Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-10-21

.<n WCSVITLSS lound An area al
f(Kk most destitute Of con-
NNWWS- solidated rock Is the
great plain forming
the eastern edge of the United States, from
northern New Jersey southwark to Florida,
extending around the gulf coast, and stretch
ing as far up the Mississippi valley as Cairo,
III. There Is practically no material of the
sort to be had in the southern cotton belt.
where a negro said to an officer of the geo.
logical survey the other day: Say, Mister,
can you tell me where / can get some stuff
to make tombstones out Off"
Fortunately, in nearly every portion of
this region. nature has provided abundant
stuff which can be formed into stone by
artihce. However, artificial stone is used
not only in districts devoid of the natural
product. 1t Is manufactured extensively in
the very neighborhood of great quarries
In Vermont the debris Of the marble quar-
ries Is ground up and made into a cheap
grade OF marble In Illinois and Indiana
where there Is plenty of limestone, sand
stone is produced artificialiy in immense
quantities.
The kind Of artificial stone most universal
ly used Ii Portland cement"-a mixture of
clay, lime and silica. Silica is obtained by
dissolving nint. which may be combined in
liquid form with soda making what is
called ''silicate of soda" This silicate
poured over sand, dement's the particles to-
gether and forms artificial stone. Such mix
lures OF silica are the great cementing mater
ials Of nature. The beds Of sandstone and
conglomerate now Quarried were once loose
sand and pebbles, which have been solidi-
fled by silicates.
Now. the clay. lime and silica, which COM
pose Portland cement, are prepared and
mixed in a dry state. When moisture is ad-
ded. the silica is dissolved and Clues the
particles OF lime and clay together in a solid
mass. The value Of the Portland cement
manufactured In the United States annually
Is 1,00o,oO0. and as much again is imported,
though there Is no reason why all OF 1t con-
sumed In this country should not be made
here, the raw materials required being read
lily available in unlimited quantities.
Initiating the Methods of Nature.
Crockery. chinaware and all clay products
are artificial stones. The methods employed
In making them are merely workshop imita-
lions Of the processes adopted In the labora-
tory OF nature. In every case the ordinary
rock materials Of the earth are taken and
mingled in definite proportions as the Great
Designer has mixed them, silicates being ad-
ded for cementing and solidifying the parti-
cles. Sometimes the results are accomplished
by means Of moisture, as with Portland
cement. and In other instances by heat as
with crockery and bricks. All artificial
stone products may be divided into these
two classes. just as the rocks Of the globe
have been formed by water or by fire. being
classified accordingly as "sedimentary' or
'fgneous."
OF this interesting art Is the production of
Eranotthic" pavement The imitation
stone 30 called Is equal to the natural in all
ways. and In some respects Is more useful
~ A.
Quarried. and they are often formed with
grooves, 50 as to expand and contract with
out breaking. whereas those cut out Of rock
are soon cracked by changes in tempera-
into elaborate patterns for cornices or what
not. thus saving much expense for costly
carving.
Other forms Of artificial stone are manu-
featured out OF gypsum, Familiarity known
as plaster-of-paris. of which vast beds un-
derlie great areas In Texas, New Mexico
Kansas and Colorado. In the mining of
these valuable deposits only a beginning
has been made From this source was OBJ
tained the stun resembling marble, called
stan" of which the buildings Of the Chi
caGo exposition are constructed. The most
common use OF gypsum is for wall-plaster
which Is an artificial stone. But for this
purpose 1t Is not employed here nearly as
extensively as In countries inhabited by the
Latin races. where beautiful effects are OBJ
tained with it in the shape of "stucco."
laid over brick. One reason for this fact
- that the climate Of the United States is
not suitable, the stucco not enduring moist
ure and extremes of temperature as well as
artificial stones of silicious composition.
In Mexico the use of artificial stone is
very general. Under that head may even be
included the crude adobe, or unburned
brick, employed for building, which is
Nearly every plaza" in that country is
adorned with large and massive fountains
and benches Of lime and sand. Some Of
them are two centuries old.
Antiquity of This Process.
Artificial stone has been used almost ever
since the birth OF architecture, the earliest
forms Of 1t being mortar and sun-dried
brick. Mortar. you see. is really an artifi-
cial stone-a mixture OF sand, clay and lime,
which sets" soltdly. Extending over wide
areas on the great plains of the west in
Kansas and Texas is a geological formation
which resembles in all respects a mortar
bed on gigantic scale. 1t is composed of
sand. clay and lime, mingled by the hand
Of nature. In that region It is known as the
mortar beds. Here, then, is yet another
illustration Of imitation by man of pro-
cesses employed by the Creator
In some OF the ruins Of ancient Greece
ana Rome the mortars have proved more
erour1ng than the natural stones which
they cemented. 1t is largely owing to thei-
exceient quality that many interesting
structures Of antiquity have been preserved
to this day. Those artificial stones which
are produced by the fusion of particles un-
der the action Of heat, as brick and china
ware, are among the most enduring of all
known substances. being but slightly sus-
ceptible to attacks by chemical agents of
air or water. The inscriptions which the
men OF Babylon, more than 5000 years ago.
wrote with stylus on clay tablets which
were afterward baked, are perfectly legible
To-Day. Go through q cemetery, and you
Will md that the lettering on tombstones
only 100 years old Is usually indecipherable
One OF the most beautiful products of
italian industry Is called "scagliuola," and
is a perfect imitation Of brecciated marble
a peculiar marble filled with an
gular fragments. The counterfeit is
nodded like clay into slabs cor
nices or architectural ornaments A
mosaic may be termed an artificial ''brec-
cia-the word. meaning broken bits, being
applied to any stone SO composed But
nowadays the manufacture of artificial
mosaic Is pursued on a great scale Marble
or other stone Is cut into little cubicaI or
acknowledged chunks and these are
placed on end close together all over a bio
sheet OF paper. to which they are alta ched
with glue Then the paper holding the little
blocks Is turned upside down upon a bed OF
soft cement. There they are held fast, and.
the cement having hardened, the paper and
all INEQUALITIES are removed by holystoninT.
An Imitation Marble.
One Of the most recent novelties in arti
fetal stone is the manufacture of marble
frrv~ okor IL