ARTIFICIAL STONE, OR CONCRETE 



the greatest the world has ever seen. For reinforced- 

 concrete structures have now proved their claim to 

 permanency against the attacks of cyclones, fires, and 

 earthquakes, and have stood the ordeal better than any 

 other class of buildings ever constructed. 



Reinforced concrete seems to have been first used 

 extensively by a French gardener named Joseph Monier, 

 who had made great pots for shrubs of metal and con- 

 crete as early as 1867. Another Frenchman, and an 

 Englishman, had made some experiments and demon- 

 strations with the same material a few years earlier, 

 but had turned their discoveries to little practical 

 account. Monier patented his system, and it came 

 into use quite extensively for making floors, tanks, 

 ponds, and such simple structures; but it was a full 

 quarter of a century before the subject of reinforcing 

 had been studied sufficiently to be thoroughly under- 

 stood, with guiding principles based on scientific 

 deductions, in place of the mere rule of thumb used 

 by Monier and the early builders. 



ADVANTAGES OF REINFORCED CONCRETE 



The first advantage of reinforced concrete as a build- 

 ing material that appeals to an American is its fire- 

 resisting quality. The great Baltimore fire demon- 

 strated that even where the heat was very intense the 

 concrete was only affected to a maximum depth of 

 three-quarters of an inch. Steel rods buried to a depth 

 of one inch in concrete seemed to be protected per- 

 fectly. Even the sudden cooling by the streams of 



