have felt a patriotic thrill at the sight. Last year alone the exports of mineral oils and paraffin amount to $107,000,000. Verily we light the world! But at what a cost! As the stockholders of the Standard grow richer the deposits and wells of oil in the United States grow constantly smaller-more nearly empty.

And what do we get in trade for all this oil, which can never be replaced? From the table of imports for the same year read these figures: Chemicals, drugs and dyes, $91,000,000—within $16,000,000 of the total value of the oils exported. Most of these chemicals, drugs and dyes are made from coal tarfifty years ago an utter waste and nuisance-now transformed by the skill and science of German chemists into a hundred useful and valuable products. A single ship will hold enough to balance in value all the cargoes of the whole Standard Oil fleet.

Last year we sent abroad from the yield of our vanishing forests, logs and lumber to the value of $52,000,000. We got back in return from the shrewder and more far-sighted business men of Europe works of art valued at $21,000,000, spirits and wines at $23,000,000 and bonnets and hats at $8,000,000, a total of which exactly balances our lumber exports. Works of art are the product of man's talent, wines and liquor are little more than bottled water and sunshine, and hats and bonnets owe all their value to the taste and cunning of a few men in Paris. But it takes nature thirty to a thousand years to grow a tree.

Our exports of breadstuffs are less than

formerly because we have already partially exhausted our soil. But last year the item still stood at $133,000,000. Balance it if you please from the table of imports with coffee, tea and cocoa at $95,000,000, earthenware, china and glass at $18,000,000 and toys at $7,000,000 more. The production of coffee, tea and cocoa does little to impoverish the soil and china, and toys and glass are products of man's skill.

Always we ship away great quantities of more or less raw material and get back in payment a little package of manufactured goods. The imports and exports of tobacco for instance, are not far apart in value. But even in this trade we give more than seven times as much, by weight, as we receive.

More than half our total imports is made up of articles of luxury, of products which do not exhaust the soil, in which they are grown or of manufactured goods, the value of which is chiefly due to man's delicate skill and careful manipulation; while the great bulk of our exports are the ravished spoil of our great natural resources grabbed by the shrewdest and strongest and sent abroad by the millions of tons, by men whose only idea is to fatten their own pockets.

Meanwhile poor little Switzerland, with practically no natural resources, grows continually richer, by putting on the market its mountain scenery, which is never exhausted, by carving tiny bits of wood until they are worth tons of raw lumber and by turning imported iron, worth $20 a ton, into steel watch springs, worth half as many millions.

B

C

EMENT has been successfully used in a great variety of construction work, and yet one is constantly learning of some new use to which it can be put. One of the late forms of cement as a building material is the shingle, which has been demonstrated by actual use to be an exceedingly good roofing material, and in the long run an economical one.

The great advantage of the cement roof is that it is absolutely fire proof and practically indestructible, not deteriorating with age as do wooden shingles or tin

roofs, but, on the contrary, improving, as cement becomes harder and tougher with service.

The shingles made under a new patent are six by twelve inches and one-quarter of an inch in thickness. To quote from an official description: "On the upper surface are two ridges with corresponding depressions underneath. Five inches from the top of the shingle is a shoulder, three-quarters of an inch thick, which runs out to the average thickness of the shingle, conforming to the pitch of the roof. This shoulder has a double pur

pose. It forms an anchorage for the shingle when in place, so that it cannot slip down over the course below; and it furnishes a base or footing for the upper part of the shingle which would otherwise be left under a strain. The shingles are laid with five inches to the weather, the grooves fitting over the ridge of the shingles on the next lower course. Originally the shingles were fastened on with a wire clasp, for which two holes were made on each side. It has been found more practicable, however, to fasten them with wire nails having a small head, because it is much easier to replace broken shingles. Hip and valley shingles are cut when first moulded.

