282
EXPOSITION AT VIENNA.
the plain unglazed tiles are to be preferred for pavements.
Besides the use of the glazed and enamelled tiles in mural decoration for dados, panels, etc., they are especially applicable, and are largely used abroad, for lining the walls of dairies (the dairy farmers finding them superior for cleanliness and keeping the milk pure), for larders, kitchens, around sinks and cooking-ranges, in bath-rooms, water-closets, and in stables. For such places the six-inch plain white glazed tile is in general use. Another very important application of wall-tile is in hospitals, for completely lining the walls of wards for fever patients. The new St. Thomas hospitals (erected in London opposite the Houses of Parliament) have the fever wards lined with six- inch white glazed tiles, which, it is believed, will prevent the absorption of the germs of disease which it is well- known penetrate porous plaster walls, and are even absorbed by bricks, so that after a time whole wards of hospitals and entire buildings become unfit for occupation. The same is true of rooms in dwellings, hotels, and dormitories in colleges. An impervious tile-wall, which can be thoroughly cleaned by wiping with a sponge, is a great sanitary improvement, and deserves the attention of physicians and architects. A thoroughly vitrified body like porcelain, would be better for the purpose than a porous earthenware base with a glazed surface, though the latter would, no doubt, be far better than even the hardest painted plaster wall.
Another important use of the plain white glazed, or enamelled tiles, is as reflectors in lining dark passages, staircases and entrances, especially in basements, or wherever there is liability to dampness or a smoky atmosphere. They are largely used about the stations of the underground railway in London, particularly around the window- openings, or wherever light is admitted through thick walls. Most of the lavatories and retiring-rooms of the railway stations in England, and on the Continent, are lined with white glazed tiles.
Encaustic tiles may also be either with or without a glaze. In this class the design upon the tile is not merely