Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1899-05-18

Bricks...The Brick Industry.
The more extensive use for building
purposes OF the light-colored bricks
now so familiar to the eye was begun
about fifteen years ago. Some light
colored bricks were made before that,
and for q considerable period there
had been In the East a limited use OF
the bun bricks of Milwaukee; but up
to that time the bricks used here were
almost exclusively red. For a long
time there had been used In fine build
ings, especially for dwellings, the
pressed of Philadelphia, Trenton
and Baltimore, all red; the Philadel-
phia brick front was classed with that
of brownstone, but the use of these
has been largely super seeded by the de-
mand for the modern light-colored
bricks, the use of which Is still increas-
ing.
The light-colOred bricks ere made in
yellow, buff, brown, gray, old gold,
light red, salmon red and cream, and
In many shades of these colors; and
light-colored bricks are also made mot
tied, In many variations Of the mot
things; and there are made, too, rough
faced. The tendency in the past few
years has been toward still lighter
shades In the light-colored bricks used,
and there are now made many white
bricks. Bricks are made to order in
any color or shade that may be desired.
The clays commonly found in most
regions burn red. The light colors and
the various shades of the modern light
colored bricks are produced by the
mixing together in suitable proportions
of various clays and by the firing.
Hard red bricks cost SO to $3.50 a
thousand; the light-colored bricks from
$50 to $40 thousand. While the fine
bricks are now so extensively used
that they are everywhere seen, and
they are made in great numbers, yet
the number Of common red bricks used
is after all thousand times as great.
The fine bricks are used for a veneer
only, for the face of the wall; 1t would
simply be wasting money to build the
wall throughout with them, and they
are backed with suitable common
brick. OF bricks of all kinds taken
together there are used in this city
every year hundreds of millions, and in
the country thousands of millions.
Brickmaking is very largely local
industry. There are brickmaking es-
Establishments all over the country, and
local demands are in great measure
supplied from plants comparatively
naar nj bapH Tho .1ca IF madam
light-colored bricks are not found, and
in which red remains the prevailing
near at hand. The use of modern
light-colored bricks is widespread, but
there are regions in which clays
adapted to the making Of light-colored
bricks are not found. and in which red
remains the prevailing color of the
brick structures. With the growth of
the country the brickmaking business
has grown to great proportions, and
the output Of single yards has enor-
mously increased. In old times from
100000 to 100000 bricks in a year
would have been accounted n fair pro-
duction for brickyard. Now there
are great establishments equipped
with every sort of modern mechanical
appliance that can be brought into use
in the processes of brickmaking, and
producing bricks in great variety for
building and other uses, besides mould
ed and ornamental forms for archi-
tectural purposes, and turning out
many millions of brick annually.
Some American bricks are exported
to Canada. For many years common
brick and friedrich have been articles
Of exports to ports on the Gulf of
Mexico and to the West Indies, and
some fine American bricks for fire
places are now shipped to Germany
New York Sun.