170 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



November, 1909 



quite late in fall if they are protected. Just 

 lay the tub over on its side and throw an old 

 blanket over the plant. If you are careful 

 to save all the old coverings from year to 

 year, you won't have to buy very much, and 

 the old rags that you sell to the junkman for 

 a mere song would be ten times more valuable 

 in the garden. After the hard frost has 

 killed the plants everything should then 

 be dried thoroughly, folded and put away. 

 Never put anything away wet, and do not 

 store your covering material in damp places 

 as it soon rots. I have some burlap which 

 has done service for six or seven years, and 

 it is perfect yet. 



Another excellent protecting material is 

 straw mats; they are very inexpensive and 



Burlap spread over beans ■will lengthen their season 

 some weeks 



if properly cared for will last a long time. 

 Any one can make these. See The Garden 

 Magazine for February, 1906. A still 

 cheaper but good, clean serviceable mat 

 can be made from paper. Take two 

 pieces of heavy wrapping paper, or 

 builders' lining paper is better still, and 

 sew them together, using salt hay or sea 

 weed as a filler. 



For all low-growing vegetables, such as 

 lettuce, endive, etc., salt hay or leaves are 

 useful; but in all cases the protection should 

 be removed in the morning and applied 

 only on cold nights. 



If a plant gets nipped with frost, spray with 

 very cold water before the sun strikes it and 

 keep shaded. 



Concrete For the Garden— By Herbert e. Angeil, & 



GARDEN FURNITURE AND GREENHOUSES THAT WILL LAST ALMOST FOREVER AND WHICH MAY BE MADE AT HOME 

 FOR VERY LITTLE EXPENSE — GREAT OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE INGENIOUSLY MINDED TO WORK OUT ORIGINAL IDEAS 



' I ""HERE is no reason why the amateur 

 *- should not be successful in concrete 

 work around the garden, and many useful 

 things may be made that are practically 

 indestructible. All that is necessary, besides 

 a little ingenuity, is a clear understanding 

 of the underlying principals of concrete 

 construction. 



Two points at which almost all amateurs, 

 and even some professionals, meet with 

 trouble are these: the proportion of the 

 cement to the aggregate; and the question 

 of reinforcement. 



The following facts and figures are based 

 upon the experience of Mr. W. A. Wight, 

 an amateur in New Jersey, upon whose place 

 the accompanying photographs were taken. 



MIXING CONCRETE 



The first principle in mixing is this: the 

 finer the aggregate the higher must be the 

 proportion of cement. The reason for 

 this is easily understood. 



Cement has but little tensile strength. Its 

 function in concrete is to bind the units of the 

 aggregate together. Concrete, to be strong 

 and water-tight, must be as nearly solid as 

 possible. In using a fine aggregate such 

 as sand it is necessary to use an equal 

 amount of cement to fill the interstice. This 

 is clearly proven by 

 the fact that a cubic 

 yard of sand and 

 a cubic yard of dry 

 cement can be mixed 

 without increasing 

 the bulk to any 

 marked degree. 



Fine sand should 

 therefore be avoided 

 for ordinary use as it 

 not only requires a 

 greater amount of ce- 

 ment, increasing the 

 expense, but it lacks 

 the strength given by 

 coarse aggregates. 



For use on floors and walks, however, 

 a concrete smoothing finish made of equal 

 parts of fine sand and cement will wear 

 longer than that made of larger material. 



The following table based upon long 

 experience will be found reliable. The 

 figures are based upon the use of the very 

 highest grade of Portland cement which will 

 always be found the cheapest, as a greater 

 percentage of low grade cement would have 

 to be used: 



Fine sand, one part to one part of cement. 



Clean, sharp, rather coarse sand, two and one- 

 half to four parts to one part of cement. 



Sharp sand and broken stone(|-in. size), two parts 

 sand to four parts aggregate to one part cement. 



Wherever the work will allow, the use of 

 sharp sand and broken stone small enough 

 to pass through a one-inch ring will be 

 found most durable and least expensive. 



REINFORCING 



The purpose of reinforcing is to give 

 strength to the structure. 



Concrete in itself has but little tensile 

 strength beyond what is necessary to carry 

 its own weight. 



For this reason the reinforcing agent 

 must be strong in itself. 



Many amateur writers on this subject 





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All kinds of garden accessories can be made of concrete to" fit the individual requirements. This hitching 

 post and landing block, as well as the walk, are made of concrete 



suggest the use of "chicken wire" for the 

 purpose, but this is almost useless where 

 any strain is expected. The reinforcing 

 should be strong enough in itself to bear 

 whatever strain is to be brought upon the 

 finished concrete structure. 



The qualities necessary in the reinforcing 

 agent are therefore rigidity and strength. 

 Fabric, in which one wire is wound about 

 another, is not good as it is too elastic, and 

 twisted or woven cables are undesirable 

 for the same reason. < 



Galvanized wire not smaller than No. 12 

 should be used, and in the case of posts or 

 horizontal girders or supports No. 3 guy 

 wire, such as a telegraph company uses 

 to guy its poles, or quarter-inch steel rods, 

 will give the greatest strength^ 



Almost every amateur under-estimates 

 the importance of reinforcing. As a general 

 rule it increases the strength of concrete 

 structures from sixfold to tenfold. There 

 are several wire fabrics on the market that 

 are made expressly for this purpose and 

 there is little excuse for trying to substitute 

 unsuitable material. 



CONSISTENCY 



It is a hard matter to tell just what pro- 

 portion of water is necessary in mixing 

 concrete. 



A safe rule to go 

 by, however, is this: 

 The mixture should 

 be just wet enough 

 so that, under ram- 

 ming, a thin skim of 

 water will appear 

 upon the surface. 



Where concrete is 

 to be exposed to the 

 action of water there 

 should be a greater 

 proportion of water 

 in its composition, as 

 concrete that is 

 mixed too dry is 



