BRICKWORK. 913 



It is indeed because most clays have been thus recently 

 deposited on the earth's surface that they are so accessible 

 and useful to man. Older aroillaceons formations have in 

 many cases been changed into slates and shales, yet clays are 

 so plentiful that not even a schoolboy is unacquainted with 

 their uses and nature, if indeed he has not practically demon- 

 strated their fitness for plastic purposes. 



Surely the extensive distribution, the unusual accessibility, 

 and the easy manipulation of clays fully explain the pre- 

 dominant position which brickwork now holds as a building- 

 material, whilst other facts which are equally self-evident as 

 clearly point to its even more extensive employment in the 

 near future ! 



Stone fit for building purposes is the exception, not the 

 rule, and even in places where it abounds this material cannot 

 always be utilised, because it is usually more expensive to fit 

 stone for building operations than brick. This is especially 

 the case in these colonies, where the rates paid for manual 

 labour are high, and where the rapid completion of building- 

 contracts are usually considered important in order that a 

 quick return may be made for money therein invested. 



Timber is certainly a cheap and ready building material, 

 but it is mostly used for erections which, in an architectural 

 sense, must be considered as temporary. This material is 

 not stored up by nature in such large quantities as clay ; and 

 although there may be sufficient timber in these colonies for 

 present requirements, nevertheless the forests of Australia, 

 like those of other countries, are measurable in extent, and 

 the time will come when, following the example of more 

 thickly peopled lands, timber erections will be less frequent, 

 and brick buildings more plentiful. 



Considering, therefore, the present, and probable future 

 predominance of brickwork, it surely seems expedient that 

 all those interested in the purity of architectural design in 

 these newly peopled lands should occasionally take counsel 

 together, and determine how closely their brick buildings are 

 following the true principles of science and art. 



In countries which possess some architectural remains of a 

 former age, it is an easy matter to compare modei-n buildings 

 with those of an earlier date, and thereby gauge the relative 

 merits of each. Here we have not that advantage ; but the 

 pages of history are open to us in a manner that no former age 

 enjoyed ; science instructs us clearly ; the accepted priiicij)les 

 pf art speak in no uncertain tone ; and the printing press 



