Putnam patriot., 1927-04-08
IN BABYLON
Historical Aspect of Masonry, | New Trade School Course,
 is interesting.

au interesting pfase or the mt- -=.zrv course now being established ar .ss state Trade School, Putnam. l. 5Fs interesting historical aspect ef s.. mason's art which can very de- a--feIy be traced back to the Babylc- a.sp era for 1t IS possible that brick =.4tinr had been somewhat developed -....yious Co that time However, t well known fact that bricks wee 5r.da by sun baking methods and used r building many towers. walls. and znIandid palaces of ancient Babylon. Many of these bricSs were stamped ,,.tb the name of the ruling king of he time These were placed in the ,saIi with the name down and were therefore kept in an excellent state .f preservation and are being reco- vsfed today thus giving an almost ,sact date of the time of their manu- facture.
 Brick making was also carried on in Egypt and record shows that dur mo the bondage of the lsraelites, part of their task was that of making brick The methods of brick making in those asvs was that of using chopped straw or reeds. and clay taken from the banks of the River Nile and mixing wfth water in fixed quantities.
 It Is thought that artificial heat for fasdering brick still harder than the m baking process was first used by he ancient Babylouiaus ard while the Greeks and Romans a-ed brick cen -aarably the presence and availa- 5Hity of stone supplied through their stone auarries sheps that brick was rot 90 generally uzed by these later
 Ilizations.
 Lost To Modern Era
 The art of brick making and ma sHFy trade gene ally Was lost to mo- 5lesH era about tha tsHe 5f the with arawal of the Romans from Great Britain and there is little or no re rDrd of brick making or building from mat time until the 18th century Ate the fire of London. however, the city was rebuilt in l666 the rebuilding be.ng predominatsIs If brick which shows that the art had been picket ID between the 18th and l6th centu- res to a considerable degree.
 In the American colonies bricks were first manufactured in 1911. in Virginia. But tho first brick building WAS built by Dutch Governor in Manhattan Island with brick import eG from Europe, and while the Use Of brick was common from that time on he exceptional development seen n recent years had lts beginning about be last two decades of the l9th een- tl1rv \ revival Of brick architecture began and an uncommon develop
 4A rF faF hrfck. terra cotta and many forms at concrete building followed.
 Types And Colors
 Today the United States employs =large variety of types and eolors ef brick and has established definite and satisfactory methods of using con Hete and cement building blocks and Hs,- become perhaps the foremost eoun- 1Hf in this particular type 1f building HaxIng achieved quite complete uude=- landing of the hest ways Co lSp ma sunry materials both for the pract -a a3 santage and artistic effect L is certain that the change which hss -ef m turning from wood to this more ss#manent type of construction will nave an increasing popularity because lts permanency, greater fire resi- sung qualities, and lower depreciation eos.- This tendency Is accentuated hf diminishing lumber supply which ls necessarily resulting in increased eost of lumber for building purposes
 II IS felt, therefore, that the esta- biIshment of this course is in accord with the trend of the times and will provide a knowledge ad training com. raensurate with the growth of eeono- mic needs and II would seem that young men who wish to enter per manent and growing industry might do well to investigate the possibilities in this direction.