176 



NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



Most of the bricks manufactured are sold in local markets. 

 The greatest proportion of the Hudson river ones, as well as 

 some of those made on Long Island and Staten Island are sold 

 in New York city. Other large markets are Buffalo, Kochester, 

 Syracuse and Albany. 



Croton Landing, Westchester Co. There are three yards, all 

 situated on Croton Point and having a yearly capacity of 

 61,000,000 brick. The yards of the Anchor Brick Co. are situated 

 at the base of the point, a short distance south of the station 

 and along the railroad track. One yard is situated a few feet 

 above river level, the other 90 feet above it on a delta terrace. 

 The clay deposit adjoins this yard. It is basin-shaped, and 

 varies in depth from 40 to 70 feet. The clay is mostly blue, and 

 is underlain by hard pan, the pebbles of which are cemented by 

 clay stained with limonite. The present excavation is about 40 

 feet deep ; the bottom of it is 40 feet above mean tide. Borings 

 show an additional depth of 35 feet in the center, and the 

 engineer who made them calculates that at their present rate of 

 manufacture there is sufficient material in sight for 15 more 

 years. The stripping amounts to about 10 feet of loamy clay 

 and sand. Streaks of gravel are not uncommon in the clay. 



The deposit is worked in benches having a long working face 

 and these benches converge to one point at the eastern end of 

 the pit, from which a single track is laid up to the tempering 

 machine. Tracks are also laid along the benches, and as the work- 

 ing face recedes the tracks are shifted with crowbars. The cars 

 are brought down to the working face by gravity, or a small 

 engine which is chiefly used to draw them to the tempering pits. 

 A temporary track is laid over the ring pits, upon which the 

 cars can be run to facilitate dumping. Those cars containing 

 clay for the lower yard are run on to a self-acting inclined plane, 

 and on this the empty cars, and tempering sand for the upper 

 yard are also brought up. The tempering sand is dug by a steam 

 shovel, at the base of the terrace escarpment. The bricks are 

 dried on covered yards and burnt in a special type of kiln. It 

 consists of two walls of best quality brick, about 15 feet high 

 and 14 inches thick. The lower portion containing the doors 

 are two feet thick, and the two walls are about 20 feet 

 apart. The two ends have to be walled up with double coal 



