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The Pennsylvania Railroad in the construction of its new depot in New York, the tunnels under the North and East Rivers, and the yards at Long Island City.

The Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad in connection with its track elevation work in Chicago, and in its work of replacing wooden with reinforced concrete trestles throughout its system.

CHAPTER XXIX

THE UTILITY OF CONCRETE ON THE FARM*

Advantages of Concrete for the Farmer.-Concrete Types Found on the Farm.Posts. Troughs.-Tanks.-Farm Drainage.-Cisterns.-Cess Pools.-Stalls. -Silos.-Miscellaneous.-Useful Hints for the Farmer.

Advantages of Concrete for the Farmer.-Concrete, both plain and reinforced, has provided the farmer with an entirely new building material. Indestructible, economical, and fireproof, it offers, under most conditions, features of advantage over every other type of construction. Concrete has long been recognized as the ideal building material for heavy construction and is now looked upon with equal regard for the purpose of the lighter forms of construction found necessary on the progressive and up-to-date farm.

During the past few years the price of lumber has advanced to almost prohibitive figures, and therefore it is natural that a substitute material which is both cheap and durable, sanitary and beautiful, should gain the recognition which it deserves.

The cost of concrete work is variable with the conditions under which the work is performed. It is generally cheap for the farm structure, because the work can be done by the farmer at odd times, with comparatively cheap help, as it is unnecessary to employ masons or carpenters.

The lumber for the forms is expensive, but it can be used again, generally, for other purposes. Contractors in concrete construction figure to save 30 per cent of the form lumber for subsequent

use.

If the farmer hires carpenters and laborers to do the work, his concrete structure will have a larger first cost than wood construction, but it will neither decay nor burn and will be the cheapest in the end.

* Partly condensed from “Concrete about the Home and on the Farm,” published by Atlas Portland Cement Co. See also bulletins on Concrete Tanks and Concrete Silos published by American Association of Portland Cement Manufacturers.

Concrete Types Found on the Farm.-A competent engineer or architect should always be employed or consulted in the preparation of plans for houses, barns, or other structures of any magnitude; but by carefully following authentic rules and specifications, the inexperienced farmer can safely undertake reinforced-concrete construction of simple structures.

Concrete is found on the farm in the following forms: Posts of all kinds, troughs and tanks for various purposes, walls of all descriptions, blocks of all styles, steps and stairs, side-walls, curbs, and gutters, drains, floors, stalls, and pens, silos, corn cribs and grain elevators, houses, barns, and cellars, and in many miscellaneous forms too numerous to mention.

Fence Posts.-Concrete fence posts may be considered as typical of post construction. They are generally made with a square or rectangular cross-section, the length depending upon the height desired above ground. The amount to be placed underground depends upon the depth of the frost line which is sometimes 3 or 4 feet. It is customary to make them slightly larger than the wooden posts which would be used for the same purposes, the average crosssection being about 25 square inches. The making of fence posts has already been described in Chapter XV.

Hitching Posts, Clothes Posts, Horse Blocks.-Hitching posts and clothes posts may be made in a similar manner, round if desired, and reinforced with 3/8" iron rods if more than 7 feet long.

Horse blocks are so heavy that they are generally cast in place. An ordinary box form will serve the purpose. It is best not to plaster the top or sides, for it is apt to crack or peel off. Trowel the surface when the concrete is first laid. Care should be used in the preparation of a foundation to prevent unequal settlement.

Concrete Watering-Troughs.-A concrete watering-trough is one of the easiest and simplest tanks that can be made of concrete, and will never rot. They are frequently built not only in the barnyard or near the house, but, where large numbers of stock are pastured, they are built in the fields, to hold water from a small spring which would not otherwise be available.

Watering-troughs may be made with or without reinforcement, the difference being that between a 5- and 8-inch wall. Typical

dimensions are 10 ft. long, 2 ft. wide, 2 ft. deep, 5 in. thick, which may be varied at will.

The reinforcement may be done by placing á 2 1/2 inch layer of concrete in the form, and immediately after placing and before the concrete has set, place a sheet of woven fence wire or some other wire fabric over the concrete, bending it up so that it will come to within one inch of the top of the forms at the sides and ends. Place 2 1/2 inches more of the concrete in the bottom and ram lightly to bring the mortar to the surface and smooth it off evenly. Have the inner form all ready and as soon as the base is laid and before it has begun to stiffen set it, taking care to keep it at equal distances

i boards

Ibracing

I boards

FIG. 109.-Watering-trough, Forms, and Bracing.

from the sides, and then immediately fill in the concrete between the outer and inner forms to the required height.

Small troughs have been built at as low a cost as $5.00.

Dipping Tanks, Hog Troughs, Slop Tanks, Fertilizing Tanks.Dipping tanks for disinfection, hog troughs for feeding, slop tanks for heating food in cold weather, fertilizing tanks for containing fertilizing fluids, have all been made of concrete and have given satisfaction. Methods of procedure in such construction will readily suggest themselves.

Barn and cellar floors may be made after the manner of sidewalks, the barn floor requiring a porous sub-base from 6 to 12

inches thick while the cellar floor can be laid directly on the earth which should be evened off and tamped hard. Waterproofing is sometimes desirable. Feeding floors of concrete have been found advantageous for the spreading of fodder.

Farm Drainage.-Farm drainage is an important problem and concrete its most practical solution. Drains may be made in place by digging a trench with sufficient grade to flush well, and setting forms of the shape of the inside of the drain, so that the concrete will be from 3 to 4 inches thick. If a tile drain is preferred, they may be made from concrete in the following manner: Use I part

[blocks in formation]

FIG. 110.-Forms for Watering-trough. Section through Centre.

of cement to 3 of clean sand. "One or two sets of forms with four or six tile each may be made so that they can be filled every morning, and in this way enough tiles can soon be on hand to drain a large acreage of land. The concrete tile should be made with a circular bore, and may be either circular, or square on the outside.”

"Use ordinary stove pipe of the required diameter for the inside mould; this should project far enough above the top of the wood form so that a good grip can be had on it in order to remove it from the concrete. If desired, holes can be punched through the stovepipe near the top and a rod placed through these holes in order to

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