_Firing._--In giving the tile its first firing it is safer to stand it on one edge in the kiln, but not on the floor of the kiln, as the intense heat of the floor would be liable to shrink that side more than the others. It may be supported on two stilts or it may be placed on one of the shelves. For the glaze firing the tile should be placed flat on the stilt.
_Tea Tiles._--The tiles illustrated at the top and bottom of Plate XIV were designed and made to serve as rests for a teapot, a bowl, or a vase. It will be noticed that the centre is left free with one exception, which is given as an interesting variation from the general rule. The free space is an advantage in giving relief to the design and in furnishing an even surface for the teapot or bowl to rest upon. In the decoration of rectangular tile forms the general principles as to variety of measure or shape in space divisions hold true. Emphasis should be concentrated at the corners in order to strengthen the design.
_Fireplace Tiles._--Some of the tiles illustrated in Plate XIV would be entirely appropriate for facing a border around the opening of a fireplace. This is especially true of the middle design shown at the top of the plate, on account of the lines which project through the corner design nearly to the edges of the tile. This makes it especially adapted to repetition in a facing or border.
[Illustration: Pottery, Designed and Made by Schoolgirls. Plate XV]
_Decoration of Tiles._--It is in the field of painted decoration, however, that the most attractive possibilities in fireplace tile designs are found. The framed tile illustrated in Plate XV opposite--an example of over-glaze painting--is intended for use as a colour accent for the wall. This tile is painted in matt glaze between raised outlines. Three similar tiles are illustrated in the middle row in Plate XIV. The right-hand one, like the framed tile of Plate XV, is a matt over-glaze, but the outline instead of being raised was slightly depressed. The other two are examples of under-glaze painting. They were painted on moist clay, as described in the problem of the bowl, and afterwards covered with a bright glaze. In this case the glaze was itself coloured, thus adding richness to the colour scheme. The repetition in a tile facing of landscapes, designed to be complete or nearly so, would be tiresome. It is better so to design the entire facing that it will be made up of a series of very simple landscape motifs, each fairly complete in itself, but all so related to each other as to form, when joined, a larger, somewhat conventionalized, landscape. A treatment of this kind lends itself to many other decorative schemes.