THE YOUNG FARMER'S MANUAL. 315 



ON THE MANUFACTURE OF DRAIN TILE. 



436. After the clay has been worked by machinery so that it 

 is of the right consistence, it is forced through dies in the side of 

 a strong box, which is usually made of iron, with the inside planed 

 smooth and true ; and as several of them are forced out side by 

 side, they are received on a table of small rollers, until they are 

 several feet in length, in one piece. A small frame is then lifted, 

 by which small wires cut the tile of the desired length. An in 

 strument like a wooden fork, with round tines or fingers, is run in 

 the calibres of the tile, and by this they are lifted from the table 

 and placed carefully on shelves to dry, in a building which is open 

 on the sides. After they have become so dry that they will sus 

 tain the superincumbent pressure of each other, they are placed 

 in a kiln and burned for several successive days and nights, until 

 they are so hard that they will not disintegrate or fall to pieces 

 when they are placed in a ditch. In handling tile when they are 

 in a plastic state, careless workmen often handle them roughly, 

 and thus deprive them of their true form, by bunting the ends 

 against the shelves, or by allowing them to be bent with the 

 fingers of the fork. If farmers would insist on rejecting every ill- 

 shaped tile, manufacturers would soon learn to handle them with 

 care. Some of them will spring a little when they are being 

 burned, but that will not injure them if the calibre and ends are 

 true. Sometimes a kilnful of tile is about half burned. But 

 honest tile-makers will not allow those that are not thoroughly 

 burned to be sold until they have been re-burned. 



437. Good tile, when they are handled, will ring like stone 

 ware, if they are not saturated with water. But those that are 

 not thoroughly burned will emit a dull sound, and should be re 

 jected. When good tile are saturated with water they are 

 nearly one-third heavier to haul, and will not emit a clear sound 

 when struck. 



THE BEST FORM OF CALIBRE FOR TILE. 



438. Tile having the calibre of the shape of a turkey's egg, 

 pin red with the small end down, are preferable to those of any 



