stock

stoves and furnaces, or of rock if handy; these are pounded down well and a course of crushed stone is laid on this foundation on top of which is laid the concrete and the whole trowelled down as smoothly as possible. Steps and walks are built in much the same way, and any farmer wishing to try the experiment of building porches, steps, or walks, and cellar or barn floors can always find some one in any town who can advise him how to proceed should he be in doubt from reading a report such as this, which is to be suggestive, and to show what may be done rather than to enter into the plasterer's domain and to tell how to do it. To pass from the house to the barn, if you have trouble with your tanks rotting out or rusting out, try building one of cement. Dig down a foot or so and lay a course of concrete made of good crushed stone and a high grade of hydraulic cement, then set up boards in proper form and pour in concrete and continue to build up as high as desired. It makes a tank which certainly looks well and is said to give excellent service. We have seen watering troughs built in the same fashion, which gave us the impression that here was an idea worth copying. Such troughs are generally sunk well in the ground and are rather shallow, and are so shaped as to escape rupture on freezing. One of the best things of the kind observed was a long swill-trough.

This was raised but

FIG. 12

A cement swill-trough, well buried, so as to project but slightly above the sod. End dotted, to show shape of trough

little above the level of the ground and lids were provided so the trough was kept that much cleaner. When filled, the lids were raised and the swine admitted. The builder claimed that it had saved its price many times over, that it had been in service for years, and that there was no apparent reason why it should not last for his lifetime. Such permanent improvements as these are not only money getters for the owners, but also save the wear and tear and worry of constant planning. Every time a farmer builds a new trough, a certain amount of money and time must go into it, and this might, perhaps, be better employed in other improvements. It always seems like dead loss to be constantly rebuilding and repairing, and where one can afford it, it certainly seems better policy to build permanently. These troughs impress one favorably and the practical man's attention is directed to them as something doubtless to be recommended. We have seen small feed lots cemented over with marked success, as attested by the owners, who say that

every rain washes them perfectly clean, and swine while feeding do not lose any of the grain.

It is said that it would be profitable to prepare large feed lots in this way. Then the driveway leading to the barn could not be cleaner or better than when built of cement, and inside the barn, if the floor can be cemented, ideal conditions are realized. It is claimed by those who have tried the experiment, that while the first cost of putting down a cement floor may exceed that of the common plank floor, it does not cost nearly so much in the end. It is easily kept clean and certainly those seen by the writer seemed to be models of their kind, and showed no evidence of wear at the end of more than ten continuous years of service. But better than all is the advantage gained in two respects alone. The cement resting directly on the ground all rats and vermin are excluded once for all. Then the stable floor being as hard and close grained as stone itself, no stable waste is absorbed as in wood floors, to give off destructive and disagreeable ammonia gases afterward.

FIG. 13

Three blocks of hollow, artificial stone, as made by Reimers & Fried, of Lincoln, and extensively used for foundations and walls

Such stables are peculiarly free from barn odors. They are more easily cleaned and the owner would not change for any other form of floor. Ammoniacal gases are not only injurious to stock, but quite destructive of the varnish on carriages and vehicles. This difficulty seems to be fully met when the concrete floor is laid. For the cellar floor of the ordinary house nothing is better than cement, if one can afford it, and he cannot afford not to have it when he stops to consider that his house is to be his living place, which is to be sanitary or unsanitary according to certain conditions. The most sanitary floor is one of cement which excludes moisture and is readily swept and cleaned.

If one takes pains to observe, he will not have to go far until he sees houses built of concrete, but it must be remembered that they so closely resemble actual stone as to deceive, and so may be overlooked. On one farm we noticed a shed 18 feet square, of which the side walls, the floor, and even the roof, were made of cement. While still green, the plaster was laid off in squares by scratching it with a pointed tool, and the effect was that of the broken joints of masonry.

First a rough frame work was constructed of old stuff, then laths were nailed on, about a foot apart, upon which poultry netting was nailed; this was trowelled over with cement. In Western Nebraska we have seen farmers building cement houses and the practice is to be commended and called to the attention of others as giving rapid, cheap and excellent results with home labor. A trench about one foot deep is dug around for the foundation. This is filled level full with concrete, then boards are set up all around and another course of cement poured in. As soon as this sets sufficiently the boards are raised, and another course is laid, and so This makes a warm, sensible house, and by using a little taste it is not without beauty.

on.

In laying cement walks in cities, where it is done with care so as to insure satisfactory results, it will be noticed that the workmen are careful to cover

FIG. 14

A cement walk, with boards staked in position.

1 coarse cinders and rock,

2, coarse concrete and cement,

3, top-dressing of fine concrete, sand and cement

Walks may be slightly raised or may be on a level
with the sod

the freshly laid cement with moist sand to prevent rapid drying. It is well for amateurs to take a hint from the experienced, and use means to prevent drying. The question naturally arises, where do we get our cement, and in reply it may be said briefly, that part of it comes from abroad, and part of it is made at home. It is produced in our neighboring states, but not in Nebraska. This is the more unfortunate, since we have the cement rock in great abundance and desire to have new industries established.

If there is any problem connected with the manufacture of cement it is that of fuel alone. The demand for cement is here, the rock is here, the demand is increasing and all that seems of special concern is the cost of fuel, and since our shipping facilities are better than some of the places around us where cement is produced, it is probable that we can compete with any of the other states in its production,

If the limestone

Cement rock may be spoken of as an impure limestone. lacks anything it can be added artificially. Thus in the cement rock which is so extensively exposed in Nebraska in the Niobrara formation, the light colored chalk is mixed with a certain proportion of the neighboring black shale. This mixture burned and ground is ready for shipment. The

process of manufacture is a rather simple one, and we can confidently look forward to the establishment of cement works in this state.

Table showing the progress of the Portland cement industry in the United States for one decade.

Note the rapid rate of increase in the production of this building material and its decrease in cost to the consumer.

The average rate of increase in

Sketch of a farm house, with winding front and back walk, porch floor and step, and small fountain and fish-pond, all built of hydraulic cement

the production of cement in the United States from year to year is more than 40%, an enormous growth. Sometimes the amount produced is doubled in two years.

An item of great moment to many consumers of cement is the fact that the price has fallen from several dollars per barrel to about one dollar. This is about one-half the price of the imported cement. It should be mentioned that we import over two million barrels of cement a year to meet the demand.

Do not forget that the American cements have the stamp and seal of approval of the best engineers and of the United States Geological Survey. Our domestic cements are counted superior to the best imported grades.