422  CONTRIBUTIONS    TO    ECONOMIC    GEOLOGY,   1905. 
TENNESSEE. 
Peryear,  Henry  County. — A  new  fire-brick  plant  is  now  being  built  at  Peryear  by  the  Dixie 
Fireproof  Brick  Company,  of  which  Mr.  Thomas  IT.  McElrath  is  superintendent.  The  clay 
is  ground  in  a  machine  run  by  steam  and  mixed  with  crushed  brick  in  the  proportion  of  two- 
thirds  clay  and  one-third  grog.  The  plant  is  fitted  up  with  an  artificial  drier,  but  in  the 
summer  and  fall  the  bricks  are  dried  on  covered  racks  in  the  open  air.  It  requires  about 
eight  to  ten  days  for  air  drying  and  twenty-four  hours  to  dry  by  steam.  One  round  down- 
draft  kiln  has  been  completed  and  preparations  are  being  made  to  add  two  or  three  other 
kilns. 
The  pit  from  which  the  clay  is  obtained  is  about  200  feel  west  of  the  railroad  track  on  the 
south  side  of  the  town.  The  plant  is  built  on  the  east  side  of  the  railroad  track.  The  clay 
is  reported  to  be  65  feet  thick,  and  is  divided  into  different  beds.  The  following  beds 
have  been  analyzed  and  tests  have  been  made  of  each: 
Clay  beds  at  Peryear,  Tenn. 
Feet. 
First  stratum  from  the  top 3-  6 
Second  stratum  from  the  top Ah-  5 
Third  stratum  from  the  top 12-13 
Fourth  st ratum  from  the  top 4 
Fifth  stratum  from  the  top /. 
Sixth  strat  urn  from  t  he  1  op 3 
Seventh  stratum  from  t  he  top 3J 
Clay  from  stratum  No.  1  is  a  fine  ball  clay.  Besides  being  used  for  making  fire  brick  it 
has  been  shipped  to  Chicago,  111.,  Milwaukee,  Wis.,  and  Columbus,  Ohio,  for  use  in  the  manu- 
facture of  asbestos  cloths,  etc.,  and  also  to  Iola,  Kans.,  for  making  retorts.  The  clay  is 
gray  when  fresh,  but  becomes  white  when  dry. 
Experiments  have  been  made  with  the  clay  for  making  a  hard  enamel  for  decorated  tile' 
The  following  formula  has  given  the  best  results: 
Formula  for  making  enamel  for  decorated  tile. 
Pounds. 
Ball  clay 17 
Red  lead 3 
Whiting 10 
Flint 20 
Feldspar .r>0 
Sal  soda 1 
Zine  oxide 15 
When  made  according  to  the  above  formula,  one  pint  of  the  mixture  should  weigh  32 
ounces.     It  requires  2,200°  to  2,300°  F.  to  fuse  the  mass,  and  it  will  stand  2,900°  F. 
Whitlock,  Henry  County. — Three  large  clay  pits  located  in  Henry  County  are  owned  and 
operated  by  Mr.  I.  Mandle,  of  St.  Louis,  Mo.  The  "Mandle  pit''  is  located  about  3  miles 
west  of  Whitlock.  It  was  opened  in  1897  and  has  been  worked  constantly  since  that  time. 
The  clay  is  hauled  to  Whitlock  in  wagons,  and  shipped  to  East  Liverpool,  Zanesville,  and 
Cincinnati,  Ohio;  Covington,  Ky.;  and  Victor,  N.  Y.  This  pit  furnishes  the  Tennessee 
ball  clay  No.  1  and  No.  3,  used  for  making  chinaware  and  decorated  tile. 
The  clay  is  worked  by  an  open  pit,  which  is  now  250  feet  long  and  200  feet  wide.  Thirty- 
five  feet  of  coarse  red  and  yellow  sand  are  now  being  removed  from  above  the  clay.  Twelve 
teams  and  scrapers  are  used  to  excavate  the  sand,  which  is  carried  back  into  the  pit  from 
which  the  clay  has  been  removed.     The  following  is  a  section  of  the  pit: 
Section  in  Mandle  clay  pit,  Henry  County,  Tenn. 
Feet. 
9.  Columbia  loam 5 
8.  Red  semist ratified  sand 5 
7.  Stratified  white  and  yellow  sand,  very  coarse,  with  an  occasional  lens  of  im- 
pure gray  clay 30 
