214 



NEW YOKE STATE MUSEUM 



The specimen sent was thoroughly air dried and was slate gray 

 in color, and showed a little fine gritty sand. It contains too 

 much oxide of iron and potash for any refractory or fine 

 materials. Washing out the fine sand might enable it to be used 

 in some styles of paper facing. It is most interesting as the 

 basis of a valuable, enduring and fertile soil, and if properly 

 drained it would be unsurpassed for tillage or pasturage ; and as 

 such it furnishes another argument for the drainage of this tract 

 of drowned lands. 



Brick yards 



East Williston, Queens Co. W. & J. Post have two yards at 

 this locality. Their clay pit is in a field some 5< feet west of 

 the yard on the land of H. M. Willis. The clay has been exca- 

 vated to a depth of about 15 feet. It is chiefly a bluish clay and 

 can be easily dug. The clay is extremely siliceous as the follow- 

 ing analysis shows, but the percentage of lime, magnesia and iron 



is low : 



Silica 69.73 



Alumina 16.42 



Peroxide of iron 2.58 



Lime 1 . f>6 



Magnesia . 69 



Alkalies 6.27 



97.35 



Carts are used to haul it to the yard. Pumps have to be used 

 to keep out the water which comes up through the underlying 

 sand. The clay is tempered without the addition of sand in ring 

 pits run by horse power. The bricks are dried either on 

 the open yard or on pallets and burnt in scove kilns with 

 wood. They are shipped on the L. I. K. P., which passes by 

 the yard. 



Oyster Bay, Queens Co. An extensive deposit of clay s being 

 worked on Center Island, in Oyster Bay, by Dunn, Dolan <fc Uo. 

 They manufacture common brick. The bank adjoins the yard, 

 and the clay, which is in thin layers, separated by fine laminae of 

 sand, is of a bluish color in the lower portions of the deposit and 



