that the heat may be properly distributed, and the bricks equally and thoroughly baked. [Illustration: Shovel. Pick. Reed Flats.] THE MASON. [Illustration: MASONS AT WORK.] Having already given a description of the way in which bricks are made, we come to the work of the Mason, whose duty it is to prepare the stone work used in building and for other purposes. In the mason’s trade great skill is required, as well as some hard manual labour, since he has to cut the stones for arches, windows, columns, cornices, and porches, into various shapes; and to fit the separate pieces with perfect accuracy, that the Builder or the Architect may be able at once to set them in their proper places. The business of the monumental mason, who erects pedestals for statues, tombs, and ornamental structures in parks and gardens, is generally distinct from that of the builder or architectural mason, although many of the same tools are used in both trades. The stone used by the mason is of various kinds, and is brought from different parts of the world; but our own country contains stone of nearly every sort which can be well employed in ordinary building. Granite comes principally from Scotland, though a smaller quantity is brought from Ireland; red and white sandstone is plentiful in Yorkshire, Lancashire, and Derbyshire, as well as in Scotland and Ireland; a sort of slate stone is found in Wales; and the most common building stone, which is called limestone, or free-stone, is brought from several counties in England, where it is constantly worked. The stone is generally found under the surface of the earth, and the places from which it is dug are called quarries; the business of quarrying being to extract from the ground, or from the sides of rocks, large masses of stone or marble.