The Kansas herald of freedom., 1855-04-14
General 1pfeniqepes.
a New nuilding material.

A New Building Material
For many years past the inhabitants Of
Wisconsin have been in the habit Of
building their houses, wherever lime and
sand are plentiful, of a substance known
as GRoUr, which is mixture of lime
and sand In all parts of that State
houses of this description are to be d iniel i5s
with, many of which. though they have
been erected from sixteen. to twenty
years, do not show the least signs of de-
cay. This fact, we understand, suggest
ed to 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
sand, as to form a building material
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 United States.-
After devoting considerable time and in
genuity, he has at length succeeded in
producing an article that bids fair event
ually to drive elay-made bricks entirely
out of the market, and to supersede in
many instances the use of stone. Taking
for the basis of his operations the estab-
ished fact that hydrated lime, when ex-
posed to the action of the atmosphere
again, takes up the carbonic acid which
it lost in the process of burning and slack
ing, 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
Wisconsin, little attention had been paid
to these proportions In the making of
Grout, which is, there always used in a
wet state, like mortar, the walls being
built up by layers of this mixture being
laid on between two parallel boards
Hitherto, then, Mr.. Foster had but yery
slightly varied his process from that
adopted in his native State. Eventual
ly, however, he found out that, in order
to effect more perfect combination, the
lime and sand should be mixed together
in nearly dry state--in fact, the sand,
as it was dug out of the earth, and the
lime in the powdery state it acquires af-
ter being Stacked. The mixture is then
run into molds, passed into machine
constructed for the purpose. and subject
ed to great pressure-as much, indeed
asone hundred and twenty tons on a sir-
gle brick of the ordinary size. On being
removed from the. machine, the brick
presents white appearance, showing on
its surface that it is simply, as yet "a
mixture Of lime and sand compressed iuas
to shape These bricks are now piled
up in regular heaps, so that the air may
circulate freely around them. At this
point commences a chemical change
The moisture of the atmosphere enables
the lime to again take up the carbonic
acid, and the whole is transformed in the
course of a few days into bricks of re-
markable hardness, ready at once for all
ordinary building purposes. The sur
faces 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 length they are as indestruetible as
granite itself In their manufacture they
neither shrink nor warp; hence they can
be laid SO evenly that very little mortar is
needed iii putting them together. In
deed, the amount of lime required to
make the bricks and put them together
in building does not exceed the quanti-
ity necessary in ordinary brick building
operations. The internal surface, too, of
the walls presents so much smoother a
result that in many instances no plaster
ing will be required. The bricks are al
so, from their nature, impervious to
damp. Owing to their great strength
and hardness, these bricks can be manu-
faetured with perforations, so that every
wall may be built with dead-air cham
Der in it. This viii be found of consid-
cradle use in all large buildings; while in
making fences for farms, &C.. the perfora-
tions of the bricks may be so arranged as
to present many pleasing devices. For
buildings requiring the application of
architectural design, ornamental bricks
can be made as readily as those of the
ordinary shape. Lime and sand are far
more plentifully scattered than is the clay
from which the common brick is formed,
consequently Mr. Fosters invention wal
materially decrease the cost of building,
since they may be made in almost all To-
calities more cheaply than the most COM
mon brick. The farmer, indeed, may
draw his own sand and lime, prepare and
mix them as directed, and then with one
of the machines manufacture, in the
course of day or two, as many of the
building-blocks as he requires for his
fences. barns, stables, &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
admixture with clay or other earths, still
very little deviation from the ordinary
processes produces a good substantial
block. Metallic oxides may, where nec-
essary, be incorporated with the materi-
ais so as to give any shade. of color re-
quired, or produce an almost indestructi-
bic 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
we were not able to discover that the ex-
periments in question had in any way af-
fected the blocks operated upon.
sGreat Is Truth. and it viii prevail"
Truth may be despised-may be oppos-
ed; but it contains an imperishable germ
of greatness and of empire. The acorn