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This HMn is fitoMd at tha raduction ratio chackad balow/ Ca documant ast film* au taux da rMuetien indi^u* ei-daaaoua. lOX 14x IBx 22x 26x 30x 1 J 1 12x 16x 20x 24X 28x 32x Th« copy fllm«d h«f« hM b««n rapreducad thanks to tha ganaresity of: National Library of Canada L'axamplaira film* fut raproduit grica * la g4n4rositi da: Bibliothaqvia nationala du Canada Tha imagaa appaaring hara ara tha baat quality poasibia considaring tha condition and lagibility of tha original copy and in kaaping with tha filming contract apaciflcationa. Original copiaa in printad papar covars ara fllmad baginning with tha front cowar and anding on tha last paga with a printad or illuatratad ••«»»'••- sion. or tha back cowar whan appropriata. All othar original copiaa ara f ilmad baginning on tha first paga with a pHntad or iilustratad ••"?'••- sion. and anding on tha last paga ¥Wth a printad or illuatratad improssion. 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Bmbk, Pwwt GEOLOOIGAL SURVEY SI He. 93, lidfanlfiary Report on and Shfile 0^;xiriti^ ^ ProvifiiBifOT Chy •T J. OTTAWA Oanmnam ?vatnm Wnauv 19IS Kn 1451 ,1^. I'l.VII I. v;^^ '- r r^V j1 «•] Plate I. View lookins acrott the north rbannel ol the St. Lawrence livcr from the libnd of Orleans. ^T,- --J^.- ' C' ; .1 5rTA;i«rv'^' ^yi^/.. '>• ?'■ ■■■ CANADA DEPARTMENT OF MINES Hon. Louis Coderkb, Ministbs; R. W. Bbocx, Dbputt Ministbk. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY i MEMOIR 641 No. 52, Geological Sebus Preliminary Report on the Clay and Shale Deposits of the Province of Quebec J. Kede OTTAWA GovEBmiBNT Pbinting Bubbau 1915 No. 1451 CONTENTS. PAGE Preface xi CHAPTER I. Shale-bearing fonnations 1 Introduction 1 Pre-Cambrian 2 Kaolin at St. Rem! d'Amherst 2 Prospecting for kaolin 5 Pre-Cambrian schitit at Sherbrooke 6 Sillery formation 7 Quebec city and vicinity 7 St. Charlea-de-Bellechaase 8 St. Apollinaire 9 Livis formation 10 L^vis 10 Utica-Lorraine U Introduction 11 Laprairie county 13 Laprairie 13 Delson Junction IS Chambly county 18 St. Lambert 18 Chambly 18 Missisquoi county 19 Farnham 19 Yamaska county 20 St. Joachim-de-Courval 20 Lotbiniere county 21 St. Antoine-de-Tilly 21 L'Assomption county 22 Charlemagne 22 L'Epiphanie 23 Portneuf county 23 Portneuf 24 Cap Santfe 24 St. Augustin 25 Cap Rouge 27 Quebec county 28 Beauport 28 PAGE Montmorency 29 Cbarlebourg West 31 Silurian 31 Nicolet county 31 Ste. Monique 32 St. Gregoire 33 Becancour 35 Summary of test* of Medina shale 36 Bonaventure county 37 Gaspe county 37 Devonian 38 Bonaventure county 38 Fieurant point 38 Gaspe county 39 Perc6 39 Summary table of physical tests on shales 41 CHAPTER II. Pleistocene deposits 42 Superficial deposits in general 42 Distribution of Pleistocene clays 46 General character of the Pleistocene clays 49 Localities north of the St. Lawrence river 52 Labelle county 52 Hull 53 Kirk Ferry 54 Argenteuil county 55 Huberdeau 55 Terrebonne county 56 St. Lin 57 St. Thfa-ise 58 Island of Montreal 58 Montreal 59 Lakeside 60 L'Assomption county 63 L'Epiphanie 63 Portneuf county 64 St. Raymond 64 Quebec county 67 Quebec city 67 Beauport 68 Cap Rouge 69 Chicoutimi county 70 Chicoutimi 70 PAGE Lake St. John 71 Roberval 72 Pleistocene clays south of the St. Lawrence 72 Chateauguay county 72 Ormstown 72 St. John county 75 St. John 75 M isaiiquoi county 77 Farnham 77 Verchires county 78 Varennes 79 Richelieu county 80 Yamaska county 80 St. Fran(ois-du-lac 82 Pierreville 82 Yamaska East 83 Nicolet county 83 Lotbinidre county 84 Oeschailtons 85 Richmond county 88 Richmond 88 Sherbrooke county 89 Lennoxville 90 Ascot 91 Compton county 93 Anifus 93 Beauce county 93 St. Joseph-de-Beauce 93 Bellechasse county 95 St. Charles-de-Bellechasse 95 L'Islet county 96 Temiscouata county 99 Rivi£re-du-Loup 99 Trois Pistoles 99 Rimouski county 100 Bonaventure county 101 New Richmond 101 Gaspe county 10? Clay belt, northern Quebec 103 Amos 10* Bell river 106 Summary table of ph:rsical tests on Pleistocene clays 107 CHAPTER III, PACE Drain tile 108 Manufacture 108 Estimated cost of drain tile plant 108 Advantages of underdrainage for soils 109 Draii. tile tests on Quebec clays 109 Hull 110 Ormstown Ill Laprairie Ill Varennes Ill Picrreville 112 Nicolet 112 Ste. Monique 113 St. Gregoire 113 Ascot 114 Lennoxville 114 Deschaillons 1 14 Cap Rouge 115 L'Islet lis St. Charles 115 Rimouski 1 15 CHAPTER IV. Drying defect- in Pleistocene clays 117 Preheating clays H8 Ante-fired process 121 Freezing test 122 CHAPTER V. Effects of lime, dolomite, and talc schist on Leda clay 123 Effects on shrinkage and absorption 125 Effect on deformation in buriiing 125 Practical application of tests 127 CHAPTER \'l. Clayworldng industry 129 Ccnmon brick 129 Soft-mud brick 129 Shale brick 131 Face brick 132 Paving brick 135 Fireproofing 136 PAGE Sewer-pipe 137 Refractory wares 138 Sanitary pottery 138 Pottery 139 Publications on the clay industries 139 CHAPTER VII. Sa' '-lime brick 140 Raw materials 141 Methods of manufacture 141 Pointe-aux-Trembles 142 St. Lambert 143 Materials other than sand 144 Silica brick 145 Publications on sand-lime brick 145 Publications on silica brick 145 CHAPTER VIII. Origin and properties of clay 146 Definition 146 Origin of clay 146 Weathering processes 147 Residual clay 147 Forms of residual deposits 148 I'ransported clays 149 Classification of sedimentary clays 1 50 Marine clays ISO Shales ISO Slates 151 Estuarine clays ISl Lake and swamp clays 152 Glacial clays 152 Minerals in clay 153 Kaolinite 153 Quartz 154 Feldspa 154 Mica 155 Iron compounc 155 Lime compounds 156 Alkalis 157 Sulphur 158 Carbons 158 Water 159 PAGE Physical propcn in of raw clay* 159 Plasticity 159 Teniile strength 160 Fineness of grain 160 Shrinkage 160 Air-shrinkage 161 Fire-shrinkage 162 CHAPTER IX. The effects of heat upon clays 163 Watersmoking 163 Dehydration 164 Oxidation 164 Vitrification .' 165 Control of temperature 166 Seger cones 167 CHAPTER X. Kinds of clays 170 Kaolins and china-clays 170 Ball-clay 171 Fireclays 171 Stoneware clay 173 Slip-clays 173 Paper-clay 174 Fullers earth 174 Pipe-clay 174 Sewer-pipe clay 174 Brick-clays 175 Portland cement clay 175 Mart 176 CHAPTER XI. Field examination and testing of clays 177 Field examination 177 Sampling clay deposits 180 Laboratory tests 181 Shrinkage 182 Fusibility 183 Absorpt'on 183 Dry-press tests 183 Rapid drying 183 Tests under working conditions 184 CHAPTER XII. rAGB Methods of mining and inanufactim 185 Methods of winning the clay 185 Manufacture of bricic 186 Preparation 186 Rolls 187 Dry pans 187 Tempering 188 Soak pit 188 Ring pit 188 Pug-mill 188 Wet pans 188 Moulding 189 Soft-mud process 189 Stiff-mud process 190 Dry-press process 190 Drying 191 Open air drying 191 Rack and pallet driers 191 Artificial drying 192 Effects of caustic lime on drying 192 Burning 193 Up-draft kilns 194 Scove kiln 194 Cased kiln 194 Down-draft kilns 194 Continuous Idlns 195 Bibliography of manufacture 196 ILLUSTRATIONS. Map 134A. Part of the province of Quebec 1 Plate I. View looking from Island of Orleans, across the north channel of the St. Lawrence river Frontispiece • II. A. Kaolin mine, and washing plant, St. Remid'Amherst 199 B. The plant of the St. Lawrence Brick and Terra Cotta Co., Laprairie 190 • III. A. The plant of the National Brick Co., Delson Junc- tion 201 B. Utica-Lorraine shale, Chambly 201 • IV. Utica-Lorraine shale at Cap Sant* 203 • V. A. Utica-Lorraine shale near St. Augustin 205 B. Utica-Lorraine shale, Beauport 205 • VI. A. Escarrment of Utica-Lorraine at Montmorency falls 207 B. Devonian shale, Cap Fleurant 207 «« PUt* VII. VIII. IX. X. XI. XII. XIII. XIV. XV. XVI. XVII. XVIII. XIX. XX. XXI. XXII. XXIII. XXIV. XXV. XXVI. XXVII. XXVIII. XXIX. XXX. .11. vxni. XXXIV PACE A. Stratified land under brick cUy at DetchailloBi. . 209 B. Leda clay and Saxicava tand, Montreal 209 Stratified «iUy grey clay. St. Joeeph-de-Beauce 211 Low level ttoneletaclay, Pierreville 213 The Li*vi-e rivp> from Valier hill, Portland tp 21S A. Brlck-yp on Cheliea read, near Hull 217 B. Plant of .he Montreal Terra Cotta Co., Ukeiide. . 217 A. Brick-yard at St. Raymond, Portneuf county 219 B. Crumpled cUy bed*, St. Raymond, Port.ieuf county 219 Undilip in cUy terrace, St. Thuribe, Portneuf county 221 A. Terrace of marine clay at Chkoutimi 223 B. Maiaive Pleiitocene clay deposit, Ormitown 223 A. Gathering cUy at the pit of the Standard CUy Product! Co., St. John 225 B. Pleiitocene land and clay depodta, Pierreville. ... 225 A. Small brick-yard near St. Fransoli-du-Lac 227 B. Brick-yardi on the St. Lawrence river, Deichaillons 227 A. Continuoui kiln of the EaitemTownahipe Brick Co. 229 B. High level Pleiitocene clay depoait, .Xicot 229 A. Terrace of Pleiitocene clay, St. Joaeph-de-Beauce. 231 B. Marine clay terrace. New Richmond 231 Stratified Ojibway clay, Laiarre tp 233 National Brick Co., Laprairie 235 A. Steam shovel excavating Utka-Lorraine shale, Laprairie ^37 B. Plant of Citadel Brick Co., Bcrfichatcl 237 A. Plant of Standf Clay Producti Co., St. Johns. 239 B. Sand-lime brick plant, Pointe aux Trembles 239 Roury press for making sand-lime brick 241 Seger cones, w.s'#ing effects of high temperature 243 A. Belt clay conveyor, Montre'il Terra Cotta Co 245 B. Mining shale and boulder flay with steam shovel . . 245 Dry pan for grinding shale 247 Pug-miU 249 Soft-mud brick machine 251 Dry-press brick machine 253 Auger machine for brick and hollow ware 255 A. Drying brick on open floor 257 B. Drying brick on pallets in covered racks 257 A. Construction of drying tunnels 259 B. Scove kiln for burning common brick 259 . Multiple stack, down-draft circular kiln 261 , A. Continuous brii "n fired with producer gas 263 B. Continuous ki. turning common brick 263 Fifiire t. Pkn and Nctlon of kMlin mine, St. Rdni d'Amhcnt . 2. Section of cl«yi and thalea at Delwn junction 3. Section at Montmorency falls Diagrammatic lection of St. Lawrence valley Section of Pleistocene deposits at Montreal ■ Rivi«re^u-L 4, 5. 6. r. 8. 9. 10. 11. li. 13. rAOB 3 16 30 43 44 44 45 SI 85 88 97 102 Diagram of deformatirn testa 126 Sherbrooke St. Francis river. Dcscluillons high levels L'Isiet New Richmond. . PREFACE. The following report ia baaed on the retulu of field and laboratory work done during portions of two Katons. 1912 and 1913. The investigation was corfined principally to the thickly settled portions of the province, an clay and shale deposiu, in order to be of economic value, must be situated at localities convenient as to transportation, and reasonably close to markeu for the producto made from them. Clay and shale deposits are generally so widespread that they cannot be monopolized and cannot be exhausted. They have little or no value in the raw sute; it is the labour expended on these deposits that transforms them into articles of value so important in the growth of communities. Hence the clay working in-^ustry is one well suited to our social and economic ft—ds. The investigation has shown that there is a lack of high grade clays, like fireclays or pottery clays, in the pro-ince; but that there is an abundance of raw material suiuble for the manufacture of rough clay products, and well situated with regard to transportation. We can only surmise at present what the probabilities are for finding high grade clays in the vast undeveloped portions of this province, but wherever they may be found in the future iheir value will depend primarily upon their nearness to railways, or their branches, or to vater transport. All the experimental work for this report was done by the writer in the 'aboratories of the Department of Metallurgy at the University of Toronto. The samples collf;cted at ti.e various localities were submitted to tests for working qualities, drying, shrinkage, and burring, as this is the information a clay worker requires concerning his raw material. Chemical analyses are of little value to him, as practically no information regarding the behaviour of clays can be derived from such analyses. xii °' 'Thr^Trwrittan wi>h the view .. supplyinj more „ „l days and the r "^. » ■«" ^ „„^^ chapters facture of sand-lime brick is also included. Ijkjpsttaunt 4tf Hon L CcTiowj yiNi^im HWB»-i OEOLOfllCAL au l.on4lludc \>«^iil 73* from Grccnx-ic C.O.Hrn^ml, Gr^gnifi^r)- anti Chief Drmightmnan MAP l:i I A PART OF THE PROVIN 7W aremitfHiit^y JUi'ittm't' t\\ J.Kcrlr Sciiln f>r .Mill* Ml ail id* 'im K WB»'.t«,Dti'UTTMi»isi[« MICAL auRvtv OUTLINE MAP from mtv of tke 0ominimi a^ Canm^u,by Orpartmmt at the Intfriar PROVINCE OF QUEBEC In ol' .MiifM Preliminary Report on tlie Clay and Shale Deposits of the Province of Quebec. CHAPTER I. SHALE-BEARING FORMATIONS. INTRODUCTION. The prindpal bedrock formatiora. in which shales are found m the province of Quebec are the Silurian and the Ordovidan. The Devonian formation furnishes a limited amount of shale of value to the day worker. The extensive Pre-Cambrian area, which comprises the greater part of the province, is made up of hard crystalline rocks, which with only one known exception are entirely devoid of plasric material. Lower Carboniferous rocks occur in a narrow strip along Chaleur bay in Bonaventure and Gaspe counties. These con- sist mostly of sandstones and conglomerates, and no workable beds of shale were observed among them. The Middle and Upper Carboniferous rocks which often contain very valuable beds of days and shales, as well as coal seams, do not occur in Quebec. The Mesozoic formations, notably the Cretaceous, are the diief sources of dayr and coal over large areas of western Canada ; but no trare of them has been found in this province. A vestige of what is supposed to b- the Tertiary was found in the Chaudiere valley during gold mining operations. It contained some thin beds of yellow clav and sands, of no economic value. The entire province has been subjected to severe gladation by land ice. The unconsolidated Pleistocene deposits, which form such a widespread covering on the bedrock, are directly or indirectly the result of glacial conditions. The Pleistocene deposits are the ones most worked at present in the clay working industry. These are described in a separate chapter. PRE-CAMBRIAN. KAOLIN AT ST. REMI D' AMHERST. A deposit of kaolin, or white residual clay, occurs near St. Remi d'Amherst, Labelle county, about 7 miles from Huberdeau, the terminus of the Montfort branch of the Canadian Northern railway. The kaolin is found in dykes or veins of varying width in a ridge of quartzite lying on the east side of the wagon road 2 miles south of the lUage of St. Remi. The slopes ot the ridge are covered with glacial drift varying in thickness from 2 to IS feet as seen in the various cuttings and pits which have been made to reach the kaolin. Mining operations have been in progress on this deposit since 1910, and a very complete plant is installed for washing the kaolin (Plate II, A). The prospecting so far done has shown that there are several veins of kaolin in the ridge, but some of them are too narrow to work. The main deposit is a vertical vein between quartzite walls in which kaolin reaches a depth of at least 150 feet as ascertained by boring. This vein has been revealed by stripping the drift, or by test pitting for a distance of about 500 feet, and was found to vary from 15 to 30 feet in width. Two smaller veins about 4 feet wide have been uncovered in the vicinity of the main vein. Kaolin was also found in the bottom of a well at a point about 1,000 feet south of this property. The rock that contains the kaolin veins varies from a mas- sive, brownish, coarse-grained quartzite to a fine-grained white variety. It has a gneissic structure for a distance of several feet from the walls of the veins, where it is penetrated by stringers and films of kaolin. This contact zone is very friable and easily shattered. The main kaolin vein seems to follow the direction of one of the principal joint planes in the quartzite, N. 53° W., for about 100 feet, and then bends to almost due north and south, as shown in the accompanying plan (Figure 1). The vein was Kaolin 4 ft:' washii dndchy storage p/a ntl V open cot 200 \aolin vein ScaJe of feet too zoo —J a -? ft. rnaii Kaolin Kaoljn vein vein Figure 1. Plan and section of kaolin mine at St. Rimi d'Amherst. originally composed of feldspar and quartz irregularly distrib- uted. The feldspar became decomposed, and the soluble products of decomposition were carried away. I ! 4 The crude material, therefore, i» a mixture ol fine-grained white clay and angular fragmento of quartz, mostly under one- fourth of an inch in wze. A small quantity of tourmaline is also present. In some parts of the vein the material is almost free from quartz, but for the most part quartz forms over 50 per cent of the deposit. The lumps of crude kaolin coming from the mine are broken up in a blunger. an iron tank filled with water, in which a vertical shaft, furnished with horizontal arms, revolves. The quartz settles to the bottom of the tank, while the clay is carried off through an overflow pipe and led into a series of troughs, where the finest particles of sand are deposited. After flowmg slowly through the troughs, the day-water finally falls into settling tanks. The clay gradually sinks to the bottom of the tanks and the clear liquid is pumped out. By means of this washing process the deposito yield from 30 to 40 per cent of fine- grained clay. A chemical analysis made from a sample of the washed clay by G. E. F. Lundell, gave the following results: Silica *6"" Alumina 39-45 Iron oxide ^' '^ Lime "<>"« Magnesia "°™ Potash 0-20 Soda 009 Loss on ignition 13 •81 100-40 The analysis shows the material to be of high purity. The physical tests are as follows. The washed kaolin requires 45 per cent of water for tempering. It has a fair amount of plas- ticity, but like all kaolin, it works rather short and crumbly. The shrinkage on drying is 7 per cent. ined one- iline noBt r 50 >ken h a The rried ighs, Hring into [the this fine- [the ts: . The es 45 plas- mbly. Thw matenal has greater plasticity and higher shrinkages tihan most of the standard brands of washed kaolin or china-clay The samples for testing were taken from near the Sw.face, but at deeper levels, it is possible that the kaolin will not be so plast-c and not shrink so much on drying and burning. The Canadian China Clay company which operates this mme is disposing of the washed product in Montreal, where it is used as a paper filler. On account of its fineness of grain and pure white colour, it is very suitable for this purpose. Washed kaolin is one of the ingredients used in all whiteware pottery bodies, such as table ware, china, porcelain, wall tile, sanitary pottery, electriral porcelain, etc. Potters generally call It china-clay. It is the most valuable of all the clays. PROSPECTING FOR KAOLIN. Considerable prospecting has been done for kaolin in the vianity of St. Remi, but so far no other workable deposit has been uncovered. Two test pits were sunk on the property of the Canadian China Clay company. 600 feet east of the main vem, and near the top of the ridge of quartzite. Some lumps of discoloured kaolin were found in the glacial drift at a depth of 5 to 8 feet below the surface, but no vein was reached. About a mUe north of the viUage of St. Remi, on lot 9, range IV, some shallow pits dug on the bank of Pike creek revealed the presence of residual clay. This material was quite plastic, but very gritty, owing to the amount of quartz grains It contained. It is striped in yeUow, white, and pink bands. It appears to have resulted from the weathering of a quartzose gneiM. On account of it« diicoloration, and iu remotenew from tran»portation. thi. deposit appears to have no commercial value. ... ^ . _ The rock* awociatcd with the quartzite which contami the kaolin veins, are rusty gneisses, sillimanite gneiss, and minor bands of crysUlline limestone. These appear to belong to the Grenville scries, and occupy only a comparatively small area in this locality. They are completely surrounded by granite gneisses, probably Laurentian. ... u « The whole country has been heavily glaaated, and much ot the residual clays which may have existed i.i pre-glacial time have been removed by erosion. A sheet of glacial drif c materials, principally boulder clay, covers the slopes of the hills and the valley bottoms. The kaolin was fiist discovered by a farmer when sinking a well. He went through 15 feet of boulder clay, and found the white clay deposit beneath. There are probably other deposits in the region, as the Grenville rocks occur at intervals as far west as the Ottawa river and beyond. The general prevalence of the drift covering renders prospecting a tedious and difficult operation, and kaolin being a soft deposit, is never exposed at the surface, unless a stream has cut down to it through the overburden. PKE-CAHBRIAN SCHIST AT SHERBROOKE. A few relatively small areas ol Pre-Cambrian rocks occur in the hilly region south of the St. Lawrence. Included in these rocks are some beds of talcose schist, which are quarried for buUding stone in the vicinity of the city of Sherbrooke. This material when ground to pass a 20 mesh sieve and tempered with water, is not plastic. The ground schist, however, when slightly moistened, makes a dry-press brick which can easily be handled in the green state, and could probably be set in kilns without crumbling. It burns to a pleasing greyish buff colour at cone 3. The body is hard, and the surfaces have a slightly vitreous appearance, the absorption is 6 8 Per cent. The schist is not refractory as it fuses at cone 12 (1370 C), but it is the most refractory brick material found so far in Quebec. This rock has a wlvei grey colour when freth, but other beds of similar ichiau contain a higher percentage of iron and are dark grey or rutty coloured. Thess can also be ground easily and made up into dry-pressed fait; brick. They bum to a deeper buflf colour than the light grey schist, and would give a better effect in face bricks. SILLERY FORMATION. The Sillery formation is made up principally of great masses of purple, red, green, or black shales, interstratified with sand stones. It is mostly confined to that portion of the province lymg south of the St. Uwrence. betwe-.- Sherbrooke and Rividre- du-Loup. It forms the bednok of the principal portion of the Island of Orleans, and a small area occurs on the north sitle of the St. Lawrence river, south of the city of Quebec. Although the shales of this group were originally clay sediments, they have become so hardened that they have more the qualities of slate than of shale. In some localities they are true slates. There are occasional beds which have remained comparatively unchanged, and these when finely ground and mixed with water, develop some degree of plasticity. These are the only ones of interest to the clay worker. QUEBEC CITY AND VICINITY. The Sillery shales form an escarpment on both sides of the St. Lawrence for some distance south of the cities of Quebec and L^vis. The red shales that outcrop at Cap Rouge are hard and splintery, being too gritty for use in clay working. A short distance north of Cap Rouge, near the eascem end of the National Transcontinental Railway viaduct, the red beds are replaced by dark grey and black shales. The dark shales are quite plastic, and as far as their working qualities are concerned, would be suitable for the manufacture of clay products, but they are interbedded wiUi hard sandstone bands, which would interfere witii their economic working. Furthermore the land on which they occur is laid out for sale as suburban lots, and consequentiy wouW be too expensive for industrial purposes About a quarter of a mile iouth of Slllery church there it a bed of red thale which weathera into a toft plaitlc clay at the outcrop, and even the harder portbn under the weathered outcrop becomet quite plastic when ground and tempered with water. Thia shale bums to a hard red body at low temperatures, vivified at about cone 1, and is not fused at cone 5. It would probably be suiuble for making sewer-pipe or paving brick, but the material is inaccesaible at this locality as the line of the National Transcontinental railway is built across it. The Sillery shales are exposed in cliffs in the southern part of the town of LAvis. These shales are mostly hard and gritty; they break down into splintery fragmenU which do not readily soften into clay. A sample of the red shale which was cdlected for testing, dki not have the necessary plasticity for wet-moukling when finely ground and muted with water. It worked fairly well in the dry-press process, and made a co- herent brick which couW be handled safely In the green sute. It bums to a reddish brown colour, with buff specks. The body is strong and dense, the absorption being only 4 per cent. As the burned colour ik not very good and the shale hard to grind, it is doubtful if the deposit is of much value for the manufacture of face brick. ST. CHAKLBS'DE-BBLLECaASSB. The unaltered red shales of the Sillery formation outcrop at two points on the south side of the Boyer river near St. Charles. It forms the red soil on the Illustration farm of the Commission of Conservation, owned by Mr. John Chabot, and the adjoining farm to the east. The red soil is seen again about half a mile farther on in the fields of Mr. M. Foumier. The shale is exposed in a low ridge at this point. It is quite soft and crumbles down very easily, and the red weathered clay at the base of the ridge is quite plastic. A sample of the fresh red shale from this locality was col- lected for testing. This shale was easy to grind, the ground material requiring 19 per cent of water for tempering. It worked up into a rather gritty mass of low plasticity, but was easily moulded Into shape. lu drying qualitic* are good, the ahrinkage on drying being 4 per cent. It gave the following reaulu on burning: Com Fir* ihrinlwgt AbaonnUyn Colottr 010 06 OS 1 3 S 1.3 4S 6-3 6-3 63 130 10-6 2-7 2-2 2 2 2 2 Ufhtrwl light n4 red brown browi brown Thia is a good vitrifying shale, it has an ample margin of safety in firing, and the shrinkages are within working limiu. As its plasticity is not very good the working qualities are con- sequently deficient. Some short lengths of J-inch pipe were made from it in a handpress. These were burned in a commercial I sewer-pipe kiln, and salt glazed at cone 3, with good resulto, f the glaze being uniform and bright. This material is well suited for dry-pressing, and makes an excellent face brick by this process. It has a solid bright red colour, and dense, hard body, when burned to cone 03. If this shale is mixed with about 15 per cent of the very plastic surface clay which occurs in the vicinity -to working qualities are much improved, and it ran be moulded for sewer- pipe, or for paving brick. It coukl also be used for rough-faced building brick by the wire-cut process. It can be burned to a very dense, steel hard body of rich, dark red colour at cone 03, or flashed to a steel blue at this temperature. ST. APOLLINAIRE. A short distance east of St. ApoUinaire station on the Inter- colonial railway, the red colour of the soil seems to indicate that the soft red Sillery shale underiies this locality. No samples were collected at this point, but it would probably repay investi- ^tion as the material is well situated with regard to transporu- tion. These unaltered beds in the Sillery are apparently the best structural materials so far discovered in the province. ■Ml 10 L&VJS FORMATION. i.fevis. In the vicinity of L6vis the rocks comprising the L6vis formation cover a small extent of territory, being confined to a few square miles in the northern part of the town. They are mostly slates, sandstones, conglomerates, and slightly altered shales. The latter outcrop along the Intercolonial railway for about 500 feet or more to the west of Ruel siding, near St. Joseph. These are rather gritty, thin-bedded, grey and rusty shales, dipping southeast at an angle of about 30 degrees. The soil in the fields and gardens on each side of the railway line is composed of the weathered portion of these shales, which in some places are quite plastic. The shales appear to be more altered and harder at some places than at others, and the harder kinds break down into splintery fragments which do not readily weather into clay. A sample of these shales was collected from two points, one from near Ruel siding, and another from the roadside north of St. Joseph. Both samples gave practically the same results when tested. Although not a true shale, this material grinds fairly easily, and when tempered with 17 per cent of water has some plasticity, being quite as plastic as the Utica-Lorraine shale at Laprairie which is used for brickmaking. The L^vis shale has good drying qualities, and a shrinkage on drying of 4 per cent. It gave the following results on burning : Cone Fire shrinkage % Absorption Colour 010 1-3 10-6 light red 06 1-3 90 light red 03 4<0 45 red 1 4-3 3-4 dark red 3 4-3 2-9 dark red 5 SO 00 brown 9 Not softened This is a vitrifying shale, and could probably be used for paving brick. It is rather gritty and lacks sufficient plasticity n for moulding in a sewer-pipe press, otherwise it could be used for this purpose as the material takes a good salt glaze. With the addition of a little plas«^ic surface clay its working qualities could be improved so mnr'i Jnu !t could be used for the manu- facture of vitrified war ,. such as iliof aentioned. It makes a fine c sy-p essed face jrick, with a good red colour, but not so brig it s the Sillei • shale from St. Charles which it resembles. The L^vis shale is the most refractory material so far found among the structural materials available in the province. UTICA-LORRAINE. INTRODUCTION. This compound group is the most widespread of all the rock formations which contain plastic materials of value to the clay worker. The areas in the St. Lawrence valley, supposed to be underlain by them, are mapped on the general geological sheets of the region. On these maps they are seen to form a strip of varying width on both sides of the St. Lawrence river between Montreal and the city of Quebec. These rocks appear to form the greater part of the floor of the valley, and do not extend into the upland or hilly country on both sides of the valley. The Utica shale formations are not found for some distance below Quebec and L6vis, being replaced by slates and schists on the south side of the river and by granite gneisses on the north. They appear again on the south side of the Gulf of St. Lawrence where they occur in a narrow strip along the coast, reaching almost to the extremity of the Gaspe peninsula. A small patch of these rocks occurs as an outlier among Pre- Cambrian rocks in the Lake St. John basin. The separation of these two formations in the field was largely based on their fossil contents; they are very similar in composition, appearance, and economic value. The Lorraine portion of the group, however, seems to contain a greater quan- tity of workable material than the other. 12 The shales of the Lorraine formation are more sandy texture than the Utica, and consequently are not so plasti They are generally of greyish colour, frequently sandy, ai sometimes pass into sandstone layers. The underlying Uti( shales are generally darker in colour, sometimes nearly blac due to the presence of carbonaceous matter. Occasional these shales contain bands of hard dolomitic limest j ■, hut j a rule they are more uniform in texture and freer from sandstoi bands than the Lorraine. These shales vary considerably in their lime content i different localities. In the vicinity of Quebec and L6vis, sever deposits contain enough lime to develop a buflf colour whe burned to 2000 degrees F., but nearly all these shales fartht west are red-burning, which indicates that the amount of !in they contain in these localities is comparatively small. Some of the Utica shales contain small percentages < carbon. This causes a variety of troubles in the burning < clay wares made from them. Owing to their grittiness, these shales at many localitie when finely ground and muced with water, do not develop ver good plasticity, so that it is frequently necessary to add a certai proportion of the highly plastic Pleistocene clay, which general! occurs convenient to them, in order to improve their workin qualities. The Utica-Lorraine shales contain a large percentage c fluxing impurities, so that they are rather easily fusible, am have a short vitrification range. On this account their use i restricted to the manufacture of building brick and fireproofing while vitrified wares such as paving brick and sewer-pipe canno be made from them. As the greater part of the areas over which these shale are distributed has a covering, of varying thickness, of sand gravel, or clay, the character of the underiying bedrock is in ferred from occasional outcrops of the rock in the banks o streams, or in hillsides, or from evidence found in excavations Where the overburden of loose material is thick, the shale underiying them are not available to the clayworker, as th< expense of stripping the overburden in order to work the shales 15 would be too geat. They must be looked for in those localities where they occur at the surface or only a few feet beneath it. The following descriptions of deposits and results of tests on samples collected from them, although few in number, are prob- ably representative of the material as a whole. As the in- vestigation proceeds other localities will be examined. LAPRAIRIE COUNTY. Laprairie. The Utica-Lorraine shales come to the surface over a large portion of Laprairie county, or can easily be reached by the removal of a light overburden, hence they are readily available for use. The manufacture of shale building brick has developed into a very important industry at Laprairie station on the Grand Trunk railway, and also at Delson junction, a point 5 miles farther east. The shales have been worked for several years at Laprairie and a lai^e area in the vicinity of the work has been excavated in the process of mining the raw material. The shales lie horizontally in alternate thin layers of sandy and finer grained materials. The fine-grained beds crumble rapidly mto fragments upon exposure, but these do not readily soften even after prolongr ^hering, as most shales do. The harder sandy bands rema. , 3, and do not crumble on weathering ; many of these have . . .scarded as too hard for grinding. A sample of the shale, selected at this point from the pit of the National Brick company, was tested after being ground to pass a 20 mesh sieve. The ground shale required 17 p^. cent of water for tem- pering. The plasticity was low, as the material is very gritty, so that the test pieces were difficult to mould. The drying shrinkage was only 3 per cent and the drying can be accom- plished safely in 12 hours •' -ecessary. The burning tests were as follows: 14 Cone Fire shrinkaee % Absorption Colour 010 06 03 1 3 Swells Swells 10 Overfired 135 . 12-3 8-8 pale red red This material must be finely ground and burned to coi 03 in order to produce hard bricks, which will stand transpo tation without crumbling at the edges and corners. A dry-pressed brick had good red colour, no fire-shrinkag and 9 per cent absorption when burned to cone 03. The bod was steel hard. If burned only to cone 06 the dry-pressed piea were too soft. The shale alone is used in practice for makin dry-press face brick, but as it is not quite plasti': enough fc making stiff-mud brick it receives an addition of 25 per cer of plastic surface clay. A mixture of two parts shale, ground to pass a 20 mes screen, and one part of surface clay was tested in the laboratory The working qualities of this mixture were good ; it was prol ably plastic enough to use in making fireproofing or hollo^ building blocks. The drying shrinkage was 5 per cent. 1 gavo the following results in burning: Cone Fire shrinkage % Absorption % 010 06 03 00 0-3 20 100 8-3 3-4 The addition of surface clay has the effect of improvin the working qualities; it increases the drying period, and th dying shrinkage, but the body bums dense at lower temper atures. In practice the shale is coarsely ground, probabl; passing an 8 mesh screen, which gives the brick a very rougj appearance. The surface clay used in jie mixture is obtainei ! I 15 about 2 miles south of Laprairie, and brought to the works in cars over a light railway. It resembles very closely that found at St. Johns, and is probably a marine clay. The plant of the National Brick company at Laprairie (Plate XX) is the largest in the province, and one of the largest m Canada. This company claims a production of 400,000 brick per day when operating to full capacity. The greater p.