The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-02-03
DELEGATES VISIT
 THE BIG PLANTS Brick Manufacturers Take Trip
 Around the Horn LADIES HAVE TROLLEY RIDE Afternoon Session of Brick Manufae. turers' Convention Was Interest ine-Two Papers of Practi-
 cal Character Read.
LADIES HAVE TROLLEY RIDE

The features of the second day of the facturers' association were trip around "rhe Horn" by members of the association by women who are attending the con vention, the reading of two papers at the afternoon session and the banquet given last night at the Hillman by local members of the association to the visiting delegates and their friends.
 In the forenoon the delegates left on special train over the Louisville and Nashville railroad to visit points of inter- est in the Birmingham district. Among the places visited were the Southern Sewer Pipe plant; the North Birmingham Fire Brick and Roofing plant at North Birmingham; Frank Daniels plant at East Lake; J. R. Copelands plant; z. T. Mozeley's plant, and Robertson Brick companys plant at Gate City; Ensley Fire Brick companys plant and the steel plant and furnaces at Ensley; Bessemer Fire Brick plant at Bessemer; the Graves Shale Brick compSny's Paving Brick
  plant; and others,
 The Ladies.
 1.-The following was the trolley route was taken by the ladies: North Ensley line to Eighth avenue; from there along to Fountain Heights; returning to Eighth avenue and Ninteenth street and from there to Norwood Place; thence, to Sec ond avenue, and out to East Lake, return ing to Woodlawn. The trip then extended to Gate City. After that the South High lands were visited, after which the cars went by way of the rolling mill around the Eleventh avenue loop to the southside Baptist church on Avenue F, afterwards on the Lakevfew line to the Country club, where luncheon was served.
 Because of a delay on the part of dele gates in returning to town the afternoon session, which was to have opened at ? o'clock, did not begin until 1. After lis- tening to the reading of letters of re- gret from absent members of the asso- citation, the convention took up the unfn- ished programme of yesterdays session. Secretary Randall and Treasurer Sibley were, upon the recommendation of the committee on resolutions, made life members of the executive committee
 J. R. Copeland of Birmingham, first vice president of the association, was called to the chair by President Blair and presided throughout the afternoon ses- sion.
 To Guard Against Failures.
 Prof. Edward Orton, Jr, of Columbus, Olio, then read the report of the com mittee on technical investigation. He said that clay industries have a bad name among capitalists. He asked what could be done to guard against failures that had become proverbial. He then proceeded to speak of clay testing, saying that there were two kinds, the chemical and the em- pirical or practical The chemical tests, said he were failures. The ultimate an- alysis should be used only to ascertain the quality of clays. The rational analysis was valuable only when applied to a mi- nority of cases. The special analysis was enormously important in a few cases, and of no importance in the great mass of ex- experiments. The average clay works had no need of chemical analysis. No man, said Professor Orton, was well qualified to succeed in clay working unless he was a chemist.
 The empiric or practical clay-testing was embodied into three heads
 First. It's working properties before burning.
 Second How it behaves while burning. Third What it's properties are after burning.
 Professor Orton then discussed at length the plasticity of clays
 At the close of Professor Orton's paper the convention listened to the first paper on the afteroon programme, namely .The Uses of Clay by Prof. c. w. Par melee of New Brunswick. N. J. At it's close the convention adjourned to meet at 10 O clock this morning.
 A verbatim report of all the papers read at the convention will be printed in 'The Clay Worker" of Indianapolis, the leading publication of it's kind in the country.
 
 THE VIII CAN EiJND