The Semi-weekly leader., 1922-09-02
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-
ment Of Uses Recent
Years Remarkable.

Washington.-There is a dash of
romance and a 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.
Perhaps some first impressions of
this material date back to- the de-
lights of coasting on Il bicycle over
the even surface of cement sidewalk
-back 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 years has been so
varied and remarkable that 1t is
doubtful If 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 1856 by an engineer named
John Smeaton, who while looking for
mortar for this purpose discovered
that an impure limestone containing
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-
Matchmaking 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 1896 James Parker Of North
feet, England, patented process for
manufacturing cement by turning Inn
pure limestone almost to vitrlfication
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 1919 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 a natural rock without
previous preparation, and by grinding
the burned product to a fine powder.
Almost a Century Old.
Almost 100 years ago, in 1924.
brick-layer Of England. Joseph Aspdin,
took out patent for what he called
Portland cement. He gave 1t this
name because when hardened it re-
sembled the famous stone found on
the Isle of Portland Off the coast OF
England Aspdin's patent specified
that definite amounts of clay and lime
stone be used, and described the
process OI dIndiShnhatAns anu Cldrily-
ing these two materials in the manu-
facture of the product. This constt
tutes the distinction between natural
and Portland cements.
Few attempts were made to produce
Portland cement In the United States
until about 1870. During the 70's, how
ever, 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 the In
dustry, and the consequent develop
ment Of new uses for the material Is
best shown by the annual output fig