-^ t of the product is wire-cut brick, but a quantity of red dry pressed brick is also made. A small quantity of buff face brick IS produced by artificial means, which simply consisis in adding about iO per cent ot lime to the shale. This shale cannot be used for the manufacture of vitrified products as it softens readily with a slight rise of temperature above that necessary to produce vitrification. fut ^^1 ^'*"' °^ ^^^ ^^' L^^f^nce Brick and Terra-cotta company (Plate II, B) IS also situated at Laprairie. The product manu- factured by this plant consists entirely of wire-cut brick, made from preasely the same shale as that just described. They obtam a workable mixture by using the weathered top of the shale which is of sufficient thickness at this plant for the purpose. The plastic top was all removed from the National Brick company's property during the eariy yeare of operatic i. This soft weathered top is only a foot or two in thickness, but when mixed with about 6 feet, in depth, of the underiying hard shale a good workable mixture was obtained. Delson Junction. f A branch plant of the National Brick company (Plate " III,A) began operations at Delson Junction in the summer of 1912, manufacturing wire-cut bricks similar to those produced m Laprairie. The raw material used at this poirt consists of boulder clay, marine clay, and Utica-Lorraine shale. The relation of these deposits to each other at this locality is shown in Figure 2. The boulder clay is oxidized to a brownish colour above while the lower part of the deposit is bluish grey. The clay which encloses the pebbles is mostly derive ^ from the under- 16 f:! 17 a 4 lying shale. The stones in this deposit are of all sizes from 3 feet or more in diameter, down to fine gravel. It is a typical land-ice deposit, and is the lower boulder clay of the region, which is so widespread. This is the only locality in the province of Quebec at which this class of material is used. The shale in the bottom of the pit and the overlying boulder clay are mined together with the steam shovel (Plate XXV, B). The larger boulders are left behind in the clay pit, and many of the smaller ones are picked out by hand before the material goes into the grinditig pans. A deposit of highly plastic stoneless clay in the vicinity is mined separately, and added to the ground boulder clay as it passes through the pug-mills before entering the machine. The boulder clay contains specimens of many varieties of rocks, '.om the hardest of granites and quartzites to com- paratively soft limestone and schist, but all kinds go through the dry pans and are ground into brick material. The grinding is done rather coarsely, but the boulder clay formation itself carries a good deal of plastic clay, which with the highly plastic surface clay added to the mass, suffices to stick the roughly ground rock particles together. The surface of the burned bricks is crazed, the crazing being due to the high shrinkage of the plastic clay, while the coarse particles of ground rock in the brick have no shrinkage. In all these plants, producing shale brick, the burning is done in overhead-fired, continuous kiln, using coal or coke for fuel. Not much attention is bestowed on producing a smooth or finished product, the object being as large an output as pos- sible of cheap, common brick. Provided they are hard-burned, they fulfill the purpose for which they are required ; and as these bricks are mostly concealed in the structures in which they are used, appearances do not seem to matter so much as stre.igth and durability. These brick, however, are of little practical value if they are underburned. It is disastrous to underburn the Delson Junction product, as it contains limestone particles which cause the brick to crumble by air slaking when exposed to weathering. A further discussion of these plants is given in the chapter on the clayworking industry. 18 CHAMBLY COUNTY. The Utica-Lorraine shale forms the bedrock underlying this county. These shales occur quite close to the surface along the St. Lawrence river, between St. Lambert, Longueuil, and Boucherville. Going inland, east from the river, the clay covering is seen to thicken gradually and the shale is not so accessible. St. Lambert. Trenches dug for water mains and sewers along the streets in St. Lambert during the summer of 1913, gave a good oppor- tunity for observing the character of the Utica-Lorraine shales. They appeared quite similar to those worked by the brick plants at Laprairie, being alternate thin beds of hard and softer grey shale with some sandstone bands. A plant for the manufacture of sewer-pipe was erected here several years ago. It consisted of a large three-story wooden building with extensive drying floor capacity, together with the requisite machinery for grind- ing the shale and pressing pipe. Five 40-foot circular kilns, built of firebrick, were also provided. This plant was never operated for the reason that the shale in this vicinty, which it was proposed to use, was quite unsuitable for the purpose, being too easily fusible to be salt glazed, and not possessing the necessary plasticity to allow its being moulded into shape, The enterprise might have succeeded as a brick plant if enough plastic clay was brought in to m?x with the shale. Anothei alternative would have been to imptirt plastic fireclay, and mil about 25 per cent of it with the shale. The fireclay woulc impart the necessary plasticity for moulding, and also furnisl; the fire resisting qualities necessary for salt glazing the sewer pipe. This plant remained idle for many years, and was pullet down and sold in 1914. Chambly. Utica-Lorraine shales are exposed on both banks of th< Richelieu river, above and below the dam of the Montreal Lighl 19 and Power company near the village of Chambly. The shales at this locality are very gritty, approaching the character of slates in hardness, and also contain several limestone bands (Plate III, B). A small sample of shale collected on the west i COUNTY. The Utica-Lorraine shales are exposed for several miles along the banks of the St. Francis river in the eastern part of this county. The shales are mostly overlain by a thick covering of drift materials, which unfits them for economic working. St. Joachitn-de-CourvaL Dark grey shales outcroo near St. Joachim-deCourval on the north bank of the St. Francis river, about 8 miles below Drummondville. They are overlain by highly plastic surfact clay of no gr at thickness. This shale when finely ground and tempered with watei has very fair plasticity, and good working qualities. Th« drying shrinkage was 3 per cent. The burning tests are a: follows: i J 21 Cone Fire thriikage % Abiorption Colour 010 06 01 1 10 10 50 overfired 100 7-5 3-2 light red red dark red This shale has a low percentage of lime. It burns to a steel hard red body at cone 010, and to a very dense almost impervious body at cone 03. It is suiuble for the manufacture of wire-cut brick, sewer brick, and fireproofing. When dry-pressed and burned to cone 03 it makes a fine hard face brick with a solid red colour, which is free from light coloured specks. The absorption of the dry-press brick was only 7 per cent. This is the best sample of shale from this formation so far obtained in the province. Unfortunately this deposit is not well situated for transportation purposes, being about 8 miles from the nearest railway. LOTBINIEKE COUNTY. The Utica-Lorraine is exposed in high cliffs bordering the St. Lawrence river from the Richelieu light to the eastern border of this county. These shales are found inland from the river for a distance of 3 or 4 miles with only a thin covering of so"" *>i't: farther south near the line of the Intercolonial railwa. y are, apparently, concealed by a thick covering of drift. The shales soften readily into a plastic yellowish clay on exposure to weathering, and this weathered shale forms the soil in the fields over a considerable area near the river. St. Antoine-de-Tilly. The shales form the high bank of the St. Lawrence at St. Antoine-de-Tilly. They are not flat lying, like those seen farther west, but are tilted at a high angle, the beds dipping 22 cut at an angle of about 60 degreet from the horwontal. The« ■halea are dark grey in colour, very free from sandstone bands and uniform in texture. An average sample collected ovei about 40 feet in taickness, at right angles to the bedding, con tained only one sandstone layer about 3 inches thick. Thii sample when ground to pass a 20 mesh sieve, and tempered witl 17 per cent of water, had fairly good plasticity, but was rathe "short" in working quality, as the shale is somewhat gritty. The drying qualities are gocl, and the drying shrinkage i 3-5 per cent. The burning tests are as follows: Coiw Fire thrinkage /c Abw>n>tion Colour 010 06 03 1 3 03 0-4 0-5 30 •oftencd 140 12-5 13-3 6-4 light red light red light red browr This shale appears to be plastic enough for use in the manii facture of wire-cut brick, but it is doubtful if it is sufficient] so for fireproofing. It makes a satisfactory body and surfac for dry-press face brick, but the colour is not very good. Th shale appears to contain enough lime to prevent the developmer of a good red colour, and not enough to produce a buff coloui It is very similar to the shale occurring at St. Augustin on th opposite side of the St. Lawrence river, which is describe further on. l'assomption county. Although the Utica-Lorraine shale underlies a considerabl portion of this county, it is not found exposed at many point as it is concealed by a very general covering of clay and sane Charlemagne. These shales are exposed in a low ridge about half a mi west of Chariemagne station on the Canadian Northern railwa; No tests were made of these shales by the writer, but they ai li i 23 ■aid by those who have made tests, to give results similar to the Laprairie shale. There is also an abundance of plastic surface clay at this locality for mixing with the shale, if it should prove too gritty for working alone. The site is a good one from which to supply building material for the city of Montreal, but the activity of real estate dealers, who have subdivided the property of this section into suburban lots, places the land at too high a value for briclcmaking purposes. 4 L'Epipkanu. An outcrop of thinly bedded, black shale, apparently typical Utica, occurs on the bank of the L'Achigan river about half a mile above the highway bridge between the Canadian Pacific Railway station and the village of L'Epiphanie. The shale is about 10 feet in thickness, and occupies the lower part of the bank. It is overlain by boulder clay and stoneless, highly plastic, stratified clay. When finely ground and tempered with water, the sample from this locality did not become plastic but formed a gritty non-coherent mass which was difficult to mould. It appears to contain some carbo> naceous matter which gives trouble in burning, the brick being liable to develop black cores and swell unless the burning is done very slowly during the oxidation stage. As the working and burning qualities of this shale are bad, and the colour of the burned samples is poor, the material is not recommended for the manufacture of clay products. A mixture of equal parts of ground shale and the overlying plastic clay was also tested, but the results obtained in drying and burning were -..orption of 7 per cent. When burned to cone 03 t\ fire-^hr. ikTre is 5 per cent and the absorption 4 per cent. T\ body is Kt !iard and of fine, uniform, deep red colour at boi tempera ure Summary of Tests of Medina Shale. are probably the most useful in the provini urc of structural mat( rials. They are easii 91 . id fast drying without checking, and burn t iy >>. i< h tiood colour and little shrinkagr at low t«mpei i.oiu.a' T. for ' f grou> <'. a den I aturek :i n <.■ < hard bod'/ with low absorption being obtaine at at !' • ' -fieraturo oA rone 010 (1742 degrees F.). Th« shales r. noi i,kfis ; f-v i amination, when made up by th stiflF-ii 1 ' niii/r jr.H. \ J mto wire-cut brick, as many of th mori: i'l -tic «. \ * /, but this point could not be determine unless ti actus ti s' in a machine of this type. Wr I herin^ il hale in stock piles for some time befor using, Fiould impr(>v<' iu working qualities, and give a produc with smoother surface, t'<le it to be properly moulded into shape. When burned to cone 03, it produced a soft chalky body having a very high absorption. The softness and porosity of the burned body was due to an excessive percentage of lime. Them aterial is useless for the manufacture of clay products. GASPE COUNTY. The Silurian slates or schists in the vicinitv of Newport and Grand Pabos, are weathered in places, to a depth of 1 to 3 feet, into residual clay. Pockets or seams of residual clay are also found in the body of the rocks, generally in the shattered zones along thrust fault planes. This clay is generally of a bright, yellow colour, but patches of pink, grey, or white clay are often seen. This clay has fairly good plasticity, but is rather "short" in its working properties, like most residual clays. It bums to a bright red. hard body 38 at cone 03 with a rather high shrinkage. It vitrified at cone and fuses at cone 5. The yellow day contains a quantity hard schist fragments and some sand and gravel from the ove lying drift. The quantity that occurs at any place is sma and the deposits are consequently of no economic value. The Silurian slates and schists of this region are hard ai non-plastic, being too highly altered to be of any value to tl clayworking industry. DEVONIAN. Certain shale beds of various colours generally greeni or dark grey are found underlying the red sandstones and co glomerates along the shore of Chaleur bay in Bonaventu and Gaspe counties. Some of these shales have the requisite properties for i dustrial purposes, and occur in deposits large enough to be economic importance, but their remoteness from any mark for wares made from them, places these deposits at a disa vantage. BONA VENTURE COUNTY. Fleurant Point. Greenish shales, interstratified with hard bands, having total thickness of about 30 feet, without overburden, occur on t shore of Chaleur bay at Fleurant point (Plate VI, B). Th underlie red sandstones cuid conglomerates. The shale beds i from 2 to 8 feet thick, and very plastic; the hard bands < gritty, but the whole section would probably work up togeth A small sample of the shale collected at this point was grou and tempered with 19 per cent of water. It formed a v< smooth plastic mass, with good working and drying qualiti Its drying shrinkage was 4 per cent. The burning tests w( as follows: 39 at cone 1 uantity of 1 the over- i is small, lue. : hard and ilue to the y greenish s and con- >naventure ties for in- ;h to be of ny market it a disad- Cone Fire shrinkage % AbsOTption Colour 010 0-0 13-2 red 06 10 10-6 red . 03 so 5-3 dark red 1 70 vitrified dark red 3 5-6 vitrified chocolate 5 softens The body is steel hard at cone 010, and vitrified at cone 1, and the material does not appear to be injured by firing slightly higher than this; but swelling and vesicular structure shows at cone 3. It would be an excellent material for the manu- facture of fireproofing, and owing to its good working qualities and fine red colour when burned, would probably be suitable for the manufacture of roofing tile. It produces a fine red dry- press face brick of good body and solid colour, when burned to cone 03, the absorption being only 4 • 5 per cent. GASPE COUNTY. PercS. , having a ccur on the B). They Je beds are bands are p together, vas ground led a very g qualities. tests were A considerable quantity of bright yellow clay, formed from weathered D<:vonian shale, occurs at the village of Percd. It appears to be thickest between the Roman Catholic church, and the slopes of Mount Sk. Anne. The clay is fairly plastic but contains a large amount of hard shale fragments. It burns to a red porous body at cone 06, without much shrinka), . It is vitrified at cone 1, and softens at cone 3. The test pieces burned to the higher temperatures were dark red, but the colour was obscured to some extent by white scum. This clay is not of much value, but it might be washed, and used for the manufac- ture of cheap pottery. Several beds of dark grey, calcareous shale occur in the seashore cliffs a short distance east of Le Grand Coup. These shales are weathered into a soft but rather gritty clay at the outcrops. This clay burns to a good hard red body at cone 06. When burned to a higher temperature the test pieces devilop 40 black vesicular cores which caused them to swell and cracl This shale evidently contains carbonaceous matter. It is m of much value for the manufacture of clay products. A bed of soft olive shale outcrops on die road to the Cornei of-the-Beach, a few miles from Perc6. It is highly plastic an smooth when tempered with water. It bums to a dense, har< red body at cone 06, and softens at cone 3. This shale underlij the red sandstones of Mount Ste. Anne, and appears to be th same shale as at Cape Fleurant already described. 1 ^ 2 41 II II II ll »e«^r«)«(q «M)n<«)fO^«i«)fOfOlO II ll r^vtaoocON If) 00*^ t« win) II f^ »«s Om 'O ■•« O '000 • 'O-^OO ♦ *«MN*o 3 o o .2 .3 Q .1 i stratified sand - 4 ft. stratified clay -soft. ;.";! ;;<,..* ;,.>•.'•"'.'.%' -'.boulder day Figure 5. Section of Pleiitocene depodu at terrace on Davidson itreet, Montreal. soil * • ft • . .*• boulder '.'.'. a' " clay^ifi. ' ^ stratified ~ clay-isft. .., .^ .,, boulder ' ' " day ~2oft. clay sand clay ■■^ "r Yv coarse sand and gravel gold bearing gravels Figure 6. Section near mouth of Rivike-du-Loup, after Chalmers. 45 A still more complex arrangement of surface depoeito was noted by the writer at several points in the banks of the St. Francis river in Yamaska county, the details being given on a later p^:e (see Figure 8). Although the stratified, stoneless clays generally overlie the boulder clay deposits, they occasionally rest directiy on bedrock as observed at St. Joseph, Beauce county, Richmond, and Chicoutimi. Stratified clay overiies stratified sand which occurs at the base of the section at Deschaillons (Plate VII, A). Near Elmwood cemetery at Sherbrooke, a small area of stratified clay overlies cross bedded sands and river gravels arranged as indicated in Figure 7. aandawith grmva/ ten— 9 Horiiontal 3ea/« *■ Figure 7. Small depuat of high level clay, overlying river gravels, near Elm'waod cemetery, Sierbrooke. The boulder clay seems to be the most widely distributed member of the Pleistocene. It occurs at all levels everywhere in the province, and consists generally of hard, grey, gritty clay packed with boulders and pebbles. In some places the bould- er clay matrix partakes of the colour of the bedrock in its vicinity, being red when overlying the Medina shale, and black over some of the Utica shale areas. Owing to their stony character the boulder clays are not a source of material for the clayworker, and will not be considered further in this report. The following details refer only to those deposits of clay which are free from pebbles or boulders, or almost so. 46 DISTRIBUTION OF PLEISTOCENE CLAYS. The greater part of the stoneless surface clays in southern Quebec was apparently deposited in a sea basin. The surface of the land between the Great Lakes and the present seaboard was depressed at one time to a depth of about 625 feet at Mon- treal, and 630 feet at Quebec city. This downward movement of the land allowed the sea to enter all the lowland districts of the province. The valley of the St. Lawrence river was then occupied by a great inland sea, which was about 70 miles wide in the vicinity of the present city of Montreal. The tops of Mount Royal, Rougemont, Beloeil, and other isolated hills were islandn in this sea. The valleys of all the principal rivers tributary to the St. Lawrence were bays extending inland from the main body of water. Remains of the shore-lines or beaches of this ancient sea are still preserved at various levek on some of the Laurentian highlands to the north, and on the Notre Dame mountains to the south of the St. Lawrence. A great volume of coarse and fine-grained sediments was washed into this sea. The finest kinds were carried far out from land by tides and currents, and finally deposited in the deepest parts of the basin. The coarser sediments were deposited near the shore-lines. This inland sea must have existed for a long period because clay forming sediments accumulated to a thickness of 150 feet or more in some parts of the basin and filled up all the hollows and formed a fairly level sea floor. Various beaches found at successive lower levels indicate that the land rose by Si^ges until finally the bottom of the St. Lawrence valley became above sea-level. Extensive areas of the old sea floor are still preserved on the south side of the St. Lawrence between the Ontario boundary line and L6vis, and smaller areas exist on the north side between Ottawa and Three Rivers. The general elevation of this plain, which is mostly covered with clay, does not exceed a height of ISO feet above sea-level. If it were bare of trees, this plain would look exactly the same as prairie lands in the western provinces. The rivers and streams have cut trenches in it, but not very deeply. To a 47 hern •face oard /lon- nent ricts was niles tope hilU ivera From ches tome Fotre was From ipest near ause feet lows icate eSt. is of eSt. and "hree DStly bove ictly ivers To a spectator standing in L'Assomption county, looking southward across the level land toward Verchercs county, there is not the slightest evidence that one of the largest rivers in the world intervenes between these two counties. i The clay appears at the surface over large areas of this plain, but at other places it is covered by more or less extensive layers of sand of varying thickness. Occasionally isolated patches or ridges of gravels and boulders which appear to be slightly above the general level, are seen on the day plain. One of the largest areas of clay lands occurs between the Richelieu river and the St. Lawrence, and extends south to the International Boundary. This is one of the best farming tracts in the province; some of it requires draining, and at other places the sand covering is rather thick, but for the most part it is an area of excellent land, well adapted for agricultural and horti- cultural purposes. Areas of similar clay lands alternating with sandy patches are seen in the counties bordering the St. Law- rence between the Ridielieu river and LotbiniAre county. About 60 per cent of the plain north of the St. Lawrence is covered with sand which sometimes attains a great thickness. The contrast between he attractive appearance of the clay lands, and the desolate aspect of the sand areas is very marked. The land occupied by these sands is almost useless for agricul- tural purposes, and large tracts of it are covered with a stunted growth of scrub pine, poplar, and black spruce with a few white maples in the hollows; at other places they are barren and wind blown. The rocky highlands on the north and south sides of the valley, approach the St. Lawrence river at Quebec and L6vis, and beyond this there are no extensive tracts of clay lands in the valley. From these points eastward the clays are restricted to comparatively narrow strips along the river banks. It is missing altogether, for long distances on the lower St. Lawrence. Although the day areas on the lower St. Lawrence are not so extensive as those in the western portion of the province, yet thuy are better adapted in many respects for the manufacture of clay waies, being free from the working and drying defects which are so prevalent in the clays at the same level above the city of Quebec. a The clay areaa so far mentioned were formed by ledimenta deposited in the deepest part of the basin, i.e., the valley floor; but in addition to thif main body of clays there are several de- tached areas of lesser extent at various high levels. On the north side of the St. Lawrence, clay terraces are found along the edge of the Laurentian escarpment up to 400 and 500 feet or more above sea-Ievd. These are seen along the Une of the Gmadian Northern railway, in Maskinonge, St. Maurice, and Champlain counties. Similar areas of high level clays occur on the south side of the St. Lawrence valley in Sherbrooke, Richmond, and Wolfe counties. One of these deposits, worked for brickmaldng at Ascot, is 630 feet above sea-level. Below the city of Quebec, the elevation at which stoneless clays are found steadily dedines until it is less than 200 feet on the northern shore of the peninsula of Gaspe, and less than 70 feet on the Chaleur Bay shore. No stoneless clays of any extent appear to occur higher in the St. Lawrence valley than the levels given above. Whether all the clays found below these leveb, which appear to mark the limit of marine submergence, are of marine origin or not, is a subject beyond the scope of this report; but it is probable that the greater portion of them are of this origin. Sir William Dawson* in his studies of the clays of the St. Lawrence valley applied the name Leda clay to them, from the fact that fossil shells of Leda truncata were abundant in the formation at some localities. The name Saxicava was given to the overlying sands (Plate VII, B) owing to the frequent occurrence of the shells Saxicava rugosa. The localities at which marine fossils are found are few; the greater bulk of the clays and sands contains none. There is evidently more than one kind of clay present, as will be seen later on when the differences in the physical character of these are explained. Furthermore, clays older than those due to marine submergence appear to be preserved beneath boulder clay sheets in certain localities. > Datraon, Sir J. Wiiliam, "The Canadian Ice Age": Chap. II. ^ ^! 1, . ^yJii For thew rcMona the name Leda w not uied in this report in the general lenae that Dawion and. later, Chalmen used it for all surface days other than boulder clays. The Lake St. John region at the head of the Saguenay river, contains the largest area of Pleistocene clay of any of the valleys tributary to the St. Lawrence. This extensive basin stands at an elevation of about 500 feet above sea-level, and is separated by a barrier of . xky ridges from the clay terraces on the Saguenay river in the vicinity of Chicoutimi. As no fossils have been found in the Lake St. John clay it is difficult to determine whether it is a product of the marine submergence or not. The clay is grey in colour, veil stratified, and free from pebbles. It resembles the high level days of the St. Lawrence valley more closely than the low level variety. A large area of Pleistocene clay known as the "clay bdt" occurs in northern Quebec, beyond the limits of the drainage basin of the St. Lawrence. The prindpal rivers which drain this area, the Bell, and Hurricanaw rivers, flow northward into Hudson bay. The headwaters of the Ottawa lie below its southern fringe. The clays of this area appear to have been deposited in water ponded between a land margin to the south, and the front of a retreating ice sheet, which blocked the drainage toward the north. The clays and silts deposited in this glacial lake are of much practical value to the farmer, and the region is becomirg settled for cultivation since the building of the National Transcontinental railway rendered it accessible. GENERAL CHARACTER OF THE PLEISTOCENE CLA YS. The greater part of the material used for the manufacture of common brick in the province of Quebec is taken from the soft, stoneless clays of Pleistocene age, that occur either im- mediately on the surface or at little depth below it. This material is distributed unequally. It occurs abundantly in the St. Lawrence and St. John valleys and in the day belt of northern Quebec, but it is absent over the greater part of the province. The Pleistocene clay is remarkably uniform in its composi- tion over all the region. The following is an average of five chem- ical analyses of samples taken from widely separated localities : 5 BO I.QM on ignition 4 6 Silica (Si«M «>-28 Alumina (A!j»>») 20- 15 Iron(Fe,0,) 5-W> Ume(CaO) -'-SS Magnesia (MgO) 2-87 Sulphur trioxide (SOi) 017 Pota»h(K,0)\ 2- 11 Soda(Na,0)/ Most of the deposits are stratified, and show the manner of their formation in layers, very distinctly. These layers probably represent yearly additions; therefore, if the entire thickness of the deposit was exposed, the time taken to accumulate it could be determined. Good examples of pronounced stratifi- cation in these clays are found at the brick plants at St. Lin junction, Deschaillons, St. Joseph (Plate VIII), Beauce. St. Raymond, Bell river, etc. These stratified clays may contain layers of sand or silt alternating with clay layers. These materials probably indicate periods of flood, when coarser materials would be carried farther out into the still water basins and deposited with the clay. When the sand and silt layers occur plentifully through the deposit, brickmakers call it a "lean" clay. Clays of this descrip- tion work easily, dry quickly, and have small shrinkages, but they do not burn to a very dense body if the sandy content is too great. The deposits which are made up of alternate layers of clay, silt, and sand, if the latter is not too abundant, arc the ones sought for by brickmakers, and as a rule give a good, natural, even mixture, and produce a brick of uniform strength. Attempts to obtain an even mixture by adding sand to a stiff, fat clay are not very successful, especially with the simple machinery used in most common brick plants. At some localities the deposits show no layers or bands but on the contrary any lines seen are vertical. These vertical lines are the marks of joint planes, which are caused by shrinkage. In some places these kinds of clay are called "joint" clays, and Hi 51 at other place* by th** expressive name ' k"'"''"" Thr term gumbo if) dewriptivc of the uticky. adhenive qualities of tlMr »tif! and highly pla»tic, maiteive or joint clay<. Example* of mawive, highly piMtii clayi occur at St. John. Varennes. Nicolet. L'Epiphanic. etc. (Plate IX). These are known to brickmaket* aa "fat" or "strong" clays; they are generally hard to work, difficult to dry, with drying shrinkages sometimts abnormally high, and are avoided as much as poMtble in the industry. The colour of most of the deposits varies from a lead grey in the lower portion to a brownish colour at the top. The brownish colour is secondary, being due to the wrathering and consequent oxidation of the iron content in the clay, so that the originally grey i Uy takes on a slightly rusty appearance. The depth to whi4:h the weathering penetrates varies with the thickness of the overburden, the texture of the day, an«l the age of the deposit. The top brown clay is the most desirable, it has better working qualities, dries easier, and shrinks less than the bottom blue clay. It is preferred by all the makere of ilay wares, especially those making field drain-tile or porous finiiroofing blocks. The low level clays or those at and below altout 200 fti t above sea-level, are mostly massive, highly plastic, !,tick\ clays, difficult to work and dry, and with abnormal drying shrinkagts. The high level clays are generally interstratilied with silt ..nd sand layers, they are easily worked and dry rapidly with normal shrinkages. There are some instances, however, where the low level clays are of the silty type, like the deposits at Des- chaillons, 150 feet above sea-level, and where the high level clays are of the "fat" or gumbo type like the clay at Huberdeau 584 feet above sea-level. The generalization, therefore, of clays with two widely different working qualities, one at high levels and the other at low levels, does not hold good for all cases, but it does for most of the deposits. The low level, highly plastic clays make a smooth paste when mixed with water. They are generally so fine grained that they will pass through a 200 mesh sieve without leaving any residue, and most of the grains are infinitely small. The high S2 level clays may contain from 5 to 20 per cent of grains which will not pass a 200 mesh sieve. The tensile strength of the air dried raw clay varies from 100 to 150 pounds per square inch, With one exception, all of the Pleistocene clays so far examined in Quebec burn to a red colour. The commercial limit of burning seems to be about 1850 degrees F. or cone 07, but fairly good hard brick are produced in the scove kilns at cone 010 (1742 degrees F.). They are underbumed and soft if burned at a lower temperature than this. All these clays show overfiring and excessive shrinkages when burned to cone 03 (about 2000 degrees F.). Most of them soften and begin to form slags at a temperature of cone 1 (2100 degrees F.). They are not suitable for the manufacture of vitrified wares, any attempt to burn them to this state would result in loss, as the vitrification point and the softening point are too close. The Pleistocene clays are also unsuited to the manufac* tare of dry-pressed brick. LOCALITIES NORTH OF THE ST. LAWRENCE RIVER. LABELLE COUNTY. The days of Labelle county are confined to one general type and occur in strips of no great width along the principal valley bottoms, to an elevation of 630 feet above sea-level. The extensive terrace in the Gatineau River valley, between Kazabazua and Gracefield about 60 miles north of Hull, stands at this level. The terrace is composed mostly of day, but like all deposits of this class in Quebec, parts of it are covered with patches of sand, gravel, and boulders. At those localities where the valley of the Gatineau is narrow, as at Cascades, the rocky walls come close to the waters edge, and the clay is missing, Where the valley is wide and basin shaped, the clay may occur in correspondingly wide deposits, covering the bottom of the basin. This rule applies also to the Liivre river, and in fact, to all river valleys of any extent within the Laurentian upland north of the St. Lawrence and Ottawa rivers, below the limit of marine submergence or an elevation of 600 to 700 feet (Plate X). 53 The wide depression at the junction of the Ottawa and Gatineau rivers is floored principally with day, in terraces of considerable width, at several levels and from the banks of the Ottawa river at Hull to the edge of the Laurentian escarpment at Chelsea. Good sections of clay are to be seen in the railway cuttings between Ironsides and Chelsea, and in the banks of streams which in places have cut trenches to a depth of 50 feet or more in the terraces. A fringe of very perfect clay terraces extends all along the northern side of the OtUwa river, from the mouth of the Gatineau river to Calumet. HuU. A large quantity of clay is used annually in the manufacture of Portland cement at the works of the Canada Cement company. The clay is gathered by horse-scrapers and dumped into a car, which is sent to the works by an overhead conveyor. The raw materials used for cement at this point are approximately 25 per cent of clay and 75 per cent of limestone. Brick are manufactured on the Chelsea road, a short distance north of Hull, by Alex. Richard and Son (Plate XI, A). A sample of the clay from this work was collected for testing. It is typical of most of the material of the district, and is identical with that used at the cement works. It is bluish-grey in colour, but becomes browner or rust coloured toward the surface owing to the oxidation of the iron content. The clay bank shows only faint lines of stratification, the vertical joints being the more pronounced feature in the structure. When exposed in a steep face it breaks down into pieces about the size of road metal, and in dry weather these fragments crumble into small particles. The dry clay when finely ground requires 35 per cent of water to bring it to a working consistency. It then forms a highly plastic, sticky mass, rather smooth to the feel, but stiflF and hard to work. Owing to the large quantity of water required for tempering, the shrinkage on drying is excessive, being about 11 per cent. The clay bums to a light red, almost steel hard body at cone 010 (1742 dc^irees F.), with a fire shrinkage of 1 per cent, and 54 an absorption of 13 8 per cent. When burned to cone (X (1886 degrees F.) the colour is deeper, and the body hardei and denser, the absorption being 11-3 per cent. If burned t( cone 03 (1994 degrees C.) the body becomes vitrified, th( shrinlu^e is high, and over-firing with softening begins. 1 the temperature is carried up to cone 1 (2102 degrees F.) th clay melts. When mixed with about 30 per cent sand, an< burned to a temperature of 1800 degrees to 1850 degrees F., ; good common red building brick is produced. The brick are made by the soft-mud process, and these ar the only wares produced by this plant, but the material wil make a very good field drain-tile, as tests made for this purpose o a 3-inch hand press turned out well. The brick are dried out doors, on racks and pallets, as the clay will not stand fast dryin without cracking. The brick are burned in scove kilns wit wood for fuel, but one down-draft kiln fired with coal ha recently been built. Many of the brick are underburnec these are soft and light in colour. One machine making about 20,000 brick per day is i operation for about 5 months in the year. The brick are sol in the city of Hull. Kirk Ferry. A narrow fringe of clay extends along the river for a sho distance in this locality. A sarple was taken for testing fro the h^h bank at Pattersim's farm on the east side of the rivi opposite Tanaga station. Marine fossils occur plentiful about 10 feet hehm the surface of the bank. Lower down the bank there is quite a thicknew of cemented river gravel This clay required 32 per cent of water for tcmperin it wa« highly plastic, stiff, and sticky, although it contains coftwderaWe amtAint oJ fine grit or silt. The drying shrinkai wa« 8 5 per cent. It burns to a light red, hard body at cone 010, with vei Httle fire shrinkage, and M* absorption c4 16 per cent. The is mrt much change in the chi»racter of the body when burn( to cone 06, but the colour is deeper. The clay vitrifies at co 1 55 03, and melts at cone 1. This is a good common brick clay and is probably suitable for the manufacture of field drain tile, but would require the addition of about 25 per cent of sand. It contains considerably more grit than the clay at Hull, which accounts for the lower drying shrinkage, and higher absorption of the burned body. Both of these clays are un- suited for \Itrified wares, as they begin to soften almost as soon as the point of vitrification is reached, and it is unsafe to carry the burning so far. ARGENTEUIL COUNTY. The principal deposits of clay in this county are confined to strips along the Ottawa river, but stratified surface deposits, including clays, extend for a considerable distance into the hilly and rocky region to the north. Terraces of these materials are found from 12 to 15 miles north of Lachute up to an elevation of 720 feet above sea-level. The clays along the Ottawa river in this county resembfe those from Labelle already described. The fdlowir.g descri^ tion is given of a sample taken much farther north. Huberdeau. I JS i is This village is situated on the Rouge river, about 25 mSes north of the Otuwa, and at the terminus of the Montfort branch of the Canadian Northern railway. It lies well withm the rocky Laurentian upland, its elevation being about 564 feet atxtve tea-level. Stratified clay and sand in terraces extending tbout a mile or more on each side of the river, occupy a de- pression or basin among the rocky hills at this locality. The clay is underlain by boulder clay, and overlain by a layer of yellow Mratified sands and gravels of varying thickness, but the sand covering is absent in places. The entire thickness of tfaeae deposits is about 100 feet. This small irregularly shaped area of clay lands is cultivated right up to the enclosing rocky border. 