The weekly Minnesotian. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1852-1858, 1855-05-05

ne oeIenCe maze q mOtlOn 10 put the cause
over, the argument of which occupied the for
ment by the Court till afternoon.
The other cause is for trespass brought
against the Sheriff and niRe other persons for
destroying quantity of liquor in this county,
and has not been tried as we 60 to press.
New Building Maserial-Lime and Sand
Bricks.
Wisconsin paper gives an account of q
new material for bu lding that is claimed to be
better than stone or brick or gravel cement
This is matter of so great Importance in a
new region like ours, just building up, that we
give the article in full:
consin have been in the habit of building their
houses, wherever lime and sand are plentiful.
of substance known as Circuit, which is q
mixture of lime and sand. In all parts of the
State, houses of this description are to be met
with, many of which, though they have been
erected from sixteen to twenty years. do not
show the least signs Of decay. This fact, we
understand. suggested 20 Mr.. Ambrose Foster,
of Portland. Dodge County. Wisconsin, the
idea that it might be possible so to compound
and manipulate these two articles, lime and
sahu. as W IOTLu U1i'VlnS uHteglaA WHICH
should not only be as durable as the best stone
itself, but should also be adapted to the many
requirements of builders throughout the Uni
ted States. After devoting considerable time
and ingenuity, he has at length succeeded in
producing an article that bids fair eventually to
drive clay made bricks entirely out of the mar
ket, and to supersede in many instances the
use of stone. Taking for the basis of his ope-
rations the established fact that hydrated lime,
when exposed to the action of the atmosphere
again. takes up the carbonic acid which it lost
in the process of burning and Stacking, and so
becomes indurated, he set himself to work to
find out the proper proportions Of sand and lime
to form species of sandstone. These he found
were one part lime to twelve of sand. In Wis
consin, little attention had been paid to these
proportions in the making of Circuit, which is
there always used in wet state, like mortar,
the walls being built up by layers of this mix
ture being laid on between two parallel boards
Hitherto. then, Mr.. Foster. had but very slight
ly varied his process from that adopted in his
native State. Eventually. however. he found
out that, in order to effect more perfect combi-
nation, the lime and sand should be mixed to-
geiher in q nearly dry state-in fact the sand,
as it was dug out of the earth, and the lime in
the powdery state it acquires after being slack
ed. The mixture is then run into moulds. and
subjected to great pressure-as rauch indeed,
as one hundred and seventy tons upon single
brick of the ordinary size. On being removed
from the machine. the brick presents a white
appearance, showing on its surface that it is
simply, as yet, a mixture of lime and sand COM
pressed into shape. These bricks are now piled
up in regular heaps. so that the air may circu-
late freely around them. At this point COM
mances chemical change. The moisture of
the atmosphere enable the lime to again take
up the carbonic acid, and the whole is trans
formed in the course of a few days into bricks
of remarkable hardness, ready at once for all
ordinary building purposes. The surfaces now
present the appearance of a whitish sandstone,
while month after month and year after year,
the same chemical change is going on, and the
bricks become harder and harder, until at
l-ngth they are as indestructable as granite it.
self.
In their manufacture they neither shrink nor
very little mortar is needed in putting them
together. Indeed, the amount Of lime requir-
ed to make the bricks and put them together
Ia building does not exceed the quantity nee.
essary in ord nary brick building operations.
The internal surface, too, of the walls presents
so much smoother result that in many instan.
ces no plastering will be required. The bricks
are also, from their nature, impervious to damp.
Owing to their great strength and hardness,
these bricks can be manufactured with perfOr-
atoms, so that every wall may be built with q
dead air chamber in it. This will be found of
considerable use in all large buildings while
in making fences for farms, &C., the perfora-
tions of the bricks may be SO arranged as to pre-
sent many pleasing devices. For buildings
requiring the application Of architectural de-
sign. ornamental bricks can be made as readi-
ly as those Of the ordinary shade. Lime and
sand are far more plentifully scattered than is
the clay from which the common brick is form
ed, consequently Mr.. Fosters invention will
materi. lily decrease the cost of building, since
they Llay be made in almost all localities more
cheapiy than the most common brick. The
farmer. indeed, may draw his own sand and
lime, prepare aud mix them as directed, and
with one Of the machines. manufacture in the
course of a day or two. as many of the building
blocks as he requires for his fences, barns, sta
bles, &c. Although the beauty Of these bricks
depends in some measure upon the purity Of
the sand, that is, Of its being free from any ad-
mixture with clay or other earth. still very
little deviation from the ordinary processes
produces a good substantial block. Metallic
oxides may. where necessary. be incorporated
with the materials So as to give any shade of
color required. or produce an almost indies.
trucibe imitation of any kind of marble or
stone. We have seen specimens of this new
building material which have been subjected
to every possible test In order to prove the
strength and durability Of material, capability
of withstanding the effects of alternating frost
and heat. and were not able to discover that
the experiments in question had In any way at
fected the blocks operated upon.
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