"Jehoshaphat! Are there all those kinds of earthenware?" "Yes, and that is not the full list, either," replied Mr. Croyden. "We have a great many kinds of crockery, and as each variety has its cheaper as well as its more expensive grades, it makes an almost endless number of styles. The better types of white earthenware are made from carefully selected and well mixed clays, and more nearly approach porcelain, of which they are imitations. Often their design is quite good and in consequence they fill a large place in many a modest home. Indeed, although we ourselves do not go in for such chinas we respect a well-made piece of earthenware, for the making of good earthenware is an art in itself. Many a rule attends its successful manufacture. For example, the bottom of a heavy piece must not be too thick, or it will crack, because a tremendous strain comes on the base when the clay begins to dry and shrink. The sides pull from every direction, and therefore the bottom must be sufficiently thin to be elastic, and sufficiently thick to be strong. And that is only one of the problems to be faced by pottery and earthenware makers. So you see they, as well as we, have troubles." "I guess no business is without its troubles," observed Theo. "No business that is interesting," answered Mr. Croyden. "It is getting the better of such difficulties that gives zest to manufacture, making it a constant field for man's fertile brain. I think the old Italians were right when during the golden days of Venetian history they recognized the intellectual status of glass-makers, silk-makers, and the like; and accorded to such men the same honors they did to those of noble rank. For, after all, the noble was only what chance had made him; while the skilled artisan was what he had made himself--a far more creditable thing, to my way of thinking." "And to mine!" agreed Theo. "I am glad you feel that way," Mr. Croyden said, "because I am anxious to have you view this industry not alone from its technical but from its larger aspect. Did I not believe that I was doing something more than just the humdrum task of making dishes I should speedily become discouraged and decide my labor was not worth the strength I am constantly putting into it. But every honorable industry is far more than that. It is a monument to the men who conceived it and to those who little by little developed the wonderful machinery that makes it possible. Each perfect product it turns out voices the skill, patience, and faithfulness of scores of workmen. More than that, an industry is the weapon of the wage-earner--the means by which he and his family are protected from want and unhappiness. Hence every conscientious manufacturer performs a double service to mankind: he gives to the world something that it needs, and he furnishes his fellow-man with a means of livelihood. Regarded in this light it is no unworthy calling to be a manufacturer."