﻿468 
  Forty-seventh 
  Report 
  'on 
  the 
  State 
  Museum. 
  

  

  streetf 
  clay 
  is 
  worked 
  to 
  a 
  thickness 
  of 
  twenty-five 
  or 
  thirty 
  feet. 
  

   The 
  clay 
  is 
  of 
  unknown 
  depth. 
  The 
  banks 
  are 
  worked 
  down 
  to 
  

   city 
  grade 
  and 
  then 
  the 
  lots 
  are 
  built 
  upon. 
  On 
  Orange 
  street 
  

   clay 
  is 
  dug, 
  but 
  a 
  depth 
  of 
  thirty 
  to 
  forty 
  feet 
  is 
  left, 
  which 
  is 
  

   below 
  city 
  grade. 
  

  

  The 
  uses 
  to 
  which 
  the 
  clays 
  of 
  Albany 
  are 
  put 
  are 
  not 
  varied. 
  

   The 
  most 
  common 
  product 
  is 
  the 
  ordinary 
  building 
  brick. 
  

   Drain 
  tiles 
  are 
  made 
  by 
  only 
  two 
  companies 
  and 
  pressed 
  front 
  

   bricks 
  by 
  bat 
  one 
  company. 
  There 
  is 
  no 
  known 
  reason 
  why 
  the 
  

   finest 
  class 
  of 
  bricks 
  should 
  not 
  be 
  made 
  with 
  the 
  material 
  at 
  

   hand, 
  except 
  that 
  there 
  is 
  a 
  ready 
  market 
  for 
  the 
  cheaper 
  class 
  

   of 
  bricks 
  and 
  they 
  require 
  much 
  less 
  care 
  in 
  molding 
  and 
  burning. 
  

   There 
  is 
  one 
  clay 
  product, 
  however, 
  which 
  seems 
  to 
  be 
  peculiar 
  

   to 
  Albany 
  county, 
  the 
  " 
  slip 
  clay 
  " 
  for 
  glazing 
  pottery. 
  Large 
  

   quantities 
  of 
  this 
  are 
  dug 
  and 
  shipped 
  in 
  barrels 
  to 
  all 
  parts 
  of 
  the 
  

   United 
  States 
  and 
  to 
  Canada. 
  " 
  Large 
  quantities 
  " 
  must 
  be 
  taken 
  

   in 
  a 
  moderate 
  sense, 
  for 
  as 
  it 
  is 
  only 
  used 
  in 
  making 
  a 
  glaze 
  a 
  

   small 
  quantity 
  will 
  suffice 
  for 
  a 
  large 
  pottery. 
  It 
  is 
  only 
  when 
  

   the 
  material 
  is 
  supplied 
  to 
  a 
  large 
  number 
  of 
  works 
  that 
  the 
  

   total 
  amount 
  is 
  considerable. 
  How 
  great 
  is 
  this 
  quantity 
  can- 
  

   not 
  be 
  ascertained, 
  as 
  the 
  dealers 
  are 
  very 
  reticent 
  in 
  regard 
  to 
  

   their 
  product. 
  

  

  Nothing 
  could 
  be 
  learned 
  of 
  its 
  mode 
  of 
  occurrence 
  beyond 
  

   the 
  fact 
  that 
  it 
  is 
  a 
  stratum 
  four 
  to 
  five 
  feet 
  in 
  thickness. 
  Salt 
  

   and 
  soda 
  compounds 
  give 
  a 
  ready 
  glaze 
  to 
  pottery, 
  but 
  it 
  is 
  

   apt 
  to 
  check 
  and 
  crack, 
  thus 
  making 
  the 
  vessel 
  more 
  or 
  less 
  

   pervious 
  to 
  contained 
  fluids. 
  The 
  slip 
  clay 
  gives 
  a 
  strong 
  

   glaze 
  at 
  a 
  lo 
  v 
  temperature, 
  and 
  it 
  is 
  said 
  rarely 
  cracks 
  or 
  checks. 
  

   The 
  value 
  of 
  this 
  clay 
  is 
  attested 
  by 
  the 
  fact 
  that 
  it 
  is 
  used 
  by 
  

   many 
  potteries, 
  not 
  only 
  in 
  the 
  United 
  States 
  but 
  it 
  has 
  even 
  been 
  

   shipped 
  to 
  Germany 
  and 
  France. 
  

  

  Molding 
  Sands. 
  

  

  There 
  are 
  shipped 
  from 
  Albany 
  county 
  from 
  sixty 
  to 
  eighty 
  

   thousand 
  tons 
  of 
  molding 
  sand 
  each 
  year. 
  According 
  to 
  Mr. 
  T. 
  

   S. 
  Caldwell, 
  of 
  Selkirk, 
  this 
  sand 
  is 
  found 
  from 
  the 
  Adirondack 
  

   mountains 
  to 
  New 
  Jersey. 
  It 
  occurs 
  in 
  the 
  largest 
  bodies 
  and 
  

   of 
  superior 
  quality 
  and 
  strength 
  in 
  Albany 
  county. 
  

  

  