The daily gazette., 1878-04-13
SECOND EDITION
Bricks.
HOW THEY ARE NADIA LARGE YARD
THR NUMBER SOLD,

HOW THEY ARE MADE-A LARGE YARD
THR NUMBER SOLD.
One of the mostimportant industries of
wilmington is the manufacture Of
Dicks, which has grown SO rapidly for
tne last Few years that persoCs would
hardly believe that the business has as
sumed such vast proportions here un-
less they visit the different yards, and see
the great amount of work that is being
done.
One Of the largest, If not the largest.
yard in the State is the one owned and
operated by Messrs Coke & Allen, sltua-
ted ON Front street running from Clay
ton to above Van Buren,, aud extending
BACK TO Fitch street, occupying in all
| over Is acres.
The members of the firm are both prac-
teal brick makers, in fact Mr.. Coke has
| Deen In the business nearly all his life,
as were also his father and grandfather
Defore him, and as Re stated the family
never knew anything but bricks. He
has charge OF the whole works. and every
brick passes under his inspection.
Mr. Allen, has also been n the business
Tor many years, having been engaged in
II over ~ years at Smyrna, before he
| came to this city, and associated himself
| with Mr.. Coke. He was also one of tn @
FIRST to make the porous drain tile. Mr..
Allen attends to all the outside business,
being the business manager. The firm
| has been In existence over six years.
The works consist of nine drying
sheds, averaging 80 feet In length, three
mill sheds, and three kilns. They have
capacity for 10 gangs or 80 men, and 1t
| also requires 10 head of horses to do
| their work. When they have all their
| men.at work, a. Is the case at present,
they turn out 81, 1000 bricks per day, and
the demand at the present time Is SO
great that even at that rate they have or
ders away ahead.
The art Of making bricks is as follows:
In the winter the clay Ii dug and haul
| ed In piles, where 1t Is allowed to remain
until spring, SO az to have the action of
the frestin order to temper 1t. From these
piles 1t is wheeled to the grinding mills
where IL is ground until 1t becomes plia-
BILE, 1t taking four horses at each wheel
to do the work. .GIt usually occupies
four hours to reduce the clay to the plia-
bility necessary to mould it. From the
mill 1t is wheeled to the moulder, where
a man moulds for the purpose. From
the mOulder the bricks are carried by a
boy to what they term the floor, but what
Is in reality bed of very smooth ground.
Here the bricks are allowed TO remain
"a hours, after which they are taken to
the drying sheds, and packed up for one
week, for the purpose of becoming til Or
oughly dried and tempered. From the
sheds they are taken to the kiln, IL re-
Quiring two sets of four men each to do
the work-one gang for setting and
burning, and the other gang for assort-
ing. In each kiln there is piled about
10000 to 100000 bricks at a time. Af-
ter they are piled up the kiln is fred,
and is kept so constantly for six days.
While one kiln is fired, another is being
packed, and by the time it is finished the
bricks in the other kiln are ready to tbe
taken out and assorted, and are then
ready for the market. The manufacture
of pressed bricks is through the same
channel, the only difference being that
little more clay is added. and after
they have become dry, they are put into
press, and pressed.
As before stated the demand for bricks
this spring has so far exceeded the de-
mand for the past three or four years
that Messrs. Coke & Allen, were
Obliged to put on four extra gangs of
| men. Mr.. Allen states that the season is
! at least one month ahead Of last year.
In burning the bricks they consume
over 100 tons of coal per month.
The pressed bricks manufactured by
| this firm, are exceedingly fine. Some
| time ago they shipped over 100000 ol
them to New Y ork, and they brought a
higher price than those shipped from
Philadelphia or any city.
Iu manufacturing brick the material
from which 1t is made is handled over
"a times before it is completed. The
firm do large business as their books
show that they sell from two to three
| millions per year.
The men go to work about o'clock In
the day.s A good orkmen will turn oul
| over 1900 bricks.
The fine solicit the patronage of build,
ers and will guarantee to give entire sat
isfactfon.