56 A sample of the clay for testing purposes was taken from a cutting on the wagon road, on the west side of the Rouge river. This clay bank was dark grey in colour beneath and brownish toward the top. It had very pronounced stratification, with thick layers toward the bottom but thinner in the upper part. The deposit had no sandy or silty layers or pebbles, but appeared to be of uniform character throughout the 20 feet of material exposed at this place. The clay when dried and ground required 35 per cent of water to bring it to a workable condition. It was exceedingly plastic, fairly smooth, rather stiff and sticky, being hard to work. The moulded shapes do not dry readily and will crack badly if the drying is forced by artificial means. The drying shrinkage is 9 per cent. The clay bums to a light red, hard, but rather porous body at cone 010. When burned to cone 06 the body is steel hard, the fire shrinkage 4 per cent, and the absorption 12 per cent. The clay vitrifies at cone 03 and melts at cone 1. A mixture of two parts of this clay with 1 part sand could probably be used for making brick, but even this mixture would have to be dried very sk>wly to prevent cracking. It is interesting to note that this clay resembles in many respects those found at Nicolet and L'Epiphanie, which are described later, in the middle of the great clay belt of the St. Lawrence. It was expected that the clay at Huberdeau, occurring as it does at a high level, and near the land margin of the ancient inland sea, would be more sandy or silty in texture than those laid down in the deepest water and farthest from land. On the contrary it turns out to be an extremely plastic and pasty clay having the character and defects of a gumbo. TERREBONNE COUNTY. The surface days underlie that portion of this county situated between the Canadian Northern Railway line and the Riviire-des-Mille lies. A rocky upland country lies north of the -mk 57 railway, where clays only exist in the principal river valleys. The farm of the boys home at Shawbridge on Rivi^re-du-Nord as well as most of the farms in this picturesque valley as far as St. Sauveur are situated on the narrow strip of clay banks along the river. A layer of sand, sometimes of great thickness, overlies the clay on considerable portions of the level land in the southern part of the county, but on certain areas between Montfort Junction and St. Jerome, and between Ste. Th^rise and St. Lin Junction the clay is free from sand or carries only a light overburden, which could be easily removed. St. Lin. There are three small plants making common brick at this locality. The clay appears to be of marine origin as it contains numerous fossil shells characteristic of the Leda clay, but it differs from most of the clay of this kind which occurs at the lower levek in the St. Lawrence valley. The section in Gauthier's pit shows a lig^t grey, well stratified clay in the upper part, but more massive below. It contains layers and pockets of silt, with sheik and small rounded pebbles scattered sparingly through the deposit. The day is overlain by 3 to 5 feet of grey and yellow stratified sand, and is exposed for a depth of about 15 feet in the excavation. The defect of this deposit is that some of the pebbles it contains are limestone. These burn to white, soft, quicklime lumps, which swell on absorbing mois- ture from the air and generally burst the brick that they happen lo occur in. The clay at the pit of the Dominion Brick company's plant, about one-eighth of a mile distant from the one just described, does not seem to contain any pebbles or shells, as far as the excavation has gone. A sample laken from this deposit required only 17 per cent of water for tempering. The wet body is rather short in working and somewhat open in texture, so that it can be dried safely at a temperature of 120 degrees F. Its drying iihrinkage is about 7 per cent. 58 This clay burns to a light red, hard body at cone 010, without any fire shrinkage, and an absorption of 13 per cent. There is not much change in the character of the body burned to cone 06, but the colour is better. If fired to cone 03 a deep red almost vitrified body is formed; the fire shrinkage is rather high at this temperature. The clay melt« at cone 1 . Owing to its silty character, this clay takes less water for mixing, and works and dries better than the fat clays from Lakeside and Montreal. It requires little or no addition of sand, and bums to a better body than the fatter clays do when sanded. The Dominion Brick company has a new plant, better equipped than most of the common brick plants in Quebec. The clay is well prepared before moulding, passing through two pug-mills and a pair of rolls on its way to the machine. The moulding is carefully done, and the brick are dried on cars in steam driers. The burning is done in scove kilns, having temporary grates fitted into the fire arches for burning coal. The watersmoking i.s done with wood fires, and the finishing with coal. This company aims to make a better common brick than those usually supplied to the Montreal builders. Ste. Thfrise. An unusual and interesting deposit of surface materials occurs about half a mile north of Ste. Thdrdse station. These the Canadian Pacific Railway company uses for ballast. Thi deposit consists mostly of well rounded gravels, but it is replaced by marine clay at the same level. The gravel underlies tht clay, and tongues of clay protrude into the gravel. Marint fossil shells are found in both materials. The contact is sharp, there being no grading from one extreme to the other. Island of Montreal. The greater part of the surface of the Island of Montreal is composed of boulder clay, but there are fairly extensive 59 patches of Btonelew stratified marine clay, either capped by layers of sand or without any sand cover. At other places ridges of rock with little or no covering of loose materials come to the surface. A strip of marine clay, varying to about a mile at its greatest width, extends from Beaconsfield to Montreal junction, but is interrupted by a patch of stony boulder clay which lies between Dorval and Blue Bonnets racing tracks. This strip of clay continues, fronting on the St. Lawrence river, through the City of Montreal eastward to Bout-De-l'Isle. The clay is found up to a height of 160 feet above sea-level, which is slightly higher than the terrace on which Sherbrooke street is situated. Abundant marine fossil remains, principally shells, have been found in the stratified clays and overlying sands and gravels in these localities. Montreal. The clay used in the brick plant of C. Bourdon, 605 David- son street, is taken from a bank which appears to be on the same level, and is probably a continuation of the Sherbrooke Street terrace. About 25 feet, in thickness, of clay is exposed in the bank. It is mostly blue grey in colour turning brownish toward the top, but about a foot or so of red clay occurs near the bottom jt of the bank. No pebbles were seen in the clay, nor is there any I evidence of pebbles in the burned brick. Stratified sands, 3 to 5 feet in thickness, form the level top of the terrace. An average sample of the clay taken from this bank was tested. It required 35 per cent of water for tempering, and worked up into a very plastic, stiff, and rather sticky mass. It has an excessive drying shrinkage, and poor drying qualities, but these defects are corrected in practice by the addition of sand. It bums to a fairly hard red body at cone 010, but it is very porous, the absorption being 18 per cent. This clay has the excessive fire shrinkage of 10-7 per cent, making the total shrinkage 20 per cent, when fired to cone 03. The high shrinkage is also accompanied by overfiring and partial softening at this temper- ature. For biickmaking purposes a mixture of two parts clay, 60 and one of und it required. If all blue clay it uted ien tand ii required. The best resulu in burning are obtained at a temperature of about 1850 degrees F. (cone 07), but moat of the brick art burned at a much lower temperature than this; and many ol them are underburned. This plant operates about 6 months in the year, making com- mon sand moulded brick, which are sold to the builders in Mont- real. The brick are dried by the rack and pallet method , and the burning is done in scove kilns, the fuel used being wood. The output cannot be increased by fast drying, as even with the addition of 30 per cent of sand the drying of the green brick cannot be hurried. The following tests made on samples of the Montreal clay, ■how vt' V clearly the effect of varying quantities of sand on the strength of the burned clay body : Cruahing load in pound* per aquare inch Abaontion Clay, without sand 7025 3765 3667 2765 1895 21 18-5 17-0 15-2 13-2 4 paru clay to 1 part Mnd 2 • « « • • 1 • « « • « The crushing tests were made on 2-inch cubes, burned to cone 010. The sand was thoroughly mixed with the clay, a better mucture being obtained than is usually the case in practice. The tests were made in duplicate, the average result being given. The addition of 2S per cent of sand reduces the strength of the body nearly one-half, while with SO per cent of sand there is only about one-quarter the strength of the all clay cube. Lakeside. The plant of the Montreal Terra Cotta company at Lake- side is situated on the level ground between the tracks of the Grand Trunk railway, and a clay terrace which rises to a height of about 40 feet above the railway. The plant is well situated .t .. i. 61 for working the depcut, and shipping the finished products (PUte XI, B). The day is excavated from the upper part of the terrace, and sent by a belt conveyor (Plate XXV, A) to the machine, where it is mixed with sawdust, and worked up into the various shapes used in fireproofing and for hollow building blocks. The blocks are dried on cars in driers supplied with waste heat from the cooling kilns. When dried they are placed and burned in down-draft kilns fired with coal. The sawdust bums out, and leaves the block porous and light, and supposedly tougher. The product is used in Montreal for protecting structural steelwork in various buildings, and for partitions and floors, in fireproofing construction. The drying properties of the clay are poor, and there is considerable loss from checking. The excavation in the terrace shows 8 to 12 feet of brown- ish day overlying blue grey day. The blue day carries a red bed similar to that at Bourdons pit in Montreal. The deposit is underlain by boulder clay, which is exposed a few feet below the surface of the ilat at the railway siding. There is no sand overburden on the terrace in this vidnity. The upper brown clay is considered better for the manufac- ture of fireproofing, as it is more plastic and holds its shape better in the large hollow pieces. The brown clay is merely the weathered and oxidized portion of the deposit nearest the surface. About 25 per cent of sand would improve the drying qualities of this day, but there ii> none available in the vicinity. The clay when dry takes 30 per cent of water to bring it to a working consistency. It is very jriastic, and stiff in the wet body. The clay is smooth to the feel, owing to its fineness of grain. It is so finely divided that all the clay grains will pass through a 200 mesh screen. Brick moulded from it will crack if dried fast, so that they must be sanded and dried very slowly. On account of the comparatively thin walls of the fireproofing, this ware can be dried more successfully than standard size brick, but the drying qualities of the clay are not good in any kind of ware. The following table gives the physical tests for the clay alone, and mixed with varying amounts of sand : 62 Water required Drying khriniuKC. . . Cone 010 Fire thrinkage. AtMorpt ion ConeOA Fire .shrinkage. Absorption. . . . ConeO.? Fifp pihnnkage Ab g orption 1 % 8-5 { i 15-7 2-2 15-5 100 00 27 7 4 ISO 4 ISO 70 2 26 70 u 14 6 4 4 % 20 49 0-4 12 S 00 12-2 30 7 6 li No. 1 , clay alone. No. 2, 3 parts cbv u t of santl No. 3, 2 parts clay to 1 of sand No. 4, 1 part clay to 1 of sand. The addition of sand has the effect of reducing the quantit; of water required for tempering, and reducing th*- shrinkage especially the fire shrinkage. It makes the clay tosier to work easier to dry, and easier to bum. If too much sand is amlt-d i weakens the brick; the mixture oi half <-)ay and half sand ha an excess of sand; constquently the test piece burned at con 010 is very- weak, and a strong body is not formed until cone is reached. The mixture of two parts day and one part saiK gives good results for working qualities and shrinkages but i requires burning to cone '*6 to make a good sound body fo common brick. From the results of further experiments made with thi clay it appears that the material could be considerably improvei by the addition of 10 per cent of lime, or better still by addin 10 per cent of finely ground nnagnesian limestone or dolomite These materials even in small amounts improve the drying am burning qualities of the clay. This clay is easily overfirec so that the blocks nearest the fire holes in the down-draft kiln become partly fused and deformed, while the blocks at the bo( torn of the kiln and farthest from the heat may be underburnet The addition of the lime or dolomite would prevent the ovei firing, so that the temperature of the whole kiln could be raise 63 to a higher degret., and a more uniform burn product than is done at present. These upecial test* are given in detail in a subsequent chapter. l'assomption county. 30 7 6 The greater part of this county is underlain by stonelesa Pleistocene clay, which is probably of marine origin, but no fossil shells have been recorded from any part of the area. As is usually the case a sand covering nf variable thickness overlies the clay; but there are some fairly extensive patches between Charlemagne and St. Paul-rErmite, and in the vicinity of L'Epi- phanie on the Canadian Facific Railway line, where the clay comes to the surface. Large boulders of granitic rocks from the Laurcntian upland are scattered over the level surface of the clay or sand. A small plant manufacturing common red brick is located at Lachenaie. The brick are brought in caru to Charlemagne station on the Canadian Northern railway, a haul of about 2 miles, and shipped to Montreal. The clay in this locality is rather silty in characfr, and can be dried outdoors without checking when some sand is added. It makes a rather soft building brick. Most of the clay in the county is of a stiff bluish to brown massive variety, very plastic and sticky when wet and hard to dry after moulding. L'Epiphanie. A sample collected just outside this village is a typical example of the greater part of the clay deposits of the county. This clay when tempered with water, form» a highly plastic but stiff sticky body which is hard to work. Its drying shrinkage is excessive, being 10-5 per cent. The defective drying qualities of this clay are very pronounced, as it cracks in slow drying at 70 degrees K., even with the addition of 33 per cent of sand. It might be possible to dry this clay sufely by using a mixture of half clay and half sand. Brick made from this MKaocofr msoiuTioN tbt chait (ANSI and ISO TEST CHART No. 2) APPLIED IfvMGE 1«53 EotI Main Slrt«i RochMttr N>. York 14609 US* (716) »e2- 0300 -Phone (716) 2«a-59B9 - Fa« i ki II 64 mixture would have to be dried very slowly to prevent cracking; furthermore the burned body that would result from such a highly sanded clay would be too weak, and of no practical value. A mixture of this clay with the Utica shale which occurs at L'Epiphanie, was experimented with. Equal parts of clay and shale were used, but the results given by this mixture were not satisfactory. This day is not suitable for the manufacture of brick or tile in the raw state. It might be utilized if the clay was preheated up to a temperature of about 300 degrees C. before moulding. The experiments on preheating this day are referred to in a separate chapter. PORTNEUF COUNTY. The rugged Laurentian highlands approach the St. Lawrence in this county, consequently the low-lying border of days and sands, which is fairly wide in St. Maurice and Champlain coun- ties, is here confined to a rather narrow strip. The day deposits in the vidnity of Portneuf village are covered with a great thickness of sands and boulder days, so that they are unworkable. The following section was observed on the bank of Portneuf river near the village: Feet Sand, day, and large boulders 10 Stratified sands and silts 30 Stoneless stratified clay 20 Cross-bedded sand and gravel (marine shells). . 10 The day occurs nearer the surface west of this locality. A small brick plant is in operation at St. Marc, a station on the Canadian Northern railway. St. Raymond. Two small brick plants are in operation at this locality. They are situated close together on the west bank of the Ste. Anne river, about IJ miles north of the village. They are 65 owned respectively by Messrs. Nap. Geiiois and E. Paradis. Both produce red, soft-mud building brick by the ordinary simple method used in all the small plants in the province. A mixture of three parts day to one of sand is used in brick- making. The green brick are hacked out on the ground to dry, after being mou»ded. The burning is done in scove kilns with wood for fuel. The clay deposit occurs in a small basin formed by a widen- ing of the valley of the Sie. Anne river at this point during pre-Glacial times. It is entirely surrounded by a rim of the low Laurentian hills (Plate XI I , A) . Most of the deposit has been cut out by the river, but quite extensive terraces still remain on both banks. The day is overlain by quite a thickness of sand and gravel The upper terrace, at an elevation of about 600 feet above sea-level, is composed entirely of sand, and rests against the rocky rim of the enclosing hills. The lower terrace fronting the river at the brick-yards is about 40 feet high, con- sisting of 25 feet of clay, overlain by 15 feet of sand and gravel. The clay is bluish grey in colour, well stratified in half inch layers, which are interlaminated with silt. It is free from pebbles, and contains numerous visible scales of mica. The layers of the upper 5 feet or so of clay are folded and crumpled (Plate XII, B) probably the result of pushing by either floating ice or a tongue of land ice. The overlying sands and gravels are very irregularly bedded, and contain many well rounded small sized rocks as well as large subangular boulders. The overburden of sand is excessive and costly to remove. There is a temptation to mix too much of it with the clay when using it for brick, which weakens the product. A small sar.iple of the clay was tested, with the following results. It required 22 per cent of water for tempering and formed a body of medium plastidty which was easy to work, but was rather short and inclined to be flabby owing 'o its siltiness. The clay appears to have good drying properties, with a drying shri..l^ge of only 4-5 per cent. The burning data are as follows: 66 Cone Fire shrinkage % Abaorption % Colour 010 06 03 1 00 OS 5-3 softened 15-5 14-2 40 light red red dark ted H I" This is a good common brick clay, the shrinkages are 1< the working qualities favourable, and the burned body is sou and strong. The red colour is rather light at the lower te peratures, but a fine deep red colour is produced at cone 03; 1 body is then also steel hard and almost impermeable to moistu If burned to about 1900 degrees F. brick made from this cl would probably be suitable for sewer linings or any undergrou work. The clay does not require the addition of sand. Too mi sand weakens the body, and increases the porosity, so that t clay does not have its full strength developed. Clays occur in terraces along a considerable portion the valley of the Ste. Anne river and its tributaries which res far back into the hilly country to the north of the county. A remarkabL landslip happened in the Riviere Blan< valley, near St. Thuribe, on May 7, 1898.' This landslip destroyed a large portion of three farr and the quantity of material which was discharged into the rii valley was so great as to fill it to a depth of 25 feet or more, a distance of nearly 2 miles. Landslips are of frequent occurrence in the clay terrac of these river valleys, especially during seasons of excess! rainfall. The silty underclay becomes saturated with wai and flows under the pressure of the stiff top clay and sand, f latter breaking away as it becomes undermined. Plate XI shows a view of a portion of the effect of the landslip at ! Thuribe, shortly after it occurred. The large pyramidal ma seen near the right of the picture, is principally composed upper stiff clay; it has been carried several hundred feet on t semi-liquid underclay. 'For full description of this landslip see Annual Report, Geoloffi Survey, Vol. XI, pp. 65 to 70 J. t~ "b ^i . i 67 QUEBEC COUNTY. The surface clays in Quebec county are confined to compar- atively small areas which occur in the lower parts of the valleys of the St. Charles, and Cap Rouge rivers, or in some of the terraces along the bank of the north channel of thp St. Lawrence. Quebec City. There are several plants manufacturing common brick by the so^t mud process at Stadacona, and St. Malo within the city limits at Quebec. St. Malo is on the south bank of the St. Charles river at the west end of the city. Brick are said to have been made here during the last 200 years, so that the site of the oldest brick plant in the province is in this vicinity. The clay in this immediate neighbourhood is exhausted; and, al- though the brick plants still continue to manufacture at St. Malo, the clay has to be carted for some distance from the north side of the river. This deposit consists of 4 or 5 feet of grey silty clay with rusty streaks, overlying blue sand and silt. A face of about 6 feet is worked ; therefore about 2 feet of sand is worked in with the overlying clay. A porous light red brick is produced, which may be used for the backing and filling of walls but is not suitable for facing brick. There appear to be pebbles scattered through the clay, some of which are limestone. These cause trouble by air slaking, after burning, which results in cracked brick. The largest brick plant under single ownership, is that of M. Paradis, at Stadacona, a short distance east of the St. Malo clay pits. Four brick machines are in operation, producing 3,000,000 to 4,000,000 brick annually. The deposit which is worked for brick-making occurs in the vicinity of the plant. It consists of about 4 feet of silty and sandy clay, overlying pure sand. All these plants adept the same simple method of working. The brick are hackr ♦ in open spaces to dry; when dry they are built up in ciami^. . ..ns and burned with cordwood. A small quantity of field drain tile is made by Messrs. W. and D. Bell on Little River road, a few miles west of the city. 68 These are burned in amall round down-draft kilns. The tile are rather soft and porous, as the clay is of the lean variety and too sandy for this purpose. No tests were made of the clays from St. Malo or Stadacona, as they do not appear to be suitable for anything but soft common brick. These plants will shortly be forced to move farther out as the ground they occupy is re- quired foi building purposes. Beauport. A brick plant was in operation until a few years ago at Beauport, about 4 miles north of the city of Quebec. The original plant produced soft-mud brick, but a stifT-mud machine for making wire-cut brick was substituted later, as well as steam dryers. The causes of failure which led to the abandonment of this plant were: (1) too many limestone pebbles in the deposit, (2) auger laminations produced in the brick by the stiff-mud machine. The deposit worked by this plant shows the following section: ' Feet Stratified bluish grey clay 3 to 4 " gravels, with many limestone pebbles 2 " shale fragments 1 " sand 2 The gravel surface underlying the clay is very uneven, the gravel rising in hummocks; as the clay was worked with scrap- ers too many pebbles were included; and since many of these were limestone, serious losses resulted. A sample of clay without pebbles was tested with the following results. It required 27 per cent of water for tempering, and formed a wtt body of good plasticity and fair working quality. The drying shrinkage was 65 per :ent. The clay bums to a good red colour, and nearly steel hard body at cone 0)0, the fire shrinkage being zero, and the absorptiou 13-6 per cent. If burned to cone 03, the colour is deep red, the body steel hard, the fire shrinkage 4-8 per cent, and the absorption 6 • 7 per cent. The clay melts at about cone 2. 69 This is the best material in the way of surface clay in the vicinity of Quebec for the manufacture of common brick or drain tile; but, like almost all the surface clays, it is not suitable for the manufacture of vitrified wares. The deposit is too shallow, and not very extensive at the point sampled, as shale bedrock outcrops at a short distance behind the old plant. The clay is much thicker on some of the terraces in this vicinity as seen in the rear of the Beauport asylum. Cap Rouge. The village of Cap Rouge is situated in the valley of a small stream, between two high shale escarpments, about 8 miles west of the city of Quebec. There is quite an extensive deposit of surface clay in the valley, as indicated by the exposures in the banks of the stream. A sample of the clay was collected for testing purposes at a point a short distance north of the Canadian Northern Railway station. The bank of the stream is here about 20 feet high; the upper 10 feet consists of stiff grey clay with reddish patches and is free from pebbles, while the bottom of the bank is concealed by slide material. This clay requires 20 per cent of water for tempering. It has good plasticity and working qualities. The drying shrinkage is 6 per cent. Its drying qualities are not good, as it cannot be dried fast, even with the addition of 33 per cent of sand. It burns to a good hard red body, with 13 per cent absorp- tion at cone 010. It has a bright red colour and steel hard body at cone 06. When burned to cone 03, the body is vitrified, and the colour dark red, but the shrinkage at this temperature is rather too high. It is unfortunate that the drying qualities of this clay are so poor, as otherwise it is an excellent brick material. It may be dried slowly outdoors on racks and pallets with the addition of 25 per cent of sand. A full sized brick made in the laboratory of 3 parts clay to one of sand, was dried in 4 days at a temperature of 60 degrees to 70 degrees F., without checking. Another brick of the same mixture cracked at 90 d^rees F. If the drying difficulties can be overcome, this clay will make excellent field drain tile. 70 CHICOUTTMI COUNTY. This county lies almost wholly within the elevated rocky Laurentian region. The clay deposits seen were confined to small patches or strips of marine clay which occur in terraces at various elevations along the sides of the deep valley of the Saguenay river between Ha Ha bay and Jonquieres. No clays occur beyond Jonquieres within the limits of Chicoutimi county. Ckicoulimi. This town is situated at the head of navigation on the S^uenay river 75 miles from the St. Lawrence. It is one of the most important centres for the manufacture of wood pulp and paper in the province. The town is built on ground rising from the water's edge, partly on rock and partly on clay terraces. The clay in the terraces sometimes rests on smooth glaciated surfaces of the granite gneiss bedrock. The clay slips occasion- ally, but so far little damage has been done by any slips that have occurred. A small brick plant owned by Messrs. Jalbert and Thibeault is located at Chicoutimi. The clay occurs in a terrace (Plate XIV, A), which ri< ^ to a height of 20 or 30 feet, behind the plant. It is thinly laminated, blue below and brownish toward the top. Occasional small, well rounded pebbles and several shells, indicat- ing the marine origin of the deposit, are scattered through the clay. In some places pockets or streaks of gravel occur, possibly dropped from pieces of floating ice. A mixture of two parts clay and one part sand is used for brickmaking. The drying qualities of the clay are not good; it must be dried slowly outdoors, and even then the green brick are cracked by warm dry winds. The brick are burned with wood in scove kilns. They have a good red colour when burned, but are rather too porous and soft, owing to the large quantity of sand used in the mixture. A sample of clay taken from the bank at this plant was tested with the following results. It required 23 per cent of water to bring it to a working consistency. It dries slowly with a drying shrinkage of 5 per cent. When burned to cone 010, 71 the body is hard but porous, the absorption being 20 per cent. The body is steel hard when burned to cone 06 but is still rather porous. This clay conUins slightly more lime than most of the clays west of this point. It melts to a slag at cone 1. This clay will make a far better brick when used alone than it does with the sand added. The drying problem, however, has to be overcome, and the addition of sand is necessary to accomplish this safely. An attempt to make some 3-inch round tile from this clay failed. The clay appears to be lacking in good plastic qualities, being granular to the feel and short or flabby in the wet state. It differs in this respect from most of the other low level clays in the province. The clay does not appear to be adapted to the manufacture of any other product than the one it is now used for. Lake St. John. The terraced clay plain which surrounds Lake St. John is, on the south side, 1 to 2 miles in width; its general ele- vation above sea-level is about 515 feet. The Canadian Northern railway traverses this plain between Chambord junction and Roberval, a distance of 12 miles. It is sometimes overlain by sand, particularly toward the high rocky rim of the basin ; but over large areas the clay forms the surface of the farming land in this region. The clay is well str ._. ' ' -zontally in thin layers, appar- ently free from pebble - grit, and is of a light grey colour when ury. No m e yet been found in the area, so that it is not known ,ne deposit is of marine origin, and connected with simi.a. .deposits in the St. Lawrence valley, or whether it is a fresh-water deposit formed in the detached basin in which it occurs. Its elevation does not preclude it from the possibility of being a marine deposit. As far as its economic value is concerned it does not differ very much from the high level clays in the St. Lawrence valley. In appearance it probably resembles more closely the fresh- water clay deposits of the Ontario basin of the St. Lawrence. 72 RobermU. A sample of clay collected from the slope of the first terrac above the lake level at the village of Roberval gave the followin results when tested. This clay requires 28 per cent of water to bring it to a goo working consistency. It is fairly plastic, and works easil) but becomes rather flabby with a slight excess of water. It i smooth in texture, and fine grained, 99 per cent of the da passing through a 200 mesh sieve, but much of this is fine-graine silt. This clay can be dried moderately fast without checkini and has a drying shrinkage of 6-5 per cent. It burns to a llRb red colour and fairly hard body at cone 010, with an absorptio of 15 per cent. When burned to cone 06 the red colour is bettc and the body slightly denser and almost steel hard. There is n shrinkage in firing at either temperature, and the bricklet have a good ring when struck together. The clay is overfire and shrunken at cone 03, and melted at cone 1 . This clay is suitable for the manufacture of common bricl preferably by the soft-mud process. A little sand might b added but it does not require much, as the shrinkages are nc high and the working qualities good It will also make fiel drain tile if necessary. The samples of tile made in the labora tory from this material were satisfactory in average. PLEISTOCENE CLA YS SOUTH OF THE ST. LAWRENCE CHATEAUGUAY COUNTY. A large portion of the level land in this county is underlaii by clay. The Grand Trunk railway between S'.. Martin Junction and Ormstown appears to be located on the clay land which border the Chateauguay river. The clay is worked fo brickmaking at only one point in the county. Ormstoum. The clays of this locality can be readily examined in th pits of two brick plants which are in active operation. Th 73 l^ant ovmed by Mr. Alex. Miits is situated alongside the Grand Trunk railway about half a mile east of the station. The section in the pit at this plant shows 2 to 3 feet of yellowish loamy clay, overlying 4 to 6 feet of grey clay with rusty streaks, which is underlain by massive blue grey clay (Plate XIV, B). The blue underclay is said to be 40 feet in thickness. The rusty grey clay does not appear to be stratitieu, but it con- tains a stratified sandy clay layer, 6 inches to a foot in width. The bank is worked for brickmaking down to the top of the blue clay, but as the upper surface of the underclay is uneven and hummocky a certain amount of it is included when levelling off the bottom of the pit. This bottom blue clay has a high shrinkage, and would require careful mucing with sand to make it workable, but sand appears to be scarce in this vicinity. The clay is rather tender; it has to be dried slowly on outdoor racks and pallets; and any attempt to hasten the drying by artificial means results in serious losses. It might be possible to dry this clay in a drier working at about 100 degrees to 120 degrees F. if 20 per cent of sand were added, but the sand would have to be brought from some distance for tliis pur- pose. The following table gives the results of tests made on samples of these clays. No sand was added. 32 % 33 % 34 % \^ required for mixing Dr>i.. shrinkage Cone 010 Fire shrinkage Absorption 25 60 00 14-2 250 70 00 14. A 300 8-5 0-7 17-0 Cone 06 Fire shrinkage 0-4 n.n 0-7 Absorption 13-3 3-4 4-8 vitrified 140 30 7-7 softened 170 Cone 03 Fire shrinkage 70 Abs(»ption 30 Cone 1 softened No. 32 is an average of the 9-foot bank used in brickmaking. It contains a small percentage of th blue bottom clay. 74 No 33 ia Klected from the bed of strong hrownish clay which lie* between the upper loamy clay and the blue clay. No. 34 ii the bottom blue clay. Noa. 32 and 33 have good plasticity and working qualities; but No. .^4 is rather silty and works up into a sticky and rather flabby boviy, which is hard to mould, especially for hollow tile. The bi-k mixture burns to a fine red, nearly steel hard l)ody with a fo-^ ring at cone 010. Better results in colour and density of body are obuined by burning to cone 06. The colour becomes a fine dark red, and the body nearly impervious when burned up to the temperature of cone 03. Some samples of 3-inch fit-Id drain tile were made from 32 and 33 in a hand screw pi ess. The good working qualities of the clays were apparent in this process, the pipe issuing smooth and straight through the die. These tile were strong and structurally sound when burned to cone 07. These tests show that if the clay is well prepared, carefully handled, and hard burned, an exceptionally good field drain tile could be produced here. The clays are not suiuble for the manufacture of dry- pressed brick or vitrified wares. An extensive plant owned by a company known as the Crown Pressed Brick company, was erected at this locality some years ago, but has since been abandoned. It was equipped with machinery for making soft-mud and dry-pressed brick, steam drying tunnels, 4 multiple stack down-draft kilns, and S permanent wall up-drafl kilns. The expensive steam drier was a failure as this clay cannot be forced in drying without serious loss. It requires the addition of 15 to 20 per cent of sand before even moderately fast drying could be accomplished with safety. The brick in the fine group of buildings of Macdonald College at Ste. Anne were made at Ormstown. The following chemical analysis of the brick clay at Orms- town was made from an average samp!'j t^ken at Mr. Alex. Mills' clay pit: 7S Silica 6217 i.iumina 19-34 Iron oxide 4-0 Lime 4-14 Magnesia 2-90 Alkalia not determined Sulphur trioxide 0-18 Loss on ignition 4-35 ST. JOHN COUNTY. The greater part of this county is an almost absolutely level plain underlain by marine clay. This clay is in evidence at the surface over large areas; but in a few places slight rolls on the surface indicate the presence of sand and c- ivel. The clay is 41 feet in thickness at L'Acadie station on tlie Canadian i^adfic railway and about 30 feet at the Standard Clay Products company's plant. Fossil marine -hells are abundant from 6 i^. 