384 Transactions of the American Institute. 



Ordeu, No. 41 Liberty street, we went to examine a number of large 

 buildings in this city that are covered with plastic slate. And 

 more beautiful roofs were never seen. Water may stand and back 

 up for any length of time on them, and not a drop can get through 

 to wet the walls. Those large buildings seemed to be covered by 

 one broad and unbroken piece of slate, as durable as stone itself, 

 and to all appearance the}'' will remain perfectly water proof, and 

 fire proof also, for hundreds of years after the men who made them 

 have been forgotten. 



The materials employed in making this kind of roofing are 

 inhexaustible, and as cheap as the fragments of quarried slate and 

 gas tar, both of which may be obtained at so cheap a rate that the 

 expense of forming a durable roof will be less than it can be made 

 of shingles of any kind, or of metal. 



Some parties at first experienced serious difficulty in making a 

 satisfactory roof of coal tar and the flour of slate. But, by repeated 

 experiments, they learned that their failures were attributable to 

 want of skill in mingling the two substances. Experiments showed 

 that when the tar and the flour of slate were mingled in the proper 

 proportions, the material would reconstruct readily, and form a 

 most perfect roof, which will last as long as natural slate. 



At the conclusion of this paper, the thanks of the Club were 

 tendered to the author. 



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



The following letter from the Hon. Horace Capron was read 

 before the Club, and a committee to respond to it was appointed, 

 viz: Messrs. J. B. Lyman, J. E. Snodgrass and J. V. C. Smith: 



" Depaktment of Agriculture, 



Washington, Dec. 31, 1867 



..I 



" John "W. Chambers, Esq., Secretary Farmers' Club, American Institute : 



** Dear Sir — Believing that the usefulness of the Department of 

 Agriculture, and its proficiency in the prosecution of its appro- 

 priate work must depend, in a great degree, upon its relations with 

 agricultural organizations, I desire, in assuming the duties of my 

 official position, to invite your cooperation, to claim your counsel, 

 and to tender to you my hearty S3'mpathy in your local enterprises, 

 and any practical help toward their successful development. It is 

 believed that such unity can be promoted by harmony of feeling 

 and action between this Department and the State societies, as 

 between those organizations and county societies and town clubs. 



