The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1901-03-21
MAKING ARTIFICIAL STONE.
The Remarkable Progress in This
Industry 20 Germany.

Max J Baehr, the United States Con
sui at Aiagdeburg, Germany, writes TO
the State Department as follows.
Stone produced from sand and lime is
destined 10 become an important factor
in the building line Until recently, this
stone Was regarded with suspicion, but
experiments have resulted in the Droduc-
ton OF q perfect building stone. and the
prejudice with which it has been viewed
heretofore has been dispeIIeI The man
ufaccuTe Of this stone is growing to enor-
nous proportions in Germany and fac
tories re springing up everywhere Even
the building inspection police, who on &C
count of the use of inferior stone pro
duced BY faulty systems were anita onis-
tic until recently. have dropped all OF
position
The following is q rough sketch Of the
simplest and best system known for pro-
ducinG this stoue-one which 1t IS said.
offers an absolute guarantee of. superior
quality
Hydraulic or quick lime. as well as
fat or rich lime. may be used. hydraulic
lime IS preferred, however. If the price
warrants IL Of the different kinds OF
sand, the cleanesU Is the most suitable,
but small alloy Of clay Is not objection
able In fact, II can be said that all
kinds OF sand suitable for building pur-
poses or for the preparation OF mortar
may be used. The proportions are from
four TO six parts OF lime TO nInety-four TO
nInCJy-sIX parts OF sand, the small varia-
ton depending on the quality OF the sand
After puiEeriziug the lime in q bali grin
der tAIugelInUehle), both substances are
mechanically measured and then thor
oughly mixed by machinery. The mixture
-.
eTxard piled on fat cars and pushed into
q cylindrical boiler The boiler is then
Theoretically closed and steam turned at
from eight 10 nine atmospheres. In about
ten hours. the process OF hardening Is
finished and the stones are ready for use.
4 ne process Of hardening the stones IN
the boiler Is explained as follows:
BY the operation Of high-preSSure
steam on the freShiy pressed stones,
through the influence OF the calcium by
dro-oXlds on the siliGlc acid of the sand.
different kinds OF calcium silicates are
formed. which are the accepted standard
in the process of hardening The exact
time for hardening Is determined by the
quantity and the nature OF the silicic acid
The erection of a plant in Germany
day viii cost, including buildings. about
SI6-oo0; for one Of 25.oU0 per da.. about
70 manufacture ]. 900 stones go bv 12o
by % miIlimetres t9S+ by 45.6 by 255
inches there are required. besides the
sand. l workman 40 pounds of lime 2lg
poGGdS of coal and about 10 cents
worth Of grease and Oil
with this same material, face and
fancy stone may also be produced While
these bring q much higher price. the com
mon Hme-and-sand stone in Germany
comma uGs \ price of from 50 10 81 per
thousand. in accordance with the price
paid Tor cIay-brick stone in the several
districts
From various sources. I have learned
that the net cost for 1000 stones ranges
from S2-Z5 TO s. but does not exceed the
latter sum
The essential points Of advantage in
the manufacture OF the Hme-aHd-sand
over the clay-briCk building stone are:
% The cost OF production is much
lower.
20 With a smaller investment. consid-
eTably more stone can be produced.
10 The production can take place in
all seasons Of the year and at al hours
"tA The stone has 4 much higher com
pressive strength-abOut $50 pounds per
square ceutimetrc tU-l55 square inch
''t5l CDlored. face, and fancy stone can
be produced
"j0 The stone has a much better and
smoother appearance and there is no loss
on account of brea kaye
@ All dry ing sheds and brick IfIns
necessary Tor the production of clay brick
are done away with. \ space of - nv
- feet is all that IS needed for the build
ing OF a Hue-aud-Sand stone factory mo
duCing l2.noJ stones per day
Another factor OF great Importance in
this system Is that instead Of sand fba
graduated cinder from the blast fur
naceS may be used when the mode Of
manufacture is identical with thar of RI
HIne-and-Sand stone Waste of ali kinds
of sand and of building stones which
contain Slliclc acid. are equally useful
and make a good stone
The lucrative nature Of the nanufac-
ture of iime-and-sand stone is apparent
there is no doubt that net profit OF from
- lo 80 Per cent ana more can 50 gained
by proper calculations.