10 feet below the surface at L'Acadie, where the clay is red- dish instead of the usual grey colour. St. John. The surface clay is extensively used at the works o' the Standard Clay Products company, situated on the Canadian Pacific railway about one mile west of the tovn of St. John (Plate XXII, A). The surface clay is mixed with a certain percentage of fire- clay imported from the State of New Jersey, and manufactured into sewer-pipe. Some ground waste pipe is added to the mix- ture to reduce the shrinkage. The clay is loosened on th - surface with disc harrows, then gathered into piles with scraper (Plate XV, A). It is then shovelled into carts, hauled to storage sheds, and allowed to dry. The surface clay is mixed with fireclay and tempered in wet pans. The tempered mixture of clays is hoisted to the sewer-pipe presses and made into the various sizes of pipe. Special shapes like elbows and branch joints are nfiade by hand in plaster moulds. The pipe, when 76 taken from the press, are placed to dry on the floors of the factory, They are burned in round down-draft kilns, and salt glazed in the usual manner at a temperature of about cone 2 (2138 de- grees F.). The products of this factory are widely distributed, ship- ments being made even west of Winnipeg. A large number of pipe are sold in Toronto, but the principal part of the output goes to Montreal and Ottawa. A sample of clay was collected at this work for the purpose of testing. It is the ordinary grey or drab, highly plastic variety which occurs so widespread in this region. It is exceedingly fine grained and smooth when wet, all passing through a sieve of 200 meshes to the inch. The chemical analysis (by W. S. Bishop) is as follows: Silica 60-20 Alumina 21-68 Iron oxide 4.0S Magnesia 2-80 Lime 2-OO Potash \ Soda / 3-32 Loss on ignition 3.97 In the physical tests it requires 27 per cent of water in order to bring it to a working consistency. It is stiflf, highly plastic, and pasty in the wet condition. Its drying qualities are poor, and although it may be dried very slowly, it will crack badly if Uie drying is hastened. The drying shrinkage is 8 per cent. This day bums to a light red, steel hard body at cone 010, with a fire shrinkage of 1-5 per cent, and an absorption of 12-4 per cent. When burned to cone 03 the fire shrinkage is 6 • 6 per cent, the colour dark red or brown, and the body is vitrified. It softens at cone 1 and fuses at cone 2. Owing to its fineness of grain and the amount of fluxing impurities it contains, this clay does not stand a high degree of heat, and is not suitable for the manufacture of vitrified wares. When mixed with about one-third its weight of fireclay, it is used for sewer-pipe. The fireclay assists in the drying, and 77 during the burning it acts the part of an infusible skeleton or stiffener in the body of the pipes, so that they hold their shape and do not deform or soften under the temperature necessary to produce salt glazed wares. The sewer-pipe made at this plant have a reddish vitrified body, generally sound and free from cavities, covered with a uniform dark brown glaze. An abandoned brick plant is situated at the intersection of the two railway lines, a short distance west of the town. This plant was built for the manufacture of common building brick, but, owing to the defective drying qualities of the clay, operations did not continue very long. If a mixture of two parts clay and one part sand is used, this clay may be used for brick, as the sand will prevent cracking and reduce the shrinkage to working limits. There is no sand available in the vicinity of this plant. A series of tests showii^ the effects of additions of small quantities of lime, dolomite, and talc schist to this clay are given in a separate chapter. These tests are of importance to manufacturers of fireproofing or hollow building blocks, brick, or tile. HISSISQUOI COUNTY. Most of the western part of this county consists of hills, higher in elevation than the levels at which the stratified stone- less clays are generally found. The deeper valleys among the hills contain terraced remnants of stratified deposits, but these are generally of sand and gravel. The eastern portion of the county, which is comparatively low in elevation, is generally underlain by boulder clay with sand or gravel patches, the stone- less stratified clay being rarely met. The adjoining counties to the east, Iberville and Rouville, contain larger areas of clay lands; but these are low lying counties and part of the plain of the St. Lawrence valley. Farnkam. The materials found along the west bank of the Yamaska river below this town consist of stony glacial clays, a thin layer 78 of stoneless stratified clay and sandy loam, making a total thickness exposed of 10 to 12 feet. There appear to be two different glacial clays, one at the bottom of the section contain- ing large stones, and an upper one, which is tough, compact, dark grey clay containing small pebbles and much coarse grit but no boulders. A small sample of this clay was tested with the following results: the clay was very gritty and contained some small pebbles but, when tempered with 18 per cent of water, gave a fairly plastic body with good drying and working qualities. The drying shrinkage was 3 • 6 per cent. The clay burned to a light red colour and good hard body at cone 010, the absorption being 14-5 per cent. The clay contains many particles of lime, and the test pieces after burning to this tenr.perature, crumbled on exposure to air. If burned to cone 03, a steel hard body is produced, and the higher tempera- ture of burning renders the lime particles harmless because they are partly fused into the surrounding clay. Brick burned to this temperature are perfectly safe to use. The clay softens at cone 1 and melts at cone 2. The material will make good building brick without the addition of sand. Some machinery for crushing the pebbles must be used, and down-draft or continuous kilns provided in order to get hard brick. There was a small brick plant in operation some years ago, about 1§ miles northwest of the town, between the line of the Central Vermont railway and the Yamaska river, but no brick have been made recently. The material used was a highly plastic brown or grey surface clay, similar to that at St. John already described. This clay overlies stony glacial clay and does not appear to be of any great thickness. VERCH^RES COUNTY. The surface of this county is an almost perfectly level, clay plain, bordered by the St. Lawrence river on the east and the Richelieu river on the west. Occasional slight swells on the surface indicate the presence of strips or patches of gravel 79 and boulders; but for the most part a stiff, brownish clay without pebbles lies immediately under the layer of soil. Varennes. A very extensive brick plant was erected at Varennes during the summer of 1913 by the Mount Royal Brick company. Thib plant is equipped with the most recent improvements for hand- ling clays and clay wares. It is designed for a large output of wirer are among the best common brick materials in the province; they burn to a hard red body, with a good ring, at cone 010, becoming dense/ and deeper in colour if burned to cone 06. The upper clay will make good field drain tile if burned hard, the samples of tile made in the laboratory being satisfac- tory in every respect. The bottom blue clay is not recommended this purpose. The chemical analysis made from equal parts of the upper and lower clay is given below: 17 Silica 61-9 Alumina 21-08 Iron oxide 5 ■ 72 Lime 3-62 Magnesia 2-44 IT"} <••« Sulphur trioxide 0-12 I.OM on ignition 3-39 Moisture 1-00 For UK in brickmaking, the upper and lower clays are broken down by hand from the bank, and dumped into soak pits; a small quantity of sand, and suflicieut water for tempering, are added. The clay is left overnight in the soak pita, and then wheeled direct to the brick machines in hand barrows. No rolls nor pug-mills are used for further mixing and tempering the clay. As the green brick come ' . om the machine they are haci^ out on the open level spaces provided for drying (Plate XVI, B). During good weather in summer the drying is completed in 5 days. The bottom blue clay shrinks more in drying, if used alone, than the upper brown clay, so that a larger sized mould it re- quired when a mixture with an excess of blue clay is being used. The burning is done in scove kilns, the fuel used being the soft woods, hemlock, spruce, Uiid tamarack, obtained from Gen- tilly. The soft wood is preferred to the hardwood as it gives a k>nger flame, and the heat reaches to the top of the kiln more readily. About 15 individual plants make from 15,000 to 20,000 brick per day, each, during the working season, which lasts from the end of April to about October 1. After this date weather for drying cannot be depended on. The entire output of this locality goes up the river to Mont- real and Three Rivers in schooners, the cost of carriage being $1 . 75 per thousand. A good quality of common red brick made by the soft-mud process is produced, but the product could be improved by work- ing up the clay in pug-mills and passing it through rolls. This would give a stronger brick, and one of better appearance. RICHMOND COUNTY. Thii county lica wholly within a hilly upland region, with •urface deposits consisting principally of boulder clays, sands, and gravelH. Small areas of clay comparatively free from pebbles occur in places on the higher terraces along the St. Francis river (Figure 10). Str^ifimd L bou/cfmr ci Figure 10. Type of high level cby dcpont at A«cot and LcnnoxvUle, Sherbrooke « RicKmoni. A clay deposit of this kind, worked for brickmaking by M. Proulx, is situated on a terrace at an elevation of a few hundred feet above the town of Richmond. This deposit differs from any surface clay so far examined in the province. It appears to be mostly of glacial origin, and the materials which go to make it up are of varying thickness and irregularly distributed. The following is a generalized section : Feet Inches Top soil 6 Brownish glacial gritty clay 2 6 Sand 6 Greenish grey silty clay 1 Reddish brown glacial clay 3 Stratified bluish grey clay with concretions. . . 20 ( ?) The brownish glacuu clays contain angular particles of schist from the surrounding country rock as well as some small rounded pebbles. 89 The clay depoait it worked down to the top of the blue clay, but the tatter '- not used aa it contains numerou* rounded con- cretion* which are very hard and rewml pebbles. The material used makes a very fair red building brick. The harder ones give a good ring when struck together. Most of the brick manufactured here arc ship(M;d to Montreal. The product of this plant could be improved by passing the clay through rolls, so as to break up the clay lumps, and pulverize the pebbles. A portion of the bottom blue clay could also be used if it were passed through rolls, to expel or crush v!ie accretions. SHICRBROOKK COt;NTY. The superficial deposits which occur in the hilly upland region included in this county are mostly composed of boulder clay, sands, and gravels, the stoneless clay deposits being gener- ally of small extent. An examination of the materials in the vicinity of the city of Sherbrooke failed to reveal any large worivai)! ■ deposits of clay, although a few small patches were seen oi a character similar to those indicated in Figure 10. Between the Canadian t acific Railway station and the railway bridge over the Mdgog river, a bed of dark grey, gritty stratified clay about 3 or 4 feet thick, overlying boulder clay, occurs on the south side of the track. The clay contains several fragments of schist de- rived from the neighbouring rocks, and a few scattered small rounded pebbles. When ground and tempered with 19 per cent of water, this material makes a good working body of fair plas- ticity. It dries rapidly, with a shrinkage of 5 per cent, and be- haves in burning as follows: Cone Fire shrinkage % Abiorption % Colour 010 06 03 1 00 10 4-7 loftened 125 90 40 fed deep red brown This material makes an excellent brick, with good red colour and steel hard body at cone 010. When burned to cone 90 06, a hard dense brick suitable for sewer linings or any under- ground work could be produced. The clay would require to be passed through rolls to pulverize the pebbles; but the deposit appears to be of small extent and not of economic value. Lennoxville. ^ J The brick plant of the Eastern Townships company (Plate XVII, A) is situated at Webster siding on the Canadian Pacific railway about 1 J miles from Lennoxville. It is one of the more important plants manufacturing common brick in the province. The clay deposit worked at this point is situated in a hilly upland district, at an elevation which is near the highest limit of brick clays in the region. The clay deposit consists of two divisions, an upper part which is weathered to a brownish or rusty colour, about 9 to 12 feet in thickness, and a lower dark grey portion. This clay is stratified throughout, in layers from one-half to one inch in thick- ness, with films or thin layers of sand between. The upper part appears to be free from pebbles, but the lower part carries numerous stony concretions. The entire deposit is about 35 feet thick. It is overlain by a few feet of sand and gravel, and underlain by boulder clay or bedrock. The sketch section shown in Figure 10 shows the relations of these materials. All the upper portion and about 2 feet of the lower are used for brickmaking. The bank is excavated with a steam shovel an dumped into cars running on rails to the machine house. The brick are dried, in 48 hours, in a radiation drier, the tem- perature of which varies from 120 degrees F. at the cool end to 190 degrees F. at the hotter end. The burning is done in a continuous kiln using producer gas as fuel. This was the first kiln of the kind erected in Canada, and up to the present is the only one in use in the province of Quebec. Provision is made at this plant for storing clay for use when the bank is frozen or when in too wet a condition for moulding. 91 The following tests were made of a sample of the clay. It was an average sample of the portion of the bank used for brick- making. It required 24 per cent of water to bring it to a working consistency. Its plasticity is only medium, and, owing to its sandy or silty character, the wet body is rather flabby, especially if a slight excess of water is added. The clay stands fast drying without checking, the shrinkage in drying being 5 per cent. It bums to a light red porous but hard body, with a good ring, at cone 010, without any fire shrinkage, and an absorption of 16-4 per cent. When burned to cone 06 the fire shrinkage is 1-4 and the absorption 13-6 per cent. A good red building brick is produced at this temperature, which is about the commercial limit of burning for this clay. The only product made by this plant is soft-mud brick; these are lighter in colour than usual. It is probable that the gas firing does not produce as dark colours in some clays, as the direct coal firing. The brick from the upper part of the cham- bers in the continuous kiln are the best, the ones in the lower portion are often underbumed. Some experiments made with this clay show that it will make a sound, hard field drain tile. The quantity of water in the clay must be carefully adjusted, and only the upper portion of the bank used for this purpose. The tile should be burned to rone 06 or about 1850 degrees F. Ascot. The brick plant of Mr. M. E. Loomis is situated at this point. The clay deposit, worked for brickmaking (Plate XVII, B), is situated on a high terrace overlooking the St. Francis river. The clay occurs in stratified layers which are frequently inter- laminated with layers of sand or silt. It appears to be free from pebbles. The upper part of the deposit is of a yellowish and brown colour, which is mostly due to weathering, the lower part is prevailingly grey. The thickness of the clay varies from 10 to 35 feet; it is underlain by gravels and bouldery clay, and carries an overburden of 1 to 3 feet of yellow sand. 92 The occurrence is of the general type of high level deposits, a sketch of which is shown in section under Figure 10. A sample of the upper clay collected at this locality was tested with the following results. It requires 26 per cent of water to bring it to a working consistency, and works up easily into a fairly plastic wet body, but becomes flabby with a slight excess of water. The clay will stand fast drying. The drying shrinkage of small pieces was 6 per cent, but a full sized brick showed a shrinkage of only 4 per cent. This clay bums to a good red, almost steel hard body at cone 010 without any fire shrinkage, and an absorption of 16 per cent. If burned to cone 06 the lire shrinkage is 3 per cent and the absorption 10 per cent. This clay becomes overfired, with an excessive shrinkage at cone 03, and begins to soften below cone 1. The best rommercial results seem to be obtained at about cone 08, a little higher than 1800 degrees F. This deposit is of a character similar to that near Lennox- ville but is not quite so silty; consequently it burns to a denser body at lower temperatures. The clay in the upper r' t of the deposit is suitable for the manufacture of field drain tue. The plant at this locality manufactures common red brick by the soft-mud process, the output being 40,000 per day. The clay is more carefully prepared for mouldinj; than usual, being passed through a pug-mill and a pair of rolls before entering the machine. The brick are dried in 3 days in an artificial drier, working from 100 degrees to 140 der es F. The burning is done in a continuous kiln of 16 chambers with a capacity of 30,000 each (Plate XVII, A), and is the only coal fired, continuous kiln used for burning soft-mud brick in the province at present. The results obtained are good both in colour and hardness, the prod- uct being one of the best of its class in this market. The brick are shipped to the cities of Montreal, Quebec, and Sherbrooke. This plant operates for about 8 months of the year; a large quantity of surplus green brick are piled in storage during the summer operations, and burned in the late autumn when the clay bank is too wet for proper working. 93 COMPTON COUNTY. Angus. Dr. Chalmers gives an account of an interesting section of Pleistocene deposits which occurs in a cutting on the Quebec Ceiitral railway about 3 miles east of Angus station.' The series in descending order is as follows: Feet Gravelly boulder clay containing glaciated boulders ... 3 to 5 Fine, highly plastic, stratified grey clay 12 to 15 Boulder clay, thickness unknown. The facts given in this section seem to favour the view of an interglacial period between two glaciations. Deposits of boulder clay verlying stoneless brick clays are unusual in the province, but they do occur at a few localities, already noted ' this report. As the investigation proceeds, it is probable th .nore examples will be found. BEAUCE COUNTY. The clay deposits of this county are generally found in detached areas or patches, in the river terraces along the wide valley of the Chaudiere, and on a few of its principal tributaries. The greater portion of the terraces, however, are formed of sand, gravel, or boulder clay. A section of a terrace near the mouth of Rivi&'e-du-Loup shows boulder clay in two divisions with stratified stoneless clay between (See Figure 6). The clays which occur along the Chaudiere valley are very similar to those already described as worked for brickmaking at Ascot and Lennoxville. Small quantities of common brick are mad" from them at Scott Junction on the Quebec Central rail- way, and at St. Victor-de-Tring, farther south on the same line. St. Joseph-de-Beauce. An examination was made of an unworked deposit situated about 2 miles so'« Figure 12. Section* of Pleittocrne depoMti on aea coast at wett tide of mouth of Little CaBcapedia river, near New Richmond. porous body at cone 010, the absorption being 22 per cent, which is high. There is a slight swelling in firing, which is probably due to the rather high percentage of lime in this clay. It bums to a very dense body at cone 03, but the shrinkage is excessive at this temperature. Softening begins below cone 1 and fusion at cone 2. This clay is suitable for common brick made by the soft* mud process, but it must be burned to a temperature of about 1900 degrees F. to produce a sufficiently hard body. It might also be used for field drain tile for the vicinity in which it occurs, but it would be far inferior to the tile which could be produced at Bathurst or Campbellton on the south shore of Chaleur bay. GASPE COUNTY. The portion of this county which borders Chaleur bay ap- pears to contain vei'y few deposits of Pleistocene clays, either of the i { lOJ bouUcry or ■tonelcM marine varietiea. There are leverai patches of residual day which have resulted from the decay of sinty rocks on which they rest. They are bright yellow, pink, a .id grey in coknir, as seen in the vicinity of Newport and P .«. Being not more than a foot or two in thickness they have little or no economic value. The terraces which extend for a few miles upstream from the mouth of the Grand Pabos river on the east side were found to be mostly composed of stoneleas Pleistocene clay. This clay re- semUes that at New Richmond and is probably of marine origin. The deposit is of considerable thickness and extent, free from pebbles, and without a heavy overburden of sand. This clay bums to a salmon cok>ured, porous, rather soft body at cone 010; the absorption, 24 per cent, is very high. When burned to cone 03, the cobur is buff, and the body al- though hard and strong, is still porous. It softens at cone 1 and fuses at cone 2. This is the only Pleistocene clay so far found in the province that bums to a buff ook>ur. The lime content is high enough to overpower the red cok)ratton of the iron, and give a buff instead of a red o(dour. The buff colour, however, is not developed until the higher temperatures arc reached, the lower temperatures of burning giving a light red or salmon colour. The clay will make common brick by the soft-mud process, but in order to produce a hard brick it should be burned to a temperature high enough to produce a buflf colour. The Laurentide Sulphide Pulp and Lumber company began buiMing operations at the mouth of the Grand Pabos river in 1912. The construction of a railway for 50 miles up this river is part of the work planned. The townsite of the company, Chandler, promises to become the most important industrial centre in Gaspe. CLA Y BELT, NORTHERN QUEBEC. The clays which occur in this region were probably de- posited in a large body of still water, which appears to have been brought into existence at a certain stage in glacial condirions. <04 This lake was tempr .ar^ accumulate a considt aK't large area. A. P. Colem- but w maintained long enough to rlii' '., jss of sediment over quite a ..as proposed the name Ojibway lake for this extinct body of water, therefore the name "Ojibway clay," mighv be applied to its sediments. Samples of clay were tested from two localities in this area. Amos. This is a village at the crossing of the Hurricanaw river by the National Transcontinental railway. Mr. J. H. Valliquette of the Quebec Mines Branch collected samples in 1912 at this point. His notes on the deposits are as follows: "No. 1 is a greyish stratified clay, taken in a well, to a depth of 10 feet below the surface, on town lot No. 2, block 2. The clay layers are about one-half inch in thickness, separated by a film of lighter coloured silt. The total thickness of the deposit is 14 feet. Some small boulders about as big as the fist, are oc- casionally found in the upper part, also some concretions. The clay is overlain by a tiiin layer of moss and decayed wood. ' Sample No. 2 is a bluish stratified clay taken from the same well as No. 1, but about 18 feet below the surface. The layers of this clay are about 2 inches in thickness. The line of division between the upper and lower clay is very sharply marked. "We struck a little bed of sand in this well at a depth of 21 feet. It gave a flow of about 150 gallons of water a day. The same bluish clay was found below the sand." Sample No. 1 requires 28 per cent of water to bring it to a working consistency; it is fairly plastic, and works easily, but makes a rather flabby wet body if a slight excess of water is used in tempering. It will stand fast drying, without checking. The drying shrinkage is 5 per cent and the tensile strength of the dried raw clay was 84 pounds per square inch. Over 80 per cent of the clay passes through a 200 mesh sieve, and no pebbles of coarse grit particles were observed in the sample submitted. The burning tests were as follows: 105 Cone Fire shrinkage % Absorption % Colour 010 06 03 02 3 00 00 20 5-6 fused 19-3 16-6 12-3 5-2 light red re ■ :'irk red This clay bums to a fairly hard body with g(->J. alour at cone 06. The colour is deep red, and the body steel hara ut cone 03. Some short lengths of 3-inch pipe were made from this clay in a hand screw press and burned to cone OS. The results of this test are good, and show that the clay will make an excellent field drain tile. In fact, it was one of the smoothest and soundest drain tile produced from any of the surface clays in Quebec, so far tested. The clay will make good building brick by the sand-moulded process, and will probably also make wire-cut brick, if the auger of the machine does not cause laminated structure in the finished brick. The addition of sand is not necessary as the clay works easily and the shrinkages are low. The clay compares favourably both in working and burning properties with any of the surface clays used in the older settled portions of the province; but in order to obtain the best results it must be burned to a higher temperature than the clays of the St. Lawrence valley. Sample No. 2 does not possess as good plasticity nor working properties as No. 1. It is very silty or "lean" in character. The drying shrinkage is 4 per cent, and the tensile strength of the air dried raw clay was 60 pounds per square inch. This clay bums to a porous body, rather soft and of poor colour, at the ordinary temperatures employed in common brickmaking. It contains quite a percentage of lime, which accounts for the porous soft body at the lower temperatures. ^5 there is an abundance of the upper clay in this region, the use of|the lower clay is not recommended. 106 Bell River. A sample of clay was collected by Mr. Morley Wilson of the Geological Survey, near the crossing of the Bell river by the National Transcontinental railway. This locality is about 45 miles east of Amos, where the last sample described was col- lected. This clay is stratified horizontally in layers of bluish grey colour with thin layers of ash coloured silt alternating (Plate XIX). It is non-calcareous, fairly plastic, smooth, and fine grained. The drying shrinkage is about 6 per cent. It behaved in burning as follows: Cone Fire shrinkage % Absorption Colour 010 06 03 01 3 OS OS 40 70 fused 170 160 7-S 1-5 light red red dark red dark red This clay is very similar to that from Amos. It is rather more plastic, and bums to a slightly denser body at lower tem- peratures. It is suitable for common building brick or field drain tile. These clays stand much higher firing than most of the Pleistocene clays from the St. Lawrence v.iUey. 107 PI oo^o-'oeooo'Neooe u c ^ >0 r«> ^ «0 r« 1^ t^ fO O^'O'Nl^OOOOaO U !2 s '*^'^(N'0*C(S(N«*«*tO'^t*0 -O ro r« <0 ^O O 00 r4t« ^iftu^VJOO ^ Ot/)^rO 'i ^00^000^-*00^-nOO*^'-000000*hOOOOOO Q-S Oio *n ic lOOio V3IO u^ •^00>Oabt^0^O«C000oAQb^>Ol/}OOl/) U3 i/>«ioOr»»fl»or^t*«soor*r>*>o^O«')fw »*5f*5»*)C4»*>-^f*)f*5MtN|C*C>l ■ -9Z «or»ooO^^ f^ r« QO & ^ r4^ioooes0^r4« .2! sj-gj 5-sa:^ 108 CHAPTER III. DRAIN TILE. MANUFACTURE. For the making of drain tile the clay should be thoroughly tempered to a stiflf mud, before moulding, this operation being done commonly in a pug-mill (Plate XXVII). The moulding is usually done in an auger machine having a circular die, although different styles of plunger machines and also hand presses are used in their manufacture. Drain tile are made in sizes varying from 2 inches in diameter to 3 feet. Drying is done frequently on pallet racks (Plate XXXI, B) such as are used for common brick, or it may also be done in tunnels. Any means of drying and burning may be used with the smaller sizes, but the larger sizes require considerable care to prevent cracking. The burning is usually done at a low tem- perature but they should be burned sufficiently hard to resist breaking when handled, and to support the required weight when stacked in piles, or bu. •* in trenches. Besides sufficient hardness the important requirements for drain tile are straight- ness, uniformity of diameter, and smoothness of ends. The best practice demands a vitrified tile for underdrain- age, as it is not necessary for a field tile to be porous. None of the Quebec clays can be burned to vitrification safely. On this account manufacturers will have to content themselves with burning a porous tile, but these can be made strong and durable if properly burned, and the material properly prepared before burning. ESTIMATED COST OF DRAIN TILE PLANT. The following is an approximate estimate of the cost of a small, but complete plant, to produce about 10,000 medium sized field drain tile per day: i I 109 Combined brick and tile stiiT-mud machine.'with crusher and pug-mill attached $1 ,000 Engine and boiler 1 ,000 Installing 400 Building 500 Three dryer sheds 750 Barrows, tools, bitting, etc 200 Two 22 foot circular down-draft Idlns 2 ,000 Clay car, steel rails, and winding drum 150 Total 16,000 This plant would require the labour of 10 men. The cost for fuel would be about 12 per thousand. ADVANTAGES OF UNDERDRAINAGE FOR SOILS. Drainage does four things: first, it removes the surplus ./ater and makes it possible to cultivate and seed about three weeks earlier in the spring than on the same land when undrained. Secoiidly, it makes the land from 10 to 15 degrees warmer than if not drained, and this warmth germinates the seed prop- erly and gives a good stand of grain. Thirdly, it lets plenty of air down to the roots of the plant, which is necessary for satis- factory growth. Fourthly, it makes the soil more porous, and this in turn causes the soil to store up more water for the use of the crops in the time of drought. Frequently the increase of crop in one year pays for the drainage, and seldom or never does it take longer than three years, so that drainage pajre from 33 per cent to 100 per cent per annum on the money invested. DRAIN TILE TESTS ON QUEBEC CLA YS. Drain tile may be made from almost any clay which does not crack too badly in drying, and which is free from pebbles, especially limestone pebbles. Limestone particles are reduced to the lime oxide in burning, these afterwards absorb moisture. lie swell, and crmnble the tile. The samples of clay to be tested were ground, mixed with a certain proportion of sand when neces- sary, and after tempering with water, stored in damp cloths for 2 or 3 days. A small hand screw press was used for moulding the test pieces. There was no means of lubricating the die of this press, consequently some of the tile were rougher in appearance than they would be if made through a properly lubricated die. The diameter of the pipe was 2 inches inside, and 3 inches outside measure. The test pieces when dried were burned at two tem- peratures, cone 010 (1742 degrees F.) and cone 06 (1886 degrees F.). These tests are incomplete as a plunger type of machine was used for moulding. The important fact, whether a clay lami- nates in an auger machine, was net ascertained. Lamination given to a bar of clay by the spiral motion of the propelling auger of a machine is a serious defect in clay wares, especially if under- burned. The layers in the clay, caused in this manner, peel if under the action of frost and destroy the tile. The strong or highly plastic clays are the ones most liable to show auger laminations. Tests of clays for field drain tile were made from the following localities. These include all the types of Pleis- tocene clays likely to be met with in the province. Oescriptions of these clays are given in the preceding chapter, as well as of several others which are also suitable for the manufacture of drain tile. Hw//. The clay from Richards' brick plant on the Chelsea road appears to work well through a die. The burned pipe made from it is smooth, strong, dense, and sound in structure. The shrink- age is rather high, but the addition of about 25 per cent of sand would correct this. The clay would also be improved by weather- ing over winter in stock piles if it were to be used for making drain tile. The absorption of the test pieces of tile is 12 per cent at cone 010, and the body is sufficiently hard when burned to this temperature. \m Ill Ormsloum. Tests for drain tile were made on the clay used for brick- making, which measures about 9 feet from the surface down. It included top loamy clay, lower strong yellowish clay, and a very little bottom blue clay. This clay seems remarkably well adapted to the making of drain tile; it flows smoothly through the die of the machine even without lubrication, and bums to a dense strong body. The absorption of test pieces at cone 010 was 15 per cent and at cone 05 was 14 per cent. This clay does not require the addition of sand when used for tile, but a small quantity, say 10 per cent, might improve the drying qualities. The strong yellow clay if used alone would probably give the best results, if no trouble were experienced in the drying. Laprairie. A mixture of 2 parts finely ground Utica-Lxnraine shale to one part of plastic surface clay was tested for drain tile. This mixture needs lubrication in the die, otherwise it is liable to pro- duce pipe with a rough surface. The burned pipe are sound and strong, but the shale in the mixture makes a heavier pipe than that made from all surface clay. The absorption of test pipe when burned to cone 010 was only 8 • 7 per cent. The expense of grinding shale would probably be too great in the manufacture of tile, but there is no doubt tliat a superior article could be pro- duced. The mbcture is well suited to the manufrcture of hollow building blocks or fireproofing, being hard and tough. The highly plastic surface clays of Laprairie county are not recommended for use alone, as their shrinkage is too high, and the drying qualities poor. They would require to be weathered in stock piles, and to receive an addition of at least 33 per cent of sand to make them workable. Varennes. The clay at Varennes is highly plastic, stiff, and sticky. It gives trouble in drying, as it cracks badly during this operation. 112 when made into bricks. A mixture of 3 parts clay to one part sand was tested for drain tile. It flowed smoothly through the die, and the green pipe could be handled easily without damage. The pipe dried without cracking, as the walls were thin when compared with brick. The shrinkage was rather high, but the body was dense enough and apparently sound in structure. The absorption, when burned to cone 010, was 14*7 per cent. The clay at this locality is not recommended, owing to its stickiness, stiffness in working, and its poor drying qualities. If it should become necessary to use this clay, however, it must be dug from the bank and thoroughly weathered over winter, and used with a mixture of 2 parts clay to one of sand. The pipe should also be piotected while drying on the racks. Pierreville. The clay tested for drain tile was obtained from the bank of a gully about one mile south of the village of Pierreville. It was mixed with 25 per cent of sand for the test. The pipe made on the hand press was rather rough, on account of there being no lubrication in the die. It stood handling in the green state without damage, and burned to a good sound body at cone 010, with an absorpdon of 15 per cent. The principal objection to this day is its stiffness in working, and poor drying qualities. It is possible, however, with weathering the clay and thorough mixing of sand to produce a fairly good pipe from it. There are other clays in the vicinity, which are more silty, and consequently more open in body and easier to work, that miglit give better results for tile making. Nicolel. The clay at Nicolet is open to objection, on account of its poor drying qualities; but when a mixture of 2 parts clay and one of sand is thoroughly prepared it seems very suitable for the manufacture of tile. The test pieces made from this mix- ture were smooth and sound in structure with a dense body. The absorption of tile burned to cone 010 was 13 per cent, and of those burned to cone 06 was 1 1 per cent. 113 For U8P in tile inaking the rlay should Ik- weathered and thoroughly worked up with the sand. The Rreeu tile would prob- ably have to be proiectetl from dry warm wind while drying. Ste. Monique. The clay at this locality is practically the same as that at Nicolet, and the above results apply equally well to it. A further test was made of the materials at this locality on a mixture of ground Medina shale and the plastic surface clay overlying it, using equal parts of each. The results obtainea with this mix- ture are exceptionally good, the tile having a dense, sound, tough body, with an absorption when burned to cone 010 of only 10 per cent. A tile of this kind would stand transportation well, and be very durable. The drying can be eflfected safely by the addition of the shale, and the body produced is far superior to a sand mixture. The cost of grinding shale is the only objection to its use for this product. St. Gregoire. The tile from this locality were made from the Medira shale which occurs about one mile east of the village on the road to Becancour. This material when finely ground and mixed with water is sufficiently plastic to pass through a die, and worketl fairly well in the hand press. The test pipe were smooth, but did not be? .