METHOD OF MANUFACTURING BKICK 



163 



but the bricks do not dry so fast, and, therefore, more drying 

 room is needed for a yard of the same capacity. There is also 

 the expense of erecting the sectional covering. 



Pallet driers. — By this method the bricks are dumped 

 directly on " pallets " as they come from the machine. These 



Pallet racks. 



latter are pieces of board long enough to hold six bricks. The 

 pallets are then set on racks or cribs until the bricks are suffi- 

 ciently dry to be set up in the kiln. There are both advantages 

 and disadvantages to this method. As the bricks can not be 

 spattered to keep them in proper shape, they must be firm 

 enough to retain this themselves, consequently the clay must be 

 molded stiffer, and to do this we must have strong machinery. 

 Furthermore, a molding sand must be used which will allow the 

 brick to slip readily from the moJd, as it has been forced in 

 tighter than a brick which is to be dried on an open yard. 

 There is, of course, the expense of setting up the racks, but on 

 the other hand the capacity of the yard is increased, the brick, 

 though drying slower, are not subjected to a sudden drying, such 

 as the sun of a hot summer's day is apt to give, and, therefore, 

 perhaps warp or crack the brick. The brick are only subjected 

 to one handling between machine and kiln. Some manu- 

 facturers claim that it is cheaper to make bricks on a pallet yard. 

 A machine called a " pallet-squarer " has been invented by Mr. 

 Swain of the Croton Brick Co. which is said to fulfil the 



