WALL  AND  FLOOR  TILES.

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stamped  or  painted  on  the  surface,  but  is  imprcsscd  to
considerable  depth.  The  tiles  are  inlaid.  The  process  in
Britaiii  is  as  old  as  the  mediseval  tiles  of  Malvern,  already
noted.  In  the  ancient  tiles  the  design  was  impressed  in  the
meist  clay.  In  the  modern  it  is  equally  impressed,  but  at
the  time  of  forming  the  tile  out  of  the  dust,  leaving  a
sharply  formed  design,  which  is  subsequently  filled  by  a
powder  of  another  color.  The  whole  being  pressed  together
forms  a  homogeneous  mass.  The  impressed  design  is  also
iillcd,  in  some  cases  by  a  liquid  slip,  as  in  the  ancient
tiles,  and  when  dry  the  cxcess  is  scraped  off  betöre  firing.
The  design  being  impressed  to  a  döpth  of  one-eighth  or
one-quarter  of  an  inch,  and  filled  solid  ly  with  body  of  a
different  color  from  the  groundwork  of  the  tile,  is  not
obliterated  by  wear  until  the  whole  substance  of  the  tile
has  been  cut  away  to  the  full  depth  of  the  design.  The
brilliancy  of  the  design  and  of  the  colors  of  the  tile  may,
as  with  plain  tiles,  be  heightened  by  a  simple  glaze;  but
the  surface  is  made  slippery,  and  is  not  so  well  adapted  to
pavemeuts  as  the  simple  unglazed  surface.  Sonic  of  the
colored  bodies,  such  as  blue,  green  and  white,  are  sufficiently
  vitrified  in  burning  to  give  a  vitreous  semi-glazed
appcarance.  But  glazed  inlaid  tiles  are  suitable  for  hearths
where  not  exposed  to  much  wear,  and  are  now  largely  used
abroad  for  this  purpose.  Their  thickness  and  strength
renders  them  secure  from  breakage.
Encaustic  or  inlaid  tiles  are  usually  one  inch  thick,  twice
the  thickness  rcquired  for  plain  wall-tiles.  They  are  espccially
suitable  for  pavements  in  halls,  corridors  and  vestibules,  or
whcrever  they  would  be  exposed  to  attrition  and  wear  by  the
fire-irons,  etc.
Encaustic  and  Enamelled  Tiles  in  Decoration.
Another  important  application  of  the  encaustic,  and  also  of
the  enamelled  tiles,  is  found  in  decorating  the  walls  of  buildings,
  especially  those  of  brick,  either  grouped  in  large  panels,
or  set  singly  about  the  window-frames  and  cornices.
The  glazed  encaustic  tiles  are  generally  used  in  mural
decoration  and  in  fire-places,  for  lining  the  jambs  and  back,
where  movable  or  basket  grates  are  used.  They  not  only