VOL. LXVI
INDIANAPOLIS, MARCH 4   1911.
NO. 9
VALUE OF CEMENT—SOME THINGS
ABOUT    CONCRETE.
Editors Indiana Farmer:
In these days when we build everything from hog troughs to houses of
cement, anything not commonly known
regarding it will be of interest to every
one. Some facts found in an old Trade
Keview interested me very much, and I
condense from this article the following
tacts:
Cement was used in very early days.
The dome of the Pantheon at Rome was
une solid mass of concrete and its engineering construction was better than
that of St. Peters, built 1500 years
later. With the decline of the Roman Empire the art of concrete making
was lost, and not until 1757 in there any
further mention of it. An English engineer of national repute discovered the
lust art of making Roman cement
whieh is nothing more nor less than the
Portland cement of today. The foundation of the Eddystone Lighthouse
was laid of this cement, and hjas withstood the waves and storms until the
present day. The concrete used by the
ancients was not reinforced, and sewer
pipes constructed of it have been un-
a arthed so solid that ordinary stone
cutting tools would make no impression
on it. Cement foundations made by
the Egyptians thousands of years ago,
also the Roman aquaducts stand solid
as rock after the lapse of all these
years.
The tensile strength of properly prepared cement is very great, and increases with age. One part cement,
three parts sharp sand and 20 per cent
elean water well mixed has at 7 days
old a timber strength of 253 pounds to
the asquare inch. At 28 days old 291
pounds, at six months old 362 poumrs.
and at one year from 450 to GOO pounds
and continues to strengthen with age.
Pome authorities claim that properly
Prnared cement never censes to grow
stronger, hence the solidity of the work
of the old Romans and Egyptians.
The towers of Ireland supposed to
have been built by the Druids are of unenforced cement, cylindrical in shape,
six feet in diameter and 100 feet high.
Vears ago one of them was undermined
and overturned. The shock of the fall
sunk the shaft into the ground half its
diameter for its whole length, yet did
not fracture It in the least.
As the composition of these structures
Is believed to be Identical with the cement of today it would seem that there
» little   need    of reinforcing    concrete
w"rk.      if properly made and  held  in
Position until it has    time    to harden
•here ig no need of reinforcing at all.
The solider the cement with the fewest
'"■pediments to its tensile strength tho
stronger the work when it has harden-
™-    The main care should be that the
sand is of the right degree of sharpness,
"e Proportion  of    cement,    sand  and
water right and the moulds tight enough
that the cement will pack together
'n a Arm solid mass.     The larger the
'odi" of cement the greater its  power
resistance.      Being   fire   and   water
j*00* and  indestructible  by time  it  is
" 'Elding material par excellence.
H. Leigh Hunt.
,I>Pr>SEn TO THE STATE HIGHWAY
COMMISSION.
"'« Indiana Farme
In
an editorial of the Indiana Farmer
F-hru
ary 4th. yeu say that the farm
ers of Bartholomew county are unanimously opposed to the State Highway
Commission bill, and wonder if this is
the opinion throughout the State. I
send you the resolutions passed by the
protest against the creation oi an> road
law which shall change our highways
into speedways, for the profit of automobile manufacturers and the murderous   pleasure   of   reckless   automobile
R. A. James, of Charleston, 111. winner of the Kellogg National Corn Trophy
at Columbus, O.
Allen County Farmers' Home Market
Clubs, as follows:
Whereas, Automobile associations,
civil engineers' associations and good
roads associations are demanding, under the high-sounding names of progress and public improvement, that the
present road laws of this State lie ra -
pealed and that .a state highway commission be established, therefore be it
Resolved, That we heartily condemn
any and all changes in our road law.
which shall create .a St-'e Highway
Commission, or whieh establishes a vehicle tax. or provides for the employment of convict labor. We condemn
any change which shall take away from
the citizens of this State their right tu
select tluir own road officers, and whieh
provides for the appointment of sueh
officers. We denounce as false the
statement that Indiana is behind her
sister states, became she does not employ an army of so-called experts.    We
drivers. We oppose any legislation
which proposes to feed fat a hungry
horde of place hunters and chair warmers who fear to run the risk of an election nt the hands of the voters whom
they hope  to rule.
Resolved, That we appeal to our
representatives not to disfranchise us,
because it was by our right to vote that
they became officers, and we demand of
them that the present road laws be allowed to remain without change.
Henry J. Kolmertcn.
Ft. Wayne.
OIK SCHOOI/S.
Editors Indiana Farmer:
Tn regard to J. II. TTnynes' letter a
few weeks risai referring to our pres. nt
school system, will say I was mueh disappointed in watching the papers for
•OtneatWO or three weeks, in not seeing
an outburst of approval of his ideas. He
struck the    keynote and    he spoke my
sentiments exactly. There has not been
Ii Subject of mure \ital importance eome
to my notice since my 15 months' acquaintance with the Indiana Farmer.
The schools of today have too much
extra to overtax, and which is in reality
of nn (real value to the awnisc common
school pupil, and are also an extravagance and injustice to them.
Take for Instance painting and music,
ais they aire being taught in our schools
today. How many pupils have any
great talent for these arts? And if not
talent how much are they benefited lay
the instructions? Reading, writing,
arithmetic, spelling, geography, history
and grammar are essentials in the
school-room and everyday life and seven studies are enough to do justice to,
in a day's work. It takes a pretty
bright class to accomplish them in the
right manner. Music and painting are
nice and are accomplishments to be
proud of but I think they are non-essentials in the school-room.
I will also say with Mr. Haynes that
the average pupil does not receive justice in being "hitched alongside" thus.
who can master their studies with comparatively nu study.
They are soon classed as "know nothings" and dragged along until school
days are ended, leaving them tu suffer
the consequences the remainder uf their
lives. This means a whule lut when
noted in the right light. Many a child
would be different if given encouragement and patience, lint instead a large
majority of instructors beoome worried
because they do not learn as rapidly as
others and make note of their worries,
in no gentle manner, to the unfortunate
child—thus blighting their educational
career.
While 'tis almost nature to become
worried, I think, for the benefit of par*
ent, child and guardian nature shoulil
be arrested to some extent at least. The
average scholar of today would a few
years ago have been considered very
bright but the once termed ordinarily
bright child now seems exceedingly dull.
I am Interested and enjoy hearing others' opinions of our school system.
The Farmer of Jan. 2S contained an
item in regard to a law being offered in
our present legislature to prohibit boys
from smoking hy making those
guilty of the third offense subject
to penal servitude. Why not include whisky also? For what can so
utterly blast a man's life, yes and a
woman's too, whether she be young or
old? Tobacco seems trifling in comparison, yet we can look at cases where
it seems that it's the limit. The tobacco dealer has his income insured, come
what may—no panic, poverty or human
Ills can cheat him out of his customers.
I have heard of cases where people were
not able to buy liquor but if there ever
was a case where they didn't get their
tobacco I never heard of it. I've heard
respectable men say that when they
were "kids," after they had forme'd the
tobacco habit, they would steal that
when nothing else would tempt them.
If such a law could be passed and the
money thus saved contributed to the
12,000,000 Lincoln monument mentioned in the same paper, it would he surprising how quickly that amount would
be raised, yet the author and finisher of
that law would deserve a monument
equally great. F. M. M.
Morgantown.