The Washington herald., 1910-06-30
THE CLAY THAT IS EATEN.
Mined in the HOokUorm Country and
Used Mostly in Paper Making.

From the New YORK Sun.
Those VINO are used only TO the red
clay OF New Jersey and Pennsylvania
and the brown clay of New York have
been little puzzled over the designation
OF some OF the victims Of hookworm as
clay eaters.
In the Carolinas and Eastern Tennessee
there are beds Of pure white clay, as
white as -four. and 1t is this sort Of
clay that is utilized for chewing. This
clay is in small deposits throughout all
South Carolina. but only the deposits in
the neighborhood OF Aiken and Langley
are sufficient in extent. depth, and quality
TO be commercially valuable
These beds lie anywhere from ten TO
thirty feet under the surface and are
worked by side cuts The earth is first
removed from above over as large q
surface as Is desired and then the wall
OF clay is attacked from the side, an en-
trance having been cut from some ad-
jacent valley, so that the mining is really
done IN an open cut, and mines that have
been worked for years are finally nothing
but huge white holes or excavations.
The clay is dug out by negroes with
picks, and as the pieces fall other
negroes with knives trim of the pieces,
cutting out the traces Of iron stain. II
n
drying she'd Imagine standing from
sixty to eighty feet below the surface of
the earth in an amphitheater. the walls
of which are pure white. with a Southern
sun glittering overhead!
This clay is soft in texture and without
grit and when dried out ana powdered
looks not unlike tooth powder The beds
are located by means of borings with q
giant auger. One man in Aiken spent
three months in the woods boring holes
before he finally located a bed, but he
was finally successful. Another bought
an undeveloped bed simply from inspec-
ton of the borings for 81. 400 and sold it
in three months for $500 after spending
perhaps $500 in opening a side shaft
From that bed was taken in three years
over 10000 worth of clay.
Not all the product is consumed by
the patrons Of the hookworm. Some
of it is used. mixed with other material.
in the making of melting pots by makers
Of high tempered steel implements, but
the bulk of it goes into the manufacture
Of paper.
If you can buy clay for from one-haIf
10 one cent a pound and sell it In paper
at ten times that It helps in the profits.
Il is not really an adulterant. The gloss
on fine writing paper Is the result In
great part Of an admixture of clay. The
sheen on visiting cards and on the deck
OF playing cards IS also result Wall
paper manufacturers use a lot Of it in
mixing their colors.
South Carolina clay is not available
for pottery, as it has not sufficient fiber
or tenacity and Is apt to contain too
much iron. The first test that a potter
VIII give 10 a new sample of clay is to
put piece in his mouth and try TO chew
1t. If It sticks 70 his teeth 1t may be
available for pottery, but If II crunches
without showing any Of the chewing
gum qualities it is useless to try it
further. But he does not swallow it like
the regular clay eater.
The bulk of the clay used In pctteries
comes from West Virginia. New Jersey
and Pennsylvania and is mixed with large
quantities OF English clay. The Pied
mont range in Western North Carolina
and Tennessee contains deposits OF beau
tiful blue white clay, the shade OF the
finest porcelain. These deposits are un-
fortunately mixed with fakes of mica
and 1t is necessary to dissolve the clay
in water and float It long distances until