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Gardek
VOL. LXVI
INDIANAPOLIS, FEB. 18, 1911.
NO 7.
Written for Indiana Farmer:
tOXCRETE    VERSUS   TIMBER    OX
-UK FARM.
By C. H. Goetz, Instructor in Forestry
University of Ohio.
Xo one would like to see the day,
when the farmer could get along without wood and timber more than the forester, for then the timber which is now
so rapidly coming to a time when but
a small amount will be left, would last
us for many more years. Yet the day
is far distant, as yet, when the farmer
can get along even with a minimum
amount of timber. With all the advancements made by science along the
line ln substituting other material such
as Iron and concrete for wood, there is
still such a demand for wood on the
farm that a farmer without his wood
lot is at a loss to know what to do for
the wood and timber he needs on his
farm.
Concrete, while a fairly new material,
has in many ways fully demonstrated
its usefulness in a wide and varied
field. It stands in durability above
wood, and at a par with the best and
hardest stone and for cheapness in construction It is far ahead of stone of
equal permanency.
The large building companies and the
railroads and others have come to the
full realization of this, and we see concrete houses, bridges, and Mr. Edison
predicts that In a very short time all
the houses will be built entirely of concrete. Yet in spite of all this substitution for wood there will be an ever
increasing demand for timber not only
on the farm but elsewhere, for there ls
hardly a week that passes In which
some one does not discover some new
use to which wood can be put.
It is, however, true that the farmer
has not so far availed himself of the advantages, which concrete offers to him.
He la not awake to the fact that there
are a large number of constructions
about the farm for which concrete ls
especially fitted, and where it would be
by far the cheapest material to use. As
in all other things he is somewhat slow
to take up with the new as long as the
°ld serves the purpose. But the time
has come when the farmer is close to
the end of his string, as to getting
timber or wood from his woodlot, and
he is now turning more and more to
°ther material for the construction of
'he farm buildings and utensils. This is
evidenced by the large number of letters
of Inquiry which are received by the
agricultural stations all over the country.
^"o one Is more willing or glad to
answer all such letters and to promote
•he substitution of other material for
w°od, than the forestry men. We are
always glad to give any Information we
can give concerning anything that will
sve the forests of our land for a more
obla and glorious purpose, namely the
["ore Indispensable things of human-
'ty.
During the past few years there has
°t only come the falling of the wood-
hlKi *UDply«   but   also   the   almost   pro-
^ ''tive prices of wood material as far
' the farmer Is concerned, and It Is,
"fefore, only natural   that he should
Aft * for  a  substitute  material,   which
•*«« the advantages at a moderate
th? and Bives durability and beauty at
ne same time.
To the farmer! who are not acquainted with the many uses of concrete mi
the farm lit in. ■ ■mum ar&te tlio following for which concrete cnn be used and
for which it hns been used and demonstrated  as a glorious  success:
1. Foundations for fnrm buildings.
2. Barn   and   cellar   floors.
3. Walks, drain tiles.
4. Watering troughs.
5. Silos, root houses.
6. Cow barn floors.
7. Cellar steps.
8. Wind mill foundations.
9. Water storage tanks.
10. Horse blocks and fence posts.
11. Hitching posts.
(four bags) of pack.d Portland . . nu in
i.a  tWO barrels,     (T.i;  cubic    ftn-t)   loose
.saml, to four barn I utile feet)
loose gravel or broken stone.
-. Medium Mixture.—For ordinary
machine foundations, thin foundation
walls, building walls arches, ordinary
Boon, siiU-wuii. .  the pro
portion should be 1-2 V4-5 that Is one
barrel (four bags) of packed portlund
cement to two and one he If l urrels (D.6
cubic feet) of loose sand to Ive barrels
(19 cubic feet) loose gravel or broken
stone.
3. An Ordinary Mixture.—For heavy
walls, retaining walls, piers nnd abutments, which are to be subject to a con-
Birth Place of General P. A.   Hackleman.    Built ln 1836.
Clothesline posts.
Porch and lattice Work.
Hog pens and chicken houses
Carriage houses and ice houses.
Green  houses  and  culverts.
Dog     houses      and      slaughter
12.
13
14.
u.
16.
17.
houses.
18. Milk cellars and stoves.
19. Garden fountain foundations.
20. Cisterns and chimneys.
Perhaps these few might suggest to
the farmer some other ways in which
he might make use of this valuable material called concrete. The reasons why
concrete should be more generally used
on the farm aside from the fact that
wood is getting scarcer is the desirability of good concrete, and tho ease with
which the farmer himself can handle
it. He need not get the high priced
bricklayer or stone mason and carpenter. Any farmer who is handy with
the axe and saw can make the forms
required for the concrete block or wall
making. Of course a little practice is
necessary to do a clean and smooth Job,
but lf the farmer starts with the least
important structures, such as dog
houses and root cellars, he will by the
time he comes to the building of the
more Important structures, have acquired such skill and handlness that he
will be able to do a fine piece of work.
