VOL. LXII
INDIANAPOLIS, MARCH 30, 1907.
NO. 13
CEMENT ON THE FARM.
Great  Many    Uses of Cement   in
Buildings,   Silos,   Floors   for
Stables, Walks &c.
Producing Cement and How to Mix
and use it.
According to a statement issued by the
geological survey the total production of
hydraulic cement in the United States
in 1906 was 50,027,321 barrels, valued at
§54,015,733. This represents an increase
in both products and value over the
preceding year, the increase in production being 9,133,013 barrels and that in
value $18,003,524. Of the total amount
of cement manufactured in the United
States in 1006, 45,610,822 barrels were
Portland, of a value of $51,240,652; 3,-
935,275 barrels natural rock cement, valued at $2,362,140, and 481,224 barrels
Tuzzolan, valued at $412,921.
Cement is being put to a great many
uses on the farm, and it is becoming
more and more popular. It is very durable, and stables and pig pens may be
kept clean and sanitary when cement
floors   are   mack>. The  cuts   we   show
on this page suggest som eof the uses
for which cement is now being used. Prof.
Crane of the Illinois Agricultural College
recently suggested the many uses of cement and gave a formula for making and
using it. He said that the best con-
ciete was made of crushed rock and cement, with clean, coarse and sharp sand,
but that river bottom sand when fine and
round is not the best to use' when much
strength is required. He said as a test
of sand, rub it in the hand, and if there
is much dirt left on the hand discard the
sand. If when a large handful of the
sand is thrown into a pail of water it
leaves the water muddy, discard it. A
dirty sand makes a weak concrete. Crushed rock is much better than screened
gravel because of the rougher edges.
Of cement, sand, and crushed rock used
for making concrete there are four recognized mixtures.
(1) Rich mixture—One part Portland
cement, two parts clean coarse sand, four
parts crushed rock. Rich concrete is
used for floors, fence posts, etc.
(2) Medium mixture—One part Portland cement, two and one-half parts
clean coarse sand, five parts crushed
rock. The mixture is used for walks,
thin  walls,  etc.
(3) Ordinary mixture—One part cement, three parts sand, six parts crushed
irock. For heavy walls, piers, abutments, etc.
(4) Lean mixture—One part cement,
four parts sand, eight parts crushed
rock. For footings where volume and
not strength are needed.
When gravel is used the proportions
are one part of cement and from six to
nine parts of gravel, according to the
amount of sand in the gravel.
In making floors, barns, fence posts,
bridges, etc., reinforcements of iron are
absolutely essential.
Measure exact amounts of each part.
Mix thoroughly, and not too long before
applying the water. Cement will set
in from twenty to thirty minutes. If disturbed after that it loses its strength.
Mix the sand and mortar dry and then
add water to bring it to the consistency
of mortar. Add the proper quantities
of crushed  rock,    and  mix all  together.
.. ...:...,,r ■:''-n'nii_i.
■<Vy*.*"""~':'*"""
_____KK_jZ'. ■*■. i *,'.•,'*-.5
■MKJSsflfc •*■*; 'V. ••--■ ""'"'
^rwts.'^Pot'^A'-'r.....    ■*
\i%,i^\\tm:-'
■
—From  Bulletin 235  Dept.  of Agriculture.
Concrete and Cement Walk Construction.
the concrete to the cinders to allow for
expansion and contraction in warm and
cold weather.
The sui-face coating is composed of one
part of cement and two and one-half
parts of sand. This layer is mixed to
the consistency of mortar and spread over
the concrete in the forms.
The surface is struck off by a gauge
which gives the proper amount of crown
and after setting for a few minutes it is
rubbed smooth with a trowel. Too much
rubbing will separate the cement and
sand particles and leave an unsatisfactory
appearance. This surface layer must
also be cut at the same points as the concrete layer below.
Cover the walk to protect it from the
sun, and if it is sprinkled with water
from time to time that will insure an even
setting of the materials. In about three
days it will* bear weight, but it will not
get its ultimate strength short of thirty
days.
—Prom   Bulletin 235 Dept.  of  Agriculture.
