﻿CLAYS 
  OF 
  NEW 
  YOEK 
  853 
  

  

  domestic 
  use 
  for 
  scouring 
  steel 
  utensils 
  is 
  simply 
  a 
  fine-grained 
  sili- 
  

   cious 
  clay, 
  which 
  is 
  deposited 
  during 
  high 
  tide 
  along 
  the 
  banks 
  of 
  

   the 
  Parrot 
  river 
  in 
  England. 
  

  

  Road 
  materials 
  

  

  Clay 
  or 
  shale 
  is 
  used 
  in 
  the 
  construction 
  of 
  wagon 
  roads 
  and 
  

   railroads. 
  

  

  Wagon 
  roads. 
  Soft 
  plastic 
  clay 
  when 
  used 
  by 
  itself 
  is 
  a 
  very 
  poor 
  

   road 
  material, 
  for 
  the 
  reason 
  that 
  in 
  wet 
  weather 
  it 
  makes 
  the 
  road 
  

   almost 
  impassable 
  at 
  times, 
  and 
  in 
  dry 
  weather 
  it 
  is 
  exceedingly 
  

   dusty. 
  

  

  Shales 
  if 
  soft 
  and 
  very 
  argillaceous 
  are 
  almost 
  as 
  bad, 
  but, 
  if 
  the 
  

   shale 
  is 
  silicious 
  and 
  well 
  cemented 
  by 
  iron, 
  it 
  often 
  makes 
  a 
  

   splendid 
  road, 
  specially 
  if 
  the 
  traffic 
  is 
  not 
  very 
  heavy. 
  In 
  many 
  

   portions 
  of 
  Isew 
  York 
  state, 
  shale 
  is 
  used 
  to 
  a 
  large 
  extent 
  with 
  good 
  

   results. 
  In 
  some 
  regions 
  the 
  shale 
  has 
  been 
  partly 
  changed 
  to 
  

   slate, 
  owing 
  to 
  the 
  folding 
  which 
  the 
  rocks 
  have 
  been 
  subjected 
  to 
  

   subsequent 
  to 
  their 
  formation, 
  and 
  the 
  value 
  of 
  the 
  shale 
  for 
  road 
  

   metal 
  is 
  then 
  increased. 
  

  

  Railroads. 
  In 
  many 
  portions 
  of 
  the 
  west 
  where 
  rock 
  is 
  hard 
  to 
  

   obtain 
  for 
  railroad 
  ballast, 
  clay 
  is 
  used 
  in 
  a 
  very 
  ingenious 
  way. 
  

   The 
  material 
  is 
  dug 
  up 
  along 
  some 
  railroad 
  siding 
  where 
  a 
  bed 
  of 
  it 
  

   has 
  been 
  found, 
  and 
  piled 
  in 
  long 
  heaps 
  interbedded 
  with 
  old 
  rail- 
  

   road 
  ties. 
  This 
  mass 
  of 
  ties 
  is 
  then 
  set 
  on 
  fire 
  at 
  the 
  bottom 
  of 
  the 
  

   heap, 
  and 
  the 
  mass 
  of 
  clay 
  is 
  gradually 
  baked 
  from 
  bottom 
  to 
  top, 
  

   the 
  result 
  being 
  a 
  mass 
  of 
  burned 
  clay 
  lumps 
  of 
  the 
  right 
  size 
  for 
  

   putting 
  on 
  the 
  road 
  bed 
  and 
  as 
  hard 
  as 
  almost 
  any 
  ordinary 
  stone 
  

  

  that 
  could 
  be 
  used 
  for 
  the 
  same 
  purpose. 
  While 
  this 
  is 
  an 
  import- 
  

   ant 
  use 
  of 
  clay, 
  it 
  would 
  find 
  no 
  application 
  in 
  the 
  east 
  where 
  

   stone 
  for 
  railroad 
  ballasting 
  is 
  so 
  plentiful. 
  

  

  For 
  a 
  detailed 
  description 
  of 
  this 
  application 
  of 
  clay, 
  see 
  Min. 
  

  

  ind. 
  vol. 
  6. 
  -r* 
  jji 
  

  

  Puddle 
  

  

  Puddle 
  is 
  a 
  mixture 
  of 
  clay 
  and 
  gravel 
  often 
  used 
  in 
  engineering 
  

   construction. 
  The 
  clay 
  employed 
  must 
  be 
  such 
  that 
  it 
  will 
  bind 
  

   the 
  pebbles 
  firmly 
  but 
  not 
  crack 
  in 
  drying. 
  The 
  best 
  results 
  would 
  

   therefor 
  be 
  yielded 
  by 
  a 
  plastic 
  clay 
  containing 
  an 
  abundance 
  of 
  

   fine 
  sand. 
  

  

  