"It may be convenient shortly to describe the mode of making porcelain in China, as derived from the letters of Père d'Entrecolles (1712 to 1722), and the 'History of King-te-chin,' in which M. Julien has reproduced the Chinese plates illustrating the processes. "Porcelain in China is usually formed of two materials: the one, termed in Chinese _Pe-tun-tse_, is a white, fusible material--a mixture of feldspar and quartz, obtained from a pounded rock by repeated washing, and formed into cakes or bricks, whence its Chinese name, 'white-clay bricks;' the other, termed Kaolin from its locality, is infusible, being a hydrated silicate of alumina, derived from the decomposed feldspar of granite; this is also formed into cakes. These two materials, having been thoroughly cleansed, are kneaded together in varying proportions, and form a clay ready for the potter. The wet clay is turned on the wheel or potter's table, and, after passing through the hands of several workmen, who add handles and other accessories made in moulds, smooth the surface, etc., the vessel is put out to dry, the foot still remaining a solid mass; any decoration in blue, or other colors which require to be highly fired, is then added. The glaze is next applied, either by dipping, or by blowing it on with a tube. This strengthens the vessel sufficiently to enable the workmen to fashion the foot on the wheel, and to inscribe any mark; this being likewise coated with glaze, the vessel is ready for the furnace. The pieces of porcelain are packed in clay seggars to protect them from injury, and placed according to the degree of heat which each specimen requires. The furnace is then lighted, the entrance walled up, and it is kept supplied with wood during a night and a day, when it is allowed to cool and the porcelain removed. If enamel-colors are to be applied, it then passes into the hands of the painters, who are very numerous, and each confined to his own special detail; any gilding or silvering is added at this stage. It is then baked again, at a much lower temperature, in a small muffle or an open furnace. It should be mentioned that the glaze is formed of Pe-tun-tse, mixed with fern-ashes and lime, but other materials are occasionally used; for instance, Hwa-chi (steatite) is employed, sometimes mixed with the glaze, as well as sometimes with the paste of the porcelain. Any colors which will bear to be highly fired, and are required to cover the whole surface, are mixed with the glaze before it is applied.