o22

THEORY OF AIICIIITECTURE. Book II.

aspects of buildings in the western counties.
'1
liis quarry lias more cnpabilities tor san
flags and slabs, of wliicli a large amount is now exported to England for cis'erns, batlis,
urinals &.C. 'J'lie Bandufl' <]uarry is nearly given up. The slates from Ashford Bridge i)otli
i.i colour and quality closely resemble the Bangor slates. (Wilkinson, Geoloijy,
Sfc.
oj
Ireland, 18-45.)
1807. A line sound texture is the most desirable among the properties of a slate ;
for the
expense of slating being greatly increased by the boarding whereon it is placed, if tlie slate
absorbs and retains mucii moisture, tlie boarding will soon become rotten. But a good
slate is very durable. Its goodness may readily be judged I
y
striking it as a j)iece
of pottery is struck ;
a sonorous, clear bell-like sound is a sign of excellence; but many
pieces of the slate should be trii.d before a conclusion can be arrived at. It is thought to
be a good sign, if, in hewing, it sliatters before tlie fdge of the zax. The colour, also, is
some guide, the light blue sort imbibing and retaining moisture in a f.ir less degree than
the deep black-blue sort. The ft-el of a slate is some indication of its goodness: a good
one has a hard and rougli feel, whilst an open absorbent slate feels smootli and greasy. The
best method, however, of testing the quality of slates is by the use of water, in two
ways. The first is, to set the pieces to be tried edgewise in a tub of water, the water
reacliing above halfway up tiie height of ihe pieces : if they draw water, and become wet
to the top in six or eight hours' time, they are spongy and bad
; and as tiie water reaches
less u]) them, so are tlie j-ieces better. The otiier method is, to weigli the pieces of slate,
and note their weights. I..et them then remain for twelve hours in water, and take thein
out, wiping them dry. Those that on re-weighing are much heavier than they were jirevious
to their immers.on sliould be rejected. Wliire tlie character of a slate quarry is not pre-
viously known, experiments of these sorts sliould never be omitted.
1808. The following comparison of the advantages of slates over tiles is given by R.
Watson, former Bishop of LlandalF. That sort of slate, other cir. umstances being the same,
is esteemed the best which imbibes the le ist water
;
for water not only increases the
weight of the covering, but in frosty weather, being converted into ice, swells and shivers
the slate. This efiliict of frost is very sensible in tiled houses, but is scarcely felt in those
which are slated, for good slates imbibe but little water ; tiiough tiles, when well glazed,
are rendered in somj measure similar to slate in tiiis rjspect The bishop took a piece of
Westmoreland slate and a piece of common tile and weiglied each of them carefully. The
surface of each was aliout thirty square inches. Both the pieces were immersed in water
about ten minutes, tiien taken out and weighed as soon as they had ceased to drip. The
tile had iinlnbed about a seventh part of its weight of water, and the slate had not imhilied
a tno-himdredth part of its weight; indeed, the wetiing of the slate was merely superticial.
lie placed both tiie wet jiieces before the tire; in a quarter of an hour the slate was per-
fectly dry, and of the same weight as before it was put into the water
;
but the tile had
lost only about twelve grains it had imbibed, which was, as near as could be expected, the
very same quantity that had been spread over its surface; for it was the quantity wliicii
bad been imbi!)ed by the slate, the surface of which was etiual to that of the tile. The
tile was left to dry in a room heated to sixty degrees, and it did not lose all the water it
liad imhilied in less tiian six days.
1809. Professor Ansted states that the best slates are those which are most crystalline,
and which, wlien breathed u])on, give out a faint argillaceous odour
;
when this was given
out strongly, then the slates would readily decompose.
1810. The birgest slab of slate, perhaps, ever as yet obtained, was the one sent by the
I>langollen Slate Coinjiany to the International Exiiibition of 18G2. It was 20 feet long,
10 feet wide, and weighed 4^ tons; the thickness, however, was not named. The Welsh
Slate Company, whose quarries are at P'estiniog, in Merionethshire, sent .several slabs aver-
aging 14 feet by 7 or 8 feet. All the slate from this neighbourhood possesses the remark-
aiile quality of splitting with great facility, and with wonderful accuracy of surface, into
thin laminas or sheets. Some of these thinly divided sheets are obtained 5 to 10 feet long
from 6 to 12 inches wide, and not more than the sixteenth of an inch in thickness. They
are so clastic as to bend like a veneer of wood. (Hunt, HandbMk, 1862.)
Sect. X.
BRICK AND Tir.E.
1811. A brick is a factitious sort of stone, manufactured from argillaceous or clayey
earth, well tempered and S(]ueezed into a mould. When so formed, bricks are stacked to
dry in the sun, and linally burnt to a proper degree of hardness in a cbimp or kiln. Tlie
u.sc of bricks is of the highest antiquity, 'i'hey are frequently mentioned in the historical