The Oakley herald. [volume] (Oakley, Idaho) 1908-1961, 1911-01-06

On account of its cheapness, uni
formity and quick development OF
strength, the only cement practically
used at present Is the kind called
Portland There are almost as
many brands OF Portland cement as
there are OF wheat flour. For farm
work choose some brand guaranteed
by the local dealer to meet the stand
ard specifications of the American
Society for Testing Materials, which
standards are approved by the nation
al government.
cement takes water so easily that
care must be exercised In storing It.,
says Kimball's Dairy Farmer. Upon
the regular floor of a good building
place timbers close together, as a sup
port for false floor. upon which the
sacks may be piled
Cement Is heavy; do not overload
the floor Of the building by piling 1t
too high. and do not store 1t against
the side walls. Keep 1t covered with
canvas or roofing paper. II once wet
It sets up and is unfit for use How
ever, Jumps due to pressure in the
store house must not be mistaken for
setup cement. Such Jumps are easily
crumbled and may then be used
Concrete is q mixture of Portland
cement and particles of stone The
stone should vary in size from pieces
one inch in diameter to sand grains
BY 80 grading the stone, the smaller
in ho hat he
larger pieces. thereby producing the
most compact and the strongest mix
ture
The best stone for crushed rock Ii
one which Is clean. hard and breaks
with sharp angles. Trap, granite and
hard limestone are among the best;
the use OF shale, slate and soft lime
stones and sandstones should be
avoided. The crushed rock should be
screened on a Quarter-inch screen to,
remove the fine particles These small
particles should be considered as sand
and, If in sufficient In quantity to make
the proper proportion OF the concrete,
as Is described later, enough sand
should be added to produce the re-
quired amount
Gravel well graded in sizes ia at
least equally as good for concrete as
crushed stone. Bank-run gravel, just
as dug from the pit, seldom runs even
and rarely has the right proportion of
sand and pebbles for making the best
concrete. The mixture most suitable
has one part sand to two parts gravel,
measured by volume, in which all sizes
passing through a one-inch mesh
screen and retained on a quarter-inch
screen are considered gravel. As
there is usually too much sand for the
gravel. it is both advisable and profit
able to screen the material and to re-
mix them in the proper proportions
gravel should have no rotten stone and
should be clean. SO that the cement
may adhere to 1t lightly
If 1t is dirty, no amount Of cement
will make strong concrete. Generally
sand is clean, but If not It can easily
be washed by playing a hose or flush
ing water upon thin layers of sand
placed on a tight-pointed inclined
wooden board. In size of grain it
should vary uniformly from fine to
coarse. All particles passing a quar-
ter-inch screen may be considered
sand.
Any good-tasting drinking water is
suitable for concrete.
The tools and equipment necessary
for making concrete in moderate guam
titles are already at hand on q well
conducted farm, or viii be useful after
ward for other purposes.
The list follows:
Two square pointed paddy" shovels,
No. 3.
One round pointed thing shovel or
one garden spade.
One heavy garden rake.
One sprinkling can or bucket or one
spray nozzle for hose
One water barrel or one length of
hose
One sidewalk tamper or homemade
wooden tamper.
One sand screen made of a section
Of e-quarter-inch wire mesh nailed
o a wooden frame