302 Mr Robertson on (he Mechanical Arts of Persia. 



small heaps upon the floor, which has been previously spread 

 with lincly riddled earth. The moulds are formed of thin 

 wood, without any of those projections or handles which are 

 seen in this country. For the common-sized brick, the mould 

 is formed about 9 inches square and 1^ inch deep ; but larger 

 bricks are sometimes required, for paving courts and coping 

 walls, for which another mould is necessary. 

 . The niould is placed on the ground, and the brickmaker 

 takes a part of the clay in his hands, and places it loosely in 

 the mould. He then dips his hands in water and throws a little 

 of it around the inside of the mould, to prevent the clay from 

 adhering to the wood. By a peculiar action of the hands the 

 clay is then drawn from the middle and pressed firmly into 

 the corners and round the sides of the mould, and the whole 

 is afterwards levelled over, by a dexterous diagonal stroke of 

 the right hand. The mould is now lifted off the brick, and 

 placed to the right-hand side, close to, and in the same line 

 with, the brick already formed, and it is again filled up in the 

 same way. Thus he proceeds, frequently washing the mould 

 in water, till a straight line of bricks has been laid down, of 

 many yards in length ; a second line is then commenced, ex- 

 actly the thickness of the mould from the first, and the whole 

 ground is finally covered with closely arranged rows of bricks. 

 In two days or more, when the level space has been 

 covered, the first made bricks become sufficiently dried to be 

 handled, and the brickmaker now proceeds to place them 

 upon edge, in lines ; in a day they are sufficiently hard to be 

 removed, and are then carried to a convenient spot, where 

 they are built up edgeways in the form of a wall, one brick in 

 thickness, with small openings between them, for the circula- 

 tion of air. Whenever 20,000 or 30,000 have been collected, 

 they are removed to the kiln, to be burned ; or if sun-dried 

 bricks only be required, they are now ready for use. 



As coal is almost unknown in Persia, the brickmaker has 

 recourse to a kiln of singular construction, well suited to the 

 fuel he has most at command. To those unacquainted with 

 Eastern economy, it may appear surprising that the fuel used 

 by the lower classes, and even by persons in affluent circum- 

 stances, is formed of the refuse of the stable and cow-house. 



