V
Gardem
INDIANAPOLIS,   MAY 30, 1908.
NO. 22
THE USES OP CEMENT.
How to Make Posts.
1st Premium.—Cement may be used
about the home and on the farm for various purposes. Some of the most important uses are: Building walks; barns
and stables; foundations for houses, barns
-uid windmills; cisterns, watering troughs,
tanks, hog troughs and silos.
Ideal concrete is made from a mixture
of broken granite or screened gravel, (size
varying from a walnut to a hen's eggi,
clean, conrse sand and first class Portland
i ement, in such proportions that the voids
laetween the stones will be filled with
sand, and the voids between the grains
ssf sand filled with Portland cement, the
ceme&t being slightly in excess of the
quantity necessary to fill the voids, in or-
sler to furnish additional adhesive proper-
lies to thoroughly combine the sand with
t lie broken stone. The water used should
lie clean and free from acid or strong alkalis.
The following quotation is from "Concrete, Plain and Reinforced," by the well
known authorities, Taylor and Thompson:
"A rich mixture for reinforced floors.
I s ams, and columns for heavy loading;
t.mksl and other water-tight work. Pro
portions:: One barrel packed Portland cement to two barrels of loose sand to four
barrels of loose gravel or broken stone.
For ordinary machine foundations, thin
foundation Avails, odinary floors and walks,
nse a medium mixture. Proportions: One
barrel packed Portland cement to two
and one-half barrels of loose sand to five
barrels of loose gravel or broken stone.
An ordinary mixture for heavy walls, retaining walls, and abutments which are to
be subjected to considerable strain. Pro-
bsirtions: One barrel of packed Portland
cement to three barrels of loose sand to
six barrels of loose gravel or broken stone.
1st unimportant work in masses, wliere
lbe concrete is subjected to plain compressive strain, ns in large foundations
supporting a stationary load, or backing
for stone masonnry. Proportions: One
barrel or four bags packed Portland ce-
nient, to four barrels of loose gravel or
1 t'ssken stone."
All parts should be measured. A convenient! form of measure for sand and
broken stone is a barrel with the bottom
°'it, as it is easily filled and still more
Pilsily dumped. Water should be measured
I'S the pail for small jobs.
''oncrete should be mixed as near the
1 lace it is to he used as practicable, so
•is to avoid delay in getting it into place.
" 'eft standing any length of time, it will
s*"t and become useless. To avoid thi..
ni|x small batches at a time, using on a
small job not more than a half barrel, or
two bags, of cement to the batch.    Should
the
cement take its initial set and    begin
t0 harden before being placed in the forms.
*° that it lumps when retempered, discard
' a as the hardening qualities of cement are
"fleeted if disturbed after it has begun to
set.
Mixing should be done on a flat, water-
^'ht platform.        Measure the sand and
'Mead it in a layer of even depth.     Place
e cement on top and turn with shovel at
'»»t  three  times,   or until  the  two  are
°r°nghly mixed,    as shown by uniform
br'h     Stone thoroughly wet should then
thrown on top of the whole, and turn-
'east three times,    water being add-
ssn the aseeond burning, the quantity
varying according to the nature of the
work. In general, sufficient water
should be used to give a mushy mixture,
jt;st too soft to bear the weight of a mat:
when  in   place. Concrete  mixing  ma
chines should be used on large jobs as a
matter of economy. Water should be
added to the mixture of stone, sand and
cement, a little at a time, until the proper
consistency is reached.
Green timber is preferable for forms,
for if seasoned it is likely to swell and
warp when brought in contact with moisture from the concrete. Fir, yellow pine
or spruce is suitable. If a smooth surface is desired,    the sheathing next to the
supporting it throughout its length. Take
two planks, 2 inches thick, $>/. feet long.
Prom one edge lay off 3V6 inches at one
end, and from the same edge G inches at
the other end. Draw a line between these
points and saw along the line. Place
them on edge, straight side down, on the
bottom board, keeping the 6 inch ends (i
inches apart, and the 314 inch ends 3%
inches apart. Nail two or three stiff
cross lines to keep them in place, and put
a solid wooden block at each end. The
sides hould be further stiffened by pieces
of moulding or lath tacked along the bottom board on the outside. Fill the form
thus made 1 inch deep with concrete and
place a piece of strong wire, No. 6, one
o-.       .o-lstr...       .mlommmm-¥---mTm--— ,   ~..m,^mm
I ff -Wfl""
Angora Goats, on Farm of    W. T. Ellis, Vermillion County.
concrete must be planned. It is usually
advisable to grease the inside of forms
with soap, linseed oil'or crude oil; otherwise particles of concrete will be detached
when the forms are removed. Forms
should not be greased, however, when it i.s
intended to plaster the surface of the concrete, but should be thoroughly wet immediately before placing the concrete.
Forms should be left in place from three
tss four weeks, if there is earth or water
pressure against the wall. If, on the
other hand, there is no strain upon it, 24
hours' setting or until the concrete will
withstand the pressure of the thumb without indentation, is sufficient.
