were veined, but as though some
stiff-legged insect had crawled over the damp clay, and had left its
trail behind it. In putting in the stamens in flowers, you will have to
have recourse to an expedient, for it is evident that you cannot copy
every individual stamen in clay any more than you can make your clay
petals as thin and delicate as nature. You must translate the effect of
nature into clay, and in the case of the stamens you will find it a good
plan to build up the centre of the flower, and then press into it a
pointed stick, repeating the operation until the whole of the centre is
perforated, as it were, like a grater.

In order to make a contrast between the design and the background, you
can dot or line over the slab upon which the design is lying, so as to
make the surface rough in texture. When the clay is quite dry, which
will take some week or more to effect, you can put any further work
into the design with the steel tool, which must be used to scrape the
clay; for if you exert any pressure upon the dry clay it very soon
chips, and it is almost impossible to repair such damage, and for this
reason: that if you stick on a piece of wet clay to the dry clay, the
moisture of the wet clay is soon absorbed by the dry, and the piece
stuck on immediately falls off. The only chance is to keep damping the
part damaged until the clay all round gets quite moist again, and you
must then model another piece on to the broken part. Dry your work very
slowly at first, to prevent it cracking or warping, and when it seems
quite hard put it into a warmer place, for, though clay may appear hard
on the surface, there is sure to be a good deal of moisture inside,
especially if the clay be thick, and should it be put into a kiln before
the moisture is entirely evaporated, the modelled clay will fly into
minute fragments, and cause incalculable damage to other work in the
kiln. I recommend my readers to put their work into a hot oven two or
three times after it has been drying for two or three weeks, so as to
insure the clay being quite hard. I lost several works through firing
them before they were dry enough.[2]

The heat that china is put to fix the colours is not sufficient for
baking clay, and it must be sent to some place where underglaze pottery
is fired. This first firing turns the clay into "biscuit," and if any
painting is to be done on it, now is the time to do it. Underglaze or
Barbotine colours should be used, and