Morning journal and courier., 1890-12-05
NORTH HAyEN ANNALS.

NORTH HAVEN ANNALS.
The TOWNS Brick misunderstanding
Industry Further Hev1eWed-HoW
II was In the Old Days-The Old
Rashfoned Kflns-Success1ve Prog
ressive Steps-Plants OF 179O and
1890 Compared-A Century,s Ad.
vancement-Where Some of the Old
Time Brick Yards Were.
NUMBER Sc.
From the digging of the clay in the
bank to the time when the finished brick
is delivered at it's destination, there is
nothing but hard persistent labor. The
whole process of manufacture involves
more than ordinary muscular e1ertion. It
can truthfu1ly be said that there are no
"soft spots" in brick making. Modern
machinery. while it has accomplished much
in increasing production, has done but
little to alleviate the actual hard work nee
essary to the production of q kiln of
brick. None but the hardy can endure
the labor Whether it be Gin the bank"
tsshovelling pitt" striking" trucking
off" wheeling in" setting" "burn-
ing" 'loading" cars or wagons, the en-
pIoye is constantly on his feet, either lift
ing or carrying burken that would tax
an athlete.
The earliest kilns were mere made of
from fifty to seyenty-fve thousand brick.
Rarely did proprietor dare to make
hundred thousand. Even with this small
men were from three to five years
in disposing of it, SO slew were the sales.
Unless the maker had sufficient capital to
lock up the greater portion thereof, it be-
came him to invest sparingly in hired help
and fixtures, hence as has been said, brick
were made when one could do nothing else
to advantage.
Before i843 all ssgreen brick" were
carried off the yard to the kiln by hand.
Twelve were considered load for a man.
arm, and with two in the other hand, he
trudged back and forth carrying them under
cover. On rainy days, and sometimes
nights, he "set" them in the kiln.
Wheelbarrows were not introduced into
the town until 1843. William Devine
was the first owner. He had two made
for his yard, but like every other labor
saving device, these barrows were looked
upon with suspicion. Orrin Warner
more than once was heard to say she
could mold more brick in day than
could the Hall machine" and Colonel
Eleazer Warner just as stoutly declared
he could carry more brick in his arms off
the yard, and easier, than one could
wheel in barrow. It is not said that
either of these irascible old gentlemen
ever made test of their claims except
with their tongues.
u1. IL ell
October was the usual month. The entire
summers product was set in single kiln.
Then came tsburning time" This was a
hilarious event. It was looked forward to
with great interest by certain of the COM
munity as an occasion when rum, if ever,
was needed to successfully do the job.
Everybody then connected with the kiln
was happy but the owner of the property;
he was commonly overwhelmed with anxi-
ETY. lest his volunteer help become SO ut
terly drunk as to endanger his kiln by
neglect. Such instances were not infre-
quent.
"Boss burners" were in great demand by
proprietors of yards, and as the supply of
the former was limited and the needs of
the latter urgent there was much rivalry
and backbiting over their possession.
When one of these professionals was
secured there was no positive assurance
success would attend his efforts. A .'good
burn fifty years ago, and even later, was
q rarity. 1t seems more to have been
the result of luck than calculation. No
attention was paid to the elements of clays.
Chemical agencies we're unknown. Fire
was simply set to the dried clay and
held for such period as each 'sboss" con.
sidered sufficient. If chance gave good
result the "burner" was looked up to as q
wonderful man; on the other hand if the
kiln proved sssoft" or tswelled" he was al
most as wonderful, for he could argue tx
hairs breadth that no other human being
under heaven, but himself, could have got
ten anything at all out of it.
Nowadays the foreman who makes {
'tpoor burn" receives his death warrant
Too much is involved in the necessary
seven or eight days firing of kilns CON
| tanning from half million to frequently
| million of brick, to leave anything to luck
Everything is most carefully studied ever,
move most cautiously made, liquor Is pro
hibited and none but experienced assistant
allowed. As consequence little uneasi
| ness is felt concerning results, and tn
quality of kilns may be often predicted
while they are white with heat.
To return to the steps of manufacture
preceding paper, and which was attached
to the upright ''pugmill, was known a
the "Hall Machine" 1t was not automati
| in action. It's molds were filed by hant
pressure and thrown out by q system o
| levers requiring considerable muscular ex
| ertion, but 80 much was it an improve
ment that it came into general use be
| tween 1850 and 1850 Erus Bishop, him
self practical brickmaker, corrected sew
eral defects in it's construction and won
derfully enhanced its value. There was n
patent, and he finally came to take up tn
manufacture of these machines in tn
winter seasons. During the war he had a
extensive trade, frequently disposing Q
them for hundred dollars apiece.
The next advance was in the develop
ment of complete automatic machine
such as can be seen at present on moder
yards. Into this the raw materials, water
clay, sand and coal, are fed in suitable pre-
portions and from which energies tn
steady delivery of three thousand to fou
thousand inely-shaped bricks per houl
Each mold as It is forced from the press
seized and dumped" upon q short, MAJ
row board called a pallet. These pallet
| with their contents are placed upon double
decked trucks, wheeled to their places an
placed in immense racks to dry. Hel
they remain for several days until suff
/ GENTLY hard to "set." At this stage th
sun-dried brick have attained considerabl
cohesiveness; they may be handled rough
ly and will resist great pressure. They a,
then removed from the pallets and wheele
to the kiln sheds.
The old-fashioned kilns were pigmiss
comparison with those of modern max,
Formerly it was not customary to bull
them over twsnty-one or TWENTY-FIVE
bricks in height (height being determine
by the width of the brick, as all are set O
their edges.) This did not place tho to
of the kiln much over eight feet from II
ground. In the day of the Hon. Ez,
Stiles, probably the Oldest living brio
maker in, the state, an ''arch" rarely hel
calls one occasion on which he ttset' tW
and half arches in one day, receivir
two dollars and half as his wages.
A few years later the height of the kill
began to be increased, though with mi
Rivfngs that the fire would never work i
way through to the top. E:
perience proved the contrary, ar
they have steadily been mounting up unit
1 it is thought about the limit in fifty b,
been reached, not but that the fire cou
be carried higher, but the enormous weigl
on the bottom courses begins to be fel
Unless the brick are very dry there com
tendency to crush and break. This
not strange when one reflects that SUI
| pounds, SO that when fifty are laid upe
each other pressure of three hundr,
pounds is found at the bottom. By sy
tenn of 'sbreaking joints" in laying the
this pressure is evenly distributed, thong
considerable waste occurs.
/ | There can be no comparison between Il
, plants of 1870 and 1890. The former we