Journal of Agriculture, Victoria. [lo Aug., 191 i. 



ramming be continued after the compo has been worked to the surface 

 and free moisture is showing on the top. Any old work, including that 

 finished off the previous day, should be well wetted and picked over to form 

 a bond. In dry weather, or at any time except in moist weather, the 

 concrete, whether in bulk or in blocks, should be kept damp by wetted bags 

 or other means for a few days to allow the setting action to proceed 

 properly. 



The Midget Giant Concrete Block-making Machine Company Proprie- 

 tary Limited, of Central Railway Building, Flinders-street, Melbourne, 

 has contracted with the Department to erect silos of the types listed. A 

 machine as illustrated, however, can be purchased outright for ^11, with 

 a complete outfit of plates for making bricks of various shapes and sizes, 

 for building purposes, including silo bricks. The dimensions of the bricks 

 are 12 in. x 6i in. x 6 in., the latter dimension being the thickness of the 

 wall. These bricks, in order to fit in with the circular plan of the accepted 

 form of silo, are circular in section. 



Concrete is mixed as described above, a sufficient quantity put into, 

 the machine, and the brick moulded; it is then lifted out on a "bearing 



off " board ; the.se are ordinary lengths, 

 of 6-in. X i-in. flooring boards about. 

 13I in. long, and put aside until set.. 

 After 24 hours they can be gently re- 

 moved from the boards and laid out 

 in rows and well watered with an,i 

 ordinary watering-can, or a hose 

 spray. They should not be allowed to. 

 become at all dry for at least two, 

 weeks, but should be watered night; 

 and morning ; the more water they 

 have applied, the harder the bricks, 

 will become. If the bricks are ex- 

 posed to the wind, or in an unpro- 

 tected place, they should be stacked; 

 not more than five high, with a small;; 

 space between each stack ; this pre- 

 vents the wind drying the whole sur- 

 face of the brick too quickly. The bricks should not be used for construc- 

 tion of walls for at least three weeks. Care should be taken to lay " bear- 

 ing off " boards on one another when not in use to prevent twisting; suffi-. 

 cient boards for the first day's work only are necessary. 



One man with the assistance of a lad can make up to 300 of these- 

 bricks per day — sufficient to build a wall 10 ft. by 10 ft. One cask of- 

 cement and i cubic yard of gravel and sand, in the proportions of 5, 3,.. 

 and I, Avill make about 200 of these bricks; or sand only (6 to i), i6o,. 

 bricks. A man with the same assistance, after a little practice, will lay 

 200 bricks per day. The bricks are set in cement mortar of suitable 

 strength, say 4 to i, in the same manner as ordinary bricks; a double 

 wall is made for the first course, and then a single wall is proceeded with. 

 The bricks break joint at 6 in. in succeeding courses, which allows the hol- 

 lows in bricks to come over each other, and makes a complete wall, allow- 

 ing the free circulation of air throughout the interior. Where sand and 

 gravel, or rough and fine material are not both obtainable, excellent bricks, 

 can be made from sand only and cement in the proportions of 6 to i. 



MIDGET GIANT MOULDING MACHINE. 



