356 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[October, 
Fig. 1.— GROnSU PLAN OP DRAIN TILE WORKS. 
The Mauufactiire of Drain Tiles. 
Tlie deinaml fur lilcs for undur-drainiiig has 
increased every year since the early experi- 
ments iu " burying erocliery" were tried in tliis 
country— about 18 or 30 years ago— and it 
oiiglit still to increase until every ueighborhood 
is easily and clicaply supplied. The expense of 
starting a tile works is not great, and there 
is no mystery or secret about it. Tile mak- 
ers, as might bo expected, are not very com- 
municative, under the mistaken notion that 
au increase in tile manufticture Avould hurt 
their trade. The contrary will be true. Were 
there ten times as many made and used, the 
steady demand, and the activity of their trade 
■would more than compensate for a somewhat 
decreased price. Mr. J. W. Peufleld, of Wll- 
loughby, Ohio, has, at our request, prepared 
with considerable minuteness a description of 
his tile works, and of his processes. The sub- 
Fig. 3 — GROUND PLAN OP KILN. 
ject is too extensive for a single article, and this 
one will be followed by another. Mr. P. writes : 
" Glfiy /<"■ Tiles. — Although tiles can be made 
of inferior day, or such clay as many brick- 
makers use, j'ct it is very desirable to have the 
kind best adapted to the business. Such clay is 
known by the smooth, elastic manner with 
which it moulds, and the rajiidity with which it 
can be dried without cracking. It is very sel- 
dom that clay is used tor tiles that would 
be improved by the use of sand. Too much 
sand in clay makes it brittle, causes the tiles to 
run rough, and increases the difficulty of malt- 
ing large ones. The purer clay is, the better; 
much coarse sand, or vegetable matter, is al- 
ways objectionable; black muck or loam is 
sure to make trouble in drying, as it causes the 
tiles to shrink too much and to crack. The roots 
of grass and other plants are sometimes trouble- 
some. Some clays are hard to soak, being filled 
with dry lumps, and for this, exposure to frost 
and wet through the winter, is a cure. This pro- 
motes also the decay of the roots. Clay a little 
inclined to be sandy, should never be dug to 
freeze. . ''■•-leness, toughness, elasticity and 
smoothness, are the most essential qualities of 
^od clay, and si;ch clay may generally be 
found in all localities where there is much wet 
land. It is moisture that makes the particles of 
clay adhere ; the amount required for different 
kinds of clay can only be determined by expe- 
rience in using. Wlicn taken from moist beds 
in a rainy season, it frequently requires no addi- 
tional water. Bkie claj^ that has much sand in 
it should be worked comparatively dry, as in 
grinding it becomes softer ; wliile as to close, 
fine, yellow clay, the more it is worked the dry- 
er it gets. It improves any clay that needs 
moisture to soak twelve hours before moulding, 
and if dry when dug, this is positively necessary. 
A little experience in soaking clay, will enable 
any one to do it correctly ; it is better to get it too 
soft at first, than too dry. Stony clay can not 
be used successfully, as stones interfere with 
moulding or fill the screen rapidly. Stones 
may be crushed with rollers, but the same ex- 
pense would make tiles of good claj'. Occasion- 
al stones 'Is an inch in diameter or less, will 
make but little trouble ; larger ones will. When 
three or four such can be found in a shovelfuU 
of cla}', larger ones will be found. Many at- 
tempts have been made to use stony clay for 
tiles, but in every instance I know of, the cost 
exceeds that of clean claj'. A little time spent 
in looking for good clay will be well rewarded 
in almost any township. 
Constnietion of S/ieds. — It is economy to work 
undercover. Where a machine is run by horse- 
power, a shed may be constructed as follows : 
Make it with ten sides, 40 feet in diameter, set- 
ting posts iu the ground, 13 feet apart, sawed 
off, 6 feet high : spike on joists 3x8 edgewise 
against the outsidcs of the posts at top, and a 
main rafter running from each post to the cen- 
ter of shed at the proper pitch. This rafter 
should be 33 feet long, 3 x 3 at top end, 3 x 6 at 
the lower end. Short rafters can be cut in be- 
tween these to suit the kind of roofing used. 
Either shingles or boards ma}' be used. Strips 
of 3-inch band iron, 1 foot long, should be 
spiked on the outside of the girt-plates, over the 
joints to prevent spreading. The drying shed 
Fig. 3.— AECnES AND PLCES. 
maybel4feet wide, 180 long, posts 6 feet high 
set in the ground, 4x4 scantling for plates, 
3x4 for rafters. Fig. 1 shows the ground plan 
of the shed, giving the location of the tile ma- 
chine, clay pit, horse track, etc., and from this 
the drying shed with two rail tracks in it going 
to the kiln. There is a switch at each end qf the 
drying shed, but only one is shown for lack of 
space. Many cars are used, on which the green 
tiles are laid, and remain until dry enough to go 
into the kiln, each car holding 1000 3-inch tiles. 
Consti-neUon of Kiln. — The size of kiln, a 
partial plan of which is here shown (fig. 3), is 
14x10 inside; the walls are 10 inches thick 
in addition, and the firing flues project, forming 
a platform at each end. Four flues 20 inches 
wide, run the long way of the kiln ; benches or 
spaces between the flues are 36 inches, and tlie 
side benches 4 inches wide. The flues for 
firing should be 4 feet long, 13 or 13 inches 
wide, extending out from the kiln. The struc- 
ture as shown in fig. 2, should be built one foot 
high, and then it is ready for turning the arches. 
The arches, shown iu fig. 3, are turned over the 
flues, as iudicated by the dotted lines in fig. 2. 
; 1- — \ \- — ' -'TsrOa- 
Fig. 4.— FLOOR OF KILN. 
The shape of the arch should be higher than 
wide, or more than half a circle, if not they are 
apt to flatten and fall in. If too high, they will 
fall in at the sides. Each course of arches is built 
independent of the other, except being tied to- 
gether on the center of each bench, which makes 
a partition between the flues from the bench up 
to the kiln-floor. This is shown at 0, O, fig. 4 
The arches are as wide as the length of one brick 
(8 inches), and the space between, the width of a 
brick (4 inches). Fig. 4 shows a portion of the 
floor finished, which is done by laying bricks 
(3) flatwise across the spaces between the arch- 
es, and a course (1) lengthwise, on the center of 
the arches. The bricks should be closer over the 
fire than over the benches, and more space should 
be allowed at the corners and around the sides 
than elsewhere, this is important for the pur- 
pose of drawing the heat to the corners and 
sides. It is belter to use fire-brick for the floor, 
and to turn the arches, as they are more 
permanent, and keep the floor smooth and even. 
The openings in the floor should vary from l.i 
to 1 i or 2 inches between the bricks, and 3 
inches along the sides of the kiln. The hight 
of the kiln should be governed by the length 
the tiles are cut, and the number of courses to 
be set. Eight courses of tiles, cut 13^ inches 
long, would make it necessary to have the kiln 
ten feet high above the floor. In fig. 4, dotted 
lines running from A to B, indicate the course 
of the arches under the floor. The tops of the 
arches being seen at F. The course of the flues 
under the arches is shown by the dotted lines at 
ri"'ht angles to the arches, running fromZ) to^, 
while the dotted lines C \ri D show where the 
firing flues go through the wall; 1, 1, 1, arc 
bricks lying upon the arches, and 2, 3, 2, bricks 
crossing from arch to arch, and forming the 
spaces up through which the fire comes." 
