A—Furnace. Β—Ladder. C—Board fixed to it. D—Hoe. E—Fivetoothed rake. F—Wooden spatula. G—Broom. H—Rammer. I—Rammer, same
DIAMETER. Κ—TWO WOODEN SPATULAS. L—CURVED BLADE. M—BRONZE RAMMER.
Ν—Another bronze rammer. Ο—Wide spatula. Ρ—Rod. Q—Wicker basket.
R—Two buckets of leather in which water is carried for putting out a conflagration, should the officina catch fire. S—Brass pump with which the water
is squirted out. Τ—Two hooks. V—Rake. X—Workman beating the clay with
an iron implement.
two and a half digits thick ; the upper part of the rammer, where the handle
is inserted, is bound with an iron band two digits wide. There are some who,
instead, use two rounded rammers three and a half digits in diameter, the
same at the bottom as at the top. Some people prefer two wooden
spatulas, or a rammer spatula.
In a similar manner, mixed and moistened powder is thrown and pounded
with a rammer in the forehearth pit, which is outside the furnace. When
this is nearly completed, powder is again put in, and pushed with the rammer
up toward the protruding copper pipe, so that from a point a digit under the
mouth of the copper pipe the hearth slopes down into the crucible of the forehearth,11 and the metal can run down. The same is repeated until the
"What are known in English as " crucible," " furnace well," " forehearth," " dippingpot," "tapping-pot," "receiving-pot," etc., are in the text all catinus, i.e., crucible. For
easier reading, however, we have assigned the names indicated in the context.