Wood   Molds  for  Making  Fence  Posts  With    Four  Tapering    Sides.
A long staple or bent wire well embeded in the concrete, being well twisted
or bent at the end. Galvanized metal must be used for fasteners since they are
not protected by the concrete. A piece of small flexible wire, about 2 inches in
length, threading the staple and twisted several times with a pair of pliers, holds
the line wire in position.
In this way the sand grains are all covered with the finer particles of cement, and
the crushed rock, when added, has all
voids filled with a temperate mixture, giving the greatest strength.
In two weeks concrete gains strength
sufficient for ordinary use, but sixty days
should elapse before it is given a full
load.
Do not allow concrete work to dry out
fast, as cracks will appear. It should
be protected from the sun for from three
to five days and sprinkled with water
to insure even setting throughout the concrete.
Basement floors, the porch floor, steps,
walks, hitching posts, horse block, stable
floors for cattle and hogs, all foundation
work for walls,- windmills, and gasoline
•engines, cisterns, and watering troughs,
milk houses, etc., may be made of con-
ciete. Cement   is   the   most   available
means of keeping strict sanitary conditions.
Root cellars and silos, bridges, culverts,
and fence posts may be added to the
list.
If your subsoil is porous, allowing
the water to fall away rapidly so there
is no chance for heaving the soil during freezing weather, then there is little need for excavation of the earth if the
foundation is solid.
Where the subsoil is a stiff clay the
practice  of  excavating  from  thirteen  to
—From Bulletin 235 Dept.  of Agriculture.
Detail showing method of attaching wire
to post.
fourteen inches deep, and filling with
cinders to within four and one-half inches
of the top, tamping down the cinders.
Gravel will do, if cinders are not available.
Two-by-fours are used for the sides of
the form and great care is used to level
them. A crown is formed by raising the
middle of the walk one-fourth inch for
every  foot in width.
The medium mixture is used, wetting
it so it will pack well. It is then shoveled into the forms and pounded down,
leaving the top one-half inch below the
top of the forms.
The 2x4's at the sides are marked
every four feet, and the walk cut through
HOT BED FOR SWEET POTATOES.
Editors Indinn.   Firniw:
Please tell me how to make a hot bed
for sweet potatoes and early seeds. I
want to make a bed 10 feet long and
about 4 feet wide. How much manure
will it take and when is the time to put
the potatoes in, and how can I tell when
the bed is too hot? Mrs. I. A.
Marion, Ind.
—Make the hot bed some time in April,
using a foot or so of manure in a frame.
Tramp down, and cover over with 4 or
5 inches of good soil. When the earth
is well warmed, but not hot, place the
sweet potatoes three inches deep and
close together, but not touching each
other. Water occasionally and cover
with boards or straw, nights ami on cold
days. Give them _11 the sunshine possible.
ROAD LEGISLATION.
What laws were passed by our late
legislature in regard to county line roads,
If any? H. W. M., Vigo Co.
—We cannot reply to this query
definitely till the laws are published in
April. The only laws passed in reference to highways, so far as we know at
present, were those relating to repairing
rural mail routes, makinb repair on
bridges, culverts, etc., providing for a tax,
not exceeding 3c in each $100, for the
same; requiring friction locks on wagons;
providing for issuing bonds for gravel
roads, and one providing for building connecting gravel and turn pike roads on petition of 50 free holders,  as follows:
"The provisions of this section so far as
applicable may be invoked for and may
apply to the construction of such free
(Travel, stone or macadamized road extending from any street in any city or
town or from any improved road and extending for five or less miles from the limits of such city or tow_ or improved road,
whether or not such new construction
shall thereby connect any other completed
free gravel, stone or other macadamized
road or street."
Most any corn will sprout, under favorable conditions, but the essential thing
is to plant seed which has all the strength
and vigor preserved. Seed which has
been frozen ami thawed out, has greatly
reduced vitality. If it is planted in a
field where moisture ami soil conditions
are unfavorable, the chances are it will
never sprout; even if it does, it never
will produce a healthy stalk and mature a
good  size  ear.