230 PHYSIOGRAPHY AND GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 



A plant is also operated by W. J. Eeady near the West End yard and is 

 located a quarter of a mile west of the track near the reservoir. The 

 material is the usual mottled surface clay which is worked to a depth of 

 about 7 feet, although a total thickness of 30 feet is claimed for it. 



The yard of the Fulton Brick Company, which is commonly spoken of as 

 Westford's yard, is located west of the Chesapeake and Ohio Eailway round 

 house. The clay used here is the ordinary surface clay and does not seem 

 to run over 10 feet in thickness. It also contains many cobble stones. 

 Underlying this is a fine sand which is at least 8 feet deep and is used for 

 sanding the brick molds. 



The Baltimore Brick Company operates two yards at Eockett, a suburb 

 of Eichmond. The yards are located near the intersection of Ohio and 

 Williamsburg avenues. The clay is tempered in ring pits, molded by hand, 

 and burned in dutch kilns. Some 17 years ago the company tried making 

 soft-mud machine brick but gave it up for some unknown reason. The clay 

 is obtained from under the surface at several points in the vicinity of the 

 yard and averages from 15 to 18 feet in thickness with an underbedding of 

 sand. The material is quite similar in character to that at Manchester, but 

 lacks the stones and boulders. 



Maynard and Powers' pit is southeast of the Baltimore Brick Company's 

 excavation. The working face is about 12 feet high and shows a sandy, 

 mottled, yellowish-brown and gritty clay similar to that occurring in the 

 other pits in this vicinity. The company claims that its clay runs 20 feet 

 in depth and is underlain by a bluish-gray sand. The chemical and 

 physical properties of this clay (No. 1300) are given in the table opposite 

 page 225. 



A clay very similar to that on the Ball property, 6 miles south of the 

 city, and probably of the same age is also found outcropping on the Williams- 

 burg road leading to Stagg's Mill, about one-half mile to the west of where 

 the road crosses the railroad. The clay is exposed on a sloping hillside, and 

 in such position that a large quantity can be removed without having to 

 take off much overburden. It is also well located for shipment. As far as 

 could be ascertained the bed is not less than 20 feet thick. It (Lab. N'o. 

 1330) is a grayish clay, which slakes slowly and works up with 27.8 per 

 cent, water to a mass of high plasticity. Its air shrinkage, 12.6 per cent., 

 is somewhat high; so also is the average tensile strength, namely, 300.9 

 pounds per square inch. 



This is a very plastic clay which becomes steel-hard at cone 05. It gives 

 a light red color up to cone 03, but at cone 1 gives an excellent dark red 



