464 FAEMERS' INSTITUTES. 



no machine has yet been made capable of making a brick." This is doubt- 

 less all true, and yet notwithstanding there is perhaps no industry in which 

 the variety of machines produced has been greater. 



If we consider the manufacture of brick or tile to require the following 

 operations, we shall see that but few of these operations are at present done by 

 machinery: 



1. Mining. 



2. Transporting. 



3. Tempering. 



4. Grinding. 

 0. Molding. 



6. Transporting green brick or tile. 



7. Dumping, turning, baking or equiv- 



alent. 



8. Transporting dry ware to kiln. 



9. Burning. 



The principal reason why machinery was not used to a greater 

 extent is that the magnitude of the operations was not sufficiently 

 great to pay interest on costly plants. It is to be noticed that, except in 

 the vicinity of very large cities, this manufacture is carried on in the crud- 

 est buildings and with very cheap or very little machinery. Considering 

 the selling value of the products, the investment in machinery is exceed- 

 ingly small. I have known yards to produce from ^6,000 to $10,000 worth of 

 ware annually, where the machinery would be dear at $3,000 (building and 

 kilns not counted). 



Even with costly machinery many doubt that much is saved, over the old- 

 fashioned hand methods, where they can be used. It is no doubt true, how- 

 ever, that whether it will pay to use all the improved processes of manufacture 

 or not depends to a great extent on the magnitude of the busfness. 



As an illustration, suppose that by paying out $5,000 you can get a kiln 

 that will save 10 per cent in ware as compared with your present kiln, will it 

 pay to use it ? The first inquiry must be as regards the probable sales and 

 your business for the year. Ten per cent interest on $5,000 is $500, and if 

 the kiln will not save that much money it is a poor investment. The same 

 reasoning should be applied to ''machinery." Wear and tear and interest 

 must be counted against the machine every time. There is little room to 

 doubt, however, that the use of machinery will constantly increase. Even if 

 machinery will not pay, it is, if well made, reliable, and is worth something 

 for that reason alone. 



Of the nine operations of brick and tile making, all are capable of being 

 performed by machinery excepting the tempering and burning and a certain 

 portion of the operation of mining. Transporting may be done by link belt 

 carriers, by belts or by cars. It is my opinion that for transporting the clay, 

 link belt carriers or belts afford the most satisfaction. They are cheap and 

 they can be extended to any distance and may even be made to change direc- 

 tion. The transportation of the green brick from the machine without injury,, 

 to any point where it may be dried, is not so easily solved. Yet, no doubt it 

 may be done ; the fact that the places where brick is wanted for drying are 

 continually changing may make it necessary to use cars, which maybe shifted 

 from track to track. The transportation and placing in the kiln can perhaps 

 never be done without human agency and human supervision. 



We will consider a few processes in detail, first, the "moulding : " 



The machine for this process is usually combined with the mill for grinding 

 the clay. In the manufacture of these machines our own State has taken an 

 honorable position and some of the most successful machines have been 

 originated here. 