• handling in the green state as well us the pipe made from the r.astic clays. The pipe burned to a strong, structurally sound, dense body, the absorption at cone 010 being only 7-4 per cent, and 63 per cent when burned to cone 06. This shale will produce a pipe which is much superior in every respect to those made from the surface clays, and there is no difficulty in drying as fast as desired. The shale grinds easily, and the additional price which could be obtained for the tile would offset the cost of grinding. If it were required to add some plastic surface clay, it could be obtained in the neighbour- hood. Although the shale is plastic enough, its working qual- ities would be improved and the cost of grinding reduced by the addition of about 33 per cent of plastic clay. 114 Ascot. The upper brownish clay at this locality is one of the best surface clays «o far examined for the purpose of tile making. It can be used directly as it comes from the bank, without weath- ering and will stand fast drying. On account of its silty char- acter it works easily, and it comes smoothly through the die; but the pipe does not bear handling in the green state as well as some of the fat clays from the low level deposits. The pipe bums to a dense strong body at cone 010, the absorption being 9-6 per cent. The bottom blue clay from this locality does not seem to give such good results, but some of it could probably be worked in with the brown top clay. Lennoxville. 1 . . ..ay tested for tile making at this locality was collected at the Eastern Townships Brick plant at Webster siding. This clay is similar to that at Ascot, but is more oilty, and does not bum to quite as dense a body, the absorption of the test pipe at cone 010 being 15-5 per cent. It makes a good stroig pipe, but the burning should be canr : 'ligher. The advantages of the clay are its good drying an ) f.*sy working qualities; but, on account of its silty character, the pipes do not keep their shape so well in the green state when handled between the ma- chine and the dry rack. It requires no sand. Deschaillons. The clay at Deschaillons belongs to the easily worked type, which requires no sand, and has good drying qualities. The upper part of the bank, which consists of a brownish fairly plastic clay, is recommended for tile making. The bottom grey clay is not. as it is rather too silty, and forms a flabby body when a slight excess of water is added to it. The upper clay makes a fairly smooth pipe, which burns to a strong though rather porous body at cone 010. the absorption at this temperature being 15 per cent, and 12 per cent if burned to cone 06. The pipe from this locality should be burned to the higher temperature in order to get the best results for hardness and density of body. ^11 115 Cap Routt. The clay at this locality has good working qualities and formed a smooth pipe, which was easy to handle in the green state. The tile burned to a fine, dense, strong body at cone 010, with an absorption of 13-6 per cent, and not much shrinkage. This d"y will make a strong, durable, drain tile, but it has one disadvantage — poor drying qualities. If the drying part of the process can be carried on safely a very desirable tile could be produced here. L'Iskt. If the clay at L'Islet did not contain so many pebbles, it wouki be one of the best tile clays in the province. Its working qualities are unsurpassed, as it flows in a smooth straight column from the die of the press. It bums to a sound, dense body at cone 010, with an absorption of 13 per cent, or 12 per cent if burned to cone 06. The clay used in testing was ground finely and the pebbles pulverized. The pebbles in this clay would interfere seriously with the manufacture of tile. St. Charles. The clay that occurs in the valley of the Boyer river in this vicinity is highly plastic, stiff, and rather sticky. Its drying qualities are poor and its shrinkage high. In making the tile tests, 20 per cent of sl ' "is added to the clay. A fairly smooth strong pipe was obtai. -v. . naving an absorption of 13 per cent when burned to cone 010, or 8 per cent at the temperature of cone 06. A better working body could be obtained and one with less shrinkage by using a mixture of 2 parts clay to one of sand. The clay should be dug and weathered in stock piles, and the sand thoroughly worked in for use in tile making. Rimouski. The day at Rimouski is fairly well adapted for the making of drain tile. It works easily and has good drying qualities with 116 low ahrinkagc. The quantity of tempering water must be care- fully adjusted, as a sliKht exctnut causes the wet body to beifitnc flabby. It flows smoothly through the die of the press, and burnit to a strong but rather porous body at cone 010, the absorption being 20 per cent. The body is harder and denser, and a better pipe is produced at cone 06. There are lime pebbles and particles in this clay which cause ■palling of the surface of the pipe after burning. It would be neceasary to pulverize the clay and carry the burning as far as poasible to overcome this defect. 117 CHAPTER IV. DRYING DEFECTS IN PLEISTOCENE CLAYS. Many clays have a tendency to crack or check while drying, after being moulded into shape. Brickmakers call them "tender" cluyg. It is troublesome to u»e these clays, as they not only re- quire attention and protection while drying, but the time taken for drying them safely is often prolonged unduly. There are some clays that crack so liadly in drying that no amount of care or protection will bring them safely through this stage in the process of manufacture. The drying defects found in many of the clays in the western provinces are a serious obstacle to the development of the clay industry in that region. The present investigation brought out the fact that some of the Pleistocene clays in the St. Lawrence valley had similar defects While these are not so deficient in this respect as some of the western examples, their poor drying qualities are troublesome enough to interfere with their use in the manufacture of wet-moulded clay products. The clays that crack in drying are confined to the low level deposits, such as occur in St. John, Verch^es, L'Assomption, Nicolet, and other adjoining counties. The tendency to crack in drying is almost always accom- panied by a sticky and pasty type of plasticity which causes these clays to adhere strongly to metals in clay working machin- ery, making them very hard to work or mould into wares. The excessive shrinkage in drying, aco .panied by warping, is also a further objection against these clays. The shrinkage on burning is moderate, and within working limits, and the colour, strength, hardness, etc., of the burned body compares favourably with any of the other Pleistocene clays which are free from the drying defect. The successful use, therefore, of these materials depends on the application of some practical method to overcome the sticky qualities, and the excessive drying shrinkage. >VsJ 118 The causes of cracking and shrinkage are, briefly, the ex treme fineness of grain, and a large percentage of colloidal mattci in the sediments which compose these deposits. Such clays absorl a large quantity of water in tempering and part with it verj slowly in drying. The surface of brick nuide from these clayi begins to show cracks very shortly after moulding. These crack deepen and widen until they reach almost to the centre of th( brick. The labour used in making this brick is lost. Th( addition of large percentages of sand does not seem to help muci in overcoming the drying defect except in mild cases; further more the sticky qualities of the clay remain. If sand is addec in amounts large enough to stop the cracking and shrinkage the burned product is too weak and crumbly to be of any value It is also very difficult to add sand to these stiff clays so as ti obtain a uniform mixture, unless special machinery is provide< for the purpose. The probable causes of cracking and the various method used in overcoming it, were fully described in a report' dealini with certain clays in the western provinces. PREHEATING CLAYS. As the best results were obtained by a preliminary hea treatment of the raw clay, a few of the Quebec examples wer put through this process on a limited scale in the laboratory The ground dry clay was merely heated slowly in a thick cas iron pan over a gas flame. The clay was stirred up to ensur even heating, and its temperature was obtained by placing th bulb of a thermometer in the heated mass. Three samples of clay from the following localities wer experimented with: Varennes (No. 44), L'Epiphanie (No. SO) Nicolet (No. 58). When heated up to 200 degrees C. and over, these clays giv off a strong sour odour while hot, and change from a light to dark grey colour. They become granular in texture and los their stickiness. If heated up to 350 degrees C. they will los their plasticity. The change that takes place in the character o these clays with a small rise in temperature is remarkable; a > Clay and Shale £>eposita of the Western Provinces, Part II, Chap. VI 119 200 degrees the properties of the clays are not materially altered ; but at 300 degrees an entire change is effected ; while at 350 degrees C. the material produced is not a clay at all as far as its working properties are concerned. The clay at Varennes is a stiff, sticky, highly plastic clay which is hard to work and cracks while drying in a room with a temperature of 65 degrees F. The same thing happens even when 33 per cent of sand is added. When heated up to 200 degrees C. it is not quite so sticky as in the raw state and is somewhat easier to work. A 3 inch cube made from it dried intact at 65 degrees F., but cracked if dried at 120 degrees F. When heated up to 250 degrees C. most of the stickiness had gone, and the body was more open in texture; it had retained good plasticity, being easily moulded into shape. The 3-inch cubes moulded from the clay preheated to this temperature, cracked in the drier at 120 degrees F. When heated to 300 degrees C, a very pronounced change is observed ; the stickiness is gone, the plasticity is low, the granular character is particularly noticeable as the particles do not slake readily in the mixing water but remain rough to the feel. The clay can still be moulded, however, and a 3-inch cube made from it dried intact at 150 degrees F. When this clay is heated up to 350 degrees C, it is entirely changed in character, and loses its plasticity. The mass of clay grains when tempered with water simply falls into an incoherent mass which cannot be moulded into shape. If the clay which has been heated up to 350 degrees C, be allowed to stand in water for 3 or 4 days it will regain enough plasticity to allow it to be moulded. The clays from Nicolet and L'Epiphanie are very similar in the raw state to that at Varennes, having practically the same defects in working and drying. Their behaviour in the pre- liminary heating trials was also practically the same as that just described, except that the clay from L'Epiphanie does not require quite such a high heat treatment to bring it to a rwokable condition, a temperature of 250 degrees C. being sufficient. The following table shows the effect of the preliminary heating on the air shrinkage of these clays: 120 No. Average per cent air shrinkage Raw clay Preheated clay 44 8-S 100 90 4-0 50 3-3 58 45 The air shrinkages are reduced one-half or more, thus bring- ing these days within working limits. The preheating seems to impart the character of a coarse-grained shale to a very fine- grained clay. The effect of preliminary heating on the burned ware is also very marked, as it produces a body which is far more porous and slightly softer than that given by the raw clay. The following table of absorptions shows the increased porosity caused by preheating: No. Cone Percentage of absorption Raw clay Preheated clay 44 010 06 180 11-5 25 200 50 010 06 155 13-2 25-7 21-3 58 010 Of 14-8 130 23-4 230 There is little or no difference in the burned bodies at cone 03, both being very much shrunken, xatrified, and overtired. It is apparent that these clays can be made workable by the preheating process if commercial conditions allow of its use. The process involves the extra expense of a suitable type of rotary drier or kiln, with cost of f..el and labour over and above the ordinary brick plant's equipment. The best results would be obtained by storing the clay until dry, grinding in rolU or dis- integrators, and heating the ground clay. As these clays can only be used for making a cheap class of product it is doubtful if they could be treated thus profitably, as they would have to compete with clay deposits in the same region which require no preheating. 121 ANTE-FIRED PROCESS. This process has been suggested for the working of those clays that are defective in working and drying qualities and cannot be treated by the ordinary methods of brick manu- facture. The ante-fired process consists in burning the clay in heaps as it comes from the bank, or in special types of kilns, using either wood, coal, or natural gas for fuel. The burned clay lumps are ground in dry pans fine enough to pass a 12 mesh sieve. The ground clay is moistened and mixed with about 5 or 6 per cent of hydrated lime. This mixture is pressed into brick shapes, by the usual dry-press n-ichines. The pressed brick are hr or*' linders under a steam pressure of 100 to 140 poui. square inch for 8 hours. The brick are ready for use shortly after coming from the hard- ening cylinder, the whole process being exactly the same as that used in the manufacture of sand-lime brick (Chapter VII) ex- cepting that ground burned clay is substituted for sand. As this process is new, and has not been demonstrated on a commercial scale, the following series of experiments were con- ducted for the purpose of determining the strength and dura- bility of brick made in this manner. A quantity of clay from Varennes (No. 44) was burned at four different temperatures, that would probably be obtained in practice while calcining roast heaps of clay. The temperatures of burning ranged from 1600 degrees F. to 2000 degrees F. The lumps of clay burned at these different temperatures were ground together until the grains were all small enough to pass through a screen of 10 meshes to an inch. The ground calcined clay was mixed with 6 per cent of hydrated lime, and 11 per cent of water. This mixture was pressed by machinery into standard size brick and 3-inch cubes. These test pieces were placed in a cylinder for 8 hours under a steam pressure of 120 pounds per square inch. They were allowed to stand for a week after steaming before the tests were begun. The ab- sorption of water by the brick was 20 per cent. Cross bedding test of whole brick: Dimensions 4 05 inches X 2-34 inches X 8-26 inches. 122 Distance between supports 7 inches. Breaking load in lbs. applied at centre 1230 Fibre stress in lbs. per square inch 580 Crushing strength of half brick: Area of surface carrying load 13 -57 sq. in. Crushing load 43,970 lbs. Stress 3,240 lbs. per sq. in. FREEZING TEST. The half brick from the absorption test was placed while wet in a freezing temperature for 12 hours. It was taken in- side and thawed out in water heated to about 150 degrees F. This process was repeated 20 times, and the brick was finally dried, and crushed with the following results: Area of surface carrying loads 1 7 • 5 sq. in. Crushing load 53,870 lbs. Stress 3,070 lbs. per sq. in. The brick showed no apparent defects due to the repeated freezing and tJ. wing conditions. As far as V.\<: laboratory tests go the "ante-fired" brick made from the Varcnnes clay appears to be as strong and to withstand the freezing test as well as a medium grade of soft-mud brick. The ante-fired brick, however, does not appear to possess the quality of toughness possessed by the soft-mud brick as the edges and comers are rather crumbly. This is a defect which would show up plainly in handling and transportation, so that the prod- uct would probably arrive on the job looking rather the worse for wear. The ante-fired brick have the advantage over the soft-mud brick as refjards uniformity of size. They can all be made absolutely the same size. The only advantage they have over sand-lime brick is in regard to colour, although the colour of the burned clay in the ante-fired brick is subdued to some extent by the addition of lime which gives a salmon colour instead of red. The producing of brick by the ante-fired process is patented. 123 CHAPTER V. EFFECTS OF LIME, DOLOMITE, AND TALC SCHIST ON LEDA CLAY. The working and burning of the highly plastic low level and Leda clays of the St. Lawrence valley in Quebec are at- tended by certain difficulties due to defects peculiar to these materials. The difficulties encountered in working and drying, and the methods adopted for overcoming them, were explained in the last chapter. It is no trouble to make ordinary porous common brick, as the temperature at which they are burned is low, but if it is required to bum wares to a hard body in down -draft Idlns trouble is likely to ensue from the low fusing point, short range of vitrification, and excessive fire shrinkage of these clays. This behaviour under firing is owing to the large amount of fluxing impurities present, and the extreme fineness of grain. The particles are ir such close contact in fine-grained clays, that fluxing ac'' nn- traction, and softening take place much quicker and at a .i^ lower temperature than in a coarse-grained clay of the same k '^ On account of this difference in their physical condition, it is possible to produce a dense brick from the coarsely ground Utica shale in Laprairie county, but not from the Leda clay from the same locality, although their chemical compositions are very similar. It is only possible to produce an impervious body from these clays by adding a large proportion of refractory material such as fireclay. The fireclay acts as an infusible skeleton, and holds the easily fusible clay in shape during the burning. A considerable quantity of local clay is used at St. John in the manu- facture of sewer-pipe by the simple, but costly, process of adding 35 per cent of imported fireclay. The cost of importing fireclay to mix with the local clays would be too great in the case of the cheaper clay products suhc 124 as fireproofing or hollow building blocks. Certain experiments were undertaken to find out what effect small percentages of lime, dolomite, or talcose schist, had on the Leda clay at the higher temperatures of burning. The source of the lime used in the experiments was marble, ground to pass a 40 mesh screen. The dolomite was magnesian limestone ground to the same degree of fineness. The talcose schist was from Sherbrooke, where it is quarried for building stone, and is the most refractory material in the region. The clay used in the experiments was taken from the pit used by the Standard Clay Products company at St. John. It is a typical low level marine clay, which occurs so widespread in this region. It is exactly the same as the clay that occurs at Delson Junction, L'Acadie, Lakeside, and Montreal. The above ground materials were added to the clay in the proportions of 5, 10, and 15 per cent of each. These mixtures were made up into bricklets 4 inches long and 1 inch thick, and burned at various temperatures indic_^ed by cones. The following table gives the percentages of absorption and total shrinkages. The 5 per cent mixtures are omitted, as these small amounts of material did not affect the quality of the burned body to any marked degree. Mixtures Total shrinkage Absorption Cone OS Cone 03 Cone 02 Cone 1 Cone 05 Cone 03 Cone 02 Cone 1 Clav 140 12-6 11-6 110 10-6 10-6 10-6 170 160 15-6 12-6 120 13-6 11-6 170 170 15-6 140 130 150 12-6 14-3 13-6 14-3 13-8 13-6 14 70 7-4 95 130 15-3 130 14-6 00 20 2-5 8-8 10-3 90 110 00 20 1-7 6-6 90 6-7 9-6 90% clay. 10% talc schist 85% clay. 15% talc schist 90% clay, 10% lime 85% clay, 15% lime 90% clay, 10% dolomite 85% clay. 15% dolomite 00 00 0-7 30 00 30 1 1 ¥ '* 125 EFFECTS ON SHRINKAGE AND ABSORPTION. The effect of all these materials is to lessen the shrinkage and increase the absorption. The decrease in shrinkage is ob- viously caused by the introduction of coarse-grained non-plastic materials, which act like sand. The larger grains of dolomite and limestone did not enter into fusion, but remained porous, hence the higher absorption in the mixtures than in the bricklets where clay alone is used. The grains of talc schist appear to enter into fluxing action with the surrounding clay and had less effect in keeping the clay body open, and in reducing the shrinkage in firing than the other two materials. The clay test pieces were vitrified' at cone 03, but none of the mixtures had this density, except the mixture containing 10 per cent talc schist. The only bricklets not vitrified at cone 1 were those containing 15 per cent of lime or dolomite. The addition, therefore, of this small amount of finely ground lime or dolomite has the effect of raising the vitrification point of this clay from cone 03 to cone 1, being equivalent to a differ- ence in temperature of 60 degrees C. or 108 degrees F., which is a considerable gain. EFFECT ON DEFORMATION IN BURNING. The temperature which a clay will stand without deforming is one of the most important points in burning clay wares. The aim of the person in charge of the burning operations is usually to produce as large a percentage as possible of hard bumtxl wares in his kiln, and at the same time to prevent losses from over- firing and softening. What influence the above materials have in preventing de- formation in burning could only be determined by special tests. For this purpose strips 4 inches long by half an inch wide and one-quarter inch thick were prepared from the same clay with percentages of the different ingredients similar to those used in ' The term vitrification in these experiments means that degree of density in the burned body when the ?' sorption test shows less than 3 per cent, whether the test pieces have a glassy iracture or not, when broken. 126 the vitrification tests. These were supported on fireclay blocks, specially made for this test, so that about 3 inches of the clay bars projected horizontally, and this portion was free to droop if it became softened in the fire. The diagram Figure 13 shows z re st ba.r fire cla.y block Method of sufporting c/a/ baj-s for cfeforma-tJon test / 100% /^ 15% t^c yiSXiime /^ISX do/omite - as/, c/a.^ {?. Figure 13. Diagram showing amount of deformation in test bars burned to cone 03. 11 % 127 the method of supporting thi bare during the firing, and also the amount of deformation the different pieces undergo when burned to cone 03. There appeare to bu a relation between the density of body and the softening point, as the neat clay bare and the one containing 15 per cent of talc schist, which are vitrified at cone 03, are also much deformed at this temperature. All the 10 per cent mixtures had a greater droop in the same order as the 15 per cent mixtures shown in the diagram. PRACTICAL APPLICATION OF TESTS. The working and burning properties of this clay are much improved by the addition of 10 to 15 per cent of lime or dolomite, the most marked advantage being the prevention of deformation at temperatures up to 04. Makera of thin walled wares, such as porous terra-cotta, or fireproofing, roofing tile, and drain tile, -<>ing the fine-grained plastic clays in the St. Lawrence valley, could increase the stiffness of their products under fire, and con- sequently ensure a greater percentage of hard burned ware in a down-draft kiln. The commercial limit of burning these clays when used alone, or with the addition of sand, is about cone 07. The common magnesian limestcme seems to be the most effective cheap ingredient to use in preventing premature soft- ening, but ground limestone, marl, whiting, or quicklime will answer almost equally well. If quicklime is used, less than 10 per cent will be sufficient. It is absolutely essential that these materials should be ground fine enough to pass a 40 mesh sieve. If introduced in larger sized grains they are a positive detriment to the clay and would ruin the burned product. Hence whiting, or marl, are the safest form? of lime to use, on account of their fineness of grain. Unless the mixing is thoroughly done, the small amount of lime added will be ineffective. Enough sand to keep the shrink- age within working limits is also essential. The only form of lime in small percentages that affects the working qualities of thr clay is caustic or quicklime. Five per cent of this ingredient v/ould probably make the clay unworkable ? ■ ■■■;■' '^ I Ml 111 iK i)ll 128 in the wet state, and weaken the burned body, instead of helping it. One per cent of quicklime added to a stiff clay will improve its working qualities, and assist in drying, without any bad ef- fects on the burned body, provided the lime is added in a powdered form with thorough mixing. Further details regarding effects of lime on the working of stiff clay are given in Chapter XII. II J. M. : 1 i f L 1 ? 129 CHAPTER VI. CLAYWORKING INDUSTRY. Alttiough brickmaking is an ancient induitry in the province of Quebec, its scope has hitherto been limited. Owing to the growing expense and insecurity of wooden construction, the ab- §ence of building stone over large areas, and the abundance of clays and shales, the clay products industry has of late years as- sumed more important dimensions. The evolution of domestic architecture on the great clay plain of the St. Lawrence valley is an interesting illustration. The first dwellings were naturally built of logs, as the area was then well forested. Later on, those who wanted better houxes, built them of field stone, using the boulders which they found scattered on the plain. To a later generation the frame house covered with planed boards and painted seemed more desirable. To-day the red brick house is the token of prosperity, and these are being ererted more than ever in every town and village. The prodig- ious growth of the city of Montreal during the last few years was attended by an almost equal development of the brick in- dustry, as brick was the material almost exclusively used in the newer portions of the city. The largest single clay working 'ant in Ca:iada. as well as several small ones, were built to supply s demand. COMMON BRICK. The common building brick used in the province are of two varieties, a soft-mud, red brick made from the surface clay, and stiff-mud or wire-cut brick made from shale, or a mixture of shale with surface day, the colour being red in most cases. SOFT-MUD BRICK. Small plants producing 500,000 to 1 ,000,000 or 2,000,000 soft mud brick annually are common over the more settled p.jrtJons of to 130 the province. These generally mnw t ci ine machine operated eithei by horse-power or a small engii ■ The Mck are hacked out t»> dry cm open floors, or stt on ro. ks ml pallets. They are burned In scove kilns, set .15 twurses high " ' burned with wood. These plants operate onl> during t- mi. ..'*r months, or shut down altogether if there is not ei tJk i (1< •nm 1 for their product As the outlay of capital to equip ;. i-' ..•• '>i ' u kind is small thoy can afford to be left idle during th .v . ' < oi ii dull season. The scove kiln costs nothing I t t *"' lai our of setting the brick to be burned, and has the fur t-r . ^' • tage thpi the kiln can always be shifted as the clay b u. p . .urther iwv from the old ground. Their disadvam ^ «« I'la: '■ ■ ''"• ' '•<>* tightly the outside layers of brick '< » ' .nd daul)cd over there is always a considerable 1 >■ - < i h« i , i a large pro- portion of brick are underbumed am soft, d' bly not moro than 60 per cent of good hard brick ome U. tr ., majority of icove kilns in the province. Oth< r things beins equal it is possible to get 95 per cent hard brick in a good down-draft or continuous kiln; but in some localities as high as 90 |)fr cent of hard brick have been obtained from saive kilns. The tend(nu:y among brickmakers is to use a sandy clay or to add sand to a clay if it is too "fat." The latter is done for three reastms; (1) for ease of working, a sandy clay works easier in the machine than a stiff clay; (2) to help in the drying; (3) to reduce the shrinkage. But sand is often added in excess of these requirements, hence a weaker burned body' is produced and one which deforms more easily while handling in the wet state. A brick sanded to excess and underbumed is worse than useless. The drying defects in the low level Pleistocene clays at many localities in the province of Quebec, are a serious obstacle to their utili^tion. Several failures are due to a lack of pre- liminary inquiry as to whether this defect existed in certain deposits or not previous to erecting a plant on them. The tests made for this report include the drying qualities of the clays. ' See tests on Montreal clay in this report. I® 131 SHAI.F. BRICK. The use of thale for building Imck is growing in favtwir, rsperially in cities, to meet the requirements of large structureo where heavy kiartarit consideration where a large output is desired. Although the building and equipping of a large plant for the manufacture of shale brick i-* an expensive undertaking, these plants are able to compete wilsi the producers of soft-mud brick, because they can cut down the cost of production by labour saving devices (Plate XXI, A), and b>- their large and constant output during the greater part of the year, as they can work all through the winter when the »->ft-mud yards are forceiithwc«t of Montreal. This plant and a similar one at Delson Junction, about 4 miles farther west, are owned by the National Brick company. An output of 250,000 brick per day is claimed for this plant, .md 400,000 per day for the one at Laprairie ; but these amounts are not always to be reckoned on in practice. The plant of the St. Lawrence Brick ami Terra Cotta com- pany is situated a short distance west of the National Brick company at Laprairie. An output of 100,000 win -cut shale brick per day is claimed by this compan\ . The materials used and the products of the two plants are similar. The raw materials used by these plants are described in a previous page. The product made from them is chiefly a rough common brick. Quan- tity being the principal object not much attention is given to ap- pearance. The shale is ground rather too coarse, and unless the bricks are hard burned they have a tendency, on this account, to crumble at the edges and comers. Finer grinding means less ground shale coming from the dry pans, but it also means a mH 132 h brick of better finish. Many of the brick are also covered with an unsightly white scum. This scumming appears to occur in the driers, and becomes enhanced in the coal fired continuous kilns. As most of the brick from these plants is used for piers, foundations, and backing, the colour and finish are not so im- portant. The outside finish or facing, whatever it may be, conceals their defects. The city of Quebec has not yet developed the activity in building, and the increase in area, that so many of the cities in the Dominion have shown in recent years. There has, however, been a considerable increase of construction recently, and con- sequently a demand has arisen for a better class of brick than the soft-mud clays the St. Charies River valley can furnish. The escarpment of Utica-Lorraine shale which borders the north channel of the St. Lawrence river and approaches within a few miles of the city, contains an abundance of raw materials for a good class of brick. The Citadel Brick company erected a plant for the manu- facture of shale brick in 1912, at Boischatel, a short distance beyond Montmorency falls (Plate XXI, B). This plant started in a small way, and produced an excellent building brick. The results were so good and the demand so great, that the plant is now being enlarged to four times its original capacity. The shale at this point is easier to grind, and is more plastic than that at Laprairie. It bums to a very pleasing shade of dark buff, or a flashed effect of pink and buff can be produced, when burned to a high temperature, while those burned at lower temperatures are salmon coloured. FACE BRICK. The face brick industry is not very well developed in QuelxT, and a large quantity of brick are imported annually into the province for this purpose. Buff and red pressed brick from Milton, Ontario, from the Don Valley company of Toronto, and from various makers in the United States are used in Montreal and many of the smaller cities and towns. Scotch firebrick are used to quite an extent for facing buildings in the city of Quebec. These are unloaded 133 from steamers at the wharves in that city and sold for $24 per thousand. The Chateau Frontenac, one of the most im- portant hotels of the Canadian Pacific group, is a good example of the use of this material for external work. The practice in architecture at present is in favour of a rough texture face brick in preference to the old smooth surface dry-pressed brick. Manu- facturers of face brick meet this demand by making their brick by the stiff-mud process, having a special device for roughening the face to be exposed in the walls. The Fiske company of New York were probably the first makers to use this device, adopting the trade name "tapestry" brick for their product. A similar rough faced brick sold under various names is now made at many works in the United States, and by a few in Canada. They are gradually replacing the smooth faced dry-press brick, and in fact these are a thing of the past in many localities; but it is probable that they will remain in favour at other places. There are several fine examples of buildings faced with rough textured brick in Montreal, where their use is increasing even for the best class of structures where it was formerly con- sidered essential to use stone. The National Brick company at Laprairie have been making red dry-pressed brick successfully for many years, and nave recently made a very creditable showing with rough textured stiff-mud brick. By the use of a certain percentage of lime added to the red burning shale and clay, and by "flashing" the latter during the burning process, they are able to produce tones ranging through buffs, reds, purples, to blue black in the finished bricks. Montreal architects are now able to procure a local material which will produce almost any colour effect peculiar to burned clay wares that they desire to give to their buildings. Quite a lai^ proportion of the brick from the kilns of the Citadel Brick company at Quebec, are sorted for colour and sold for facing buildings. The prevailing colours obtained are salmon to dark buff or greenish, with gradations of these tones on the tame bride As these brick are carefully made and hard burned, and have pleasing and effective colours, they are very suitable for facing purposes. 