10 



THE POLK SYSTEM 



level, and though the construction of the forms seems to 



have been carlessly done, as the photograph shows, yet the result 



is none the less interesting. Here is a splendid opportunity to see 



concrete and leisurely inspect it from every point of vantage. 



Above these concrete foundations rose the palace of Augustus, 



formed of 



these stupend- 



ous walls and 



vaults of 



brick, which 



here, as else- 



where i n 



Rome, thrust 



its arches 



through the 



air with such 



poise and pre- 



cisi on that 



they are t o 



this day the 



admiration of 



every behold- 



er and gave to 



the Romans 



their proud 



p o s i t i on 



HOUSE OF AUGUSTUS 

 Notice impression of the wood forms as well as actual grain of the wood. 



among the master builders of the world. 



The structure of brick above these concrete walls have suc- 

 cumbed to the ravages of time and to the hand of the destroyer, 

 but the concrete remains without a crack or a fracture that could 

 be discovered by careful and frequent examination. Its adhesion 

 is perfect, and that there has not been the slightest disintegration 

 of even the outside surface is attested by the fact that the grain 

 of the wood from the old forms may still be seen on the concrete, 

 though its imprint was made over two thousand years ago. The 

 silent and sturdy witnesses in the Roman Forum and the Appian 

 Way give convincing testimony as to the efficiency and durability 

 of concrete. Looking back through the centuries in which the 



''They are not built of pieces and they 

 cannot go to pieces. 



