ch color, frequently adorned with
heavy gold work; and there were vases, pitchers, and bowls of
magnificent hue. In fact, the use of blue and gold was brought to a
greater perfection in this ware than ever before, and it established
for the makers a wide-reaching reputation. Possibly this reputation
might have remained preeminent had not the short-sighted manufacturers
begun to sell at a lower rate their imperfect pieces, or seconds.
Great quantities of these flooded the market and immediately the fame
of the ware decreased."

"What a pity!"

"Since then this erroneous policy has been corrected in so far as has
been possible; but the blot on the history of the Derby porcelain
remains, proving that a firm that values its standing should never
allow imperfect products to go beyond its doors. William Cookworthy,
who, by the way, made the Bow china and who lived at Plymouth,
England, in 1760, finally discovered deposits of true kaolin at
Cornwall, and of this material made some more true porcelain; but
unfortunately much of it was injured in the firing. His workmen did
not understand the difficulties and dangers of exposing the ware to
the extreme heat. But this Plymouth ware held an interesting place in
the development of English china-making."

"Did the Plymouth works grow and become larger?" asked Theo.

"Alas, much beautiful porcelain, copied to a great extent from Chinese
and Continental wares, was made there, but the expense of turning it
out was so great that poor Cookworthy sunk a fortune in the
enterprise. However, the venture was not without its fruits, for out
of the Plymouth fabrique developed that of Bristol, and later that of
Shelton, or New Hall. All of these plants manufactured hard paste
chinas. At Bristol in 1774 a wonderfully fine tea and coffee set was
made for Edmund Burke, the renowned English orator. In the meantime
all over England small fabriques were springing up. At Pinxton,
Swansea, Coalport, Liverpool and Rockingham; most of these factories
made soft paste chinas. Then came an innovation. One of the most
perfect of English porcelains, known as Spode, was produced by
combining with this type of paste pulverized bones."

"Bones!"

"Yes. It seems a strange idea, doesn't it? But it was a great
discovery, and one that has been generally adopted and used ever since
by the principal china-making firms of England. The bone element, or
phosphate of lime, as it is more properly termed, imparts bot