906 Transactions of the American Institute. 



rine constructions there is no material which can take its place, be it 

 for concrete, or in blocks, or as mortar in brickwork. For bridges, 

 cisterns, aqueducts and sewers, it is in great demand. For flagging 

 and sidewalks its use is daily extending. As it is impervious to water 

 and can be laid in a continuous surface, no heaving or disturbance can 

 result from frost in the ground, provided it be properly drained. 

 There is no material better adapted for the construction of cheap and 

 elegant dwellings. Those who visited the Paris exhibition of 1867 

 will perhaps remember the row of dwellings near the Bois de Vin- 

 cennes, which are models of convenience for families, as well as of 

 cheapness in construction. They were executed after the ex-emperor's 

 designs, and present one monolithic structure of beton. 



Foundations for machinery in beton are cheaper than stone masonry, 

 and quite as good. For engines, a cubic yard of foundation corres- 

 ponds to one horse-power, and thirty horse-power would require, 

 therefore, thirty cubic yards. Water-pipes of the same material are 

 made at half the expense of those of iron, and they cost little for 

 repairs. 



Furthermore, it is especially serviceable for floors in damp or wet 

 cellars in private dwellings and warehouses, and for floors in granaries, 

 sugar refineries, breweries and malt-houses, and it is also being used 

 for gasometer reservoirs and reservoirs for petroleum. And, as an 

 instance of the more recent applications of the cement in question, 

 I mention the coating of the inside of iron ships. 



For ornamental work, Portland cement has not yet been super- 

 seded, and its use for this purpose is daily extending. Delicate tra- 

 ceries, sharply defined alto and lasso relievos, can all be most 

 artistically executed in this stone. Some work of this kind can be 

 seen in the Gilsey House ; and, we will add, that the front of the 

 new Lyceum Theater, in this city, is being executed, after elaborate 

 designs, in cement stone. To conclude with a remark of the Scien- 

 tific American, I may say that, u with anything so greatly in demand 

 as good building material, the slightest advance becomes of immense 

 importance, and cannot fail to benefit the entire civilized world." 



Adjourned. 



