There was a maximum size for the raw brick, which it was supposed served to keep bricks uniform, and the expectation was entertained that when the duty came off, many fancy sizes of bricks would be used. This has not, however, turned out to be the case. The duty has been taken off for years; but the differences in the size of bricks in England are little more than what is due to the different rate of shrinkage of brick earth under burning. It must not, however, be supposed that they have always, and in all countries, been of about the same dimensions. The size and proportions of bricks have varied extremely in different countries and in the same country at different periods. Some bricks of unusual shapes have also been employed from time to time. Other countries besides England possess districts which from various circumstances have been more or less densely built on, but do not yield much stone or timber; and, accordingly, brickwork is to be met with in many localities. Holland and Belgium, for example, are countries of this sort; and the old connection between Holland and England led to the introduction among us, in the reign of William III., of the Dutch style of building, which has been in our own day revived under the rather incorrect title of Queen Anne architecture. Another great brick district exists on the plains of Lombardy and the northern part of Italy generally, and beautiful brickwork, often with enrichments in marble, is to be found in such cities as Milan, Pavia, Cremona, and Bologna. Many cities and towns in Northern Germany are also brick built, and furnish good examples of the successful treatment of the material. In some of these German buildings, indeed, very difficult pieces of construction, such as we are in the habit of thinking can only be executed in stone, are successfully attempted in brick. For example, they execute large tracery windows in this material. Great brick gables, often with the stepped outline known as crows' feet, are an excellent architectural feature of these German brick-built towns. In parts of France, also, ornamental brickwork was from time to time made use of, but not extensively. It is not necessary to go very minutely into the manufacture of bricks; but perhaps I ought to say a word or two on the subject. Good brick earth is not simple clay, but a compound substance; and what is essential is that it should burn hard or, in other words, partly vitrify under the action of heat. The brick earth is usually dug up in the autumn, left for the frosts of winter to break it up, and worked up in the early spring.