No. 85. J 461 



a^ain permitted to get wet, all moisture which the ground contains, on 

 which brick are set to be burned, must necessarily evaporate through 

 the kiln, and takes fuel. The stock here is composed of clay, marl, 

 and silicious earth — the prevailing mineral magnesia. It is situated 

 in high banks, in rather a hard state ; it is first plowed, and left to be 

 thoroughly dried in the sun ; when dry, scraped down to the foot of 

 the bank, care being taken to have a sufficient quantity thus dried 

 scraped into large heaps, to last through a spell of wet weather ; a 

 man, with a horse and cart, delivers it at the pit,dumping it so as to 

 be handy to shovel in ; a sufficient quantity of water is first put into 

 the pit to soak half stock enough to fill it ; the stock is then shoveled 

 in, eare being taken to spread it equally over the pit, so that every 

 shovel full shall be thrown into water — the stock using up the water 

 when the pit is about half full ; the proper quantity of coal dust is 

 then spread equally over it ; water is then put in again in sufficient 

 quantity, with the stock necessary to use it up, to fill the pit, every 

 shovel full of the stock, as before, being thrown into the water, the 

 stock coming as high as the water, and using it up when full ; if it is 

 properly filled it may be agitated like a great liver ; it should then be 

 left to soak about twelve hours, when it is fit to be shoveled into the 

 tub-mill, which is one man's work, and the work of one horse to tem- 

 per it — the mortar, as it is tempered, passing out of the tub-mill at 

 the bottom in front, directly into the chamber of the molding ma- 

 chine. It is the work of one man to operate the molding machine, 

 making six bricks at each impression, and the work of two hands to 

 carry the bricks, six at a time, in a mold, and lay them on the floor 

 to dry. Many millions have been made in this way at this place, and 

 there is never less than ten thousand put up per day, with the four 

 hands and one horse, and frequently many more. This is called the 

 molding gang ; it is their regular business from day to day to make 

 the mortar, mold the bricks, and lay them on the ground to dry. 



There is another set of hands whose business it is to take care of 

 the bricks in the yard, set them in the kiln when dry, or bake them 

 on the yard if necessary, on account of dull weather, to make room 

 for the molding gang, and shovel the stock into the pits, filling them 

 as I have before described. These are called yard hands ; their work 

 however is subdivided, so that as much as possible, each man shall 

 continually do the same kind of work. Bricks are never taken from 

 the yard until dry enough to set in the kiln ; narrow boards are placed 

 in rows on the floor running from the kiln towards the pits, on which 

 the bricks are placed edgewise, in rows set loose, and nine or ten 

 high, covered with saddles in case of rain ; when dry wheeled to the 

 kiln. Wheelbarrows made with the axle nearly under the centre of 

 the foreboard, so as to throw^the load on to the wheel. The kiln is 

 set with forty to forty-five lengths of brick long, the bricks being set 

 edgewise from forty to forty-five high — the arches for fires, two lengths 

 of brick wide, and the benches between them three lengths. The kiln is 

 cased with rough bricks, which when it is burned are taken off" and 

 put on another kiln, and by keeping them dry, which is easily done 

 with a regular burning shed, with a little replenishing will case a 



