San Jacinto, where it forms the gangue of the ore. The principal deposits form a kind of band in the ancient volcanic soil, which surrounds the Sierra Nevada at the North and East. This region is rich in hot springs, some sulphurous, and containing, in solution in their waters, various salts. The borax, which is found in the saline deposits of the valleys, may have been pro- | duced by one of two causes, either by deep springs containing boric acid or borax in solution, or by the surface water of a vast basin accumulating in a reservoir, and there concentrating over an unknown period. The second hypothesis is considered as the most probable, as the salts which accompany the borate of soda (sulphate, chloride, and others) are found in large quantities in adjacent mountains. The borate of lime found in these deposits is formed probably by double decomposition. It appears in crusts on the surface or in masses in the soil. The latter are of all sizes, sometimes weighing over 4lb., and containing the borate in long silky filaments, or in an amorphous powder mixed with sand and soda salts. It small crystals, yellowish white in color. has a slightly sweetish and quite agreeable taste, which is probably owing to organic matters, as it disappears after the refining. A thin steel shovel, with a sharp edge for cutting the herbage, is used for collecting the salt, which is taken in carts to a platform placed above large wooden vats capable of containing some 3,500 gallons. These vessels are filled with water heated to boiling by the injection of steam. The borax is thrown in by shovelsful until the areometer marks 23° B. This concentration would be too great if only borax were put in, but the impurities (sulphate of soda and rock salt) added, besides the mud and borate of lime in suspension, greatly augment the density. When the above degree is reached, the solution is allowed to rest, the herbage which floats on the surface is skimmed off, and the liquid is carried by long indiarubber tubes into the crystallizing vessels. The latter are large tanks 9 ft. 6 in. in length, about 6 ft. high, and 39 in. wide. The liquid cools slowly to a temperature of 77°, occupying about ten days in so doing. A faucet at the lower part of the tank is then opened, and the mother liquor, mud, and large borax crystals, which are formed by aggregations of small crystals, are removed. These crystals are washed with the mother liquor in another vessel, by agitating them with a rake in a long trongh filled with water. They are afterwards kept for refining. At the bottom of the crystallizing vat is found a deposit of borax, sometimes 6 in. in thickness, which is broken up with the pick axe. The salt is then left to dry on platforms for four or five days, and finally is packed in coffee sacks, the filled bag weighing 165 lb. The distance from Columbus, Nevada, the site of one of the principal deposits, to Wadsworth, the nearest station on the Central Pacific Railroad, is about 360 miles over a desert country. The means of transportation is a train composed of three waggons, the pole of one fastened in the axle of the preceding. Twenty-four mules are harnessed to the first waggon. In this way the load of about 30 tons is distributed on the six axles, an important precaution, as the route lies over sandy plains and marshes, where roads are unknown. When a difficult place is reached, the three waggons are separated, and the whole force of mules is attached to one vehicle at a time, which is thus hauled over or through the obstacle. Generally the owner of the train conducts it, aided by one or two assistants, and in the last waggon is stored the necessary provision, which includes both food and water for men and animals. This journey adds about 1 cents. to the cost of the borax per pound. From Wadsworth to San Francisco the expense of transportation is 13 cents., and from the latter point to New York it is stated to be 1 cents. additional a pound. The total cost per pound in San Francisco is about 8 cents. The monthly production of borax in California and Nevada is estimated at 200 tons. |