686 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



2 The brickmaker pays a certain rental, usually 9^ or 10^. 



3 The owner of the clay bank gets so much a thousand brick. 

 At Havei'straw this varies, for instance, from 25c to $1.25 a thou- 

 sand. With this arrangement the manufacturer is bound to a 

 certain amount of production. 



Of the three methods of manufacturing brick, the soft mud 

 process is the cheapest as far as first cost of plant is concerned, but 

 it is probably not the cheapest in operation, as more labor is required. 

 The other two methods used, the stiff mud and dry clay, require 

 considerable outlay of capital. Less labor is required for operating 

 either of the last-mentioned plants. The actual cost of production 

 by either of these methods I have not been able to obtain. It is 

 doubtful if the dry clay process is the cheapest, as the manufacturers 

 of this class of machinery assert, for the economy gained, due to the 

 shortness of the method, is probably counterbalanced by the in- 

 creased time of burning and consequently greater amount of fuel 

 u-sed. With the soft mud process one man to 1000 brick is what 

 the manufacturer figures, that is, if the yard has a capacity of 

 50,000 a day, a force of 50 hands is required to operate the yard. 



As regards fuel, for instance, a saving of 30c can easily be made 

 by using coal instead of wood; gas is considered about 25c cheaper 

 a thousand than coal. Farther economy may bo effected by the use 

 of the proper class of machinery for haulage. Carts can usually be 

 employed economically up to 400 feet; beyond this it will usually 

 pay to lay tracks and use cars hauled by horses. Above 600 feet 

 steam haulage has been found economical. Self-acting planes and 

 cable haulage have been used to advantage in a few instances. 



Common brick are made from shale at many localities in the 

 southern part of the state, and sell just as cheaply as clay brick. 



Detailed account of brick yards 



As the brick yards are scattered all over the state, a division of 

 them into groups for convenience is more or less arbitraiy. How- 

 ever, the following classification. has .been made. 



