Los Angeles herald., 1905-11-12
BY A. Frederick Collins

rs THERE anything that is new
under the shining sun? Sometimes
we opine there is and then again
that which we believe is new. nove4
and up to the minute may be proven
to be as old as the pyramids of Egypt.
Concrete is one of the things that is
usually considered an invention of
comparatively recent date, but it is
easy to show that the early Egyptians
and BabylonianS knew a form of 1t,
but although it was rediscovered in
the early part of the last century it
was not used to any great extent for
the purpose of superseding brick and
stone in the construction of ordinary
buildings until practically now.
AS instances of the ancients' knowl
edge of concrete there stands the pyra~
mids of Egypt, dating back from the
third to the twelfth dynasty: the peri
style of the Egyptian labyrinth, known
to be at least 5000 years old; the Parth
,enon, a temple whose dome is 142 feet
in diameter, and which is, after 1900
years of service, still in excellent con-
dition: the Appian way, the route tread
by the Apostle Paul when he came into
Rome, as described in the book of
Acts; the Roman aqueducts, built dur
and many other examples, all con-
structed either wholly or partially of
the cement which men are again just
learning the true value of, as the fol-
lowing statement indicates:
I'VE are just now on the verge of
great future with concrete as a build
ing MATERIAL" Mr.. Webster, chief of
the Philadelphia survey bureau, re-
marked some two or three years ago,
a ~
for making concrete blocks have been
invented, patented and marketed;
these mechanisms are of simple con-
struction, and when operated by hand
make it possible to turn out six hun
dred blocks of beautiful artificial stone
a day, any one of a hundred beautiful
designs, and last, but best of all. the
artificial will outwear the natural stone
ten years to one, while being less eX-
pensive than the commonest kind OF
brick.
With its many advantages it would
seem that its use would have appealed
to a discriminating public long before
1t did, but the lack of interest evinced
may be easily traced to the repeated
failures with 1t when men tried to
make concrete with natural cement 1t
was the knowledge of these ill-starred
trials that led those who came later
finally the extraordinary qualities of
the latter could no longer go unrecog-
nized, and a foundation was built here,
retaining wall went up there, 4
chimney somewhere else, and as these
withstood the elements of water heat
and frost, buildings bridges, docks,
piers, tunnels, aqueducts, and now
dwelling houses mark it's advance in
every state in the union and every
nnt tasxr oh -
wonderful utility and development.
SO prevalent have become the in
stances OF its usefusness that books
have been written on the subject, that
architect, builder and mechanic may
become Informed as TO it's character
iSticS as well as to the most approved
method Of handling 1t, and it is now
painfully apparent to those who nave
examined concrete critically that nat
ural stone cannot hold a candle to it
for strength and durability, that
neither fire nor moisture affects It,
while laborers can manipulate 1t with
a fair degree of success; and for these
reasons il is destined TO become at
once one of the most important factors
in the commercial world.
For the sake of lucidity let us get
down to the exact meaning of the
terms mortar natural, hydraulic and
Portland cement ana concrete, for in
describing the uses and distinctive
features of the latter the definitions
OF these words and terms kept In mind
will make II all clear and the pro-
cesses for making artificial stone as
the concrete, after it is set is called
as well as the system of construction
known as reinforced concrete, will be-
come as simple as A b c. Mortar, as
every one must know, Is made of