Loam.
（Founding.) A mixture which essentially consists of sand and clay, the former largely predominating, with a certain quantity of horse-dung added, or some equivalent for the same, such as chopped straw, sawdust, cow-hair, etc. Beds of loam are sometimes found of nearly suitable composition, but it is more commonly made up by blending different sorts of sand, clay, etc., in a mill resembling a pug-mill. In molding, it is always used quite wet, like plaster, but is dried perfectly before pouring. Its characteristics must be plasticity while wet, strength and solidity when dry, perviousness to the air from the mold, and the power to resist the high temperature of the metal. It is employed for large work in both brass and iron, obviating the use of a pattern, as already explained. See mold.
