400 Report S.A.A. Advancement of Science. 



I herewith hope I have proved to you that the above-mentioned 

 assumptions may be accepted as really existing facts, and that 

 statical calculations of ferro-concrete structures can be made on a 

 similar basis as laid down here. 



In conclusion, I wish to make a few general remarks : Everyone 

 familiar with this new building system will admit that there exist 

 a great many reinforced concrete constructions, which give great 

 satisfaction for the purposes they are erected for, and still exercise 

 that resistance, if the limit of the strain is reached or even exceeded, 

 for which the structures are calculated. Considering the splendid 

 qualities which are proved in existing structures, there should be 

 no difficulty in erecting buildings of greater dimensions and with 

 complicated stresses, if the formulje employed for calculating the 

 dimensions of the proved structures were generalized, and extended 

 to the new contemplated purpose, and if the fundamental materials, 

 concrete and iron were of the same quality and were worked with 

 the same carefulness. 



While iron, wood, brick buildings, etc, are liable to decay, 

 therefore requiring frequent overhauling, reinforced concrete con- 

 structions are gaining in strength in the course of time. Not only 

 do these buildings resist elements as moisture, temperature, etc., 

 but also chemical reactions have no effect on them. The iron 

 embedded in the Portland cement concrete remains perpetually 

 unaltered, and ferro-concrete constructions can be considered as 

 practically indestructible by any causes. 



If the reinforced concrete principle is to be extensively used in 

 building construction, there is one important fact which must not be 

 overlooked, " we must have cheap cement." I do not mean cement 

 of an inferior quality, but first quality cement at a lower price. 



This can only be done by erecting factories in various parts 

 of the country, and if sufficient enterprise is forthcoming, and a 

 factory equipped with the latest modern machinery, cement could 

 be sold in Kimberley at 50 per cent, less than the landed cost to-day. 



Only quite recently I have tested samples of the raw material 

 which have been submitted to me. and found them equal to any 

 sample I had seen in Europe used for the manufacture of the best 

 Portland cement. These samples were obtained from a place within 

 one hundred miles of Kimberley, and in close proximity to the 

 railway line. 



Another reason why reinforced concrete should be used on a 

 more extensive scale is that South Africa does not possess a pro- 

 ducing iron industry, and every girder has to be imported. 



In conclusion, I would like to express the wish that reinforced 

 concrete may sooner or later be introduced in constructional engineer- 

 ing throughout this sub-continent, and that the money which is being 

 expended by the Governments and Public Corporations, in the pur- 

 chase of steel bridges and other structures, may be retained and 

 circulated in SoutTi Africa by the adoption of the reinforced concrete 

 system which I have been privileged to put before you. 



