The L'Anse sentinel., 1922-09-15
Range Varies From Art Windows
to Swimming Pool for
HippopotamuS.
DASH OF ROMANCE IN STORY
Portland Cement Has Been In Use
Nearly Hundred Years-Develop-
~fnent of Uses In Recent
Years Remarkable.

Washington.-The is dash of
romance and fairy story theme In
the commonplace chug and rattle of
the concrete mixer. Every one Is con-
versant with the ordinary uses of
Portland cement.S
Perhaps some first impressions of
this material date back to the de-
lights of coastihg on bicycle over
the o,en surface OF n cement sidewalk
--bs2k in the days when cement side
walks were considered more or less
OF luxury Perhaps 1t was cellar
floor, or a foundation, or the sight OF
workmen mixing cement mortar.
Years ago cement was an established
member Of the construction family,
but the development of Its uses dur
Ing the last few year has been so
varied and remarkable that 1t Is
doubtful IL the average citizen has
even the remotest idea Of 1t.
The historical incident which
brought about the need for Portland
cement was the construction of the
Eddystone lighthouse in the English
channel in 1756 by an engineer named
John Smeaton, who while looking for
a mortar for this purpose discovered
that an impure limestone containing a
certain amount Of clayey matter con-
tained hydraulic properties when cal
cined or roasted.
Natural Cement Restricted.
The cement used by SmeatOn
marked the beginning Of modern ce-
ment-making practice, but the early
cements were different from the Port
land cement Of today, for natural ce-
ments depend on nature to prepare
their material and are consequently
restricted to the rocks having the
proper proportions Of materials in
their makeup and any variation in the
composition cannot be regulated.
Smeaton's discovery apparently
stimulated interest In the industry.
About 1796 James Parker of North
fleet, England, patented process for
manufacturing cement by turning i'm
plre limestone almost TO vitrification
I. In ordinary lime kilns, and grinding
the resulting clinker to powder He
gave this material the name of Roman
cement. In France there had been
experimentation along similar lines.
The first recorded manufacture of
this product In the United States was
in 1910 In Madison county, New York,
for the Erie canal project. Its use
was developed by Benjamin Wright
and Canvass White. All OF the above
cements may be classed as natural
cement because they were prepared
by burning n natural rock without
previous preparation. and by grinding
the burned product to fine powder.
Almost a Century Old.
Almost 100 years ago. In 1924, a
bricklIayer of England, Joseph Aspdin,
took out a patent for what he called
Portland cement. He gave II this
hame because when hardened II re.
sembled the famous stone found on
the Isle of Portland or the coast of
England. Aspdin's patent specified
that definite amounts Of clay and lime
stone be used. and described the
process of amalgamnting and clarity
ing these two. materials In the manu-
facture OF the product. This consti-
tutes the distinction between natural
snff Portland cements
Few attempts were made to produce
Portland cement in the United States
uri4jl about 1870. Ddring the 70's. how.
eIey$, plants were operated at several
points. including wampum and Cop
lay. Pa: Kalamazoo. Mich. South
Bend, Ind. and Rockport, Me.
Industry Grows Rapidly.
The remarkable growth Of fhe In
dusfry. and the consequent develop
nieht Of. new uses for the material Is
s4st Asws29Al t. M MnA@l@ @leutppt z'e: