23. The stage-coach was first employed in France, and was introduced into England, near the middle of the eighteenth century, by Jethro Tull, the celebrated agriculturist. They were not employed, in any country, in the transportation of the mail, until the year 1784. Before this time, it was carried chiefly on horseback.
24. In the United States, the manufacture of carriages of every kind has greatly increased within a few years, and those lately made exhibit many improvements on those of former periods. The places which seem to be most distinguished for the manufacture of good carriages, in this country, are Philadelphia, Newark, and Troy.
THE POTTER.
1. The artisan called the potter converts plastic materials into hard and brittle vessels of various kinds, denominated, in general terms, earthen ware.
2. Alumine is the basis of all clays, and is the only earth that possesses the degree of plasticity which renders the operations of the potter practicable. It is, however, never found or used in a pure state, but in combination with other substances, particularly with silex, lime, magnesia, and the oxyde of iron.
3. In the manufacture of vessels from argillaceous compounds, the different degrees of beauty and costliness depend upon the quality of the raw materials, and the labor and skill expended in the operation. The various productions of the pottery may be classed under the following denominations—common earthen ware, white earthen ware, stone ware, and porcelain; but of each of these there are many varieties.
4. Common earthen ware.—This ware is made of a kind of clay very generally diffused over the earth, and which is essentially the same with that employed in making bricks. The potters are often supplied with this material by the brickmakers, who select for them that which is too tenacious, or fat, for their own purpose. All common clays contain more or less of the oxyde of iron, which causes the wares made of them to turn red in burning.