Brick-Making. 4.0S 
or sand ; and when burnt, were of a whitish colour^ 
They were easily ground down to the required dimen- 
sions for the arch. The term malm^ is a corruption of 
the old word inalin or marie. 
By act of parliament of 17 G. 3. ch. 4. all bricks made 
for sale, shall, when burned, be not less than 8 inches and 
a half long, 2 inches and a half thick, and four inches 
wide. A well burnt brick of statuteable size will weigh 
about 91b. 
The process of brick- making is tolerably well detailed 
in the preceding pages. The brick earth is thrown up 
in the fall of the year to mellow through the frost of the 
winter. It is then (in spring) worked up by labour- 
ers upon a levelled earthen floor, into a well mixed 
uniform moist mass. Each layer of the brick earth of 
about six inches thick is covered with a thin layer of 
breeze, or sifted ashes. This should be explained. 
In London, where nothing but coal is used, and where, 
the small Newcastle coal, that gives out comparatively 
little flame, but cakes or cements into a solid cinder, is 
usually preferred, the ashes undei' the grate contain a 
great deal, not only of the coak of coal, but also of the 
small coal itself, that in stirring the fire, passes through. 
The scavengers, who are also frequently brick-makers, 
usually contract to clean the streets, and take away the 
ashes from each house as often as required ; this contract 
is by the parish. I can well remember when the parish 
®f St. James, Westminster, paid the scavengers 7G0/. ster- 
ling annually for this service, and in the course of five years, 
received 1200/. sterling for the privilege. These ashes being 
sifted, the finer parts are mixed as above noticed with the 
brick earth, and the coarser parts are used as fuel to burn the 
clamp. The fine ashes and coal dust thus mixed with the 
brick, certainly serves to assist its being thoroughly burn 
ed. 
