The evening times., 1898-10-08
TREATISE ON CLAYS.
The State GeOlogist of Maryland
Prepares Report.

Baltimore, Oct. S.-Prof. William Bull
lock Clark. State geologist. is formulat-
ing plans for the publication of a large
volume by the geological department. de-
voted exclusively to the clay resources of
Maryland and the commercial value OF
the clays. Men have been collecting in
formation concerning the clays for sew
eral months. and the geological part of
the investigation is nearly completed.
To accurately fix the commercial value
Of the various clays and to describe their
uses, Prof. Cl4Ak will secure the services
of one of the few clay experts in the
country, who will arrange the data al
ready collected and put it into shape.
There are only three or four men in
the country" said Prof Clark, who have
made clays the study of their lives, and
| will try TO have one of these men work
with us. The State is very rich in Gays,
and especially the finer quality of clay,
or kaolin, which is one of the principal
ingredients in the manufacture of fine
porcelain ware and is also used in max
ing wall paper
The clays of Maryland suitable for
occurring in a great number of different
formations. They are mostly in the east
ern and southern portions of the State,
underlying broad areas of country. I'M
portant clayS also occur in the central
and western parts of Maryland. They
are suitable for the making of brick,
terra Gotta, fire brick and pottery. Those
most extensively used now are from the
Columbia and Patapsco formations, and
the center of the industry, as far as
brickmaking is concerned. is in Balti-
more. The fire clays of Allegany County.
of which there are large deposits, rank
among the very best in America, and are
a very valuable resource.
1.-The clays of the Columbia formation
cover the surface of the lower level in
the region about Baltimore, and to the
country south and east they generally
consist of a yellowiSh or brownish clay
or leam, which grades downward into
coarse sand or gravel. They are highly
regarded by the clayworkers for certain
classes of products. Much of this clay
near Baltimore has been worked out, but
it is still capable of being developed in
the southern and southwestern portion of
the land about Middle Branch and other
sections of the country in adjacent coun-
ties.
THE clays of the Patapsco formation
are developed along a belt that extends
along the northeast to the southwest
across the State, passing right through
Baltimore. All this, and even around
Washington, the clay has been extensive
ly worked, and has yielded high grade va
rieties The highly carbonaceous iron ore
clays of the Arundel formation have also
! been used considerably to the south and
southwest of the city. The clays of both
these formations have been employed for
a variety of purposes, but are capable
| of being put to much larger uses than
| any to which they have already been
put.
THE manufacture of fire brick has been
for fifty years one of the characteristic
industries of Maryland, and the bricks
made from the fire clays of Pottsville
formation, in Allegany County, are re-
garded as the best in the country. The
main fire clay deposit, our information
tells US, lies near the bottom of the coal
measures and the red clay ranges from