Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 03.djvu/540

BRICE. 476 BRICK. and in 1890 became a uieinber of the United States Senate. BRICK (probably allied to break, originally meaning a fragment; cf. Fr. brique, a piece, fragment). The earliest examples of this branch of the ceramic art were doibtless the sun-dried bricks of Egj'pt, Assyria, and Babylonia. Re- markable to say, many of these, which, in a northern climate, the frosts of a single winter would destroy, have been preserved for 3000 years or more by the dry, warm atmospliere of those countries. Sun-baked bricks of ancient date are also found in the mud walls of old towns in India. Kiln-baked bricks must have l>cen the products of a later time ; but they are found in all the chief ruins of ancient Babylonia, where they were often used to face or bind to- gether walls of sun-dried bricks, and occasionally they were even ornamented with enameled colors. These ancient bricks, whether baked by the sun or by fire, were all made of chiy mixed with grass or straw. The ancient Greeks, probably owing to their possessing plenty of stone, cared" little for building with burned claj-; but most of the great ruins in Rome were originally built of brick, and the Romans appear to have introduced the art into England. Interesting historical information has been obtained from the impressions on Ro- man and especially on Babylonian bricks. In many instances the Roman bricks found in Eng- land have been removed from their original posi- tion, and employed in the construction of build- ings of later date. The earliest instance in which bricks of the modern or Flemisli make occur in England is Little Wenham Hall, in Suffolk ( 1260) . In America bricks were made in Virginia as early as 1612; in New England, in 1047, and in Philadelphia, in 108.5. The hand-power brick- machine was invented in 1835 by Nathaniel Adams, of Cornwall. N. Y. A little later he de- signed a brick-machine operated by liorse-jiower, and he also invented a tempering wheel for work- ing clay. Common Buildixo Brick may be made of any clay that can be molded well and then burned to a liard. uiiiform texture and red color. Good bricks do not absorb more than 10 per cent, of water. The standard size of brick in the United States, as adopted by the National Brick Maiuifac- turers' Association in 1887 and the National Trades' Association in 188!), is 8% X 4 X 21/2 inches. The legal standard in England is 8% X 4% X 2% inches. The sizes in Scotland, Ger- many, Austria, and South .merican countries in- crease in the order named, and in the case of the latter bricks are as large as 12% X dVt X 2V-! inches. They are classed as arch, red. or .salmon, according to whether they come from the centre, inner, or outer portions of the kiln. The first are inclined to be hard or brittle, and the last to be too soft. Front Brick, also known as pressed, repressed, Philadelpliia pressed, or face brick, is a smooth, sharp-edged brick, first-class in color, used for the front or other exposed surface of buildings where good effect is particularly desired. Origi- nally they w^ere always molded by hand, and then pressed, hence the name. After machine mold- ing w-as adopted, the term repressing naturally came into use. At present a very good front brick can be made in a machine in one operation, biit repressing is still practiced for front brick, either after hand or machine molding. The clay should be selected carefully, and may be weath- ered, or exposed to the action of the'atmosphere for a long time, or two elays may be mixed. Frimt bricks are now made in a variety of colors, instead of in red alone. The standard size adopt- ed by the two associations named above is 8% X 4 X 214 inches. Enameled or Glazed Brick is a self-explana- tory term. See Enamel. Ornamental and Speci.l Forms may be made in various architectural shajies. as for moldings, iir for the voussoirs of arches, and are sometimes machine molded. When built up lal)oriously by liand. they may be classed as terra-cotta. They require better clay and more careful manipula- tion than front brick. Fire-Brkk i.s made from refractory clays, which should contain not over 4 per cent, of im- purities. Plastic and Hint clays are commonly mixed in equal parts, the former adding tough- ness and the latter the refractory quality. Weathering is generally advisable. The process of manufacture is much the same as for ordinary l-.rick. Higli-grade fire-bricks are made at Stour- bridge, England, at various places in New .Jer- sey, and elsewhere in the United States. As their name implies, they are used where intense heat must be withstood. as in the case of furnace- or chimney linings. Rauxitc and silica brick are also used as fire-brick, but are not clay jirod- uets. Bauxite (q.v.) took its name from Baux, France, but is now found in the United States. Patng-Brick.s arc coming into use in the United States with great rapidity. Clay for paving-brick should stand vitrification, or. more properly, semi-vitrification, without losing its slia])e: but it need not be a fire-clay. Shale is nmch used for the purpose. Paving-bricks are often repressed. The finished prodict should be tough, stand abi-asion and impact, and be quite non-absorbent. Sewer-Brick are ordinary brick, .selected for hardness, regular shape, and smooth surface. BRicK-JlANrFACTlRE. After the clay is prop- erly worked it must be molded, dried, and burned. TEMPKRING DEVIfK AND Al'UEK OF URICK-.MACHINE. (Clay- working is treated under Clay, and burning under KlL.ws.) Molding was formerly done by hand, and this method is still followed at small yards, or for the manufacture of spe- cial brick; but machine niolding is becoming more and more common. Alolding-machines are of the soft-mud, stiff-mud or wire-cut, and dry- clay types. Softnnid machines are generally used by the smaller makers. Their characteris- tic features are an upright receptacle of wood or