In a few words I shall endeavor to
give, in language free from technical
terms, some of the mixtures and how
they are made.
1. A Rich Mixture—For reinforced
engine or machine foundations subject
to vibration, for reinforced floors, beams
and columns, for heavy loading, tanks
and other wnter tight work the proportions should be 1-2-4. that is one barrel
slderable strain, the proportions are 1-
3-6, that ls one barrel (four bags) packed Portland cement, to three barrels
(11.4 cubic feet) loose sand, to six barrels (22.8 cubic feet) loose gravel or
broken stone.
4. A Lean Mixture.—For unimportant work In masses, where the concrete
ls subject to plain compressive
strain, as in ordinary large foundations
supporting a stationary load cr backing
the stone of masonry, the proportion
shoulil be 1-4-8, that is one barrel (four
bags) packed Portland cement, to four
barrels (15.3 cubic feet) loose sand, to
eight barrels (30.4 cubic feet) loose
gravel or broken stone. These specifications are based on fair average practices.
Measuring.—Too much attention can
not be paid to this Important part nf
concrete making. All parts" must be
measured lf success Is to be the result.
Concrete ls to be mixed (s near the
plnce where It ls to be used as practicable, so as to avoid delay in getting it
Into place.
Mixing.—Measure the <an.l spread In
an even depth on a water ti^ht foundation, place cement on top and turn
with a shovel three to four times, until
uniform color appears, then throw
gravel or stone, which has been thoroughly wetted on top and turn again
three or four times. On a large Job a
mixing machine should be used. Forms
for the concrete should be made of well
reasoned wood. For reinforced con-
cither round or square rods may
be used.
Fence Posts.—For fence posts a medium mixture Is good enough and Xo. f,
wire*,  four of them  running from end
in end, makes a good relnfuro. nn nt
. i. . i lung I, Inches square at the
l.iiiiiiiii a.ini luiir im lies square at thi
tup. ninlnr.i il l.y Xo. 6 wires, will
make a good fence post and should not
cost over 30 cents n piece, labor and all.
As such a post will last a life time and
more, it Is much cheaper than a wood-
. n 4i ilar post at present prices. Tin
economy ls self-evident and I hope soon
many farmers will make their own
posts, wherever they have no
woodlots on their farm and, yes, even
u; . ro they have woodlots, so thnt we
may save some of our timber fur other
purposes.
In conclusion let me say that there Is
little danger that concrete will displace
wood entirely, but lt ls hoped thai
nn nt will help to conserve some of our
forests, against Immediate destruction.
ami will help to stave oft the oncoming
timber famine.
«.i V   l'.   \.   ll \« KlaKMAN.
Editor*  Indiana Farmer:
ut Indiana's Civil War quota of 206,-
000 men, 24,416 died in service and yet
of all this ghastly record, but one Hoosler general, Pleasant Adams Hackleman fell ln action.
Of the deaths, 6,817 soldiers died
from exposure and disease, a fearful
commentary on the need for national
sanitation.
The Haeklemans are a race of farmer warriors for liberty. In 1773, Jacob
Hackleman, a fourteen year old boy
came from Germany to Pennsylvania,
and when the Revolution came on, he
fought with Greene, going to Carolina
after Saratoga.
Here a pair of bright eyes did what
British bullets could not accomplish,
and after .Yorktown he returned and
made the owner of the eyes his bride.
Their son John was born In 1785. When
he was twenty, he took his thirteen
year old bride, Sarah Adams, on the pll-
l.i.n behind him, and rode thru the forests to Brookville    from far    Carolina.
Imagine reader, the long, long. Journey of these child lov*rs. thru trackless
forests. Infested by Indians and equally-
savage beasts.
Three miles below Brookville, they
entered government land, and built a
hewn log house, In 1806. Here, while
the young father was serving as a major, under Harrison, the general was
born In 1814.
The father was an Intellectual man,
and when the children needed instruction, but a hewed log school house,
which has been removed to" the substantial brick residence which he built later.
Young Hackleman studied law, was
admitted to the bar, that he might better fight the extension of slavery, and
moved to Rushville, where he established a newspaper, the better to oppose
the radical abolition party, headed by
George W. Julian.
When Sumter was flred upon, he
went, at Gov. Morton's request to attend
the Peace Conference, at Washington,
tho convinced of Its futility. Returning
home, re recruited the 16th Indiana,
and as its colonel, hastened to the
front. Brilliant action. In the Held secured him a Brigadier General's Commission, and at Corinth, Oct S, 1863
he was killed.
A railroad embankment thru the
woods was occupied by the rebels as a
breastwork,  while a  battery swept the