Fig. I. Byzantine Border of Vine and Leaves Composed of Relief Tiles in Silhouette Set in Dark Cement. 
Colors: Brown, Reddish Buff and Green 
Economical Ways of Using Cement 
with Decorative Effect 
By E. a. TREGO 
P ROBABLY few people have a clear conception 
of the tremendous growth of the Portland 
cement industry in the Elnited States during 
the past decade. This is due to the utility and 
economy of cement as a structural material when used 
in the form of concrete. In 1890 America produced 
less than one million barrels of Portland cement. 
In 1907 nearly fifty million barrels were produced. 
A few years ago any one of the recent great engineer¬ 
ing enterprises of New York City, the subways for 
example, would have consumed the entire annual 
supply. Last year the output would have supplied 
a half barrel to every inhabitant of the United States 
with enough left to build a four foot concrete pave¬ 
ment around the earth. 
It is in the form of concrete that cement has entered 
into practically every type of construction from pave¬ 
ments to gigantic bridges, dams and other conspicu¬ 
ous engineering triumphs. It is now used in every 
city, town and hamlet and thousands of barrels are 
consumed annually in farming communities. With¬ 
out the use of concrete many important engineering 
achievements, especially in the domain of hydraulic 
engineering, would have been impossible. 
Concrete, as commonly made, is a plastic mass 
composed of Portland cement, sand and stone, or 
Portland cement and gravel. A standard mix is 
one part cement, three parts sand and five parts 
crushed stone. The sand, according to standard 
specifications, should be clean and sharp and the 
stone may run from a quarter-inch to half-inch in 
size or even larger. The mass should be thoroughly 
wet to make a dense concrete and it should be well 
tamped or puddled when placed in the moulds or 
forms. A well-made column of reinforced concrete 
156 
ten feet high and two feet square would support many 
tons. 
One barrel of cement mixed with sand and stone 
in the proportions given will make about twenty- 
three cubic feet of concrete. To make a “wet” or 
dense concrete the cement and sand are first thor¬ 
oughly mixed in a dry state. Water is then added 
until the mass is of the consistency of thick cream. 
The stone is then wet and the whole mass thoroughly 
mixed. Thus each grain of sand becomes coated 
with cement and the stone in turn becomes thoroughly 
coated with the mortar composed of the cement and 
sand. Such a mixture when thoroughly worked and 
tamped makes a dense concrete. 
In this country and abroad concrete is rapidly sup¬ 
planting stone and terra-cotta in a field hitherto 
occupied exclusively by these materials. We refer to 
structural work of both ornamental and useful 
character, designed for lawns and gardens. This 
is chiefly due to the great economy of concrete. 
Stone and marble are, to a majority of people, pro¬ 
hibitive in cost when worked out by hand. Terra¬ 
cotta designs may be easily and cheaply duplicated 
as to the raw clay, but there follows the expensive 
process of burning in kilns. As opposed to this, 
concrete may be cast in moulds time and again at 
trifling expense. It possesses all the virtues of its 
competitors, when in good hands, is far more durable 
and, as stated, vastly more economical. Hence, the 
wide demand for it in the form of garden furniture, 
fountains, arbors and pergolas. 
But notwithstanding its popularity in this field, the 
development of the industry has, in some instances, 
been attended with most deplorable results, when 
judged from the artistic standpoint. It would be 
