October i, 1889.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
269 
LOCAL BUILDING MATERIAL :— BRICKS. 
If there be one deseription of material used in 
building operations in Ceylon which requires im- 
provement in manufacture more than another, it 
is the important item of bricks. Taking by far 
the larger proportion of the supply of these which 
is ordinarily worked up in our buildings, it may 
be said that they are but little more reliable, as 
regards their soundness and consequent capacity 
for withstanding pressure, than are the unburnt 
and merely sun-dried bricks which are used in the 
construction of native huts. Indeed, were it not 
for the ravages of the white-ant which tunnels 
so freely in the latter, it might be said that the 
unburnt brick would be as well adapted for use 
in the majority of our buildings as is the pro- 
fessedly harder burnt brick with which we are 
supplied. This conclusion would certainly have 
held good up to very recent times; but of late 
years the erection of dwelling-houses of more than 
one storey has caused the imposition of greater 
weight on the bricks used than was formerly the 
case, and the question of quality has therefore 
become much more important than it has hitherto 
been. Certainly, it cannot be said that the desi- 
deratum has as yet been supplied. The quality 
of the bricka obtainable in most parts of the island 
— we speak of outstations especially — is lamentably 
inferior, and we believe that much might be usefully 
done in the way of improved methods, both of 
preparation of the clay, the course of moulding, 
and the subsequent firing. 
It is undoubtedly the case, tbat, as a rule, the 
clays of our island are deficient in that plasticity 
which constitutes the main qualification for pro- 
ducing really good bricks. Much may be accom- 
plished, however, towards overcoming this primary 
defect by a more thorough weathering and temper- 
ing of the clay. We doubt very much if the first 
process, which is so important an element in the 
manufacture of bricks in England, is ever given 
the least attention to in this island. The clay is 
placed in the moulds as soon as dug out, and the 
result is that our bricks are so full of the faults 
which lead to the cracks which, after burning, are 
to be observed in most of them. No clay should 
be used which haB not been spread and exposed to 
the weather for at least a month, and at the ex- 
piration of that period all "lumpiness" in the clay 
should be destroyed either by pounding or, better 
still, by being thoroughly trodden over by buffaloes 
or elephants, the latter animals at one time — and 
still? — being extensively employed by our Public 
Works Department for this purpose. During 
this operation watering should be done suffi- 
ciently to restore the moisture evaporated during 
the process of weathering. It may be said 
that to adopt these conditions must largely in- 
crease the cost of the bricks; but we have 
been told that the immunity which would be 
Becured by them against breakage during handling 
and transport would go a long way towards redressing 
the increased cost of manufacture. It seems 
probable that our local demands may never be 
bo great as to render it desirable to employ machi- 
nery either for puddling the clay or for moulding 
it subsi qucut to that operation, and as regards 
the second process it is universally admitted that 
a good hard-maue brick is superior— even if more 
costly— to the one produced by machinery. It 
was this consideration which led to the discontinu- 
ance of the use of the brick machines imported 
by the Ceylon Government some thirty years back 
or so. 
It may be further urged that experience has 
shown that hitherto our supply of brioks, even 
of inferior quality, sullioes for the uses for which 
it is employed ; but, as we have pointed out, the 
tendency to increase the height of our buildings 
makes it desirable that that quality should now 
receive improvement. With better bricks the thick- 
ness of walls may be materially reduced, and as 
in many situations the cost of transport of these 
to building sites is heavy, it is evident that a 
reduction in the number of them to be used must 
result in considerable economy. Then, again, there 
are many purposes to which bricks are appli- 
cable which demand qualities far surpassing 
those which may be needed for mere house build- 
ing, walls constructed for the last-mentioned purpose 
being — owing to the wide use of verandahs— 
generally sheltered from the effect of damp. 
But they are needed for cisterns, tanks, walling 
for canal and river embankments, lining for 
wells, and many other purposes for which thorough 
soundness is a desideratum. Here in Colombo, it may 
be admitted, the ease with which cabook has been 
obtained haB caused this question of the quality of 
our bricks to be very much disregarded, but the 
quarries available for the supply of this_ material 
are daily becoming more exhausted within the 
area which admits of economical transport. The 
sooner therefore our brickmakers endeavor to over- 
come the faultiness of their present procedure, 
the leas likely it will be that the diminishing 
supply of cabook will be injuriously felt. Beside 
this consideration there is the further one that, 
bulk for bulk, cabook work is inferior in strength 
to well-built brickwork, while the indurated clay 
is never a reliable material in any situation ex- 
posed to the action of moisture. Nor can the 
resistance that really hard brick would oppose 
to burglarious entry through walls be overlooked 
in the light of many recent experiences in Colombo. 
We have referred to the weathering of the clay 
which we would recommend for adoption. That 
is the first and main improvement we_ would 
suggest. Bat our present methods of firing are 
exceedingly crude, and cause the loss of a very 
considerable proportion of the bricks burnt in 
clamps. It may be admitted that wood can never 
be as efficient a firing as is the small coal used 
at home. The latter more evenly distributes the 
fire and does not burn out under a strong draught 
in the open as does wood. This comparative 
disability might be remedied if kilns were more 
commonly employed than they are. With them 
the strength of the draught may be regulated 
and a more slow and even burning secured. We 
feel perfectly oertain that were the hints we have 
given followed up, although the first cost per 
thousand might be in excess of what it is at pre- 
sent, the results would more than compensate for 
its incurrence. 
♦ — f 
Coffee in Java,— The Soerabaya, Courant o L 
22nd August says: — "The east monsoon has at 
last set in properly during the past three weeks, and 
that is very fortunate, as it would have been a very 
bad lookout for the coffee, since it has continued a 
wet year all through. Most of the coffee lands 
however have suffered extremely from the coffee 
leaf disease, and the only remedy of real benefit 
for lessening that is dry weather." 
Tobacco.— Reports to hand per "Paknam" from 
North Borneo state that this year's crop of tobaooo 
is most promising. The tobacco grown by Mr. Van 
de Hoeven on the Labuk river is splendid and a 
great success, and upon some of the other estates 
the tobacco is coming on well. The labour question 
is becoming more serious every day, and active 
measures are being taken to meet this difficulty, 
which makes itself felt also in this Colony and Deli 
to some extent.— Straits Times, Sept. 4th. 
