1877.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
297 
duced, which we call dry slaked lime. When the 
water is in excess, the.surplus is mixed mechanic¬ 
ally with the lime, and forms what is called the 
milk of lime, or cream of lime,, according to its 
consistence; it is this pasty substance which we 
mix with sand, to form building mortar. But when 
we have clay mixed in a certain proportion, either 
naturally or artificially, with the lime-stone, and 
this stone or mixture is burned in the same manner 
as ordinary lime-stone, we get what is known as 
hydraulic lime, because it combines with a much 
larger proportion of water than pure lime, and in 
combining with it, instead of falling to powder, 
like ordinary lime, it hardens into stone again. 
This hardening takes place even under water; the 
hydraulic lime combines with just so much water 
as is required to “set” or harden, and leaves the 
remainder. It possesses this property, also, when 
mixed with sand in proper proportions, and when 
so mixed, the cement will adhere very firmly to the 
surface of any stone to which it may be applied. 
This property is made available in constructing 
works of concrete, which consists of broken stone 
Fig. 1.— BOX FOR MIXING CEMENT. 
mixed with such a quantity of cement, that, when 
it is packed closely, the surfaces of all the pieces 
of stone are brought into contact with the cement, 
and the spaces between the fragments of stone are 
filled with it. That there may be no more cement 
used than is actually needed, the mixture is ram¬ 
med down solidly, until the fragments of stone are 
brought into close contact with each other. The 
Fig. 3.— SIDE OF CEMENT BOX. 
composition of the impure or hydraulic lime-stone, 
which behaves in this useful manner, is, in the ease 
of some of the Kingston stone mentioned, as fol¬ 
lows : Carbonic acid, 34.30 per cent; lime, 25.50 ; 
magnesia, 13.35 ; silica, 15.37 ; alumina (clay), 9.13; 
and peroxyd of iron (which is useless or worse), 
2.25. On account of this difference in character be -1 
tween lime and cement, a different treatment is 
necessary for each, and each is put to different 
uses. The cement makes a much harder and more 
solid combination with sand, and is therefore chosen 
Fig. 3.— END OP CEMENT BOX. 
when great strength is required. Its rapid setting, 
when mixed with water, also requires that it be 
used as soon as it is mixed, and renders a rapid 
mixture necessary. The cement and sand should, 
therefore, be mixed together dry, and very thor¬ 
oughly. Four parts of sand to one part of cement 
are the proportions generally used. These may be 
Fig. 4. — -MANNER OP FASTENING BOX. 
mingled in a box of suitable character, and the 
mass is so spread as to have a hollow in the center, 
into which water is poured. The sides of the heap 
are gradually worked into the water, with a com¬ 
mon hoe, in such a way as to prevent the water 
from spreading about, and as it is absorbed, more 
water is poured in, until the whole is brought to a 
thin semi-liquid condition. A box, very suitable 
for this operation, is shown at figure 1. This is 
made of pieces of plank, prepared as follows : The 
side pieces are shown at figure 2; the end pieces at 
figure 3, and the bottom piece at figure 4. The end 
pieces are made with tenons, which fit in mortices 
in the side pieces, as shown in the engraving, and 
Fig. 5.— MACHINE FOR MIXING CEMENT, 
the frame thus made is held together by keys 
driven into the holes seen in the tenons. The bot¬ 
tom planks are fastened together with cleats,, so 
placed as to receive the frame and fit snugly. Iron 
bolts are put through holes in the cleats, as shown 
in figure 4, and through the holes in figure 2, and 
by means of nuts with washers under them, the 
whole box is brought firmly together. Such a box, 
after having been used for this purpose, will be 
found very useful for mixing feed in the bam, or 
for many other purposes, and may, therefore, be 
well made at the first. When the mortar is mixed, 
the broken stone may be thrown into it, beginning 
at one side, and the whole is worked up thoroughly 
with the hoe, so that every piece of stone is coated 
j with the cement. A machine, that is easily made, 
may be used for this mixing, and is also very use¬ 
ful for mixing ordinary mortar for building or 
plastering. It is shown at figure 5. It consists of 
a box set upon feet, with a smaller box attached at 
the rear end, having an opening at the bottom where 
the mortar is seen escaping, and a shaft, having 
broad, flat arms on it, placed at a somewhat acute 
angle with the line of the shaft, so that they will 
operate as a screw to force the mass along the spout 
and out of it at the opening. A crank handle is 
fitted to this shaft, and if a fly-wheel can be bor¬ 
rowed from a feed-cutter, or a com-sheller, and 
attached to the shaft as shown, so much the better. 
