192 ■ NEW YOEK STATE MUSEUM 



Alfred Hunter's yard is situated on Yan "Woert street near 

 Pearl. The clay is blue with yellow on top. About 40 feet of 

 clay is at present exposed. There are only a few inches of soil 

 to be stripped. The bottom has not yet been reached. Ring 

 pits and soft mud machines are used and the bricks are dried in 

 the sun. Burning is done in scove kilns. Albany and vicinity 

 consume most of the product. 



The brick yard of M. Roberts is on Swan street between Ten- 

 Broeck and Colonie. The clay is blue in color and about 25 

 feet thick. It is overlain by a loose soil ; the bottom has not yet 

 been reached. Soft mud machines operated by steam power are 

 used ; the bricks are dried on open yards and burned in scove 

 kilns. Albany consumes the product. 



Greenbush, Rensselaer Co. Mrs. T. Rigney's yard is at East 

 Greenbush on the east side of the Boston and Albany rail- 

 road. The clay, which is blue and yellow, has a thickness of 

 about 90 feet. Loam overlies the clay ; the bottom has not yet 

 been reached. The machinery is run by horse power. Green- 

 bush and ]^ew York city are the chief markets for the product. 



Troy, Rensselaer Co. Alex. Ferguson's brick yard is situated 

 on Hoosick above First street. The clay bank is about 40 

 feet high and runs in an east and west direction ; it is deeply 

 incised at either end by two streams. The clay, as is common 

 to these Hudson estuary deposits, is stratified, yellow in the 

 upper portion and blue clay in the lower. The blue contains 

 some quicksand. A stronger and better colored brick is made 

 from the tough upper clay, but it shrinks considerably in burn- 

 ing. On the other hand the blue clay makes a smoother but not 

 as strong brick, but one of more even shape. Underlying the 

 clay is slate rock which has been used for building purposes. 



J. B. Roberts' bank is about 20 feet in thickness. The clay, 

 which is mostly yellow, is covered with a foot of loam and 

 underlain by gravel. Capacity, two million. 



Cohoes, Albany Co. J. E. Murray. Yard situated between 

 Crescent and Cohoes, on west side of Erie caaal. The clay is 

 chiefly blue, the upper few feet being yellow. It rises in a bank 

 to 50 feet height. It is underlain by rock and there is a slight 

 covering of loam. The bricks are molded by steam power 



