Rock Island Argus., 1896-07-13
ADOBE BUILDINGS.
SIMPLE ARCHITECTURE OF MUD
HOUSES IN NEW MEXICO.
How the Bricks Are Made-They Hare
Straw In Them and Arc Sun Dried.
Dwellings Made In This Way Are Very
Durable-A Favorable Climate.

Straw In Them and Arc Sun Dried.
Dwellings Made In This Way Are Very
Dursble-A Favorable Climate.
Architectural engineering is tsanch
of the gentle art of making mud pies in
the land where the adobe houses grow.
In the land of sunshine, where a rainy
day is SO rare that it is marked with n
red cross, the native contractor and
builder wastes no time figuring ON the
strength of material the crushing limit
Of tubular columns and the wind pres
sure per square foot Of elevation. He
does not pore over blue prints of plans,
cross sections and elevations, nor does
he whittle down his figures to the finest
point SO as to come under some other
contractors bid He simply rolls his
trousers up above his knees, digs down
in q favored ditch or pond until he
strikes the ''dobe mud" and in q short
time he is ready to begin constructive
operations.
Adobe houses are brick houses, but
the brick is sun dried and made with
straw. The clay or mud of which the
brick is made is natural cement pc
culiar to the arid plains of New Mexico.
| Arizona, Nevada and that belt of states
and territories. 1t is turned out III the
most primitive manner, and the Blue
| Island brickmaller who might happen
upon half breed or Mexican 'dobe
brickmaker would view the operation
with amusement or disgust. Kiln burn
/ Il l,,-,,l 90 "a,
would not meet the requirements i'm
posed by the climatic conditions of those
countries where adobe brick is used.
In summer an adobe house is cool; in
winter it is warm. Its thick walls alb
sorb the occasional rain, and, although
the sun dried brick is soft compared to
the kiln dried article, it does not crum-
BILE, and it stands for ages.
A man who recently Travelled through
New Mexico was much interested in the
'dobe honses. For weeks he inquired
and searched for 'dobe house in the
hands Of the builders. At length in
Santa Fe he stumbled upon a couple Of
men stamping with their bare feet upon
clay in q wooden frame. He inquired
and found that he was looking Cpor two
Mexicans making adobe brick. In de-
scribirg the process he said:
"The men actually dug up the 'dobc
mud from the bottom of the ditch which
skirted the road. They mixed it, or, us
, VIC say, tempered it with water until
it was of stiff, clayey consistency.
Then they chopped alfalfa hay into
short pieces and mixed it with the clay,
and their material was ready to make
into brick. A wood frame lay ON the
ground. This frame was filed with tho
'dobc mud mixed with hay, and one OF
the men got into the frame ard stamped
; the mud down with his bare feet, al
! the same time tamping it with "a stick.
After the frame was packed hard he
scraped the surplus mud off with ;
stick, SO that the top surface was levc
| with the upper edges of the frame, ant
then lifting the frame from the clay HI
l carried the brick to one side of the roat
and stood it on its edge. The next bricl
he made he leaned against the first one
and soon he had dozen large bricks
each twice as wide and long and thicl
1 as an ordinary brick-drying in tn,
sun. One of the men told me that tn
: bricks would be ready to lay i'll three o
four days, and that they used the mut
u which the bricks are made of for tn
plaster.
1.-The walls of an adobe house are YER
n thick, sometimes two Or three feet, an,
in the ordinary one story adobe house
I which is characteristic of that region
: they arc built up perfectly plain unit
they reach the roof The roof is support
ed on woCden beams, laid cdgewise O
the walls, and the bricks are built u
. level with the top of the beams betwee
> the timbers, leaving the edge of til
Il rafters exposed. The roof has sligi
slant, and is made of adobe brick.
L. When it rains, the water soaks into til
!, roof bricks, but does not begin to dri
II down into the rooms below until til
/, rain is over. Then the family moves OF
"a until the water is through with il
Is dripping. Isaw an adobe house in SAINT
ie Fe which was built in the sixteent
century, and, so far as could see, ii
q walls were as strong and good as al
L. house around there.
10 Walls are built of stone, plastere
n with adobe cement, if may SO call i
and such walls are strong and solid.
suppose if that country had half as muc
rain as falls i'll Chicago the 'dobe hous
would after o time crumble away. b,
- y, the average year in New Mexico
made up of 1S7 days of unclouded SIX
:; 139 days when sunshine predominant
= and only 80 days Of cloud, so that Il
rainfall does not amount to much mo
" than good sized fall of dew
:. 1t is estimated that an adobe hon
- costs about 500 room, but there a
~ mansions built of this material whit
10 cost not less than $50, 900 to construc
~ When the Americans" settled in Ne
- Mexico, Utah, Arizona, Nevada and Il
- lower part Of California they accept
!. the treeless condition Of the count
and built their houses Of 'dobe mud.
-. Chicago Record.
kentucky's Names.
Kentucky is known as the Corn Crac
nm , er State, from q game bird enjoying t
1 s,lx lrvf