CASS COUNTY. 



91 



slopes off gradually in every direction and thins out to a few inches or passes 

 under a bed of brownish yellow sand. «This clay has been tested at the 

 Portsmouth (Ohio) Fire Brick Company's works and recommended as a clay 

 suitable for the manufacture of a high grade of No. 2 fire bricks. An analy- 

 sis of this clay made in the laboratory of the Survey gives: 



Silica • 82.60 



Alumina 10.25 



Ferric oxide 2.25 



Lime Trace 



Alkalies, chlorides 4. 46 



99.56 

 The alkalies (mostly soda) are rather high, and the clay can be materially 

 improved by washing, so as to get rid of a part of them. 



3. BRICK CLAY. 



Materials for the manufacture of ordinary building bricks occur in pro- 

 fusion, being widely scattered over almost every part of the county. 



No regularly established brickyard exists in Cass County. Occasional 

 kilns have been burned at Linden, Hughes' Springs, near Avinger, at At- 

 lanta, and Queen City. The yard at Atlanta is the only one which has been 

 continuous for any period. The others are only used once, or probably twice, 

 as demand may arise. The material used is the upper deposit of unstratified 

 sand wherever found of a sufficiently clayey texture. The bricks are all very 

 hard and badly spotted with dark blue iron stains, due to the existence of 

 iron oxide in nodular shape. These bricks are unsuitable for. any place where 

 fine work or a pleasing appearance is wanted. The bricks are all hand made, 

 and all front or ornamental bricks are imported from St. Louis. 



Owing to the intermittent manner in which the work is carried on, no re- 

 liable statistics of the clay industry of Cass County could be obtained. 



TABLE SHOWING ANALYSES OF CLAYS COLLECTED IN CASS COUNTY, TEXAS. 



No. 



.2 



5 



Alumina. 



Iron. 



Potash. 

 Soda. 



6 



a 

 3 



03 



BO . 



a 2 



S'3 



o 



1 

 o 



Eh 



600f 



82.60 

 66.70 



68.30 



10.25 

 11.43 



12 



2.25 



3.77 



20 



4.46 

 4.00 



1.42 5.00 



Trace. 

 1.30 



Trace. 







99.56 



705fa 



710* fc 



0.08 

 Trace 



13.00 

 13.60 



100.28 

 100.52 











aDark black clay (lignitic). TiDark clay (lignitic). 



Analyses made in Laboratory of Geological Survey by *J. H. Herndon, fL. E. Magnenat. 



Localities. 



No. 600. Near Queen City. 



No. 705. Gideon Storey headlight. 



No. 710. A. Duncan headright. 



