SCmSkth.ND  ]    CLAY    IN    INDEPENDENCE    QUADKANGLE,    KANSAS.        547 
a  capacity  considerably  greater  than  this.  Active  operations  are  in 
progress  at  Coffeyville,  Cherryvale,  Independence,  Caney,  Sycamore, 
Neodesha,  and  Buff  Mound.  The  material  used  at  all  these  plants  is 
practically  the  same,  being  common  Coal  Measure  shales.  At  Coffey- 
ville and  in  the  region  to  the  northwest  are  three  plants  operated  by 
as  many  different  companies.  The  plant  at  the  southern  edge  of  the 
town  uses  shale  from  the  Parsons  formation;  the  other  two  plants 
are  northwest  of  town  and  use  shale  from  the  formation  overlying 
the  Parsons.  This  overlying  shale  also  supplies  the  plant  at  Mound 
Valley,  5  miles  east  of  the  Independence  quadrangle.  At  Cherryvale 
the  six  plants,  operated  by  six  different  companies,  are  situated  both 
northwest  and  south  of  the  town,  and  use  the  Cherryvale  shale,  which 
occurs  in  the  mounds  that  are  so  numerous  in  that  locality.  At  Inde- 
pendence the  brick  plant  is  in  the  northwest  part  of  the  town,  and  the 
shale  is  brought  by  the  Santa  Fe  Railroad  from  Table  Mound,  which 
stands  on  the  banks  of  Elk  River  4J  miles  to  the  northwest.  At 
Table  Mound  the  shale  bed  has  a  thickness  of  80  feet.  At  Caney  the 
plant  is  north  of  town,  at  the  foot  of  a  large  mound,  from  which  the 
shale  is  obtained.  At  Sycamore  the  plant  stands  north  of  town,  on 
the  eastern  side  of  the  bluff  from  which  the  shale  is  quarried;  and 
about  midway  between  Sycamore  and  Neodesha,  and  similarly  located 
with  reference  to  the  same  escarpment,  is  the  Neodesha  plant,  using 
the  same  shale  as  the  Sycamore  plant.  This  shale  is  also  used  by  the 
Altoona  or  Buff  Mound  plant,  located  at  the  west  base  of  Buff  Mound, 
4  miles  north  of  Neodesha.  Here  the  bed  has  a  thickness  of  GO  feet. 
The  pits  of  the  Sycamore,  Neodesha,  Altoona,  and  Independence 
plants,  together  with  those  at  Table  Mound,  are  all  excavated  from 
the  same  shale,  contained  in  the  upper  part  of  the  Chanute  shaje, 
just  below  the  Iola -Allen  limestone. 
All  the  plants  of  the  quadrangle  have  many  points  in  common. 
Though  their  machinery,  kilns,  and  outdoor  conveniences  may  differ, 
they  are  alike  in  that  they  make  brick  from  practically  the  same 
grade  of  shale,  which  is  quarried,  crushed,  tempered,  and  molded  in 
substantially  the  same  manner.  There  is  a  striking  similarity  also 
in  the  kind  of  brick  manufactured.  The  chief  product  is  common 
building  brick.  Next  in  abundance  come  vitrified  brick,  or  pavers, 
followed  by  sidewalk  brick  and  the  different  styles  of  dry-pressed  or 
re-pressed  ornamental  brick. 
Common  brick. — In  the  manufacture  of  common  building  brick 
the  shale  is  ground  to  a  fine  powder,  is  sufficiently  tempered  with 
water  to  make  a  nice  mold,  and  is  then  forced  through  a  die  by 
auger  motion.  The  rod  or  mass  of  clay  forced  out  is  carried  by  belt 
J  conveyor  to  a  proper  distance  and  cut  into  brick  by  machinery. 
For  burning,  the  brick  are  usually  built  in  a  series  of  rectangular 