134 The makers of soft-mud brick have made no special attempt to produce an article for facing the better class of buildings. The red colours are generally too pale, and the brick are not very carefully moulded and handled. There is no better structural material made than a good soft-mud brick. Archi- tects like them, on account of their colour and texture, especially for dwellings, for which they are eminently suiuble when laid up with the proper width and colour of mortar joint. Some of the brick that come from the continuous coal fired kiln at Ascot, near Sherbrooke, may be sorted for facing pur- poses, and give good results. The scove kiln generally gives too light a red colour in the Quebec clays, on account of the good oxidizing conditions in- herent in this type of kiln. The reducing conditions that can be obtained in the down- draft or continuous kilns seem to produce the richest dark red colour. The items to be considered in an enterprise of this kind are: the cost of building down-draft kilns, the selection of a suitable clay and moulding sand, and extra machinery for preparing the clay, so as to produce a body of uniform structure. The extra price obtained for this class of brick, over the ordinary soft-mud brick, should meet the added cost of production. The surface clays do not give good results when used in the manufacture of dry-pressed face brick. Brick made by this method must be burned to a higher temperature than those made by the wet-moulded processes in order to produce sufficient density of body. The silty and sandy high level clays of the Pleistocene pro- duce a weak, punky, burned body when dry-pressed. The highly plastic fine-grained clays found at low levels shrink too much, and are also subject to checking in the firing. In burning dry-pressed brick of either kind, the losses due to overfiring at the upper part of a down-draft kiln would be large, and at the same time a considerable number of bnck in the lower part of the kiln would be too soft and porous to be of any value. Most of the shales are suiuble for use by the dry-pressed ii 135 process, as they can be burned hard without much risk of over- firing on account of their coarseness of grain, and generally higher range of fusibility than the days. Attention has been directed in this report to the suitability of the Medina shales in Nicolet county for this purpose. These shales will produce a fine red, smooth, dry-pressed brick with dense, strong body at comparatively low temperatures. A still higher grade of dry-pressed face brick would be pos- sible from the L^vis or Sillery shales at the localities given in this report. The uniform rich red colour and the density of body produced by these shales appear equal to the famous Accrington reds made in Lancashire. PA VING BRICK. Vitrified paving brick or blocks are not manufactured in this province, and very few are produced in Canada, for the reason that good vitrifying shales which are necessary for this purpose are comparatively rare. They are used, however, to some extent in many of the cities in Canada, and would be utilized more if they could be obtained conveniently. When laid on streets they afford the nearest possible approach to a dustless town and hence to a sanitary condition. Makers of paving brick, more than any other class of clay products manufacturers, have been forced to produce a good article on account of the exacting te^ts this material must stand before it is accepted for use. Many of the failures charged against paving brick are really due to bad foundations, as the best brick in the world will fail if badly laid. The essential qualities of a paving brick are soundness of structure, impermeability to moisture, and toughness. The latter quality is imperative as the material must withstand the impact of heavy traffic for a reasonable number of years without failure. Shales that bum to a dense body, i\nd have a long vitri- fication range, are required for the manufacture of paving brick. The Medina or Utica-Lorraine shales will not meet these require- ments as their vitrification points and softening points are too close together, or in other words their vitrificati together. This mixture is then added to the remainf 120 pounds per square inch for 8 hours. The capacity of this plant is 25,000 brick per day. ST. LAMBERT. The plant of the Silicate Engineering company for the manu- facture of sand-lime Vick is located at this point. The lime used here is made from marble at Missisquoi and the sand is brought from South Durham by rail. The lime is added to about 30 per cent of the sand, and they are ground together in a tube mill until fine enough to pass a 100 mesh screen. The ground product is added to the balance of the sand with some water and mixed in a pug-mill. The mixture is then elevated to a silo and left for 24 hours. As it comes from the silo it is passed through another pug-mill before going to the press, which is of the rotary type, with a capacity of 22,000 brick per day. The brick remain in the hardening cylinders for 10 hours, under a steam pressure of 120 to 140 pounds per square inch. The following tests made by Mr. A. G. Spencer of the Cana- dian Inspection and Testing Laboratories, Limited, show the strength of sand-lime brick made at this plant. The results are an average of the tests on 7 brick. Transverse breaking load, 6 inches between supports 1490 Modulus of rupture in pounds per sq. in 633 Mt 144 ■ 'm j ' ''-[ i 1 li li y Crushing load in pounds per aq. in 2932 Pfercentage of absorption 7-4 These results may be compared with the following testi made at the Engineering Laboratory of McGill University, on a hard burned shale brick from Laprairie, made by the sttff-mud Crushing load in pounds per sq. in 4640 Percentage of absorption 7-7 As might be expected the shale brick is much the stronger article, but the sand-lime brick are as strong as the average •oft-mud brick made from the surface clays in Quebec. MA TERIA LS OTHER THA N SAND. Various rock materials can be groumi, mixed with hydrated lime, and pressed into bricks, which are apparently quite as good as those made with sand. The slag from blast furnaces, waste rock tailings from the silver mines in Cobalt, and ground burned clay, have been used successfully for brick. The ante-fired process described in Chapter IV was de- signed to utilize those clay deposits which have such defective qualities that they cannot be used in the ordinary methods of brickmaking. Some tests made in the laboratory on rock uilings from the silver mines at Cobalt and Gowganda in Ontario, show that this waste product when made up with hydrated lime into bricks, gives as good if not better results than the sand-lime brick. It is evident from these tests that the various silicates will also combine with lime in the presence of heat and moisture to produce calcium-hydro-silicate, as well as silica. If, however, the chemical reactitm is not quite the same between silica .ind lime as between lime and the silicate minerals, the bond ynu- duced, whatever it may be, is quite as good for the purpose. The brick made from the ground diabase rock from the silver mines gave good results in the crushing and freezing tests. The strength was not impaired at the end of 20 repeated freezings and thawings. The colour of the brick made from the diabase rock is dark greenish grey, and is no improvement on sand-lime brick in colour. 145 Thr brirk made from the burnni thy and lime it only a maknhift to produce a building mrtterial in a region where there is no aand, and where the clav {« tcx- defcrtivo for uie in the ordinary methodn of making and Imming. SILICA BRICK. Sand-lime brick are ttometimes (fronously called silica brick. It is true that there W .i good deal of resemblance be- tween the materials that enter into tin- composition of each kind, but the ordinary sand-lime brirk would l»< useless* ff»r the purposes to which silica brick are applied. Silica brick are generally made from pure crushed quartzite to which is added about 3 per cent of lime. These brick are moulded by hand and burned in kilns, for a peri^xl of 7 to lU days, the temperature of burning rising as high as IMM de- grees C. (2900 degrees F.). The bond produced between the silica grains and the lime in the fire is a true calcium silicate. There is an extensive demand for silica brick in the various metallurgical industries as they are more suitable for special parts of furnaces than clay firebrick. They are used in the roofs of open-hearth furnaces in steel and iron works, and for the roofs and floors of reverberatory furnaces in copfier smelters. No silica brick are at present produced in Canada. It is possible that in Quebec, the Grenville series of the Pre-Cambrian or the Potsdam of the Cambrian, may furnish quart/itcs pure enough for the manufacture of silica brick. PUBLICATIONS ON SAND-LIMI': BRICK. Peppel. The Manufacture of Sand-Lime Brick: Bulletin No. 5, Geological Survey of Ohio, Columbus, O. Parr and Ernest. A study of Sand-Lime Brick: Bulletin No. 18, Illinois State Geological Survey, Urbana. Univer.sity of Illinois. PUBLICATIONS ON SILICA BRICK. Havard. Refractories and Furnaces: McGraw-Hill Book Com- pany, New York. I r 146 CHAPTER VIII. ORIGIN AND PROPERTIES OF CLAY. DEFINITION. i Clay is the term applied to those earthy materials occurring in nature, whose most prominent property is that of plasticity when wet. On this account they can be moulded into almost any desired shape, which is retained when dry. Furthermore, if heated to redness, or higher, the material becomes hard and rock like. Clay is made up of a number of small grains, which are mostly particles of mineral matter. Some ot the grains are so small that they cannot be seen without the aid of a microscope. The particles of clay represent many different chemical com- pounds such as oxides, carbonates, silicates, hydroxides, etc. ORIGIN OF CLA Y. I % Clays are always of secondary origin, and result from the breaking down of rocks by weathering. All the rocks of the earth's surface may be divided into two great classes, igneous and sedimentary. Igneous rocks are those which, have been foiced up from the interior of the eartJi in a molten condition, and have cooled and crystallized into their present form, either on or below the surface. Rocks of this character are granites, diorites, diabases, and basalts. Sedimentary rocks such as sand- stones, shales, clays, sands, and gravels are derived from the wearing down of these igneous rocks, or of older sediments whose ultimate origin must be sought for in the igneous rocks. If borings were made deep enough the igneous rocks would be found underlying all the portions of the earth's surface occupied by sedimentary rocks. 147 WEATHERING PROCESSES. Rain, frost, wind, and running water arc agents which may reduce even the hardest of the igneous rocks to the condition of clay. Expansion due to the sun's heat during the day, and con- traction from cooling at night, form minute cracks in rocks, or there may be joint planes formed by the contraction of the rock. Rain water creeping down these crevices, expands on freezing, and helps to wedge adjacert blocks apart. Plant roots force their way into the cracks, and grow there, so that a prying action occurs which supplements the action of frost in breaking up the rock. These and allied processes will reduce the rock, a portion at a time, to a mass of small angular fragments. When the rock is in this condition, the rain water or organic acids, the oxygen of the atmosphere, and other agencies bring alx>ut chemical changes of a rather complicated character, which hasten its decay and waste. Surface water, supplied by rain or melting snow, washes the finer rock waste down the slopes to the valley bottoms or to the streams, and the streams bear the waste along their channels, thus sweeping it from one place, and spreading it over another or carrying it to the sea. The finest grained materials of the rock waste are carried for long distances by running water, but on entering quiet waters like seas and lakes, this finely divided material settles down on the bottom of these bodies of water and forms beds of clay. RESIDUAL CLAY. Most rocks suffer chemical changes under the action of water and air, and as a rule these changes aid decay and crum- bling. The change may go eis deep beneath the surface as water and air can penetrate, and is aided when the ground water carries down with it the products of decomposing vegetation from the surface. Some rocks such as limestone may be slowly dissolved by water; as the Umestone weathers the soluble parts are slowly carried away while most of the insoluble parts of the rock remain : i % s 141 thus it may happen that a blue limestone is covered with rusty clay waste. Granite, consisting of crystalline grains of quartz, feldspar, and mica closely bound together, is one of the most resistant rocks, but the weathering of one of its minerals (feldspar) un- binds its parts, and it slowly crumbles to a clayey mass with quartz and mica scattered through it. The alteration of the feldspar grams to a white, powdery substance known as kaolin- ite, is one of the most important chemical changes that occur in rock decay. A residual clay derived from a rock composed entirely of feldspar, or one containing little or no iron oxide, is unally white and, therefore, termed a kaolin. Clay derived from a rock conUining much iron oxide will be yellow, red, or brown, depending on the iron compounds present. FORMS OF RESIDUAL DEPOSITS. The form of a residual cliy deposit is variable and depends on the shape of the parent rock. Where the residual clay has been derived from a great mass of granite or otht-r clay yielding rock, the deposit may form a mantle covering a considerable Some rocks s«efc as pegmatitM (feldspar and quartz). area. occur in veins or dykes, that ta. in masses having but small width as compared with their knfth, and in this case the out- crop of residual clay along the surface will form a narrow belt. The kaolin deposit at St. Remi d 'Amherst, Labelle county, is of this type (See Figure 1). The depth of a deposit of residual clay will depend on Hi- matic conditions, character of the parent rock, topography, and location. Rock decay proceeds very slowly; in the case of most rocks the rate of decay is not to be measured in months or years, but rather in centuries. Only a few rocks, such as shales or other soft rocks, change to clay in measurable time. With other things equal, rock decay proceeds more rapidly in a moist climate. The thickness of a residual deposit may alsc be affected by the char- acter of the parent rock, whether composed of easily weathering minerals or not. 149 Where the slope is gentle, or the surface flat, much of the residual clay will remain in place after being formed, but on steep slopes it will soon wash away. Deposits of residual clay are v^ry rare in the province of Quebec, for the reason that nearly all of those formed have been swept away by glacial action. TRANSPORTED CLA YS. Nearly all the clays in the province of Quebec are trans- ported clays, that is they were brought to their present position from distant sources. The process of clay formation by the washing down of rock waste from highlands into valleys is con- sUntly going on. Some of these clays are very old, and have become rock like, while some of the later ones are so soft that they may be dug out by the hand. These clay beds have been deposited at various times in bodies of still water, and the mate- rials 01 which they are formed have been supplied by streams flowing into these bodies of water. When water is in motion it will carry clay grains in suspension, but as soon as its motion or current is checked, the particles begin to settle on the bottom forming a clay layer of variable extent and thickness. The fine-grained material carried out into lakes or seas by running water is called sediment. The sedintient is often carried for some distance from the shore by currents, but it finally settles as a fine soft mud. During certain pc. ioiw c»f the year, especially in the spring time, when the melting sr ow supplies a large volume of water to the streams, the amount of sediment carried and deposited, will be large, while at other seasons of the year it will be small. Dur- mg flood time, the streams will carry coarser materials than when the water is km, so that sandy layers may be deposited on top of fine-grained materials. If this process is kept up and these layers are added to every year a considtjrable thickness may be laid down, forming a deposit of sedimentary clay. Most of the sedimentary clays are stratified or made up of layers. For some reason a larger amount of sedknents may be deposited in one year than in others, and then the laj'crs will vary in thickness. 'I i * f 150 CLASSIFICA TJON OF SEDIMENTARY CLA YS. The great bulk of the clays used in the various clay working industries is derived from sedimentao' deposits laid down in still water. The nature and extent of these deposits depends on the size of the body of water, the number of streams discharging material into it, the kind of rocks on the land surface through which the streams flow, and climatic conditions. MARINE CLAYS. This class includes those sedimentary clays deposited on the ocean bottom where water is quiet. They have, therefore, been laid down at some distance from the shore, since nearer the land where the water is shallower and disturbed only coarser material can be deposited. Beds of clay of this type may be of vast extent and great thickness, but wifl naturally show some variation, horizontally, at least, because the different rivers flowing into the sea usually bring down different classes of mate- rial. Since most marine clays have become deeply buried under other sedimentary rocks subsequent to their deposition, they are often changed to shale. The shale is now found exposed, be- cause the ocean bottom has been uplifted, and the overlying rocks worn away. SHALES. Shates are beds of hardened clay, and generally show the stratified structure which they had when originally laid down as soft muds or sediments. Owing to this structure these rocks break down most easily along the lines of tiie layers into plate like fragments. The shale clays are not commonly plastic, but when finely ground, or subjected to weathering processes, they frequently become very plastic, so that they can be easily moulded into shape. Although sometimes trf great thickness and uniform com- position, shales are frequently found as thin bands between beds :^-^-!ga£. 151 of sandstone. Shales are among the most valuable clay de- posits and they occur widespread along the St. Lawrence river, between Montreal and Quebec, and to a leaser extent on the shores of Gaspe, and Bonaventure counties. SLATES. These rocks are also derived from clay sediments, but have been hardened to such a degree by pressure and other agents that the plasticity of the clay has been destroyed. Beds of slates may resemble shales in colour and structure, but usually they are not of much value to the clayworker, because when finely ground and mixed with water they do not develop plas- ticity like the shales, but on the contrary, behave like a mass of sand. All degrees of transition exist, however, between the shales which are readily made plastic by grinding and tempering with water, and those slates which no amount of grinding and working up will render even feebly plastic. Some of the slates or shales of low plasticity can be worked if a plastic clay is added to them, and such a mixture will often give better resists for certain purposes than if the plastic clay were used alone. The slates have a wide distribution in the southern portion of the province of Quebec. ESTU.ARINE CLAYS. These represent bodies of clay laid down in shallow arms of the sea, and consequently are found in areas that are com- paratively long and narrow, with the deposits tending to occur in basin-like shapes. If strong currents enter the estuary from its upper end, the settling of the clay mud may be prevented, except in areas of quiet water in recesses of the bay shore, or at a long distance from the point of entry of the river. If tides having great changes of level enter the estuary, such as those which occur at the present time in the Bay of Funrh-, coarse sediment would be carried out far into the basin by the scouring action of the tides. Estuarine clays frequently show sandy laminations as a result of these disturbances to the sedimentation. 152 The soft clays that occur in the valleys of the Ottawa and St. Lawrence rivers, are of both estaurine and marine type. LAKE AND SWAMP CLAYS. There is another class of deposit which has been formed in basin-shaped depressions, occupied by lakes or swamps. This type is variable in extent and thickness, but frequently shows alternating beds of clay and sand. Many of the lake clays are directly or indirectly of glacial origin, having been laid down in basins or hollows along the margin of the continental ice sheet or else in valleys that have been dammed up by the accumu- lation of a mass of drift across them. This wall of drift serves to obstruct the drainage in the valley, thus giving rise to a lake, in which the clay is deposited. Clay beds of this type are ex- tremely abundant in all glaciated regions. GLACIAL CLAYS. The greater part of Canada was covered with a thick ice sheet for a long period during i-ecent geological time. On its advance over the land, the ice sheet gathered up loose materials of all kinds, so that any accumulations of residual clays which existed on the rock surfaces throughout the region were destroyed. The planing action of the ice went so deep in many places, that it not only removed the weathered portions, but scraped into the fresh rock beneath. The scratches and grooves made by the passage of the ice sheet are still very well preserved on many rock outcrops throughout the province. The ice sheet giadually melted and finally disappeared, but all the material it h.id gathered from the surface of the land re- mained behind. The mixture of sand, gravel, boulders, and clay accumulated and deposited by the ice sheet is called boulder clay. Although much of the boulder clay has been removed and its materials assorted bv the large quantities of running water set free by the melting ice, there are still extensive sheets of it iound in the province. It is of no value to the clayworker, on 153 account of the large number of stones and pebbles embedded in the clay. In some cases the streams issuing from the ice sheet de- posited fairly extensive bodies of clay in lakes which formed at the edges of the ice. This variety of glacial clay is often fairly free from pebbles and highly plastic, but sometimes it is very gritty and carries numerous small pebbles or grit particles. Both kinds have been used in various localities for brickmaking purposes. These deposits, although they are of sedimentary type, do not as a rule show the layers or stratification that clays washed into lakes from land surfaces do. but are massive in structure, and often show crevices running in a vertical direction similar to joint planes in rocks. In some localities they are called joint clays. MINERALS IN CLA Y. The process by which clays are formed from the breaking down of older rocks have been described briefly. Many different kinds of rocks, composed of various minerals, may have con- tributed the materials of which clay deposits are composed; therefore in examining a clay we might expect to find most of the minerals which were contained in the parent rocks present in it. Owing to the fine-grained character of most clays, it is usually impossible to recognize the mineral grains in them with the naked eye, but microscopic study of clays has revealed the presence of a number of different minerals. The following are those most commonly found and which affect the working and burning properties of a clay. KAOLINXTE. Kaolinite is a hydrous aluminium silicate, and is thought by many to be present in all clays, but its existence has only been proven in the case of the purest white burning clays. It cannot be regarded as the soarce of plasticity in clay, as some authorities think, because many impure clays containii^ little or no kaolinite arc highly plastic 1 [ i J i i IM There is some property which give* all clay it» plasticity, causes shrinkage in drying and burning, and sometimes gives trouble in drying. It is likely that this property is due to the presence of various minerals containing chemically combined water, which is tuit driven off until a temperature of 600 de- grees C. is reached. Some writers refer to this as clay substance. and state that all cbys contain it In various stages of purity. QUARTZ. «9 QuarU wmsists entirely of silica. It is found in almost all days in the form of sand grains which are rarely large enough to be seen by the naked eye. It < oistitutes a large part of the sandy and silty clays; but only a very small amount may be pres- ent in the more highly plastic ..lays. Quartz is quite hard and will scratch glass, while feldspar will not. Besides being in the form of sand or quaru grains, silica may be present in combination with other minerals, such as alumina, lime, magnesia, and iron. These compounds are known as sili- cates; they include feldspars, hornblendes, micas, etc., which with quartz are the chief constituents of granitic rocks. QuarU is not plastic, no matter how finely it may be ground. Sand made up mostly of quartz grains is added to fat clays to make them easier to work and dry, and also to lessen shrinkages. It requires an extremely high degree of heat to soften pure quartz, so that for some purposes a firebrick is made of pure silica sand or crushed quartz rock. Quartz sand added to impure clays enables them to stand more heat, but as the quartz grains do not enter into bond with the clay in firing at low temperatures, too much sand or too coarse sand will be a source of weakness to common brick or tile. FELDSPAR. Grains of feld-.par although present in most clays are rarely visible. When leidspar decomposes it furnishes the alkalis- potash and soda. It melts at a much lower temperature than tss quartz, and bums to a white colour, so that it is used as a flux, and added to pottery mixtures to produce vitrified wares. Felds- par does not act rapidly like some other fluxes, hut softens quite slowly, hence it is a safe material to use for this purpose. MICA. Mica i» one of the few minerals in clay that can easily be icen with the naked eye. It is found in many of the Pleis- tocene cla>'8 in Quebec, in the form of thin scaly particles, with shining yellow or white surfaces plainly visible even when very small, in both the raw and burned clays. The white mica is a silicate ot potash and alumina, and the dark kind is a stKcate of iron, magnesia, and alumina. When very finely divided mica iicts as a flux like feldspar; but the larger grains of mica are rather infusible, and will resist a high degree of heat before fusing. Mica docs not bum to a white colour, especially the dark kind, but to a dark or reddish colour. IRON COMPOUNDS. Iron compounds occur in nearly all clays, and in a variety of forms. Pure white burning clays contain little or no iron, buff buming clays contain more, and as the iron content in- creases the redder the burned clay becomes. Iron in clay occurs compounded with oxygen, sulphur, or carbon, usually with oxygen. The iron-bearing material may be 60 finely divided and disseminated throughout the deposit as not to be apparent except that it may stain the clay a red, yellow, or brown colour, or it may occur as grains or in lumps lai^c enough to be separated from the clay if necessary. The prominent compounds of iron are its two oxides, ferric and ferrous. These ^rp very active fluxes, but the ferrous form is the more active d>,d often causes trouble in buming. Hciiiatite, an iron ore of reddish colour, is an example of ferric oxide, but it readily changes to yellowish coloured limonite on exposure to air and moisture. The yellowish colours or msty streaks in the upper part of the Pleistocene clays in Quebec are due to the presence of limonite. Red brick contains^the iron in the form of ferric oxide. i ijii 1 m 1S6 Fcmius oxirlr is an active flux, combining rapidly with the tilica of clay to form ferrous tilicalc which is dark in culour. A red brick with a black core is an example of the occurrence of iron oxide in both the ferric and ferrous condition . In one cane the iron is said to be completely oxidized, in the other case it i>. unoxidized, or reduced. R(f a red burning clay, except to appear as white specks. ALKALIS. The alkalis, soda and potash, are derived principally from the decomposition of feldspars amd mica. They are regarded as the most powerful fluxing materials that the clays contain ; but the amounts present are generally small. MKROCOPr mOlUTION TBT CHART (ANSI and ISO TEST CHART No. 2) A /jPPUED IfVMGE 165* East Moin StrMt Rocnwlw, Naw Yorti 14609 USA (716) 482 - OMO - Phoo. (718) 288- 5989 -Fm 158 SULPHtTR. f- Sulphur may be present in clay as an element of gypsum, the lime sulphate, or as an element of pyrite, the sulphide of iron. Sulphur is driven off from its compounds as sulphurous acid gas, during the burning of clay wares, when air is admitted freely to the Idln. All of the sulphur may not be burned out of the ware, because air cannot readily penetrate the interior. If carbon is also present, even in small quantities, it interferes with the ex- pulsion of sulphur. Sulphur retained in a clay produces a spongy body with swelling soon after vitrification begins. Py- rite in the coal used for burning clay wares is a frequent source of sulphurous gases in kilns. CARBONS. Most clays contain some carbon either in the form of de- cayed organic matter which occurs in soft clays close to the sur- face, or as bituminous and asphaltic matter found in some shales. In various localities in Quebec, the Utica shale is very dark in cok>ur from the bituminous matter it contains, while the oil- shales in New Brunswick will bum almost like coal, and give off great volumes of combustible gas. The oi^;anic matter in soft clays bums out readily and rarely gives any trouble; but shales containing asphaltic carbon are very difficult to bum, and, if the quantity is large, they cannot be used at all for making clay wares. It is extremely hard to bum carbonaceous matter out of fivie-grained, dense shales or clays as air cannot penetrate them quickly enough; consequently wares made from these clays are liable to become vitrified on the surfaces before the carbon is all bumed out of the interior. If carbon is left in the body of the clay, it interferes with the expulsion of sulphur and the change from ferrous to ferric iron. This may result in complete fusion of the interior of the mass during the vitrification stage. Clays containing carbon require a prolonged period of burn- ing during the oxidation stage before the temperature is raised to a vitrifymg heat, otherwise trouble from black cores and swell- ing is almost sure to occur. 159 On account of their op«n texture, brick made by the aoft- mud process are moie easily oxidized than stiff-mud or dry-press brick. The Utica shale in some parts of Quebec contain enough bituminous matter to give trouble in burning. WATER. There is always some water held in the pores of clay after it is thoroughly air drieii. This is called mechanically combined water or pore water, and is not driven off until the clay is sub- jected to a temperature of 210 degrees F., or the boiling point of water, when it passes off in the form of steam. This process, called watersmoking in burning brick or other clay wares, is the passing-off of mechanically combined water in the form of steam. If, after all the pore water has been driven off, the clay is exposed to the air again, it takes up the same amount of water that it gave off. Fine-grained plastic clays absorb a great deal of water in tempering, and are hard to dry; sandy clays require much less, and part with their water readily. Most of the mineral grains in clay contain water in their composition, which is called chemi- cally combined water. This water is not driven off at 212 de- grees F., but at temperatures ranging from 750 degrees F. to 1100 degrees F. When this is accomplished, the clay is said to be dehydrated. It has also lost its plasticity. PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF RAW CLA YS. PLASTICITY. The characteristic quality of clay is its plasticity. On account of this property the clay can be moulded into shape while wet and it retains this shape in the d"y condition with sufficient strength to permit its being handled without breaking. It is this property that gives clay its value in the various in- dustries, and without which it would be worthless for most purposes to which it is put. The plasticity varies with several factors, but seems to be absolutely controlled by none of them. k *- it; 1 160 Among these factors are fineness of grain, amount of colloidal matter, amount of sand or silt, and the shape of the clay particles. The amount of working or kneading which the clay has undergone in a wet condition also affects the plasticity. TENSILE STRENGTH. The tensile strength of a clay is the resistance which it offers to rupture, or being pulled apart, when air dried. Upon this property depends the resistance of the dry clay to crumbling, to breaking when handled, and to pressure when set in Idlns. High tensile strength and high plasticity sometimes go together; but this relation does not always hold. The tensile strength is measured by moulding the thoroughly kneaded clay into briquettes, of the same shape and size as those made in cement testing and, when thoroughly air dried, pulling them apart in a suitable testing machine. FINENESS OF GRAIN. The fineness of grain of a clay is closely related to many of its working and burning qualities, such as plasticity, porosity, rate of drying, tensile strength, shrinkage, warping or cracking, temperature of fusion, and vitrification range. Other things being equal, the finer grained the clay the more water is required to make it plastic, and the smaller the pore space. This causes a greater shrinkage in the fine-grained clays and a slower rate of drying, as the water can only move out through the small pores very slowly. The finer grained clays heat up more rapidly in the kiln and also melt more rapidly, since the different minerals in the finely divided condition can exert a greater fluxing action upon each other than when they occur in larger pieces. SHRINKAGE. All clays shrink in drying and burning, the former loss being termed the air-shrinkage, and the latter the fire-shrinkage. 