CHAPTER XXI. 



HISTORY, STATISTICS, AND PROSPECTS OF THE NATURAL-CEMENT 



INDUSTRY. 



History of the Industry. 



NATURAL cements were first made in England and France about 1800, 

 and for a time the industry developed quite rapidly. In the United 

 States the first manufacture was in 1819, the discovery of the raw 

 material being due directly to the construction of the Erie Canal. 



When the construction of the Erie Canal was first undertaken, 

 the use of ordinary lime as a mortar material was contemplated. As 

 a large amount of lime would be used for this purpose, many lime- 

 stone-beds throughout the State were examined and tested. Good 

 limes were found to be available at many points along the course of 

 the canal, and the engineers had apparently no expectation of finding 

 a better material. During the progress of work on the middle section 

 of the canal, however, it was found that the lime burned from a cer- 

 tain stone refused to slake. The quarry from which this stone came 

 had been opened on the land of T. Clarke, in the town of Sullivan, 

 Madison County, in a bed of limestone which to all appearances was 

 satisfactory enough. 



The failure on the part of the contractor to deliver the lime brought 

 the matter to the attention of Benjamin Wright, engineer in charge 

 of the middle division, and Canvass White, one of his two associates. 

 Fortunately, Mr. White had visited England in order to secure as much 

 information as possible concerning the materials and methods then 

 employed in the execution of great public works, and in the course 

 of this visit he had devoted considerable time to a study of the various 

 limes and cements used as mortar materials. Parker's " Roman cement " 

 had then passed the experimental stage, and in both England and 

 France natural cement was gradually but steadily supplanting lime 

 as an engineering material. The cost of Parker's cement, however, 

 was an obstacle to its extensive use. 



Because of this preliminary acquaintance with the subject, Mr. 

 White was peculiarly well fitted to cope with the difficulty which had 



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