The materials to be mixed are thrown into the box, 
and by turning the handle, the whole will be thor¬ 
oughly incorporated with great rapidity and ease. 
How to Use Sea-Weed. 
Complaints are frequently made by those farmers 
along the coast, who are just beginning to use sea¬ 
weed, that it will not rot. This is probably true of 
dry eel-grass as it is sometimes used. We have 
known it to be sometimes plowed into a rather dry, 
sandy soil, and remain for a year without much 
change. But even this dry sea-weed can be utilized 
and made to help the manure heap in several ways. 
In the absence of straw or sawdust, it makes a fair 
bedding for the stables and sty. We have used it 
constantly for the last five years in the horse stable, 
and where rye straw is worth fifteen dollars a ton, 
and sea-weed can be had for the carting or scowing, 
it is good economy to make bedding of sea-weed. 
It takes more of it than of straw to keep the horses 
clean, but it serves the same purpose, and the 
larger addition to the manure heap is an advantage. 
It becomes saturated with urine and manure, and is 
reduced very fine in the fermentation of the manure 
heap. It is worked up quite as effectually in the 
pig sty. A very large and profitable addition may 
be made to the compost heap by either of these 
processes, when there are good facilities for gather¬ 
ing the dry eel-grass. But most shore farmers pre¬ 
fer to gather this and other sea-weeds in the green 
or wet state) in a mixed mass, as they are thrown up 
by the storms and tides upon the shores. In many 
localities the coves and tidal streams are raked, and 
the gathered weed and mud is scowed to some con¬ 
venient landing-place, and then carted to the farm, 
sometimes to a distance of six or eight miles.. It 
goes into the barn-yard or sties, and is mixed with 
other manures, and readily ferments. Sometimes 
this material, gathered in the summer and fall, is 
carted directly to the field where it is to be used, 
and is composted with headlands or peat. The 
sea wrack, gathered later, and made up principally 
of kelp, rock-weed, and the finer algoe, is often 
spread directly upon the land as a top-dressing, or 
to be plowed in. These weeds are rich in nitrogen, 
decay rapidly, and make excellent manure. Capital 
and labor spent in gathering this harvest of the sea, 
are well invested. Connecticut. 
A Fence-Post Axe. 
We give herewith an illustration of an axe made 
expressly for cutting holes in fence posts for re¬ 
ceiving the ends of rails in making post and rail 
fence. The blade is of exactly the same width as 
the hole to be cut in the post, so that the hole is 
cut very easily, and if used with sufficient skill, it 
is made, so smooth that it needs, no trimming'. 
These axes are made by some of the manufacturers, 
AXE FOE CUTTING HOLES IN POSTS. 
but where they are not kept for sale, they are very 
easily made by a blacksmith from a piece of tire iron 
doubled, and into which a steel blade can be welded. 
Draining Cellar Walls—Prevention of 
Dampness in Cellars. 
Wet cellars are very disagreeable and unhealth¬ 
ful, and unfortunately far 
from uncommon. They 
are frequently caused by 
permitting the drip 
the eaves to fall upon the 
ground, where, for want 
of a gutter to carry it 
away, or other sufficient 
drainage, the water satu¬ 
rates the -ground, and 
soaks through the cellar 
wall. But, from whatever 
cause the dampness oc¬ 
curs, it should be removed 
as completely as possible. 
A house should never be 
built upon a . site from 
which there can., be no 
drainage, and if this pre¬ 
caution hasbeen observed, - 
,, „ ' , , ’ Fig. 1, —CELLAR WALL. 
the cellar. may be made 
either of the methods here 
illustrated. At fig. 1 is 
shown a method in which 
a drain is made beneath 
a brick wall, and the 
space next to the wall, 
upon the outside, is filled 
with small stones. The 
earth is then not in con¬ 
tact with the wall, and 
all moisture falls directly 
downwards through the 
layer of stones, and 
reaches the drain under 
the wall. It will be no¬ 
ticed that the stone out¬ 
side is carried lower than 
the cellar floor, the wall is 
therefore always dry. At 
fig. 2 a different method 
is shown. Here is a stone 
beneath it. This is 
a passage-way is left in the stone 
that may be in the soil. This 