161 Air-Shrinkage. In a clay which is perfectly dry all the grains an in contact, but between them there will be a variable amount of pore space, depending on the texture of the clay. The volume of this pore space is indicated somewhat by the quantity of water that will be absorbed without the clay changin^- its volume, this water filling in the space between the grains. It may be termed pore water. The presence of more water than is required to fill the spaces between the grains produces a swelling of the mass, and in this condition each grain is regarded as being surrounded by a film of water; but while the grains stilt mutually attract each other tlie attraction is less than in the dry clay, and the mass yields readily to pressure. An excess, however, separates the clay particles to such an extent that the clay softens and runs. A clay will, therefore, continue to swell as water is added to it, until the amount becomes too great to permit it to retain its shape. The amount of air-shrinkage is usually low in sandy clays, at times being under 1 per cent in coarsely sandy ones, while it is high in very plastic clays or in some very fine-grained ones, reaching at times as much as 12 or 15 per cent. Five or six per cent is about the average seen in the manufacture of clay products. All clays requiring a high percentage of water in mixing do not show a high air-shrinkage. The air-shrinkage of a clay will not only vary with the amount of water added, but also with the texture of the materials. Sand or materials of a sandy nature counteract the shrinkage, and are frequently added for this purpose, but, since they also render the mixture more porous, they facilitate the drying as well, permitting the water to escape more readily, and often reducing the danger from cracking. If the sand added to lessen the shrinkage is refractory it also aids the clay in retaining its shape r" ' ■> g bui ning. la Si 162 Fire-Shrinkage. All clays shrink during some stage of the burning operation, even though they may expand slightly at certain temperatures. The fire-shrinkage, like the air-shrinkage, varies within wide limits, the amount depending partly on the quantity of volatile elements, such as combined water, organic matter, and c -Nin dioxide, and partly on the texture and fusibility. Fire-shrinkage may begin at a dull red heat, or about the point at which chemically combined water begins to pass off, and reaches its maximum when the clay vitrifies; but it does not increase uniformly up to that point. The clay worker, however, always tries to get a low fire-shrinkage, using a mixture of clays if necessary in order to prevent cracking and warping. After the expulsion of he volatile elements the clay is left in a porous condition, until the fire-shrinkage recommences. I! ' fe 163 CHAPTER IX. THE EFFECTS OF HEAT UPON CLAYS. m Any clay, on firing, goes through a series of changes or from the weak, raw condition to the strong and per- manently burned condition. The changes are usually increasing density, increasing strength, increasing shrinkage, decreasing porosity, and decreasing specific gravity. Bu* in any clay, a point is attained when these changes reach a condition of bal- ance — ^when the clay is at its best — and further increase of heat leads to a reversal of all these properties. In surface clays, the burning is customarily stopped con- siderably short of vitrification and while the ware is yet porous. Owing to the fineness of grain of these clays and the large amount of fluxing impurities present in them, they shrink very rapidly when approaching vitrification, while softening and swelling follow closely on a slight rise in temperature above that necessary to produce vitrification. The shales are generally burned to a higher d^rree of maturity, as their comparatively coarse-grained structure requires more heat to bring them to the proper degree of density and strength of body, while the risks of unduly high fire-shrinkage and danger of overfiring are not so great as in the case of the fine-grained close textured surface clays. The process of burning clay wares may be divided into four periods: (1) watersmoking; (2) dehydration; (3) oxidation; (4) vitrification. Each of these stages is characterized by certain reactions, but there is no sharp dividing line between them, the changes of one stage beginning before those of the preceding one are completed. WATERSMOKING. Watersmoking begins after the fires are lighted in a kiln of clay wares. Although brick may come from the drier in a 164 bone-dry condition they still retain consideiable moisture in the pores of the clay. The object of watersmoking is to expel this moisture. It comes off in the form of steam; but the heat has to be raised to a temperature above the boiling point of water before all this pore water is driven off from the inside of the brick. The watersmoking is done slowly, and ample time allowed for the heating up of the clay, so that steam is not formed too fast for escape through the pores of the clay. If the heat is raised too fast the steam pressure in the centre of the brick, especially if they are made from fat or fine-grained clay, is often sufficient to spall or burst the brick. This i3 called "popping" by brickmakers. There is practically no change in the properties of the clay after watersmoking, but the opera- tion must be thoroughly performed to prepare it foi the second stage. DEHYDRATION. Dehydration is the term used to express the process of depriving the clay of its chemically combined water. It occurs at temperatures which make the clay glow with a dull red colour, and is practically complete at 700 degrees C. (1292 degrees F.). If the operation of burning were stopped at this point and the clay cc Med down it would be found to have lost all its plasticity. Before the dehydration of the clay is complete other gases also begin to pass off, including carbon dioxide from lime and iron carbonate, sulphur from pyrite, and gases produced from the combustion of carbonaceous matter in the clay. All of these may not have passed off when the dehydration of the clay is ended, but some may be carried over to the next period. OXIDATION. The process of oxidation begins in the later stage of dehy- dration or at as low a temperature as 500 degrees C, and is probably completed at 900 degrees C. (1652 degrees F.). During this period the oxidation or buming-off of the combustible matter must be accomplished; the remaining sulphur is set free from the pyrite, the carbon dioxide is all driven off from the lime or 165 iron carbonate, and the iron is changed from the f rrous to the ferric condition. Loose open textured clays or shales allow these changes to take place more readily than dense fine-grained clays, as the latter retard the entrance of oxidizing gases into the mass. Much air must be admitted with the fuel gases to facilitate the removal of the combustible or volatile elements in the clay, especially the carbonaceous matter, since air carries the oxygen which helps to remove them. The formation of the red colour in most clays is due to the absorption of oxygen by ferrous oxide, causing the change to ferric oxide during this and the succeeding stage. If the tem- perature is raised to a vitrification heat before oxidation is complete, the iron in the central part of the mass remains in a ferrous condition and forms a black core which may fuse rapidly and swell. The length of time during which oxidation must be allowed to proceed varies according to the character and composition of the clay, and is easily determined by experiment. In general the clays that are not oxidized during this period will never be- come so, as fluxing action begins at the opening of the next period, and the pores of the clay begin to close up. VITRIFICATION. During the vitrifying stage the greatest change tekes place in clay under t'.e influence of heat. This process begins during, or shortly after oxidation, by a slight fusion of the particles, sufficient to ' '<«< t He mass to become cemented and hardened ; but as the i material in clay which is fusible at such a !ow temp - '-.: mall, there is no appearance of vitrification, and the t » porous. The clay, however, may have softened su. .y to cause the smaller particles to stick to- gether and to prevent the recognition of any except the larger mineral grains. As the temperature in the kiln is raised more particles enter into fusion, and the clay becomes more compact. A still further rise in temperature produces an additional quan- tity of fusible material, until finally the whole mass of the clay is involved, the pores close up, and an impervious body is produced. I, 166 Clays bumeci to thin condition arc said to be completely vitrihed and they have a smooth fracture and a glassy lustre, us the name vitrification implies. The heat necessary to actually produce n glass is never allowed, intentionally, in the burning of clay wares, because then they would soften too much and lose their shape or became vi.scous and flow. There must be a firm skeleton or framework of unfused material left to hold up the piece. Fine-grained clays will fuse easier than coarse-graine*! ones, other things being equal, as the grains, being closer in contact, fuse more readily, and the pores close up quicker, being smaller. Sand or coarse grog is added to fine-grained clay for the reason that it assists the pieces to retain their shap> , by preventing undue shrinkage and warping through joftening. Many of the common reil brick burned in Quebec will, when broken, show an earthy or rough sandy fracture. The earthy fracture generally '•'dicates an undtrbumed brick, which is weak and friable, because the temperature of burning has not been carried high enough. The sandy fracture indicates that a clay has been used which is of a sandy composition or that an excess of sand has been added. The sand being mostly composed o< quartz grains, takes no part in the vitrification at the low tem- perature that co.-imon brick are generally burned at; hence the quartz grains remain unaltered by the fire with little or no bond between them and the clay particles. An excess of sand is, therefore, a source of weakness, and underbumed brick made from sandy clay are useless. CONTROL OF TEMPERATURE. In most of the brie'' plants in Canada the temperature tc which the prodvct is burned is judged by the eye, the wares being burned to a dull red, cherry red, or white heat. This method results in much variation in the burned products, and depends on the experience of the man in charge of the burning There may also be a wide difference in temperature in differeni parts of the kiln which will not be apparent to the eye. The matter of controlling the temperature and of obtaininj ?^ 167 a uniformly burned product ia comparatively simple. One of the methods best adapted to commercial plants is the use of the Seger pyrometric cones. SEGKR CONES. These cones arc small trian^l r ovramids about unc-half inch dimension at the l)ase, and tapen>.K to a point at the top. They are about 3 inches long. These test pieces consist of a scries of mixtures of clays with fluxes, so graded that they represent a series of fusion-points, each being a few decrees higher than the one next to it. They are so called betause originally introduced by H. Seger, a German ceramist. The materials which he used in making them were such as would have a constant composition, and consisted of washed Zettlitz kaolin, Riirstrand feldspar, Norwegian quartz, Carrara marble, and pure ferric oxide. Cone 1 melts at the same temperature as an alloy composed of one part of platinum and nine parts of gold, or at 1150 degrees C. (2102 degrees F.). Cone 20 melts at the highest temperature obtained in a porce- lain furnace, o.- at 1530 degrees C. (2786 degrees F). The difference between any two successive members is 20 degrees C. (36 degrees F.), and the upper member of the series is cone 39. Cone 36 is composed of a very refractory clay slate, while cone 35 is composv.d of kaolin from Zettlitz, liohemia. A lower series of numbers was produced by Cramer, of Berlin, who mixed boracic acid with the materials, already mentioned. Hecht obtained still more fusible mixtures by adding both boracic acid and lead in proper proportions to the cones. The result is that there is now a series of 61 numbers, the fusion- point of the lowest be' "90 degrees C. (1094 degrees F.) and that of the highes' 40 degrees C. (3470 degrees F.). As the temperature rises the cone begins to soften, and when its fusion-point is reached it begins to bend over until its tip touches the base. For practical purposes these cones are very successful, though their use has been somewhat unreasonably discouraged by some. They have been much used by foreign manufacturers of clay products, and their use in the United States and Canada is increasing. 168 i lip In actual um they are placed in the kiln at a point wherf they can be watched through a peep-hole, but at the lame time will not receive the direct touch of the flame from the fuel. It is always well to put two or more cones of clifTerent number* in the kiln, so that warning can be had, not only of the end point of firing, but also of the rapidity with which the temperature is rising (Plate XXIV). In determining the proper cone to use in burning any kind of ware, several cones are put in the kiln, as, for example, numbers •08, 1. and 5. If 08 and 1 are bent over in burning, and 5 \» i:ot affected, the temperature of the kiln is between I and 5. The n»»xt time numbers 2, 3, and 4 are put in. and 2 and 3 may tie fused, but 4 rrmains unaffecvi-d, indicating that the temperature reached the fusin^-point of 3. While the temperature of fusion of each cone is given in the folkming table, it must not be understood that these cones are for measuring temperature, but rather for measuring pyro- chemical effects. The following list gives the approximate fusing-points of •ome of the members of the series of cones used for this report: No. of cone. 010 07 06 05 33 01 1 2 3 5 9 Fusing point. ■greesF. Degrees C 1742" 950" 1850" 1010° 1886' 1030" 1922" 1050" 1944' 1090" 2066" 1130° 2102" 1150° 2138" 1170° 2174" 1190° 2246" 1230° 2390" 1310° The cones used in/^ ..'erent branches of the clay-working industry in the Uiuted biates and Canada are approximately as follows: tl Common brick 012-01 Pacing brick 01-5 Sewer-pipe 3-7 Buff face brick 3-9 Hollow block* unci fireproofing 07-1 Terra-cotta 02-7 Conduits 3-8 Firebricks 5-14 White earthenware 8-9 Red earthenware 010-05 Stoneware 6-8 Porcelain 11-13 Electrical porcelain 10-12 n n I, .:a'i J 4 m ■! 170 CHAPTER X. KINDS OF CLAYS. If:. lU' i ii. As shale is merely a hardened clay, the terms clay and shale are regarded as one and the same thing by the clayworker. Most shales, when pulverized finely enough to pass through a screen of 20 meshes to an inch, can be tempered with water, and worked up until they have a plasticity equal to that of some clays which occur in a soft or unconsolidated state. Slates are also hardened clays, but the process of hardening has proceeded to such a degree that they no longer possess the property ol plasticity, which is so important in the clay-working industry. Slates may resemble shales in colour and structure, but the fact that they cannot be moulded into shape renders them useless for the purposes of the clay industry. Clays have a wide variety of colour in the raw state, varying from white to almost black. The prevailing colours of the clays or shales in Quebec are light and dark grey, brown, and red. Most of them turn to various shades of red, when burned in kilns, the red colour developed in burning being due to the oxidation of the iron contained in the clay, the iron being an active colouring agent. Clays in which there is a very low percentage of iron will bum to white, grey, or buff tones, Clays which have a very high percentage of lime, like the Erie clay in Ontario, will bum to a buff colour, the lime exercising a bleach- ing action on the iron. KAOLINS AND CHINA-CLAYS. The name kaolin is commonly applied to natural deposits of white burning residual clays, which are composed mostly of silica, alumina, and chemically combined water, but having a very low percentage of fluxing impurities, especially iron. De- posits of kaolin generally contain quartz fragments, and mica 171 grains as impurities. When these are separated from the mass by washing, the fine-grained washed product is called "china- clay." China-clays are used in the manufacture of white table ware, electrical porcelain, wall tile, as a paper filler, and as an ingredient of slips and glazes in ceramics. The white ware and porcelain bodies are made up of: china-clay, which gives white- ness and refractoriness, ball-clay to give plasticity and bond, ground quartz (called flint) to reduce the shrinkage and give stiffness to the body, and feldspar to serve as a flux. The only workable deposit of kaolin, so far known in Canada, occurs at St. Remi d'Amherst, about 70 miles northwest of Montreal. As shown by the following chemical analysis, it is a kaolin of high purity: Silica (SiOi) 46-13 Alumina (AUO,) 39-45 Ferric oxide (Fe,0,) 0-72 Lime (CaO) none Magnesia (MgO) none Potash (KiO) 0-20 Soda (NaiO) 0-09 Loss on ignition 13-81 100-40 BALL-CLA Y. This is the plastic ingredient in white ware bodies. The raw clays of this class should combine plasticity with good tensile strength, and bum white or nearly so. No true ball- clay has been found in Canada, but the white beds among certain sedimentary clays in the Musquodoboit valley. Nova Scotia, approach it in character. FIRECLA YS. The most important property of this class of clays is re- fractoriness or ability to withstand a high degree of heat without softening. They may vary widely in other respects, showing great differences in plasticity, density, shrinkage, and colour. 172 .• yv 1.4. It is customary for miners to apply the term fireclay to all clays and shales found underlying coal beds. While it is true that in Great Britain, and in several of the states, valuable fireclays underlie coal seams, still there are many of the clays under the coal in these countries, that are not refractory. None of the clays and shales underlying the coal seams in the Maritime Provinces, as far as they have been tested, proved to be fireclays. The standard adopted in these reports is, that the material shall stand up, without softening under fire at the fusing point of cone 27 (3038*^.) before it can be termed a fireclay. Some authorities in the United States refer to clays which will stand cone 30 or better as a No. 1 fireclay, from cone 20 to cone 30 as No. 2, and from cone 10 to 20 as No. 3 fireclays. While some of the lower grade clays may be worked up into shapes for various industrial uses, such as stove linings, sewer- pipes, electrical conduits, etc., they would not be suitable at all for metallurgical work, where slags are formed, or where intense heat is used. Fireclays are used most generally and extensively in the industrial furnaces, in blast furnaces, crucible melting furnaces, the layers and bottoms of Bessemer converters, the furnaces used in the lime, glass, clay, and cement industries, in lead refin- ing furnaces, in basic open-hearth furnaces above the slag line, for flues, boiler settings, linings of stacks, household grates, etc. The fireclays used in the various industries in Quebec are all imported from the United States, as none has so far been discovered in this province. The two following chemical analyses are given to illustrate the composition of fireclays. No. 1 is from Shubenacadie, N.S., No. 2 is from Murphy brook. Middle Musquodoboit, N.S. '^\ No. 1 No. 2 Silica 74-03 55-14 Alumina 17-30 28-84 Ferric oxide 1-15 1-91 Titanic oxide 1-04 2-37 Magnesia 0-16 0-25 ftm \ 173 Lime 0-38 Soda 0-53 Potash 0-88 Water 4-78 0-33 0-48 1-88 9-24 100-25 100-49 STONEWARE CLAY. While this material is often as refractory as the clay used for firebrick, it differs from it in burning to a very dense body at comparatively low temperatures. It should have sufficient plas- ticity and toughness to permit its being turned on a potter's wheel. Its fire-shrinkage should be low, its vitrifying qualities good, and it should be sufficiently refractory so that the wares made from it will hold their shape in burning. Most stoneware is now made from a mixture of clays, so as to produce a body of the proper qualities, both before and after burning. Stoneware clays are used not only for the manufacture of all grades of stoneware, but also for yellow ware, art pottery, earth- enware, and architectural terra-cotta. Stoneware clay is used largely in Great Britain for the manu- facture of sewer-pipe. Owing to its smoothness, and the fine salt glaze which it takes, added to the hardness and strength of the body, this class of ware is the very highest grade of sanitary drain pipe. SLIP-CLA YS. These clays contain such a high percentage of fluxing im- purities, and are of such texture, that at a low temperature they melt to a greenish or brown glass, thus forming a natural glaze. While easily fusible clays are common, few of them produce a good glaze on melting. A good slip-clay makes a glaze which is free from defects com- mon to artificial glazes. It will fit a wide range of clays, and since it is a natural clay, it will undergo the same changes in burning, as the body on which it is placed. Artificial mixtures of 174 exactly similar composition to the natural slip clays have failed to give the excellent results as to gloss or colour that are attained by the natural clay. In applying the glaze to the ware the clay is mixed with water to a creamy consistency, and applied to the ware either by dipping or spraying. The most satisfactory slip-clay is ob- tained from Albany, N.Y. ; it is shipped to all parts of the United States and Canada for potters' use in glazing stoneware. PAPER-CLA Y. In paper making, a clay may be used as a filler or as a coating material. Since day enters into the composition of all the ordinary printing and bond papers, as well as many wrapping papers, its most important use in this industry is a- a filler. Whiteness and freedom from grit are essential, in the best grades of paper-day. FULLERS EARTH. The name fullers earth is made to include a variety of day- like materials of a prevailing greenish-white or grey, olive green or brownish colour, soft and with a greasy feel. This type of clay has a high absorbent power for many substances. It was originally used for fulling cloth, that is, cleansing it of grease. Its most important use, at the present time, is for bleaching cotton oil and lard oil. Mineral oils are also filtered through it. There is no record of fullers earth occurring in Canada. PIPE-CLA Y. So-called because tobacco pipes are made from it, is an impure kaolin containing free silica. This term is also used in referring to clays or shales suitable for making sewer-pipe. SEWER-PIPE CLAY. Clays or shales that bum to a vitrified body, have low ab- sorption, that hold their shape in burning, and also take a satl , I 175 glaze, are essential in the manufacture of this class of ware. Fireclay is often added to a vitrifiable shale, or a mixture of two or more shales may be used. The clays used for this purpose are similar to those used for paving brick, so that the two products are sometimes made in the same factory from the same clay. Materials suitable for the manufacture of sewer-pipe are of rare occurrence in Quebec. BRICK-CLA YS. The clays or shales used for common brick are generally of a low grade, and in most cases red burning. The main reqiiisites are that they will mould easily, and bum hard at as low a tem- perature as possible, with a minimum loss from cracking and warping. Since many common clays or shales when used alone show a higher air or fire-shrinkage than is desirable, it is cus- tomary to decrease this by mixing some sand with the clay, or by mixing a loamy or sandy clay with a more plastic one. Brick- makers call a clay "strong" or "fat," when it is highly plastic, somewhat stiff and sticky, and "lean" when a clay is gritty or sandy and works easily. Brick used for facing buildings are moulded with special care, or re-pressed, if made by tne wet-moulded processes. When dry-pressed brick are required, the best results are obtained by using shale. Smoothness of surface and uniformity of colour are no longer required, as formerly, for this purpose, so that special methods are resorted to by face-brick manufacturere to produce roughness in surface, and variety in colour. PORTLAND CEMENT CLAY. Shales or clays are largely used in the manufacture of Port- land cement. This material is essentially an artificial mixture of lime, silica, and alumina. The first ingredient is usually supplied by some form of calcareous material, such as limestone, marl, or chalk, while the other two are obtained by the selection of a clay or shale, the mixture consisting approximately of 75 per cent of lime carbonate to 25 per cent clay or shale. i :; .» 176 Clays or shales to be used for Portland cement manufacture, should be as free as possible from coarse particles or lump sand, gravel, or concretions. These conditions are best met by the transported clays, since residual clays are frequently sandy or stony, and many glacial clays notably so. Several of the surface clays and shales in Quebec will prob- ably be found suitable for this purpose. For economic reasons they should be located in the vicinity of marl, or limestone de- posits, and convenient for transportation. MARL. Shale or clay that contained a large percentage of lime were formerly referred to as "marly," hence certain soft red shale beds occurring in the Lower Carboniferous formation in New Bruns- wick and Nova Scotia are often called "marls" in the Geological Survey reports. These shales, however, do not contain an exces- sive quantity of lime, and bum to a red colour. The term marl is now restricted to those soft, chalky deposits containing shells, which occur sometimes in the bottom of fresh water lakes. Marl is found at several localities in Quebec, either under- lying peat deposits, or occupying the bottoms of small lakes. It is often used as a fertilizer, and when burned produces a very white and very pure lime. On account of its softness, white colour, and slight plasticity, it has frequently been mistaken for a white clay, but it is lime carbonate. ■■■ ,Jl 177 CHAPTER XI. FIELD EXAMINATION AND TESTING OF CLAYS. FIELD EXAMINATION. The testing of any clay or shale for commercial purposes begins with an examination of the deposit in the field. A clay >;posit should be conveniently situated with regard to trans- portation; in a body large enough to keep a plant going for a considerable time; free fram harmful impurities; and easily worked. There are many imporunt questions to be considered, however, in the preliminary inquiry, for example: (1) Can drainage be provided as excavation or mining proceeds, as it is necessary to keep the workings dry ? (2) Is the water supply for all purposes adequate and of good quality ? (3) If sand is required for mixing, or moulding, can it be obtained cheaply ? (4) Consideration of the fuel supply. (5) Are conditions in the locality favourable for labour ? (6) Can breakages of machinery be repaired quickly ? (7) Can the kiln foundations be kept dry ? (8) Would further prospecting reveal a more desirable deposit ? Some idea of the extent of a clay deposit may be gathered in a preliminary way from outcroppings either in plowed fields, hillsides, or ridges, and along the banks of streams or dry gullies. Springs issuing from hillsides sometimes furnish a clue to the character of the upper level of a bed of clay, as the sunace water cannot seep down through it. Wells and foundations excavated for buildings ^re useful guides; but railway cuttings often fur- nish the be-;., i iformation, especially when lately made. As soft clays in a ste- bank are liable to be concealed by slide material which has washed down over them, it is often necessary to cut a deep trench down the slope from top to bottom of the I . 178 deposit before the true character of the beds is seen. Some banks conUin several different grades of clay, some of which may be worthless, and so situated as to render the good clay unworkable. In addition to the information gained from outcrops, it will be necessary to make several borings in order to get at the extent of the deposit and its variations. Borings can be made quickly and cheaply in surface clay deposits with a 2 inch auger, coupled to short lengths of pipe and fitted to a cross head. The auger is screwed into the clay for about 6 inches, then withdrawn with a straight pull, and the clay which clings to the auger re- moved. As the boring proceeds, extra lengths of pipe are added. The clay stripped from the auger is laid out in the proper order on boards or on the grass, from which small samples can be select- ed at any depth up to 30 feet or more if desired. The clay deposit may be covered with a varying thickness of either gravel or stony dry which cannot be used for any pur pose. In most cases it will not pay to strip this overburden if it is very thick; but the higher grades of clay like stoneware and fireclays can have an overburden of one foot removed for every foot of clay obtained. If the overburden is composed of sand, much of it may be used for mixing with the clay, especially if it should be a fat clay with high shrinkage. An otherwise useless overburden may sometimes be used for filling or levelling up ground on which it is proposed to erect the plant, or it may be removed cheaply by hydraulicing, if a sufficient head of water is available. An overburden which contains pebbles, especially pebbles of limestone, should be removed completely and kept well back from the face of the bank which is being worked, so that there will be no danger of the pebbles rolling into material that is being worked for the manufacture of clay products. Shale deposits are often exposed in fairly steep banks, either in an escarpment, or in a stream bank, or in a railway cutting. From exposures of this kind a good idea of their probable value may often be formed. If the outcrops on the property to be examined are not exposed to any appreciable depth, it will be necessary to sink some shafts before any sampling can be done or any decision formed regarding its economic value. 179 Several of the soft shale depr>sit8 in the plains rcffion of western Canada can be examined as easily as surface riays by boring with an auger; but the shales in the east are all too hard for this method of sampling. The shale formations in eastern Canada are generally uniform in character over very large areas; but those in the west are often extremely variable, so that they require great care in sampling and examination. Impurities in clay or shale are of two kinds, those which are \isible to the nakeil c>e, and those which are not. The field examination detects the first kintl, and the laIx)ratory tosts should reveal the second kind. I'ebbles are proliabK- the most serious visible impurities in surface clays. They may occur sparsely scattered throughout the clay or they ma\ be in the form of gravel streaks, pockets, or regular layers. If the pebbles are mostly of limestone, the fleposit is practically hopel<;;ss. Some manufacturers in search of material will not consider a deposit, if they find it contixins even a few scattered pebbles. Layers or pockets of sand, if not in too large a quantity, are some- times beneficial in a surface clay, especially if it is of a highly plastic nature. Brickmakers like a clay bank to work itself, meaning one that carries the right proportion of sand f' l)e sold for building stone if a convenient market exists for them. Ironstone coiuTetions and lumps of iron pyrite are among the serious mipurities in shales and clays. They sometimes are of such large si?e that they may be discarded in mining. Gypsum or lime sulphate is a frequent impurity in the soft shales of western Canada, h generally occurs in small glistening particles disseminated through the shale; or it may be in large crystals or rosettes. In most cases It follows in the west that days carrjing gypsum are hard to ne» melted aie expressed in terms of the standard SegtT c-t^iies. A Hoskins electric furnace is used for determining the fusing points of the more refractory clays, which require a temiierature range from cone 18 to cone 34. None of the Quebec clays, except the one sample of kaolin, required the use of the eh-ctric furnace, as they are all fusible at low temperatures. ABSORPTION. The bricklets were carefully weighed after each burning, and immersed in water to about three-fourths of their thickness, ""his permits the air from the burned clay bfxly to escape freely, allowing the water to better and more quickly fill the pores. After standing at least 24 hours in water, the saturated biicklets are weighed, the increase in weight recorded, and the percentage of absorption calculated as follows: S aturated weight— dry weight Dry weight ^ '*'• DRY-PRESS TESTS. The clay or shale used for the dry-press test was ground to pass a 20 mesh sieve, and moistened with 5 to 10 per cent of water. A mould was filled with the damp clay, and pressed in a hand screw press, the size of the bricklct nroduced being 4' X li' XI'. HAPID DRYING. For this test the clay or shale was ground to pass a 12 mesh sieve and kneaded up with sufficient water to give a fairly stiff 9m^ If 184 mass, from which a full-sized building brick was made by hand in a wooden mould. Immediately after coming from the mould the moist brick was placed on a rack in a box open at the bottom and with a perforated top, which stood on a steam heated radiator. The temperature in this box ranged from 120 degrees to 150 degrees F., which is the heat usually attained in commercial dryers. If the brick cracked in this treatment it was stated that it would not stand rapid drying. TESTS UNDER WORKING CONDITIONS. If a company or an individual wishes to establish an im- portant clayworking industry at a certain place or make a certain class of wares, a reasonable way to proceed in the tests of their clay, provided the field examination was satisfactory, is as follows: take an average sample of say 50 pounds from top to bottom of the workable depth of the deposit, if it is uniform in appearance, or as many samples as there are different beds. Have a complete set of laboratory tests made from the samples. If the laboratory tests prove satisfactory, then make arrange- ments with some firm, outside the zone of competition, who are making wares similar to those required, to put a large quantity of clay through their process and to bum it in their kilns. It is important to have an experienced man do the sampling and accompany the clay to its destination, so that he may observe the behaviour of the material in the various stages of manu- facture. The proper location of the deposit and the assurance ot the suiubility of the clay for the purpose for which it is to be used, are absolutely essential to begin with. The plan of the buildings, the design of the kilns and dryers, and the selection of the best types of clay working machinery, should be done by a competent ceramic engineer. It is impossible to provide against all the troubles which may arise in new localities when dealing with a raw material; but the chances for the occurrence of trouble can be materially lessened by proper precautions. 185 CHAPTER XII. METHODS OF MINING AND MANUFACTURE. METHODS OF WINNING THE CLA Y. The first operation in manufacture is called winning the day. which consists of loosening the material from its natural position in the ground and loading it for removal to the next stage in the process. Clay and shale deposits are commonly worked either as open pits or quarry workings, or by underground methods. Almost all the winning of clay in Canada is done by open pits, but if the clay is soft it is almost impossible to work by this method between November and April. Enough clay may be gathered and placed in storage during the summer months for winter operations, but this is seldom done. The actual operations of clay digging or excavation are accomplished by pick and shovel work, by plow and scraper work (Plate XV, A), by clay gathering machines, and by steam shovels (Plate XXV, B). In some of the small brickyards m Quebec the clay is excavated by pick and shovel, and loaded mto barrows which are wheeled by hand to the machine. This IS the simplest method in use, it is the least expensive of all in equipment, and the most expensive of any method in labour. Most of the clay plants use the pick and shovel method for breaking out the clay, but the clay is usually loaded into side or end dump cars and hauled either by horses or by a wire rope attached to a hoisting drum. A more economical method is to plow the clay loose, and haul It to the plant in wheeled scrapers. If the distance from the clay bed to the plant is short, this method is an excellent one. The unloading can be done on an elevated platform from which the clay can be shovelled into the disintegrators. Shale deposits are usually worked by quarrying in long banks or benches. The overburden or stripping is removed, and 180 then the material is loosened either by blasting or by a steam shovel. If there is little or no variation in the shale in the depth of the deposit, a face of 40 or 50 feet may be worked, but it is usually more advantageous to work in benches of 10 to 20 feet. The loosened shale is loaded by hand labour or by a steam shovel on to dump cars and hauled to the plant (Plate XXI, A). If the plant is situated l)elow the level of the floor of the shale pit, the hauling may be done by gravity. Double tracks are often used so that the weight of the loaded cars may be utilized to pull the empty ones back to the pit. Underground mining is much more expensive than open pit or quarry work and is practised only when dealing with the more valuable clays. The methods of mining >.'.ay do not differ from those cm- ployed in mining coal. If the clay outcrops on the side of a hill, drift mines may be opened from the outcrop; but if there is no outcrop available, the shaft and tunnel method must be used. The roof of the tunnel must be supported by timbering or by leaving pillars of the clay at intervals as is done in coal mining. MANUFACTURE OF BRICK. I -i The methods everywhere employed in the manufacture of common and pressed brick are usually very similar, the dilTer- ence lying chiefly in the care taken in the preparation of the clay, and the skill show in burning. The manufacture of brick may be separated into the follow- ing steps: preparation, moulding, drying, and burning. PREPARATION. The preparation of ordinary soft plastic clay consists in breaking it down from its lumpy state as it comes from the bank, and mixing it with water so that it can be moulded into the de- sired shape. If the addition of sand is necessary, it is added to the clay in the machine which breaks it down. The hand clays and shales require to be crushed and pulverized so as to develop their plasticity. 