CLAYS OF NEW YORK 



687 



33rick yards of eastern ISTew York 



" central I^ew York from Sclienectady to Buffalo 



" Oswego, Jefferson and St Lawrence co. 



" southern l^ew York 



" Long Island 



" Staten Island 



Most of the bricks manufactured in the state are sold in local 

 markets. In the case of the LIudson valley bricks, the market of 

 "New York city receives the larger proportion, and the competition 

 has been so keen and the supply so great that prices have often 

 been depressed accordingly. 



Brick yards of eastern New Yorh 



Hudson valley. Extending up the Hudson river valley from 

 Croton to Albany and even to Glens Falls, is a more or less con- 

 tinuous deposit of clay which can safely be said tO' be one of the 

 most extensive in the United States, and which furnishes the ma- 

 terial for the greatest brickmaking region in either Europe or 

 America. 



The geologic, relations have already been described in the 

 chapter on the " Geology of the clay deposits ", and the de- 

 tailed description of the beds as seen at the different yards is given 

 later, so that all that need be mentioned here is the physical char- 

 acter of the clay used, and this can be treated in a general manner 

 for the reason that the constancy in character of the Hudson valley 

 clays, specially between Croton point and Albany is remarkable. 

 Throughout their extent they present the same type of marly clay, 

 of a blue gray color, except where the upper beds are weathered, 

 the color there being yellow, owing to the presence of limonite. 

 These clays contain a great quantity of fine grit, and a large amount 

 of clay substance, as sho^vu by the mechanical analysis given below. 

 The fine grit is not uniformly distributed through the clay but is in 

 thin layers which cause the clay to split very evenly and readily. 



