The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1888-11-21
CLAY MINING.
NEW JERSEYS VAST FIELDS OF
VALUABLE EARTH. fSg
Many Uses to Which the Clay !
Put-How It is Brought to
the Surface-Making
Sewer Pipe. N,

Among the most CHARACTERISTIC and ex
tensive deposits of commercial minefal1
in New Jersey, says the New York 1e11
aram, are the clsys Of Middlesex county
The fact that there were vast fields @
clay here has long been known, but e tS
only in comparatively recent days thA
any practical use has been made of-fns
knowledge. The first historical recosS
of the clay having been used is the state
ment that the British soldiers qnartered
near Woodbridge before and during tha
Revolutionary War used the fine white
kaolin to clean their buckskin breechesd
calling it "Fuller's Earth, but tradition
saws that the red men used to mako
their peace pipes of it long before ths)
settlers came. ~
The diversity of uses to which clay e
applied, is almost infinite, and will 41,
cite the wonder of those who have me-
fap,iliarized themselves with the appil2
cations of base earth. Brick. firebric1
fine pottery, terra Gotta ware, stoneYara
sewer pipe, retorts and crucibles, facfaa
for wall paper, finish for writing papef}
alum and metallargical molds are som4
of the forms into which Woodbridge and
Amboy clays are metamorphosed. &
On the authority of the "Geologica
Survey of New Jersey, Report on Claya
the price of these clays varies betWeeH
$13 and $3.50 per ton; but 1eIegraaa
reporter was told by the miners that q
and twenty-five cents are the limits, thu
twenty-five cents clay being very pool
and used in the manufacture OF "hoilov
brick" for the floors Of "ireproof" build]
ings. -
The method of digging the clay
simple. The first operation rs calleo
"stripping, and consists in removing
the superposed earth. After suficie4
area has been cleared of foreign material
the real work begins on the clay. ThS
digging is conducted in the same man
ner that railroad cuts are made through
rock. That is, straight roadway ts GU
through the clay, the cohesion OF Whlc
makes it possible to leave perpendiculla
walls.
After the cut has been made of auff
cient depth, the carts are backed INTO y
and the walls are shoveled down int
the carts, thus avoiding the necessity q
lifting the heavy clay. Sometimes th
cuts are made of such q depth that thS
clay, if thrown the whole distance dow
to the cart, would be apt to destroy
In such cases a series of steps about Fl
feet high and extending the whoI
length OF the working are made, audt1
claY is shoveled down from each step
the next lower one till it reaches "a
cart.
These steps are called sbenches.
is always policy for the clay digger
keep broad area around the clay hes
mining "stripped" of the mass of loos
earth under which itlay. 1.-The neglect
this precaution the heavy weight
pretty sure to overcome the resistance. q
the clay and cause slide, burying th
digging and possibly one or two diggera
In Several places these slides have ol
CURED where the forest primaval sha
been untouched, and the woodland gian1
have coasted down hundred feet or
into the clay mine.
The clay spade is curious Instrument
It is simply a large, sharp scoop and chi
out q lump of clay closely resembling
half of very large pail. The clay is
solid that the Jumps are handled hk
blocks of stone and most of them reac
the cart entire. After being taken ot
the clay is dried before It is carried
market; that is, it is exposed to the 81
the finer sorts under sheds, the coarsS
stuff anywhere that convenince suggestd
It is a singular fact that the finest clay
which are nearly pure white when dried
are almost black while in the ground.
In the town of Woodbridge there q
several plants for the working OF IL
native clay, and the manufacture of sus
ware as sewer pipe, fire brick, retort
crucibles and refractory materials n ges
eral. The methods of forming the br;ci
are simply those used by potters in ger
eral, but the manufacture of sewer piF
is something very peculiar. The rig
or "head" of the pipe is made in a pres
mold and placed on q receiving frame
the bottom of q very curious aud con
plicated machine, where the remaindf
of the pipe is made. The general pia
of the machine is a hollow cylinder,
which piston moves. The cylinder
filled with wet clay and the pistd
pressed down upon it, forcing the GIG
out through circular aperture around
central core, forming the hollow plI
required.
This portion is joined to the head an
the pipe is completed. In this conditid
it has sufficient consistency to bear car
full handling. 1t is transported to, II
drying room, where it spends SON
hours, and is afterward burned. in q
kiln. These kilns are made of fire brio
with walls about two feet in Thickness
Around the bottom there are fro
three to five brick furnaces bui
in the wall, the aues of which ope
irto the kiln. In some. cases the 3u
open at the top of the kiln, and the he
is drawn down through the material
be burned, and enters the chimne
through the bottom.
For the finer grades of ware the large
market is New York, but strange to SCI
in this city there is only one potter!
The manufacture of ch articles az
utensils as arc produced in this potte1
is an art by itself. Before Icing ft !!
use in the making of even the most ord
nary ware, the clay must be thorough
ground and mixed. This is accomplishd
by horse power, the clay being wetted
the "mil," as it's called. Then the c1
is portioned out 10 the potters, who tai
from the masses assigned to them pd
tions sufficient to make the articl
which they are to produce, the quanti
of clay needful for one vessel being
termined by weight.-Mv York 10