'I 187 Many clays are prepared by weathering, before they are worked up by machinery, especially if they are to be used in the manufacture of pressed brick, drain tile, or sewer-pipe. The weathering is done by distributing the clay or shale in a layer of about 3 or 4 feet in thickness on the ground, so as to expose it to the action of frost, rain, and sunshine. The result of this is a slow but thorough disintegration or slaking. Some clay workers state that the working qualities of all clays and shales are improved by the weathering process. The breaking down and grinding of most shales or clays is done by artificial means, and the machine employed varies with the character of the material. Rolls. The roll is one of the simplest and oldest forms of grinding machines. It consists of two cylinders or cone^ whose surfaces are in close contact, or held closely parallel to each other. Rolls . e sometimes used for the wet grinding of stony clays, the small pebbles being crushed between the surface of le rolls, while the larger stones are rejected and can be remove ■' , XoUs which are set too far apart, or those whose surfaces have become grooved or worn irregularly are worthless, as they allow pebbles large enough to destroy the brick to pass through with the clay. Rolls are largely used for the dry grinding of soft alluvial clays; but if damp clays are put through them the lumps will be only flattened out. Dry Pans. The dry pan (Plate XXVI) is the best apparatus so far devised for the grinding of shales or tough hard clays. It consists of a heavy, revolving circular pan supported on a vertical shaft, and driven by a heavy gear at the top of the frame. The pan supports two large wheels or muUers which are mounted on a horizontal shaft. The ends of the shaft work in grooves in the end of the frame of the machine to permit the mullers riding over pebbles or hard lumps of shale. The pan is rotated by steam or electrical power; the friction of the mullers against the bottom of the pan causes them to turn, and in turning they grind by reason of their weight, which ranges from 2,000 to 5,000 pounds. The bottom of the pan is solid under the mullers, but perforated near the •circumference. Two scrapers are placed in the bottom of the pan, in front of the mullers, to throw 188 the material in their path. As the shale becomes ground finely enough, it falls through the perforated plates in the outer part of the pan, into a collector which leads to an elevator. TEMPERING. By tempering is meant the thorough mixing of the clay with water until a uniformly plastic mass results. Tempering is accomplished by one of four methods, the soak pit, the ring pit, pug-mill, or wet pan. The soak pit consists simply of a rectangular or circular pit dug in the ground. The clay and sand are thrown into the pit, mixed with water, and allowed to stand until the clay io softened. This method does not give a thorough mixture, and is applicalile only to the soft-mud process of making brick. The ring pit is like the soak pit except that it i« always circular and has walls of board or brick. A post is set in the centre to which a long rod or sweep is attached by a pivot. The sweep carries a wheel which is so geared at as the sweep travels around the circle the wheel tra' uack and forth be- tween the centre and the circumferenc_. This motion thoroughly kneads and mixes the clay. The capacity of ring pits varies from 3,000 to 8,000 brick. The wheel is usually of iron and 6 feet in diameter. The sweep is driven by steam power, or by horses attached to its outer end. Like the soak pit, the ring pit is used only in the preparation of soft mud for common brick. The pug-mill (Plate XXVII) consists of a semi-cylindrical trough, within which revolves a shaft, bearing knives that are set at an angle so that the clay while being cut and kneaded is forced from one end of the trough to the other. Some form of pug-mill is used with almost all clay moulding machines. Pug mills are thorough and continuous in their action, take up less space than ring pits, and do not require much power to operate. They are used in connexion with both soft-mud and stiff-mud machines. Wet Pans. These are similar to dry pans, the only difference being that the bottom of the wet pan is solid, instead of being perforated. The clay to be prepared is thrown into the pern and 189 ground to the required fineness, with the addition of water, the action of the mullers and scrapers thoroughly mixing and kneading the clay. The wet pan is not continuous in its action for it must be stopped and emptied when the charge of clay is tempered. MOULDING. Clays are moulded into brick shapes in three different conditions: (1) soft-mud, (2) stiif-mud, (3) dry-pressed. Soft-mud Process. In this method the clay, or clay and sand, are mixed with water to the consistency of a soft-mud or paste and pressed into wooden moulds. The moulds are sanded to prevent the soft clay from sticking, hence soft-mud brick show five sanded surfaces, with the sixth surface rather rough, where the excess clay is scraped off even with the top of the mould. Soft-mud brick may be made by hand ; a good moulder can make 5,000 to 8,000 per day. The machine for making soft-mud brick consists usually of an upright box of wood or iron, in which there revolves a vertical shaft bearing several blades or arms. Attached to the bottom of the shaft is a curved arm which forces the clay into the press box. The moulds after being sanded, are shoved under- neath the press box from the side of the machine. Each mould has six divisions, and as it comes under the press box, the plunger descends and forces the soft clay into it. The filled mould is then pushed forward automatically upon the delivery table, while an empty one moves into its place. As soon as the filled mould is delivered, its upper surface is struck off with an iron scraper. The brick are turned out of the mould, on a board or "pallet". They are not handled until drv, as they deform easily wlien wet. The machines are driven by either horse or steam power, which performs the operation more rapidly than hand moulding. The horse-power machines (Plate XVI, A) have a capacity of from 8,000 to 15,000 and the steam power 20,000 to 35,000 brick per day (Plate XXVIII). The soft-mud process is suited to a wide range of clays, especially those of low plasticity. Highly plastic clays stick to the moulds and cannot be removed easily. i I; I 1 i .. Oi . 1:111 Ill ilji 190 This process was the first method of moulding: employed, and is still used more than any other in Canada. It possesses the ad- vantage of producing not only a brick of ver>- uniform stn'cture, but one which stands the action of frost extremely well. Stiff-mud Process. With this method the clay is tempered with less water, and consequently is much stiffer, so that the wet brick can be handled without being deformed. The prin- ciple of the process consists in taking the clay thus prepared, and forcing it through a die in the form of a rectangular bar which is then cut up into brick. Stiff-mud machines are of two types, the plunger and the auger machine, the latter being most generally used in brick- making. The auger machir (Plate XXX) consists of a closed cylin- der pug-mill, with an auger at the end of the shaft. The clay is worked up by the blades of the shaft and pushed forward to the auger which forces it out of a die as a colunm of the desired shape. By changing the die, brick, drain tile, roofing tile, or fireproofing can be made on the same machine. The die may be shaped so that its length is either the width or the length of a brick. In the former the product is end cut brick, and in the latter, side cut brick. When the bar of clay issues from the machine it is carried on a belt to the cutter in which wires are fitted for cutting the bar into the proper size. Dry-press Process. In this process the clay is not mixed with water, but is used when damp enough to reuin its shape when prL..sed firmly in the hand. It usually contains about S to 10 per cent of water. The material used is prepared by grind- ing in the dry pan, and screened to about one-sixteenth inch. The dry-press machine (Plate XXIX) consists of a very heavy iron frame containing a press box and delivery table and two sets of plungers working vertically in opposite directions. The clay is fed from the bin into the charger, which when filled is pushed forward over the moulds filling them with clay, and is then withdrawn. The upper plungers then move down against the clay and the lower ones, which form the bottom of the moulds; these are then forced upward, which subject the clay to pressure from both sides. When the upper plungers withdraw, the lower 191 ones follow them up, pushing the brick to the level of the delivery table. The charger in its next move forward over the moulds pushes the brick out on the delivery table. The brick are taken from the delivery table and sUcked on wheelbarrows which are wheeled directly to the kiln. The advantages claimed for the dry-press process are that in one operation it produces a brick with sharp edges and smooth faces. The operation of drying, which is necessary in the soft and stiff-mud processes, is done away with, as the bricks made by the dry process go directly from the machine to the kiln. Many shales which are too gritty and not plastic enough to be used in the wet-moulded processes, may be dry-pressed. The dry-press process has an important application in western Canada owing to the fact that many of the clays and shales of that region show drying defects, which prohibit their being used in the wet- moulded processes. Dry-press machines are generally constructed to mould four bricks at one pressure; two and sue mould machines are also made. DRYING. Brick made by either the soft or stiff-mud process must be thoroughly dried before they are placed in the kiln for burning. Many clays give no trouble at all in drying, but some clays are tender and will crack if exposed to warm winds, or direct sun- shine, so that they have to be protected and dried slowly. Open Air Diying. In many of the smaller brick-yards the brick are simply turned out of the moulds on level ground and dried in the open air. After standing until they are hard enough tobehandled, the brick are turned on their sides. When nearly dr>- they are stacked in rows eight brick high and covered with an inverted trough made with boards to protect them from rain (Plate XXXI). Rack and Pallet Driers. In this method the freshly moulded brick are turned out on a board or pallet. The pallets are placed on a covered rack or frame (Plate XXXI, B). The dry- ing capacity may be as large as desired if there is sufficient room 192 at the plant for building a number of racks, i his method has the advantage over the open system because the brick are pro- tected from rain at all stages of the drying. The disadvantage of both these methods is that they can only be used for a portion of the year in Canada. They are suitable, however, to plants having a small output, which are idle during the winter months, as only a very moderate amount of capital is involved. Artificial Drying. A closed building of some kind must be provided for artificial drying, and heat from the consumption of fuel is utilized. The main underlying principle of the Ixst systems of drying by artificial heat is the use of a small volume of air at a high temperature in place of a large volume of cooler air. Brick driers are usually in the form of a tunnel built of brick or concrete (Plate XXXII, A). Tracks are laid through the tunnel, so that the cars loaded with brick may be pushed into it. The cars enter at the cooler end, are pushed slowly forward and removed at the warmer end of the tunnel; the time required for drying is from 24 to 72 hours. The tunnel driers used at different localities differ chiefly in the manner in which they are heated. Steam heat, hot air, or waste heat from cool- ing kilns may be employed, while fans are generally used to draw the warm air through the tunnel. Effects oj Caustic Lime on Drying. It has been observed by the writer during the testing of a large number of western clays that the more calcareous ones generally gave less trouble in drying than the liOn-calcareous clays. A series of tests was consequently begun to determine the effects of various percentages of lime added to those clays that cracked in drying. The only form of lime found to be effective was caustic lime, generally known as quicklime. Only one sample of the Quebec clays was tested, that from L'Epiphanie; but this is representative of the troublesome clays of that region. Attention has already been directed to the 193 defects in this clay. It is highly plastic, adhesive and stiff in working, then cracks badly in drying. The addition of 2 per cent of quicklime to this clay gives immediate relief, by destroying the stickiness, and causing an extraordinary difference in the ease with which it can be worked. An excess of quicklime will actually make the wet body short and crumbly, so that it will be liable to tear in moulding. The effect of quicklime in drying is even more pronounced than on the working qualities of the clay. A 3-inch cube moulded from this clay with an addition of 2 per cent of quick- lime was dried intact in warm sunshine and wind in 12 hours. The clay alone cracks on a shelf at ordinary room temperature. A white scum is caused on the surface of the burned /are by the action of the quicklime, and the body is rather more porous. It is probable that 1 per cent of quicklime will cure most of the causes of cracking in drying of Quebec clays, and this small amount will not have much effect on the burned body. The quicklime should be finely ground and sprinkled over the clay, the mixing being done at least 24 hours before mould- ing. Another method of mixing is to dissolve the right pro- portion of lime in water, and add it to the clay as milk of lime. Clayworkers as a rule avoid lime if possible, as it is a det- riment when present m coarse particles. Its use in con- nexion with these troublesome clays is only advocated when all other remedies have failed. One per cent of powdered quicklime thoroughly mbced with the clay, will have no bad effect on the burned body, other than making a white scum, but this is better than not being able to work the clay at all. BURNING. The different stages of the burning of clay wares and the changes that take place in tlie clay during the bumuig have been stated in another chapter. The different types of kilns and tne fuels used in them are briefly mentioned in the following pages. Kilns used for burning brick may be divided into tv'o main groups: (a) single or intermittent kilns, (b) continuous kilns. 'P M 111 I I P 194 The first group may be Bubdividcd into two claMc;* ac- cording to the direction in which the air products of ci>mbus- tion and flue ga»e» travel viz., (1) up-draft, (2) down-«ir.ift kilns. The single or intermittent kilns are filled with britk. burned, cooled down, and unloaded. The operations of buniini;. cooling, and unloading may be going on at the same time in the continuous likn. Up-drajt kilns. The simplest kiln of any description i> the scove kiln (Plate XXXII, B). This is a temporary ar- rangement consisting merely oi a rectangular pile of the driid brick which are to be burned. The lower courses of brick arc set to form a series of parallel arches extendir^, for the entire width across the bottom of the kiln. The outside of the kiln is daubed over with a thick paste of clay, to prevent the escajH- of heat, and the entrance of cold air. The fuel for burning is thrown into the arches, and the fires rise through the mass of brickworks. The results of the burning are very irreKular; tlie upper and outside brick are underbumed, while the l)rick in the arches arc overburned. The loss of heat is so great that this method can only be applied to the burning of common brick or other ware that does not require exposure to his!h temperatures. Seventy per cent of saleable brick is cousidirw! a gootl yield for a scove kiln. Caseil kilns or Dutch kilns are permanent rectangular up-draft kilns. The side walls being built of brickwork masonry arc an improvement on the scove kiln as they retain the heat better, and admit less cold air. The end walls ol thf cased kilns are left partly open so as to admit a wagon for unloading the burned brick, and they are generally protected by a wooden roof. Down-draft Kilns. The walls and roof of the down- draft kilns are built of brickwork masonry. The style most generally used for burning brick is rectangular ia sliarje, with an arched roof on the interior, and a door at eacli end for loading and removing the brick. Down-draft kilns that are circular in plan, with a dome shaped roof (Plate XXXI II) are used to some extent for burning brick, but are more frecjuently used for the burning of drain tile and sewer-pipe. Fire boxes h it 19S are conatnicted in the outside walla of the Idin which connect with fluea on the inside wall. The fire gaws pasa to the top of the kiln chamber through these flues, end then down through the ware finding an outlet through openings in the floor of the kibi which lead to the chimney stack. There are a number of different typea of down-draft kilns according to the ar- rangement of fireplaces, flue«, etc. The heat is more uniformly distributed in down-dratt kilns, far higher temperatures can be obtained, and there is less waste than in the up^iraft type of kiln. They are used for burning face brick, dry-pressed brick, paving and tire- brick. Continuous Kilns. The continuous kiln consists of a number of chambers arranged in an oval or rectangle. These chambers are connected with each other, and with a control stack by flues, so that the fire gases may be led from any chamber into any of the others or to the stack. They were originally designed to utilize the waste heat from burning. For many years after their introduction they were not very well understood, but in recent years they have been growing steadily in favour, especially with manufacturers who wish to produce a large output. The main principle of the continuous kiln is that the heat from a chamber that is under fire is not allowed to escape into the chimney stack, but is conducted into another chamber which has been newly filled, to 'vrform the operation called watersmoking. By the time the first chamber is burned, it requires only a short period of active firing to finish the second chamber, and the waste heat from it is utilized in warming up a third chamber. In other words the chambers ahead of the finished one are heating up, while the chambers behind it are ccnling down. It is thus possible to be burning brick in certain chambers, filling others, and emptying still others, all at the same time, making the process a continuous one. Continuous kilns are employed for burning common brick in Quebec and Ontario with considerable success. With the use of producer gas for firing a great saving in fuel is said to be possible (Plate XXXIV). r '= IM BIBLIOGRAPHY OF MAMOTACTUtE. For more detailed information regarding method* of manu- facture in the variout clay working induttriea, the reader ii referred to the following worka: Rie,_Clayi, their Occurrence, Propertiea. and Utet. John \Viley and Son§, New York. Searle— Modem Brickmaking. D. Van Noatrand Co., New York. Blelninger— The Effect of Heat upon Clayt. T. A. Randall & Co. Indianapolis, Ind. Lovejoy— Economics in Brickyard Conrtruction and Operation. T. A. Randall & Co. Transactions of American Ceramic Society, Columbus, Ohio. Worcester and Orton— Manufacture of Roofing Tiles. Geo logical Survey of Ohio, Columbus, Ohio. Snider— Clays and Clay Industries of Oklahoma. Oklahoma Geological Survey, Norman, Oklahoma. « ■MI ^ ^ ^ - a^J»t..m^sm». hm^* ,11 irr.'.!*! imiUn/'b iff 'H .('' )i, lniil(i ^nrii-itw Lni> •tfn.H nrlfiiiyi A !»jj, I , ■.") i.H'> 1 j.idT h(iB ))>h(I jifi-jiwi*.! f. -nil 1 • .iRri* •((llblT. l-i,>l) '%•<, 11' 202 Plate IV litica-I.orraine shale at Cap Same. 203 I'LATK IV. 204 Plate V. A. llira-Lorrainc shale on C .inadian Northern railway between tap K'Ug and St. AugUiilin. B. Utica-I.orr.iim- shale al Ueauport. 205 I'IMI \ Cup ki'uge Ill 11 m'fi 1 .H>£ <* ,«' 0i-- ■■mmf-. .17 ji/. li ■■ ^ fc 'M f ^1. I' 206 V * Plate VI. A. The escarpment of Utica- Lorraine shale at Montmorency (Ms. D. Devonian shale at Cap Fleurant, Bonaventure county. 207 IYate VI. ii ■ \i '■ ' Uljl '^r.:' \t:. •^. '■'^ ■■■■:■ '^ ■■■ .. ''' -i" r . ■ .i ', . ^ M3 ■;«. .117 Hl/.ll .cnolliKriiasU ;£ jini.il /i.l i In jeiid ji, ebnt?. boifijtiJ«; A .!iMmoI/. .i^iWiud looriai rigiH il bii<- /l- jd ijii^h-)/.. ^.> ' .."-•it! '*■ Pierre\ille. '■m:.:ym^: u - ■ Ill >l'.\ r « « .1- 2t4 Plate X. The Liivre River valley from Valier hUl, Portland township. The valley in floofcd with Pleistocene clay and the depout is typical of the clay de- potitt of the Laurentian upland. 215 e valley ia le clay de- I );1 1 m iMil h .UL -a- .IX ^T/..l^ .liiiH li.jn {ji),7 )( ,,i,l -•[,-:.,, hi>| .A. iIhvdIl I ,.():_) J ijc') 1.11 /! Ii, Ti.no!/ -.rit io im,!') .)| "':#feft* •,**- ff :! : J I ■'■-til 1^* 216 Plate XI. A. Richard's brick-yard near Hull. B. PUnt of the Montreal Terra Cotw Co., Lakeside. 1 217 IV\TK XI. ir l^q!;! w i' * Jl . I«il 11 -L L.J. 1« ■ ,1 ^r*. * ^^^^.'*' If/ ,1/ ri ■-./ii'jnnA.wei loyill,... /iMi.o, iu,„.T,'i ,t.„...^t,, '-i .,< .,. ,n,.l,, ;( .nH A .yttiuoa \usnn.-l ,bn>.r.ii lA I .H .#• #' 218 Plate XII. A. Brick plant at St. Raymond, Portneuf county; valley o< Ste. Anne rivet. B. Clay with crumpled itrau. St. Raymond, Portneuf county. aatAMBJ-il 21V II.VtK Ml. MWSli'- I III' < 1 m !*• 220 Plate XUI. landslip in marine clay St. Thuribe, Portncuf county. 221 /IZ if/ i"l ..twniarmO n li^xpb /nli ■jn-jxii»i')l'l • />-/!/. (I ^'*#-. -^y-^i iii»' ^■«'*'*'^^iiWW>» Li^ar-ti^^ 222 Plate XIV. A. Terrace of marine clay at Chicoutimi. B. Massive Pleistocene clay deposit at Ormstown. 223 fLATE XIV. 1 ': «s ,'.-»; .^ *..- w- //. STA.l'l .■>-.iTi,'-i!i iii,' iti .b-iri. t,ni< 11,1.11. i ft- vu J )ili/-iniiM 1. Ml vj/n ei )lli.l f )'■ II.. Iirt,* hni. /cf, ■>ifi » i»f)n ;i ii 224 i i 3 « Platp XV. A. Gathering .urface cUy at the pit M the Sundard CUy Produc* < CUy-ttorage «hed« in the aiHane». B. Bank. oC PleUtocene cUy and «nd on St. Franci. river near Rerrevine V >1i^ L ----■» iiM"' ''^^B^Il.fM ^SR^ ■immA: m 22S i'lMI \\. MKXOCOfY RiSOlUTION TBT CHART (ANSI and ISO TEST CHART No. 2) A '653 Eoit M-jif) Slr««f (716) 482 - 0300 - Phon. fcli^ ■^ss ■Av»- • ?3iS«i^' y^ ,i ■'W '■nuo-i liAi&mn'f .ti. l-ub-ri..^iitiH .l^ icgn jdUq doh.l .lo.ii/r-.,-, ,||fc„i,> A 226 Plate XVI. A. Small, common brick pUnt near St. FransoisKlu-Uc, Yamaska county. B. General view of brick plants along the St. Uwrence river at DeschaUlons. mii W ■ A- my. ons. 227 PLATh XVI. Ki ■:p , .-*-v-.r nVX Mr/ I'l :»jT aTj»pc.-i ,^llivxi-ji:H eqiil* .,»«,«■.,«*,• 228 Plate XVII. A. Continuoui lain, fired with producer gas, at Unnoxville, Eastern Town- ship* Brick Co. B. High level Pleistocene claylat brick plant. Ascot. 229 I'lATI X\ll. n Town- B. oil III/X .J IV i'( •knoll ,bii..mrt:)iH w-./ it -^tj lu-iUHt 1., •nor', -.ri. g*"'!* fJinwt /tlj .fl . yinuoj jtuJn-j/ 2)0 Plate XVI 11. A. T«r«ce of PleUtocene cUy ntu St. Jo«ph-deB«Mice. Ch«udi*f« Kivet valley. B. Ctay tetwce aioiig the (hore ol Chaleur bay at New Richmond. Bona- venture county. m irt Kivrt td. Bona- I'lMi Win. m I* Tl' Sf.i .XIX arAJ*I '1 ' o^hsvo ti)^ to ii«d A .awfeey msrfnon .qirfai wu) ViinakJ ni '., Laketide. U Mininn Juk anU boulder .lay with a «eam rtiovel at Ueltoii Juticli. n 245 Munirwl M\,.,. *?■■■■ a*£ A.' ^*^i^ ~lVXif 31 /.!<[, ^ri« snibf iTV v>i ni,., /iC! ..*fi 246 t Plate XXVI. ■n Dry pan for grinding shale. ¥1 247 ■:(■ mxx 3T> ,1 ^*: ilim -ju'l M. -■■^- .' ■ 248 Plate XXVII. Pug-mill. 249 <«.. O^i •1"/XX a»ui^ ,siiirin«Mi > '-ri hii,f].!)r^ ■*«»«v ;:S!. 230 Plate XXVIII. Soft-mud brick machine. la fii Is ;sf IImk xxviii. 251 .XfJT/ :,,, ,,f Hi ■>^1yhm ^Thrt iiM,<,.<,ct -s*;^.. 252 Plate XXIX. Dry-presi brick machine. 253 '•late XXIX. f'l rl/.y. 'e>tfoi 6 j/juf i,,| ^„^,^ *'" toai-'A 254 Plate XXX. Auger machine for brick and hollow ware. 255 f*?' iy/.z d,,.i-jIji.i Into, '" '■'■'''"n -■> :,•„■,<( -afthgfS- 256 mm ^ Plate XXXI. Dr)'ing brick on an open floor, L' Islet. Drying brick on pallets in covered racks. 257 «K us Plate XXXII. A. Driiat tunneb under construction at the plant of the Citadel Bricli Co., Montmorency. B. Setting brick in a Kove kiln. 2S9 1 OdS 'K nwlq jbhd Jnwn^,^^ */ fi fi". - - •■ ■ ■.'O-a- ■.-1* 260 Plate XXXIII. Multiple itack, down-draft circular lain, Onurio government brick plant at Mimico. 261 ,/.-*;. ?«.<*'. <.V '/'X// p, ,<, :'. r^.^ '.y Tj-)i;bl,h,( 'l.'IIItllrn. > ""inrno-, ^j,.-,-,,,./ ,..-. .. '•■' .;ltJ .; U'>H(,ji,i(,') f! ;^.. .**j%."*tr 262 Plate XXXIV. A. Continuous brick kiln fired with producer gan. i). Continuou* kiln (or burning common brick, Asrni 2hA 265 INDEX. A. aS:::;^':-'.''''*'-'''-' ««"•-'-..»<. talc .^.-.e -- Accrington reds I83 Air-shrinkage 135 Alkali, in clay I6I, I82 AnjoB .,. aTm*"' ^ *='••'"'«»' ••w'ly.et. ••••■ 104 Ante-fired proceaa. 93 Argenteuil county 121 A»cot jj «. 91. 114. 134 B. Ball-clay ^<:hf ..'.".'.'.'.■■ 138.171 ^«* ;::;;: 46 county 50 Beauharnois. . 4> o« Beauport j3g B«cancour. . . ab ■ . "" 'iver 35 Bell, Messrs. W.and D.. 35, 83 " river 67 Bellechasae county 49, 50, 106 Beloeil, Mount 95 l)ibliography 4^ Bishop, W. S 145. 196 Boiler setting blocks. ... 26, 76 Boischatel J3g Bonaventure county. 29, 132 ?°"'*iou' 37, 38, 101, 151 Boulderchy 32 Brick, arch 15 ^ clays, requisitetof...... 138 , tcinmon. manufacture of. ........' 175 " ^"^'ufacture'of ' ^ee ate face brick :.■:.•..■.•.■::.:.:: \- Ij' 1. '«<^ 266 Brick, nuterialt (or. See clayt and alio thale*. rxoi * paving, manufacture o(. See alao paving brick \3i " Mnd-limc 140 " • " manufactureof 141 " • • material! (or 141 " * * publication! on 14S * !ewer. See lewer brick, ' !hale, manufacture of 131 " ailica \4S ' ' publicationaon 145 * ooft-mud, manufacture of . 129, 134 * "upeatry" 133 Brick-making planta. See clay-worUog planta. Building blocka 137 • " atUktaidc 61 • UpcaWe 14 Burning of clay. . . 125, 193 O. Calumet S3 Canada Cement company 53 Canadian Brick and Tikcompany 142 * China Clay company 5 • Northern railway 48 * Trenton Potterica company 138 Cap Rouge 7, 27, », 115. 139 • river 27, 67 * Santt 24 Carbon in clayt 158 Caacadea 52 Caacapedia river 101 • • Little 101 Chabot, John 8 Chaleur bay 38, 48. 102 Chalmen. R 42. 93 Chambly 18 ■ county 18, 136 Champioin county 48 Chandler 103 Charlebourg weat 31 Charlemagne 22 Chateau Frontenac 133 Chateauguay county 72 ■ river 72 Chaudiere river 42, 93 267 Chciaea ■ , OnnMown Chicoutimi Chilid-cJAy. CWiuwtft...'. Citadel Brick eon,p,„y;.;;- CI«yi«Anio« ... Angus. ... ; ; A«>t , * B«Buport ' " BeUriver ^ Cap Rougt ^ * Chkoutiini. . ^ ^ DeKhaaioo....'.;.'.''' ^ Farnham , " Huberdeau. . . I • Hull ' " Kirk Ferry. . . • LakeSt.John..".". ; ; uke«j. ^ Lennoxville , * L*Epiph*nie....."."'."" , ^ L'lsletiution. ...'.'""■ ^ Montreal , " • island.;.".;;" , , NewRichmond ^ Omutown * Portneuf I * Quebecdty. ;;;;;;;;■■■ ^ Richmond , * Riinouiki county , ^ '^viire^u-Loup...." "■ Roberval • ' f'5'*''**<*«-Benechaie St. John ^ RJmouiU county. , SLCharlcdf-Bdlecha.^' *•• John .... fireclay. kaolin ""Watocene clay. . . . ; ; ••"ie. St. AuguMin St. Grcgoire .45. IM, 'AW 5J 86 74 tOI 96 76 172 4.171 49 26 34 49. 70 70 170 J 29 I0« 9J 91 68 106 69 70 85 77 55 53 54 71 60 90 63 96 59 58 101 72 64 67 88 100 99 72 95 82 75 268 Ckyt at St. Jowph-de-BcaNct M • St. Lin 5J " St. lUymonct 64 • St. Rem! D'Amhent J • Thvmc SI • Tr«« PiatoiM M " Varcnnc* n • Y«nuMkaE4Mt S3 belt erf northern Quebec 49, 10] boulder IS colouri after burning SJ * of S2 definition of 146 depodtt, eatuarine ISl " glacial isa ' lake and iwamp 152 marine IS, 4S, ISO rcaidua! 103, 147 * " forma of depoeiti 14S * tedimentary, clanificatioa of ISO " (tratified SO, 149 " transported 149 Claya, effect! of heat on 163 '•t SI field examination of 177 Clay formation*, Cretaceotaa 1 Leda 4« Ojibway 104 Plelatocene J, 42 * general character of 49 ' north of the St. Lawrence 52 •outh • " 72 Pre-Cambrian. See kaolin. Tertiary 1 gumbo SI high level SI joint 50 kindaof 170 lean 50 Leda, eifectiof lime, dolomite, and tak ichiat on 123 low level 51 minerals in 153 origin of 146 propertieaof 146 raw, physical properties of 159 strong 51 269 Cky tender. ... t-lotet bn, Wm. J.. gS^;;o«.nb„,„^orc..y.: ;; ''•'*••> junctton. . ^^ew-haillon. Devonknrt«k» SeeriuO... Domjnlon Brick company.. DonV-i. '^""■'^''P«*«ycoinpMy. £r«in tile. See tile. Orytmn* Drying * artificial. D^mjdefect. of Pleistocene clay.;. effect. oTcauttk lime on tetti Dry-prew proccM " • teitf.. ..;;;;;;;;;;;;; Eaat river Eattern Townrtipt company. V. '.[ Electncalporeelain.. Eatuarine day^ See claya.' Face brick '' at Farnham , O. .45. M>. IJ1 'IN, OQ 12.5 IM ■H, 15. i24 51. 85. 114 57 ' 138 132 94 187 1". 191 192 117 192 183 190 183 101 90 5 ^ ^ 132 20 ■i I 270 rxoB Face brick at Fleurant point 39 " " " Laprairie 15 " • • St. Antoine-de-Tilly 22 « " • St. CharleKle-BellechaiW! 9 " " " St. Joachim-Je-Courval 21 " • • Ltvit 11 * ' ■ See alao brick. Farnharo 19, 77 Feldspar 138, 154 Field examination o( clays 177 Fire shrinkage 162, 182 Firebrick, Scotch 132 Fireclays 171 Fireproofing 12 " at Beauport 29 " at Lakeside 61 * "Laprairie 14 • "St. Joachim-de-Courval 21 " effects of lime in 127 " manufacture of 136 Fiske company. New York 133 Fleurant point 38 Flint 138 Fournier, M 8 Freezing test 122 Futlersearth 174 Fusibility 183 G. Gaspe county 37, 39, 102, 151 • peninsula 48 Gatineau river 52 Genois, N 65 Glacial clays. See clays. Glacial period 42 Gracefield 52 Grain, finenessof 160 Grand Pabos 37 •• river 103 Grand Trunk railway 72 Grenville series 6, 145 Gumbo 51 271 Heat, effects of. on clays.. H'gh level clay.. See days Hollow blocks ^ Houdes mill . ." Huberdeau Hull .'.'.' !.'.'.■ Hurricanaw river. .... Iberville county Iron compounds in clay Ironsides. . . . Jacques Cartier river Jugs Kaolin, prospecting for Kalite'-.'*""'.^'^'-*::--' Kazabazua KirlcFerry. ....."■ Kilns, continuous ^ down-draught, up-draught Labelle county.... Lablanc.O Laboratory test,.' See' t'wis." L Acadie station L'Achigan river ;;^^«niedeBriquedeL-i.let.V. Laprairie county I- Assomption county. . I-aurentian 'ACB 163 137 32 51. 55 .53,110 • 49. 104 139 77 155 53 25 70 142 139 •2. 138, 148, 171 153 52 54 195 194 194 2, 52 34 75, 124 23 96 60. 124, 136 13, 111 •13, 123, 136 22, 63 6 272 Leda clay. See clay. PAOI Leda glacialis 99 * truncata 48 Le Grand Coup 39 Unnoxville 90, 114 L'Epiphanie 23. 51, 63, 118 Uvis 10. 47, 136 " formation shalea. See shales. Liivre river 52 Lime compounds in clay 156 L'Islet county 96, 115 " station 96 Loomis, M. E 91 Lorraine shales. See shales. Lotbini^e county 21. 47, 84 low level clays. See clays. LundeU, G. E. F 4 Mc. McLeish,J 13* M. Macdonald college 74 Manufactui-e of brick 186 " " bibli« 138 N. National Brick company. Laprairie.. ^reproofing company 15,131 M D- /'^"■continental railway 136 New Richmond. ... 49 'Newport ,., ^•-'« :37.;s , *^°'""y 51, 112, 118 ^ "v« 31. 83. 135 Notre Dame mountains. . 32, 83 Ojibwayclay. See day formation,, lake Ordovician shales. See shales. "Tmstown Ottawa city * river Oxidation 72,111 46 •». 53, 55, 152 164 ''*Per-chy. . ' filler Paradis, E. * M Patterson's Farm. . Paving brick. See brick.; P*tx:« Pierreville Pike creek Pipe-clay Plants, reference to list of Plasticity at St. Charles-de-Bellecha Livis manulacturetrf 174 5 •S • 1© 135 • 39 32, 80. 82, 112 5 174 139 159 m 274 PAGE Plate* 139 Platters 139 Pletftocene clay. See clay. Pointe-aux-Tremblet 142 Porcelain 5 Port Daniel 101 Portland cement clay 175 Portneuf 24, 64 " county 23, 64 Potadam sandstone 138, 145 Pottery, manufacture of 139 " Perci 39 Pre-Cambrian clay. See kaolin. " " schiat at Sherbrooke 6 Preheatinc claya 1 18 Preparation of clay 186 ProuU, M 88 Pug-mill 188 0. Quart! 138, 154 Quebec city and vidaity 7, 47, 67 * county 28, 67 • Mines Branch 104 R. Rack and pallet driers 191 Refractory ware, L4vis 11 Refractory wares, manufacture of 138 Residual clay. See clay. Richard Alex., and Son 53, 110 Richelieu county 80 river 18, 47, 80 Richmond 45, 88 " county 48, 88 Rimouski county 100, 115 river 100 Ring pit 188 Rividre Blanche 66 Riviire-du-Loup 42, 93, 99 Rivi^du Sud 95 Roberval 72 Rolls 187 Roofing tile. See tile. 275 Rouge river Rougemont, Mount. Rouville county Royal, Mount Ruel siding Ste. Anne mount. . « u . nver St. Antoine-de-Tilly. ...... St. Apollinaire St. Augustin St. Charle»de-Bellechj«e. St. Charies river St. Fabien St. Francis river St. Fran^oia-du-Lac St. Gregoire St. Joachim-de-Courval. St. John St. John county St. John lake. . . St. Jo«ph... "..''.'■,■"" St. Joseph-de-Beauce. St. Joaephde Uvi«. St. Lambert St. Lawrence Brick and Tena Cotta Co', nver. , . " u „ valley St. Lin ' junction St. Male '■ St. Marc St. Maurice county Ste. Monique. . St. Ours ' St. Paullake . . , 1 .' ." St. Raymond St. Remi d'Amherst St. Rock Ste. Th^r^. ....,'.'' St. Thuribo St. Victor-de-Tring. ....... Sagucnay river Sampling clay deposite. PAGB ss 46 77 46 10 40 64 21 9 25 S, 95. 136, 137 67, 132 100 20, 32, 45, 80, 88 82 32, 3i, 113 v.'-, 20 51, 75, 123, 137. 138 75 49, 71 10, 45, 50 93 137 ■Laprairie.:V.V..V.V.V.. "^J" ••J8. 21. 23. 28, 47. 67. 151.152 46 57 50 67 64 48 32. 84. 113 80 i3 50. 64 2. 138. 148, 171 80 58 66 93 49 180 276 Sand-lime brick. See brick. PAGb Sanitary pottery 5, 138 Saxicava rugota 48 • land 48 Scotch firebrick 132 Scott junction 93 Sedimentary clays. See clays. Segercones 167 Sewer brick 36 Sewer brick at Cap Rouge 27 " " * Montmorency 30 " • • Sherbrooke county 90 " " • St. Joachim-de-Courval 21 • pipe at St. Charles^e-Bellechaaie 9 « " St. John 75 " • St.Umbert 18 " " manufacture of 137 Shales at Becancour 35 " " Beauport 28 " • Cap Rouge 27 • * CapSant* 24 • " Chambly 18 « Charlebourg 31 • " Charlemagne 22 • * Delson junction IS • • Farnham 19 • • Fleurant point 38 • " Laprairie 13 • " L'Epiphanie 23 * Uvi» 10 • • Montmorency 29 • • Perct 39 • • Portneuf 24 " • St. Antoine^e-TiUy 21 " " St. Augustin 25 " St ChartesKle-Bellechasse 8 • St. Gregoire 33 ■ • St. Joachim-de-Courval 20 • • St.Umbert 18 • • Ste.Moniqiie 32 Shale-bearing formations. Devonian 1, 39 Uvis 10, 135 Lorraine il, 32 Medina 32, 35, 135, 137 * summary testsof 36 m Ortovician SiJlery '.'.'.'."'.■.■■.■ Silurian '" Trenton , _ IJtica-Lorralne. Shale., origin and di«ribution vitrtfying snerbrooke county Shore-lines Shrinkage Sil.«ne^e-TiIly .*.'..'■ I . , , ^'- Augustin ' • . . r'-G""*"" -rf « « « ?'J«'c»''wi-y»ical.,ummaryubieor..'.. Three Rivers Tile, drain at Amo* " Beauport Bell river Cap Rouge Lennoxville L'Islet "" J^ew Richmond! ... .' Nicolet county Ormatown Rimouiki county. ... Roberval St.Ch«rl«Hle.Be«echa«e. St. Or^oire Ste. Monique Vamaaka county. ..... 28, MOB 114 lis 112 111 112 115 115 113 113 112 143 29 27 24 19 20 39 14 10 30 22 ■ 25, 27 9 34 21 33 36 41 ■ 46, 141 108 105 69 106 69 91 98 102 84 74 100 72 96 34 33 80 280 Tile, drain eflecf»o( lime in j" " • plant, ccMtoi '"" • • manufacture of |^ • " teste on Quebec clays j^ • rooftng,effectiii f limein *" • ' Fleurant poini ^ • wall ' Traniported clayi. Soc clays. Trenton shales. See shales. Trois Pistoles " Undcrdrainage of wil. . Utica-Lorraine shales. U. 109 See shale*. ▼. Valltquette. J. H Varenncs '1' ^' *"• Verchirts county Vitrification " of clays, effects of lime, dolomite and talc sciiist on Vitrified wares, Livis. 118. 1114 121 78 165 125 11 Vitrifying shales '^' 5 138 159 Wall tile Wash basins Water in clays Watersmoking J2f Wet pans Whiteware pottery bodies Wilson, M.E Wolfe county 188 5 106 48 y. Vamaska county. • East. . . , " river... .20, 45, .77, 80 83 83 c* beenS'^'JlS'aShrvTL'" "'''^"^-I Survey have 2. etc Owing to delaystc^d^,:;^.^"^ fl-'^'"- '' Me-- «.^he.r accompanying maps no' all oJT '""'"^ °' ^^f^^' called memoirs, and the memoir, i, * "''*'''' f">ve been order of their a«igned n:S"an7tr ^" '"""^ '•"^" If MOOCOPr HSOWTION TBT CHART (ANSI and ISO TEST CHART No. 2) ^ -^PPLED IIVMGF ■^g *- 1652 East Main Street F^S ("6) «2-0J00-Phon. ^^ (716) 288 - S9e9 - F Quebec and the Maritime iv Guide Book No. 2. Excureioni in the Eastern Townihlpi of Quebec and * * Giii'd"Sook°No. 3. Excureioni in the neighbourhood of Montreal and 0ung. . . , ...»_» No. 34, CeologUal Series. Geology and mineral depodu ol the Tulameen district, B.C.— by C. Camsell. No. 32, Gedo^cal Series. Oil and gas prospects of the north- west provinces of Canada— by WT Malcolm. . No. 20, Geological Series. Wheaton district, Yukon Territory— by D. D. Caimes. . _ ..... No. 30, Geohpcal Series. The geology of Gowganda Mining Divisiott— by W. H. Collins. . vt .• i No. 29, Geolotical Series. Reconnaissance along the National Transcontinental railway in southern Quebec— by John A. No.*22^G»>lopcal Series. Portions ol Atlin district, B. C— by D. D. Caimes. , , ., . » _, No. 31, Geolotical Series. Geok)gy of the North AmeriKn Cordillera at the forty-ninth parallel. Parts I and II— by R^^nald Aldworth Daly. Memoirs and Reports Published During 1914. REPORTS, ETC. Summary Report for the calendar year 1912. No. 1305. ,,,„,, MSseuS^BuSSn. N«. 2, 3. 4, 5, 7 and 8 contain artidesNoj. 13 toM of the Geological Series of Museum BuUetins, article No. 2 of the Anftw- Dola^:^Saies, and article No. 4 of the Biological Senes of Museum ButtetiM. '^^^So?s Handbook No. I: Notes on radium-beanng mmerala-by Wyatt MScolm. ^^^^^^ ^^^^^ ^^ The archjeological collection from the southern interior of British Colum- bia—by Harlan I. Smith. No. 1290. MEMOIRS-GEOLOGICAL SERIES. Mbmou 23. No. 23, Geelopcal Series. Geology of the coast «md islands M»o» ". '^^^^^ the^trait of Georgia and Queen Chariotte sound, B.C. — by J. Austen Bancroft. Mbuoib 17. Mbmom 18. Mbmoir 26. Mbmou 29. Mbmoib 31. Mbuoib 33. Mbmoib 35. MbmoiB 37. Mbmoib 38. MiMon 35. Miiiou 30. MiuoiK 30. Mbuoib 36. Mbmoiii 53. MxMoia 43. Mbmoix 44. Mbmois 33, Mbiioib 33. andro«eph Keele. *""*"'*^" ^*^»rt HI)— by Heinrich Riet ^v^^^?fe^1^anli' '^"' "■ ^•'- -<» Churchill M.l^lm!'^'^'^-^'- GoW field, of Nov. Scoti.-byW and thale depoMtt of New lentinet -bvM^E^^T"- '^«*««»"»L.'«"»pire., Quebec ^yC'Rcfig!*^- Geol<*yoftheN«udmom.,^> JVo. 38.CMofical Series, -fte "FeraLSSL" r i^ •* ^-«2.D. B. DowlSig^ Columbia (reviwd edition) «d*k„^'SS/„^!L^2«' of S^l-*--. Alb.ru MEMOIRS-ANTHROPOLOGICAL SERIES MEMOIRS-BIOLOGICAL SERIES. **"'°"'*- .nd'le.^r^f^ii^ee^r^1'^.l''urcet of Canada— by D. B. Dowling. Memoir 67. No. 49, Geotogical Series. The Yukon-Alaska Boundary be- tween Porcupine and Yukon rivers— by D. D. Caimea. Memoir 57. No. 50, Geolopail Series. Corundum, its occurrence, distribu- tion, exploitation, and use*— by A. E. Borlow. Memoir 64. No. 52, Ceoloeical Series. Preliminary report on the clay and shale deposits of the province of Quebec— by I. Keele. Memoir 65. No. 53, Geohtical Series. Clay and shale depositt of the western provinces. Part IV— by H. Riea. Memoir 66. No. 54, Geolopeal Series. Clay and shale deposits of the western provinces, Part V— by J. Keele. ... Memoir 70. No. 8, Anthropolopeal Series. Family hunting tenttonM and social life of the various Algonkian bands of the Otuwa valley— by F. G. Speck. ^ , , „ , , t Memoir 71. No. 9, AnlkropolopetU Series. Myths and folk-lore of the Timiskaming Algonquin and Timagami Olibwa — by F. G. Speck Memoir 69. Ho/57', GeoUpcal Series. Coal fields of British ColumbJa— by D. B. Dowling. Memoir 34. No. , Geologicdi Series. The Devonian of, southwestm Ontario and a chapter on the Monroe formauon— by C. R. Stauffer. Memoir 73. No. , Geotopcal Series. The Pldatocene and Recent depositt ot the Island of Montreal— by J. StansfieM. Summary Report for the calendar year 1913.