The Washington herald., 1912-03-20

NhAGQ Llea-FOOlnS Ol lnC "oShAheeS--
Architectural Club to their utmost ca
pacIty, Henry S. spaekman. of Phila- |
delphia, last night delivered an Illus
trated lecture on "Cementitious mate
rials, past, present, and future.
Mr. Spackman Is considered the fore |
most cement and lime authority in the
United States. having devoted his entire |
life to the study of these important build |
ing materials. He Is president OF the
Spackman Engineering Company and OF
the illuminate Patents Company, OF
Philadelphia, and is prominently Identified
with both the American Society Of Civil
Engineers and the American Society OF
Test Materials.
BY means of many beautiful stereop-
ticon views the lecturer traced the de-
velopment OF cement and lime work
from the days of Rome and Athens up
TO the present time. He told Of the
adeptness OF the ancients in mixing &C.
ment and lime compositions, and de-
clared that the wonderful state Of pres
ervation in which the structures of their
day are still found is convincing proof
of the exactness with which they did
heir work.
Tells of '.AIca" Lime Plants.
What was of greatest interest to the
members OF the club was Mr.. Spack-
mans description OF the manufacture
eOf "Alca" lime, a product OF the Secur-
lty Cement and Lime Company, which
he termed the "modernized mortar OF
The ancients." He explained that this
product has the same lasting properties
Of the marvellous cement and lime com
positions of the medieval days. which
have withstood the tests Of hundreds Of
years.
Mr.. Spackman showed views OF the
"Alca" lime plants at Security. Nd, and
Berkeley, w. Va, and Of many modern
buildings of Washington and other cities
where 'Alcs' lime has been used. Mr..
Epackman said:
1t may perhaps augur Ill for the in
terest of my paper tonight that should
begin with an apology. yet ] feel such
an apology is due you. When / was
asked over the telephone to give the
title Of the paper 1 was to read before
you answered. on the spur OF the mo-
ment, ''Cementitious Materials, Past,
to properly treat the subject would re-
That a short discussion of the subject
must of necessity be of superficial char
peter. The use Of cementitious materials
in some form or another is as old as
civilization. We find evidence OF its use
in the remains of structures dating back
long before historical times: these re-
mains being found not only in Europe
Ind Asia, but also In Mexico, Central
America, and Peru.
Ancient Cement Lasting.
The structural remains of these old
md often forgotten civilizations show US
that man had very early attained almost
10 perfection In compounding cementi-
uous materials, and that the workingmen
who applied them were experts in their
trade. 1t is evident that the technical
processes then were much the same as
how, as were also the materials used.
The early I Egyptians = were adopts 1sI in the the
their work Of four thousand years ago
equals the product Of to-day. Very early
Of a quality far exceeding that of the
average mortar Of to-day in common
use with these the walls of their tenn
externally, and the fact that they en-
dured until to-day where not destroyed
by the wiIlful violence of man, is the
most conclusive evidence of the durability
OF the cementitious material used.
It is not unusual TO refer TO the pres
crete age, and two publications treating
of subjects relating TO this type of con-
struction have adopted these catch words
out to you that the use Of concrete and
cement is as old almost as the art of
the opinion OF some authorities, being
considered an excellent example of how
little We have advanced in this respect
on the knowledge Of the ancient Egyp-
tians. The great wall of China, begun in
2l4 B. c., was built mainly of concrete,
used and methods Of mixing the ingredi-
ents from our present practice The Ro-
mans at one time used in their construc-
building going on. as great a percentages
OF concrete as We are using TO-DAY. Il. II
Romans had developed and made use of
a cement Of a particularly high charac-
ter. and that the secret of its prepara-
zion had been lost. Recent study of the
mortsrs used in binding together the con-
crete aggregate and the stone and brick
masonry Of The Romans, make II clear
and that the strength and durability
Of their construction was due to the
care used in the preparation Of the ma
terial. and TO the fact that there was
available. convenient for mixture there
With, volcanic ASH scoria- in which the
silica was present in a soluble condition
ready to combine with the lime. / have
carefully examined samples of mortar
taken by myself from the Bath of II
from the ruins of an old castle built about
500 from the ruins Of another castle built
about 100, from the fortihcations built
struction dating back only few years,
and found them Identical in their char
or puzzolan, OF which there are large
deposits on the island. was used instead
of sand, and in many instances pieces
OF the early Roman concrete made from
the same materials were used, mixed
with the stone In the masonry OF later
concrete in turn had been made from
the fragments of still older construction
was indicated by the fact that you could
find in them pieces of brick and mar
bic, as well as OF broken limestone, the
characteristic rock Of the island.
Concrete Superseded stone.
with the fall of Rome the use Of con-
crete in construction OF important build.
ings was largely superseded by the use
of stone, due doubtless TO the fact that
the northern tribes which overthrow the
older civilization were not familiar with
the value Of puZzolanlc material, which
IS not commonly found in Northern Eu-
rope, and were accustomed instead II
stone construction in which mortar wa1
only used to level up the beds. The esrly
Romans. however, with the exception Of
ourselves. were the greatest users OF con
crete and carried its use to the countrie,
they conquered. either seeking out loca
deposits of puzzolsn or possibly import
ing il. Inspection of various ancien
buildings and feudal fortihcations reveals
the fact that Its use was never entirel,
abandoned. The castle of Bada5os II
Spain still bears marks of the boarded
frames in whish the concrete was de
posted.
1t Is unfortunate that the writings re
naming to US do not indicate what prepa
ration. II any, in the way of grinding
was given the puzzolan. but Il ssem