16 New Method of making Bricks. 



brick, I would recommend the bricks to be laid anglewise, 

 in order to promote strength in covering. 



It would be of great inifiortance if parliament would al- 

 low a drawback of the duly on all bricks employed in 

 draining. 



Every brick intended for the operation I recoinmend, is 

 taken oft' the slack two or three days alter it is moulded. It 

 is then put on a stool or board, and a wire about the size of 

 No. 23 is pressed on the upper side of the brick, so as to 

 pass through each end ot it ; it is then immediately placed 

 on the stack again, and after\\ards burned. 

 1 am, dear sir. 



Your most obedient humble servant, 



Reading, December 8, iSiO. JOHN STEPHENS. 



To C. Tcnjlor, M.D. Sec. 



Description of the Diawivgs o/" Mr. Stephens's Method of 

 cutting Bricks for various Purposes. See Plate 1. fig. 2. 

 fig. 2.. of Plate 1. IS a plan of the upper surface of a 

 comnton brick ; the line a a is a ciett cut nearly through 

 the brick while it is soft by means of a piece of wire, as is 

 shown in the section fig. 3, where the section of brick is 

 shown at BB, placed on the wooden block A ; a piece of 

 wire b b with a loop at each end is pressed down into it, so 

 as to divide it into t\vo4paiH.s, except the part C, which the 

 wirg will not cut through bccaitse^of the -ciyvature it ac- 

 quires in being pressed into tt^e brick.. A»brick of this 

 kind being burnt, may be broken in two halves by one tleft 

 with the trowel, v\hich will be Ibund very useful in many 

 cases which constantly occur in brick^^ork. and will be tar 

 superior to the prcsen-t mode of hacking the bricks, both 

 for the soundness and appearance of the work, and will be 

 done in less time. 



Figs. 4. and 3. show the application of these divided 

 bricks to drainiuir, where AB are the ends of the two halves 

 of a brick, and CD tiles, forming the top r.nd bottom of the 

 drain: this metuod forms a square drain. 



Fig. 5. shows how a triangular drain may be made with 

 half the number of bricks of the foregoing, that is one- half 

 brick A, and two tiles CD. 



Fig. 6. is a plan of a brick divided diagonally, and fig. 

 7. shows how these halves may be disposed to form a trian- 

 gular drain; the letters show the same parts in each of 

 these two figures; the bottom D mav be made of tih-. or of 

 a brick cut ni half in its thickness': the scale annexed t) 

 the figures will show the dimensions of the different drains. 



V. On 



