USES FOR CLAY.

Hokitika Guardian, 25 March 1922, Page 4

USES FOR CLAY.

WHAT NEW ZEALAND AIIGHT DO

Mr Real, who is completing a tour of New Zealand is an expert of high standing in the use of clays. He placed bis views before an audience of students and others at the Dominion Museum, Wellington, recently, says the “Dominion”. He had been very much impressed, ho said with the excellence of raw material presented by the clays of N°' v Zealand. Soft clays and hard clays were available in large quantities and great variety. The stoneware clays which he prized very highly, were present in abundance, and if any person wished to manufacture wall tiles, floor tiles architectural terracotta or superior’types of bricks, the material was to hand. He had seen in the Rotorua district great deposits of white clays suitable for tile manufacture of porcelain, when blended with other materials that were found in the Dominion ‘T wish we had as good a clay as thjat in Canada,” he remarked while handling one of his samples, a lump of blue day from Milton. “Just as good a s plasticene, with the added advantages that you can burn it and so preserve the form for ever when you have moulded it,” he commented as lie pressed a block of Nelson clay in his fingers.

The samples of Now Zealand clay that Mr Koal showed his audience had a wide range of colour and texture. They were white, yellow, red, brown blue and grey. Two useful clays bad come from within the boundaries of Wellington city. A number of small bricks represented the results of experiments made by the Dominion Laboratory, and showed how colour could be changed and varied in the process of burning. Mr Keal explained that , more analysis did not give the manufacturer very much information about clay. Actual experiment was required in order to determine the behaviour of each sort of clay on the moulding table and in the kiln. Many other materials were used with clay, such as flint, limestone, and felspar, in the production of pottery, tiles and porcelain, and New Zealand had most of them. Tie was informed tjiat there was a large quantity of felspar on Somes Island. The American manufacturers of porcelain had to go to Canada fo r their felspar. Talc was used in the manufacture of pottery, cooking utensils, which had to resist rapid changes of temperature without cracking.

Clays played a great part in the making of a modern American city, said the lecturer, and it was rather ' surprising to find that they were comparatively neglected in New Zealand. The high steel-frame buildings of the United States had walls of brick faced with terracotta, and inner walls and floors of tiles. Some of 'ha most beautiful brick-work ever produced was being made in the United States today. “I don’t think you know in Australasia what a good job of brickwork means. He commenced. “You have never seen it if your experience has been confined to your own country.” American builders and architects had been content at ono time to wso smooth rectangular bricks, which would fit closely together, with a very small mortar joint. The result was a plain, inartistic surface without any character of its own. But the architects did not remain content, and presently they began to seek their material in the rub-bish-heads of the brick-kilns, whore the irregular, over-burned bricks had been deposited. The brickmakers soon took tlie hint, and now they were producing rough faced bricks, and adopting many devices to vary the colour. They had found that by putting tar, for example into the kiln fires at a Into stage of the burn they could secure black smears across the red surfaces of the bjricks. They carried the burning far enough to produce many shades of brown and plum, and the architects used these rough, parti-ooloured bricks with a wide mortar-joint, and secured wonderfully rich and artistic effects. The schools at Ottawa were using clay, said Mr Keal. The eduaational authorities there had satisfied them

selves that the boys and girls learned more of art from the handling of o'ay j than from any work that could he done with pencil or brush on paper. The pupils made, tiles and' vases using : their own forms and decorative designs. , Each child was required in the final 1 stage of the instruction to make and * colour a tile from an original design, , the completed work being burned, and ■ so made permanent by the school an- \ thorities. The young people produced I many very creditable designs, and it ' was noticeable that the standard was ! becoming higher each year, because an j atmosphere lor this sort of work had •, been created. The clay was a much bet- ' ter medium for the use of the children ! than any artificial modelling material j The work was permanent, and the oliil- I dren, took it home with them, thus ! spreading’ a taste for sound artistic , design tlu'ougli the community. A country could develop an art of its \ own along these lines. Air Real showed hit? audience w tile made by Mr J. AV. AlacDonald, Acting-Director of the Dominion ATiiseum staff, from a casting of a Mn.ero carving, and remarked that such tiles would make a beautiful fireplace for - a New Zealand home.

In the course of his lecture, Air Real . surveyed the development of the ceramic j'rt from the prehistoric ages; and • illustrated his comments with some j samples of the ancient pottery contain- ; ed in the museum collections. He 1 mentioned the distinctive features of the pottery of various ancient and modern nations. One of his illustrations was a Greek vase some 2400 years old of a. quality that cannot be successfully imitated to-day. Dr P. C. Morgan, Director of the Geological Survey, introduced the Canadian. expert, and said iiutlio <anir.se of some brief preliminary remarks that New Zealand bad made very little use yet of some of its natural resources. The clays bad Iveon used to a small extent, but very little had been done in comparison with what could be dono. A very hearty vote of thanks was accorded to ATr Real at the close o f the lecture.