t, part well burnt,
part overburnt. They are sorted accordingly into shuffs, grizzles,
stocks of two or three qualities, shippers, and burrs. Several sorts of
malm stocks, which are superior in color and texture, are made, and are
used for facing bricks and for cutting; and what are called paviors,
which are dark and strong bricks, are also made. The London stock is
erroneously, but usually, described as gray. It is really of a pie crust
yellow of various tones. Sometimes it is the same color when cut, but
the hardest stocks are of a dark, dirty purple or brown, or sometimes
nearly black inside. A stock brick is rarely quite square or quite true;
its surface is often disfigured by black specks and small pits, and a
stack of them often looks uninviting; yet a skillful bricklayer, by
throwing out the worst, by placing those of bad colors or much out of
shape in the heart of the wall, and by bringing to the front the best
end or side of those bricks which form part of the face, can always make
the bricks in his work look far better than in the stack. Another
important group is the group of Suffolk and Norfolk bricks, red and
white. These are very largely employed as facing bricks and for arches
and cut mouldings.
Moulded bricks are also to a large extent made of the same material.
These bricks are brought to London in large quantities. They have a
sanded face, are mostly square, true, and of uniform color, but they are
usually porous, soft, and absorbent. Still, they are in great demand as
facing bricks, and the moulded bricks enable the architect to produce
many architectural effects at a moderate outlay. These fields furnish
many sorts of bricks, which are called rubbers, and which are employed
(as malm stocks also are) for arches of the more elaborate sort, where
each brick is cut to its shape and rubbed true, and for mouldings, and
even sometimes for carving.
Mouldings that are formed by cutting the bricks can be got more
perfectly true than when moulded bricks are used; but the expense is
greater, and when it is done the material is less durable, for the
softer sorts of brick are naturally used for cutting, and the moulded
face is less sound than the original burnt face of any brick. Red bricks
are to some extent made in fields within easy reach of London; but the
best come from some distance. Red Suffolk bricks have been alluded to.
There is a considerable importation of red Fareham bricks, brought all
the way fr
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