330 
THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN 
CONCRETE DRAIN TILE 
T Ill^] iiLir.seryman often finds it difficult to pro¬ 
cure drain tile which will meet his needs. 
Tlie ordinary clay tile has, in a majority 
of eas(‘s, to he shipped from some distant point, 
with consequent loss due to transportation charges 
and hreakage. To overcome this difficulty ce¬ 
ment-concrete tile are now being made where used. The 
ow ner of land is often fortunate enough to have an ample 
supply of sand and gravel, either on his own land or 
nearby. These tw o comprise the bulk of the materials 
used in the manufacture of concrete tile. For the smal¬ 
ler sizes it is not necessary to have gravel, as only Port¬ 
land cement and sand are used. 
.\ Portland cement of any standard brand will be suit¬ 
able. The sand should he clean and coarse, wdth the 
})articles w ell graded from fine up to % indi in size. If 
gravel is used for very large pipes, it should be clean and 
also well graded in size, the pebbles running from % 
they can he placed outdoors until used. In this w ay the 
required number will he ready for laying by the time the 
frost is out of the ground. 
Mixing the Concrete 
The first requisite for the proper mixing of concrete is 
a well-made mixing board or platform. This platform 
should be made of boards carefully matched, in order 
that good tight joints will result. This will prevent any 
waste of cement and water from leaking through. A mix¬ 
ing platform 10 feet square will be large enough for all 
ordinary purposes. It is w^ell to nail around the outside 
of the board a strip 1 inch in height, w Inch will prevent 
the concrete from wmrking over the edges. The tools 
necessary for mixing are generally at hand on all farms. 
They consist of shovels, rakes and hoes, and one or two 
water buckets. It is convenient to construct a bottom¬ 
less measuring box for measuring the sand and gravel. 
The size of this box is determined by the proportions to 
Cement Tile Ready for Laying 
inch to % inch in diameter. When only cement and 
sand are used the concrete should be mixed in the pro- 
])ortion of 1 part Portland cement to 21/^ or 3 parts sand, 
measuring these materials by volume. For measuring 
]mrposes it is safe to assume that 1 hag of cement is one 
cubic foot. In very large sizes of pipe where gravel can 
be used, the concrete should he mixed in the proportion 
of 1 ])art Portland cement to 2 parts sand to 4 parts 
gravel. For most farmers a simjile handmold for mak¬ 
ing pipe w ill be sufficient. These hand-molds are inex- 
])ensive and turn out pipe (piite rapidly when properly 
o|)erated. The molds consist of twm cylinders of sheet 
iron, one set wdthin the other. The inside cylinder is 
collajisible and the outside cylinder can be removed in 
sections. When hand-molds are used it is good prac¬ 
tice to make up the tile during the w inter, doing the mix¬ 
ing and placing of the concrete indoors, where there will 
he no danger of freezing. After the tile have become 
well hardened, say in alDout tw^o weeks or one month, 
be used. For a mixture of 1 part cement to 3 parts 
sand, the measuring box should contain 3 cubic feet. 
The sand and cement should be thoroughly mixed in the 
dry state, so that no streakiness or unevenness of color 
can be seen. When this is accomplished the w^ater 
should be added, taking care that too much is not applied 
at first. The mixture should then be turned and mixed 
until a paste of even consistency results. For use in tile 
wmrk the concrete should not be too wet. It should be 
wdiat is called a dry mix. This dry mix is used so that 
the fresh concrete will hold its shape wdien the molds are 
removed. 
Making the Pipe 
before starting to mix the concrete the molds should 
be set in jilace on a level and solidly supported board 
platform. In setting uj) the molds the directions con¬ 
tained in the printed matte'r accompanying them should 
be followed. The surfaces of the molds which come in 
contact with the concrete should be w ell oiled with a 
