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taneously with the United States Land and Irrigation Exposition 
and the International Live Stock Show. Tliese three big events 
offer unusual opportunities for communities to make known 
their advantages to hundreds of thousands of prospective farmers 
and settlers, and that interested States might make the most of 
these opportunities the suggestion was made that their governors 
appoint advisory committees. 
CONCRETE MATERIALS FOR FARM IMPROVEMENT. 
(Forester Correspondence.) 
Washington^ D. C, October 2. — The early settlers, colonists 
and pioneers encountered a trackless forest extending from the 
Atlantic to the prairies, the removal of which was necessary be- 
fore they could create farming land. As the country began to 
be settled demand upon the forests was made for building mate- 
rial. A hundred years^ ago almost all agricultural structures, 
and buildings of all kinds in farming communities, were con- 
structed from lumber procured from nearby forests. Even a 
few years ago the farmer used nothing but lumber for farm 
buildings. The timber was cut from his own land and sawed at 
nearby mills, so that his own trees were converted into his 
troughs, dairy houses, walks, fences, and even his house and 
barn ; hence the high price of lumber, consequent upon the rapid 
decrease in the country's timber supply, was felt last by the 
farmer — though now the demand for a new building material is 
nowhere more keenly felt than on the farm. 
Such a material has been found in concrete, which in some " 
instances has proved superior to lumber, brick, or building stone, 
and is being used for all kinds of farm structures from silos to 
sidewalks, and stables to dwellings. This material, too, like his 
lumber, can generally be largely produced from his own or near- 
by land, as nothing but the cement and metal bars for reinforce- 
ment need be purchased from afar, and much of the work can 
be done by the farmer and with ordinary farm labor under the 
direction of a skilled concrete worker. 
Frequently concrete users have made costly mistakes by not 
informing themselves properly, before starting their work, con- 
cerning the correct methods of making' good concrete. As a 
guide in the selection of the proper materials, especially the sand 
and gravel which form six-sevenths of the solids used in the con- 
crete, the United States Department of Agriculture issued 
Farmers' Bulletin No. 461, containing suggestions which should 
be observed. 
Concrete is manufactured stone formed by mixing cement, 
sand, and stone or gravel (i. e., pebbles) together with water. 
The cement is but a small part of the mixture, and is the product 
of skilled w^orkmen under the supervision of the manufacturer 
