New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1908-11-11
TO STUDY OUR CEAYS
General Investigation to Be Made
by Experts.
LITTLE KNOWN ON SUBJECT.

LITTLE KNOWN ON SUBJECT.
Work Undertaken at Request of Fed
eral Officials In Charge of construc-
ton Work - Many Manufacturing
Failures Due to Wrong Selection of
Clay Deposits.
At the request of federal officials III
charge of the construction work Of the
government, which now amounts to
more than $40,OOO,OOO annually. the
United States geological survey,
through its technologic branch, has
taken up general Investigation of the
clays and clay products of the United
States. A ceramic section has been
created, with A. " Bleininger of
Champaign, ILL.,, as ceramic chemist.
Government engineers, startled at
the enormous losses from fire in the
United States and the consequent de-
struction of valuable natural resources
| have been endeavoring for some time
to learn more about the fire resisting
| qualities of structural materials, not
only to stop the present waste, but
also to preserve, If possible, the wan
ing timber supply. 1t was, for this
reason that the government a few
years ago took ZIP scientific study Of
concrete, which is now being used ey-
| tensively In government construction
work.
! Clay products, such as hollow tile.
hreproofing, terra Gotta, enameled
brick and glazed tile, play an important
| part in modern fireproof buildings,
and these are to be tested for the diff
ferent construction bureaus of the gov
eminent. This will insure the high
| est quality Of ware obtainable in the
Industry for the government buildings.
A series Of tests will also be conducted
with bricks in order that a standard
may be arrived at for the use of the
engineers in the future
Mr.. Bleininger, the clay expert, is
one Of the leading authorities in his
line in'the United States. In outlining
his work he said: "The coming tests,
although conducted to meet the needs
Of the government, will be of great
value to the engineering profession and
the public, for the results will be OBJ
tainable by any one sufficiently inter-
| ested to ask for them.
IAN important phase of the work
will be the determining Of standard
for a good brick. We shall study the
relation between the crushing strength
of commercial bricks and their poros-
ity, the object being the establishing
Of a technical definition for good
building brick, thus enabling engineers
and builders to reject poor materials
and encouraging the manufacturers of
we'll made and burnt bricks. At the
present time we do not know the diff
ference between a good and bad
brick. Another feature Of the work
will consist in evolving standard tests
of clays for the purpose of determin-
ing the use to which they are best suit
| ed, thus assisting in the development
| Of the clay resources Of the country
and avoiding the great money losses
caused by i'll advised investments in
| low grade clay properties. An exam
! nation Of many failures Of new clay
enterprises may frequently be traced
back to mistake made in the selec-
ton of the clay deposit.
Strange as it may seem, we do not
fully understand such familiar proper
! ties as the Elasticity of clay. Neither
is the nature of the various grades of
clay clearly understood Another phase
Of the work deals with the general
manufacturing problem. l might men
ton the important question of white
wash appearing on brick walls, diff
flculty causing serious annoyance and
! loss to manufacturers and users of
| bricks by marring the beauty Of many
/ structures.
| 'The clay industry is one Of the most
important in the country. Last year
the value Of such products amounted
to $149, 697, 900, gain Of IA per cent
over the previous year. We are slow
ly realizing that 1t is not necessary to
import clay or clay products from Eu-
| rope. An American manufacturer has
demonstrated that he can make as fine
china and porcelain as any one In the
| world. We import the finer grades of
! glass, but this is unnecessary. We
| have the silicates here. The best cut
glass in the world is made in the Unit
ed States"
Professor Newcombe on Aviation.
Professor Simon Newcomb, astrono-
mer, has interesting views with re-
spect to the problems of aviation. He
rules out the possible use Of a dirigible
balloon for any more serious military
purpose than accommodating. With re-
spect to the aeroplane, such as is en-
ployed by the Wright brothers. he has