208 The Philippine Journal of Science leie 



PRESENT STATUS OF BRICK MAKING IN THE PHILIPPINES 



Brick manufactured at a number of places in the Islands ' 

 is intended for building purposes only, and much of it is 

 of inferior quality. Two of the factories visited may be briefly 

 described here. 



The factory near San Pedro Macati, mentioned by Cox/" is 

 still in operation. The clay is obtained along the river near 

 the plant. It lies near the surface, and very little labor is re- 

 quired to win it. The bricks are molded by hand by the soft-mud 

 process. The workman throws a mass of the mud, about 30 

 centimeters in diameter, into a mold and cuts off the excess 

 by means of a wire mounted on a frame. The clay is so sticky 

 that the wet bricks are powdered with a black carbonaceous mate- 

 rial, obtained by burning coconut husks, to facilitate handling 

 and to prevent them from cracking during drying. A molder 

 can make from one hundred to three hundred bricks per day. 

 The bricks are allowed to dry from fifteen to twenty days in a 

 large shed, where they are protected from the sun. 



The kiln is very interesting and might be classed as a tem- 

 porary, round, updraft kiln." The front is permanent and is 

 well constructed of masonry. Starting with this, for each burn- 

 ing, the bricks are built into the shape of a beehive and covered 

 on the outside with clay. When the kiln is completed, it is 

 from 3.5 to 4.5 meters high and from 6 to 8 meters in diameter. 

 There is no grate of any kind, but a small wood fire is built on 

 the floor of the kiln in a space left for the purpose at the time 

 the bricks are placed in position. The combustion gases pass 

 out through a small chimney and also through several small 

 openings on the sides of the kiln. The fire is so small in com- 

 parison with the size of the kiln that a high temperature is 

 never reached, and when the bricks are removed after two to 

 three weeks, they have been little more than dried. 



As a result, the product obtained is very inferior and could 

 not be used in walls of any considerable height. Small pieces 

 may be broken off with the fingers. However, the clay is a good 

 material for making building brick when it receives the proper 

 treatment. Some small test bricks were molded in this labo- 



* In 1903 there were 27 establishments, employing 954 persons, engaged 

 in the manufacture of brick and tile. See Census of the Philippine Islands. 

 Government Printing Office, Washington (1903), 4, 516. 



" This Journal, Sec. A (1907), 2, 428. 



"See Bull. Oklahoma Geol. Surv. (1911), No. 7, 81. 



