There the china bakes from forty to sixty
hours. The length of time required depends on the sort of ware being
fired and the temperature of the kiln. Then the opening is unsealed
and the cooling process begins."
"Do they wait until the saggers and their contents are cold before
they take them out?" asked Theo.
"No, indeed," was Mr. Marwood's reply. "That would take too
long. Often we are in a hurry to get the goods out and the ovens
cooled for the next lot of porcelain; frequently, too, we want the
ware so that we may continue work upon it. Therefore we begin the
drawing while the oven is still very hot--so hot that the men are
stripped to the waist and wear only overalls, shoes, and thick
gloves. The kiln drawers are never forced to draw out the saggers,
however, when they are intensely hot unless they wish to do so. The
law protects such workers and specifies at just what degree of
temperature the work is to become optional. Not only do these men draw
the ware, but they also empty it from the saggers as well as put it
into the baskets in which it is carried back to the factory and
inspected, further decorated, or packed for shipping."
Mr.
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