"From the crests of roofs, ridges are made covering about three courses of shingles. These ridges overlap each other and ornamental straps covering the ends are cemented on, making perfectly tight joints. For hips, specially moulded rolls are used, with cemented joints.

"The manufacture of the shingle is an interesting process. There is a bed

mould of solid steel over which are fitted forms of galvanized iron, one for each shingle. For the body of the shingles,

cement and sand are mixed in suitable proportions, three to one. A finer grade. of sand than that put in the body is used for the upper surface. Waterproofing is mixed dry with the surface sand and cement, and the mixture is sprinkled over the forms. Then the wet cement mortar is spread and the top mould, which forms. the under surface of the shingle, is dropped several times, tamping the mixture in solid. The shingles remain on the thin forms and are removed from the machine on a frame and placed on drying racks. They are cured for ten days, being kept damp during this period. In two weeks they are, or may be, laid. They may be kept in their natural state, gray, or colored to suit the purchaser. For coloring, cement stains are used, the fluid being brushed over the top surfaces and edges. Colors may be mixed in the cement, but as the coloring compound retards cohesion the stain is preferable. This goes well below the surface and is not destroyed by the weather. Fine color effects are secured by the use of various shades of green and red."

Although the weight of the cement shingle is considerable, it was not found necessary to use any special construction to sustain the roofs, as two by four rafters and ceiling joists were sufficiently strong, with purlins one inch thick run midway along each slope, and two by

four braces under each rafter.

Of course the first cost of a cement

roof is greater than that of an ordinary shingle roof, about twice as much as a good grade of wooden shingle, but, inasmuch as it is permanent and requires no repairs, it is truly economical. About the only thing that can injure this roof is the ubiquitous and iniquitous small boy who might shy a rock on it and break a shingle, but in that case a new one can be readily set in without removing the others, as they can be lifted from their position without drawing the small headed nails which anchor them. It has been proved that they form a water tight roof and unless the pitch is very low it is not even necessary to use tar-paper under them.

Owing to the waterproofing of the cement shingles they do not absorb moisture to any extent, in fact when tested by a three days' immersion in

water, it has been found that they do not absorb more than three per cent of their original weight, and, of course, in service the absorption would be much less.

One of the greatest advantages of the cement shingles in a warm climate is that they are practically non-conductors of heat and form cool roofs.

While the expense of a cement roof is greater than that of a cedar roof, the difference in price can be more than equalized by the use of this new invention instead of clapboards, as a siding of cement shingle is considerably cheaper than lumber and is excellent for that purpose.

The accompanying photograph, showing a house roofed with cement shingles, was taken in Los Angeles, California, and it will be observed that its appearance is dignified and artistic.

-ROBERT BURNS.

T

HE newspaper printing machine room was a hive of humming activity. The ponderous mechanical creations were reeling off the newspapers at thirty odd thousand copies per hour, chewing up the paper from a continuous roll at one end, and disgorging news-sheets folded and counted in quires ready for the newsboys at the other. When the press had settled down to its stride, the rattle and roar was such that one had to shout in one's companion's ears to make one's self heard.

"Br-rr-rr-rr-rr!"

The frenzied call of the warning bell was heard loud above the din. To the accompaniment of strident tones the power was shut off, the mammoth mass slackened in its mad speed, and in a few seconds the maze of wheels and reels was at rest.

"Those rollers are cut up badly, and the inking is imperfect," rapped out the chief, pointing to the bowels of the machine.

Instantly three or four men dived into the mechanical giant and were feverishly tearing out the damaged inking rollers. Others held in reserve were caught up and rushed into their place. Some of the gang were busily attending to the ink ducts, recharging them with the black pigment, and looking around to see that all there was in order, ample evidence of the operation being shown in the smothering of their over-alls and hands with the viscous black mass.

"Look alive," yelled the chief, "this stop has cost us five minutes, and we must make up time."

Whirr! The maze of steel was soon again in full swing, running more madly and noisily than ever in the frantic effort