EARTHEN W ARE. According to the census of 1841, the number of persons in Great Britain employed in this im portant and most useful manufacture (' Pottery, China, and Earthenware,') was 24,774, of whom 17,442 were re turned for Staffordshire, which is the great seat of the manufacture. The dis trict in this county known as ` The Pot teries' is about a mile from the borders of Cheshire, and extends through a dis tance of more than seven miles, in which there are towns and villages so close to each other, that to a stranger, the whole appears like one straggling town. There are likewise extensive manufacturers of earthenware and porcelain in Yorkshire and Worcester, and the commoner kinds of ware are made iu many parts of England.
Earthenware is a general term appli cable to all utensils composed of earthen materials, but it is usual to distinguish them into three different kinds : the brown stone-ware, red pans and pots, and articles of a similar kind are called pot tery ; and porcelain is distinguished from earthenware as being a semi - vitrified compound, in which one portion remains infusible at the greatest heat to which it can be exposed, while the other portion vitrifies at a certain heat, and thus inti mately combines with and envelopes the infusible part, producing a smooth, com pact, shining and semi-transparent sub stance well known as the characteristic of porcelain.
Until the beginning of the eighteenth century the manufacture of earthenware was confined to a few coarse articles, which were devoid of taste. Earthenware was largely imported from Holland, and an perior kinds from Germany and France. Even till nearly the close of the century the porcelain of China was still in common use on the tables of the wealthy, as the nome manufacture, generally speaking, had not established its reputation. The improvement of the earthenware manu facture originated with Mr. Wedgwood, who carried it to great perfection. He availed himself of the services of artists and men of taste ; and by this association of the manufacture with the fine arts it has been still further improved.
In the five years from 1831 to 1835, the declared value of earthen manufac tures exported gradually rose from 461,0901. in 1831 to 540,421/. in 1835. The value of the exports to the United States of North America in 1835 was 246,220/. The number of pieces of earthenware exported and the real value of the same for the last four years were as under : The earthenware manufacture in France is far inferior to that of England. (M'Gre gor's Statistics.) In the United States of North America, the number of pot teri,!s in 1840 was 659; but no earthen ware is exported.