The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1881-08-12
The ycrgcuucs Brick yqrf.

We recently had the pleasure of in
specting the operations of Mr.. John
Banyea's brick yard in Terrisburgh, |
a mile and o halt from Vergonnes. This
yard Is quite an old institution, brick
having been made hero by hand for
many years, but the business was of
small proportions until Mr.. Danyca be-
carne the owner some sever or eight
years since. He was then an old hand
at the business, having followed it in
Massachusetts, for a long time previous
to coming to Vergennes. Experience,
enterprise and business skill have built
up the business until now it is quite ex-
tensive. The old method of making by
hand has been discarded, and two brick
machines introduced worked by horse
power, which have improved the quail
ity of the product and enabled the yard
to keep up with the increasing demand.
The drying space has been greatly ell
larged, and a late improvement is the
erection of sheds for drying the brick,
protecting .hrn from rain, and short
ening by more than half the time re-
CURED to fit them for building into the
kilns. The materials are close at hand,
consisting of q bed of fine blue clay,
lONClluld D1 Sdbu, MnlCu, COIlDl1Cu Ill
the proper proportions and mixed with
water and a small quantity of coal dust,
is fed to the machines, which mixes
them thoroughly, presses them in the
moulds, and turns them out at the rate
of 10000 or $4,000 a day if need be.
The moulds are faced with a very fine
white sand drawn from Bristol, which
gives q bett II surface 10 the brick thru
| fho old Hou IF xuotttnr A. .1.ll.
Previous to the erection of the sheds it
has taken about three weeks to dry the
bricks before they could be put into the
5 kilns. This time is now very much
!, shortened. AS they are dried they arc
made into ki,ns, which are simply the
bricks built into almost a solid mass,
t except that at the bottom narrow
arches are lett at regular distances in
which the fires are built for burning the
i, brick. These arches extend through
y the whole width of the mass from front
to back, being some fifteen feet long.
Y Over these the brick are piled to the
height of ten or fifteen feet. From one
hundred to four hundred thousand
: brick may thus be burnt at once. The
burning usually takes about a week,
Y and during all this time the whole mass
6 is kept at nearly or quite a red heat.
Much wood is consumed in the process
) and the coal dust mixed in the brick
: assists in the combustioi. Great care
/ and judgment are required to keep the
= temperature at a proper point, as too
much or too little heat would spoil the
whole kiln.
| Mr.. Banyca's yard being situated on
, the bank of the Otter Greek he is en-
ablcd to load bis brick OH boats with
great facility and little expense. Owing
; to this circumstance the larger part of
: his trade has been on the shores of the
+ lake, the Crown Point Iron Company
having been q large and constant Gus
toner. The superior quality of his
l bricks is, however, bringing them to
the notice Of builders, and he is getting
quite a number of orders to be loaded
on the cars. lie sold last year over six
hundred thousand brick, and this year
his business promises to largely exceed
, that. Dyer's block in this villcgc is
built of bis brick.
1t does not seem to be generally
known how cheaply brick buildings can
5 be put up. Good double thick walls
for a moderate sized dwelling can be
built at an expense of five or six hun
drcd dollars for bricks and LAYING, but
exclusive of freight. Generally it may
, be said that brick walls for a building
show a first cost little more that that of
clapboarding and painting, while the
greater durability, safety from fire, and
the better conditions of temperature
both i'll summer and winter of brick,
make thc n much the cheapest and best
in tho ond. AS to the cheapness, the
two vast wings now building at the
t Reform School afford an illustration.
The whole cost o these wings to be only
= ten thousand dollars, and the utmost
economy has to be consulted to make
the appropriation hold out. Yet the
cheapne7s of brick has enabled the con-
tractor to make their walls of brick.
100000 are required, which Mr.. Ban
yea furnishes. Those intending to
build rev houses should not fail to
consult Mr.. Banyea, and we believe if
they would do so we should have many
more brick buildings than we now
have.