Miscellanies. 383 



7. Asphaltic Mastic, or Cement of Seyssel. — A pamphlet before 

 us, has been published in London, by F. W. Simms, Civil Engineer, 

 (8vo. pp. 27, 1837,) explaining at some length the great importance of 

 the above cement, in the construction of pavements, roofs, floors, hy- 

 draulic structures, and other ^vorks of a similar nature. This ce- 

 ment is prepared from a bituminous limestone, found at Pyrimont, one 

 league north of Seyssel, in the department of L'Ain, on the eastern 

 chain of the Jura mountains. This limestone is inpregnated pretty 

 uniformly by about nine per cent, of bitumen, and for the purposes of 

 the arts is broken down to a fine powder, being previously roasted to 

 drive off any water that might be present. It loses by the roasting 

 about one fortieth of its weight, and becomes so loosely coherent as to 

 be easily forced through a sieve, with meshes one fourth of an inch 

 square. To the calcareous asphalte thus prepared, seven centimes in 

 the hundred are added of bitumen, extracted at the same place from 

 the molasse (silicious gravel and bitumen) which extends from the 

 banks of the river Rhone, to the foot of the Jura, covering the last 

 stratum of the superior calcareous oolite, of which these mountains 

 are composed. This bituminous gravel is broken into egg-shaped 

 pieces, and thrown into boiling water, by which means the bitumen 

 is completely separated, with a yield of about fifteen to eighteen per 

 cent. The bitumen and calcareous asphaltum are thrown together in 

 the above proportions into iron cauldrons, carefully heated, and when 

 liquid, a quantity of clean gravel also heated quite hot, is projected into 

 the mass, and thoroughly incorporated by stirring. When it is rather 

 more fluid than treacle, and begins to simmer, it is fit for use, and may 

 be carried in buckets to the moulds, if the blocks of a pavement are 

 desired ; or if intended for lining walls of stone or brick, forming of 

 roofs, and the like, the small gravel spoken of above, is omitted. 



Its application to all the purposes of architecture where cements are 

 required, in the construction of permanent floors, water tanks, &c., 

 seems to promise the most substantial advantages. Several experi- 

 ments have been made to test its strength as a cement, one or two of 

 which we will cite. Thirty bricks were cemented together with the 

 Asphaltic Mastic* of Seyssel : the whole length was 5 feet 1\ inches, 

 each brick being two inches thick. 



* The following are the retail prices of this material, both in its native and man- 

 ufactured states, as charged by the company in Paris. 



£ s. d. 

 " Asphalte in its native state, per 100 kilograms (about 219 pounds Eng- 

 lish) 1 10 



Foot pavements, &c. &c. per metre superficial (1,196 square yards Eng- 

 lish) * - - " 5 10 



Covering of roofs, per metre superficial / ' ' ' ' 7 6 



