114.  Of embossed china.  Many of the forms given to those beautiful specimens of earthenware which constitute the equipage of our breakfast and our dinner-tables, cannot be executed in the lathe of the potter.  The embossed ornaments on the edges of the plates, their polygonal shape, the fluted surface of many of the vases, would all be difficult and costly of execution by the hand; but they become easy and comparatively cheap, when made by pressing the soft material out of which they are formed into a hard mould.  The care and skill bestowed on the preparation of that mould are repaid by the multitude it produces.  In many of the works of the china manufactory, one part only of the article is moulded; the upper surface of the plate, for example, whilst the under side is figured by the lathe.  In some instances, the handle, or only a few ornaments, are moulded, and the body of the work is turned.

115.  Glass seals.  The process of engraving upon gems requires considerable time and skill.  The seals thus produced can therefore never become common.  Imitations, however, have been made of various degrees of resemblance.  The colour which is given to glass is, perhaps, the most successful part of the imitation.  A small cylindrical rod of coloured glass is heated in the flame of a blowpipe, until the extremity becomes soft.  The operator then pinches it between the ends of a pair of nippers, which are formed of brass, and on one side of which the device intended for the seal has been carved in relief.  When the mould has been well finished and care is taken in heating the glass properly, the seals thus produced are not bad imitations; and by this system of copying they are so multiplied, that the more ordinary kinds are sold at Birmingham for three pence a dozen.

116.  Square glass bottles.  The round forms which are usually given to vessels of glass are readily produced by the expansion of the air with which they are blown.  It is, however, necessary in many cases to make bottles of a square form, and each capable of holding exactly the same quantity of fluid.  It is also frequently desirable to have imprinted on them the name of the maker of the medicine or other liquid they are destined to contain.  A mould of iron, or of copper, is provided of the intended size, on the inside of which are engraved the names required.  This mould, which is used in a hot state, opens into two parts, to allow the insertion of the round, unfinished bottle, which is placed in it in a very soft state before it is removed from the end of the iron tube with which it was blown.  The mould is now closed, and the glass is forced against its sides, by blowing strongly into the bottle.

117.  Wooden snuff boxes.  Snuff boxes ornamented with devices, in imitation of carved work or of rose engine turning, are sold at a price which proves that they are only imitations.  The wood, or horn, out of which they are formed, is softened by long boiling in water, and whilst in this state it is forced into moulds of iron, or steel, on which are cut the requisite patterns, where it remains exposed to great pressure until it is dry.