Concrete exposed to the sun should be
dampened] occasionally for two weeks or
more, at a time when the wall is in a
shadow. This will allow the interior of
the walls to dry in uniformity with the
exterior, thus preventing scaling or cracking.
Reinforced concrete is ordinary concrete
ir, which iron or steel rods or wire are imbedded. Reinforcement is required when
the concrete is liable to be pulled or bent,
as in beams, floors, posts, walls and tanks.
Walks and floors, should be marked off
every six feet to prevent cracking.
Concrete work should be avoided so far
as possible in freezing weather, as the
,frost will prevent the bonding of different
Jayers and will cause a thin scale to peel
"bff of the surface of concrete.
The farm fence post should be six inches square at the bottom, about 3%
inches at top and G% feet long. Select
some place where the posts can be left in
their original position until dry. Place
the bottom board, V/_, inches by 10 inches
by 7 feet, in a firm position on the ground.
inch in from each side and running from
end to end. Fill to within 1 inch of
top with concrete, and tamp until water
flushes to surface and no air spaces are
left. Place two more pieces of wire one
inch from sides and then fill to level of
form with concrete. Tamp agaiu, and
smooth off with a trowel. Let the forins
remain on sides at least ten hours, and do
not move the bottom board, either away
from the post or with the post on it, for
ten days, under penalty of post cracking.
Post should be left for three or four weeks
at least before using, and kept damp by
sprinkliug.
While the concrete is being put into
the forms, -put \_ inch steel bars, greased,
through holes bored in the sides of tho
form, the proper distance apart for stringing wires, and leave until the concrete
takes its final set, approximately four
hours,    then pull them out.
B. B. K.
Specifications  for Walks.
2d Premium.—The uses of cement on
the fnrm are numerous, and the demand
for  it  is  constantly  increasing. It   is
largely displacing lime stone for foundations and walls. In some localities it is*
bwoming difficult to get stone, and the
sand and gravel are usually more convenient; besides the work ean be more exped-
iously accomplished and most of us can
make our own walls and thus save the expense of hiring a mason. It is also
largely used for walks, porch and cellar
floors, steps, cellar stairs, floors for barns,
hog pens and chicken houses, fence posts,
etc.
The manner of mixing cement depends
on the purpose for which it is to be used.
When used for mortar in laying up brick
or stone, one part cement to three parts
sand is about the proper proportion. Many
prefer to substitute lime for one-tenth of
cement, as it is somewhat cheaper and
mixes to a better consistency. The cement should be spread over the proper
proportion of sand, and mixed evenly
through while dry. It should then be
depressed iu the center and water added,
and then thoroughly mixed and turned till
the water is absorbed. Sufficient water
should be added while mixing to give it
the proper consistency. Cement mortar
should not be made too thin. The stone
or brick are sometimes laid up dry and the
cement made very thin and poured in.
This is called grouting, but this method is
not as satisfactory as using the regular
mortar.
In concrete work for walks, floors or
foundations, the proportion of cement may
be less than where textile strength is required. One part cement, three parta
sand and six parts coarse gravel or crushed rock may be used. For stronger
work the proportion should be 1, 2, 4; or
anywhere between these two proportions,
according to the work. In mixing concrete the cement and sand should be mixed
the same sis for mortar, and the gravel
ssi rsaok asidesl, after being wet, and care
should be taken to see that the coarse material is distributed. The drier the mixture the more tamping will be required to
make a dense concrete and insure a smooth
Surface after the molds have been removed. Ordinarily it should be wet enough
that it will not require much tamping to
bring the water to the surface.
Fssr walks, the ground should be excavated to a depth of ten or twelve inches,
aud straight, smooth boards arranged
along the sides. The ground should be
compacted, and then a layer of gravel or
cinders put on. This should be wet be-
fort putting on the concrete, which should
be well tamped. When this is made
smooth with a straight edge, the top dressing should be put on without delay. This
is made of one part cement to two partfe
coarse   sand   or   gravel. The   concrete
should be four inches thick, and the top
dressing one inch. About every six feet
the concrete should be divided iu sections
to permit expansion. This may be done
with a spade and the crevices filled with
sand. After the top dressing is put on it
should be cut through with a trowel, immediately over these divisions, and the
sedges rounded with a jointer. The top
dressing should be carefully put on with
a trowel, in order that the two mixtures
may set together, then leveled with a
straight edge, and as soon as dry enough
ir should be smoothed with a plastering
trowel and the outside edges rounded. To
prevent water standing on the walks they
should be given a side slope of about one
inch to four feet.
For driveways and barn floors the concrete should be six inches thick, and to
make them less slippery the surface may
be slightly indented at intervals with an
instrument for that purpose. For fence
posts the proportion should be 1, 2, and 5,
and no materials over a half inch in diameter should be used. The proportions
given are for Portland cement which is the
best. J. H.
Portland Cement the Best.
3d Premium.—This question of the use
of cement  is of great importance to the
farmer.       This is due in part to the scar-
Continued on page 9.