THE 
 
 Masons’, Bricklayers’ and Plasterers’ Guide. 
 
 A BOOK ON THE ART AND SCIENCE OF THE 
 
 MASONS' TRADE. 
 
 Dedicated to the Bricklayers’ and Masons' International Union 
 of America and all Subordinate Unions. 
 
 COMPILED, WRITTEN AND ARRANGED 
 
 By THOMAS C. LYNCH, 
 
 OF ALBANY, N. Y. 
 
 RIGGS PRINTING HOUSE, ALBAN V, N. Y. 
 
TY\ 
 
 V- C \ C S. 
 
 Copyrighted, 1892, by Thomas C. Lynch.- 
 
 THE GETTY CENTER 
 LIBRARY 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 In presenting the Ifason’s Guide to his fellow workman 
 the writer has been actuated to the task from his own ex- 
 perience as a mechanic of a great want that existed among 
 a large body of our workmen of an industrial Guide in the 
 execution of the art and science of the mason’s trade, and 
 properly adapted for the practical wants of the mechanic, 
 many of whom have been forced in their earlier days to 
 enter the hard road of the bread-winner just as their minds 
 began to taste the benefits of culture. And efficient, how- 
 ever, as many have became in the handiwork portion of 
 their craft in after life, it is a fact that many are found 
 uninformed and wholly deficient in the scientific principles 
 and knowledge on which the whole superstructure of their 
 handiwork rest for stability. It cannot but be evident 
 that this condition has been a drawback and an encum- 
 brance to the prosperity of many a competent workman. 
 We believe in the present work that we have succeeded 
 in placing before him such useful and practical information 
 that if properly utilized will add greatly to his prosperity, 
 and which he should possess to be considered a proficient 
 and reliable mechanic. 
 
 We have found as a rule from our own experience as a 
 mechanic, that when the workman has ventured to pass 
 his judgment in regard to the construction and stability 
 of certain kinds of work, pertaining to his art, in the pres- 
 ence of those who consider that they have been particu- 
 larly educated to possess such knowledge, that his opinion, 
 rather than being received with respect by them as being 
 of any reliable authority, was looked upon with rather a 
 contemptuous good humor, and placing the mechanic in 
 rather a ridiculous and humiliating position before those 
 contemplating or erecting an edifice. 
 
IV 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 As a rule works upon construction are generally written 
 in an abstruse and perplexing manner to the practical 
 mind of the mechanic and designed more for those who 
 work with the pencil than for him wholabors with the trowel, 
 and too expensive for him to procure; but we have en- 
 deavored in the present work to overcome that difficulty 
 by presenting each subject treated in a plain and intelligent 
 manner. 
 
 That the mechanic may be bold and confident in express- 
 ing his opinion on any subject treated in this book, we have 
 given subjoined a list of works and authorities that have 
 been consulted, quoted and used in the compilation of this 
 work. They are the best. I have perused them for many 
 years in the State Library in Albany, N. Y., and other- 
 wise; that which I have considered most essential foi him 
 to possess I have embodied in this work: 
 
 American Architect, G wilt’s Encyclopaedia of Aicliitec- 
 ture, Weale’s Civil and Naval Architecture, American 
 Architect and Building News, Ferguson’s Hand Book of 
 Architecture, Downing’s Rural Homes, Chambeis Enc) - 
 clopedia, American Cyclopedia, Encyclopedia of Practical 
 Receipts and Processes, Trautwine’s Engineers Manual, 
 Imperial Journal of the Arts and Sciences, American 
 Mechanical Dictionary, Rudiments of the Art of Building, 
 American Journal of Science and Art, Ure s Dictionary of 
 Arts, Manufactures and Mines, Scientific American, Indus- 
 trial World, Cassell’s Popular Education, Architecture and 
 Building, Native and Foreign Art Journals, Baldwin Steam 
 Heating, Various Papers read before Scientific Societies, 
 Brown’s Book of Secrets. Carpentry and Building: From 
 Wren, Gen. Totton, Mr. Hope, Mr. McAlpine, Mr. Hodg- 
 son, Gen. Gilmore, Mr. Roudelet, Mr. Decournean, Mr. 
 Blackburne, Dr. Alexis A. Julian, Prof. J. C. Draper, Mr. 
 Rawlinson, M. Coignet, Mr. Wilkinson, Mr. Hooke, Mr. 
 Black, Reports of Engineers to Congress, etc. etc- 
 
INDEX, 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Abaciscus, Abutment, Alabaster 1 
 
 Angle-float, Assize, Artificial Stone 2 
 
 Architrave, Architecture 3 
 
 Arch 
 
 Grroined Arches 15 
 
 Dome • . . . 16 
 
 Niche, Skew Arches 17 
 
 Equilibrium of Arches 18 
 
 Drawing, Cutting, Setting Arches 22 
 
 Bond 41 
 
 Brick 40 
 
 Bond Stones, Bastard Stucco 52 
 
 Caisson, Counter-forte 53 
 
 Cements and Lime 60 
 
 Center, Coffer-dam, Cornice.... & 55 
 
 Chimney-piece and Mantle-piece 58 
 
 Cisterns 57 
 
 Coloring Cements 68 
 
 Concrete * 70 
 
 Coursed-rubble, Copings 54 
 
 Coving, Creasing, Cross-springer 54 
 
 Crushing height of Bricks and Stone 56 
 
 Crypt, Conical Arch 54 
 
 Mortars, proportions Sand, Lime, Cement 69 
 
 Mortar for setting Boilers, etc 74 
 
 Dampness 79 
 
 Damp Courses 80 
 
 Dentils, Dwarf- walls 81 
 
 Darby, Diamond Work 81 
 
 Discharging Arch, Dots 81 
 
 Drove, Dry Arch 81 
 
 1 
 
 t 
 
Vi INDEX. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Dead-man, Derrick 81 
 
 Deafening, Dowel-pin 82 
 
 Draft, Drip-stone 82 
 
 Discoloration of Brick Walls 82 
 
 Drains, etc 84 
 
 Encaustic Tile, Entabliture 86 
 
 Excavating .... 86 
 
 Float Stone, Floors for Cellars and Walks 90 
 
 Grout, Hawk 90 
 
 Hair, Grounds 90 
 
 Impost, Incrustation 91 
 
 Jack Arch, Jointer 91 
 
 Level, Lintel, Ledger 91 
 
 Masonry". 91 
 
 Cost of Masonry * 108 
 
 Stone _ 112 
 
 Durability of Building Stone 116 
 
 The Preservation of Building Stone 119 
 
 Mensuration 121 
 
 Plain and Ornamental Brick-work, Foundations, etc 126 
 
 Tuck-pointing 169 
 
 Fire-proof Building 173 
 
 Boiler-setting .174 
 
 Baker’s Ovens 177 
 
 Brick Stack 178 
 
 Retorts, Brick Measurement 181 
 
 Plain ahd Ornamental Plastering 184 
 
 Interior Decoration 191 
 
 Whitewash, Kalsomine and Coloring 203 
 
 Washes, Interior and Exterior. ... * 206 
 
 Terra Cotta 215 
 
 Walls 217 
 
 Beton 221 
 
 Tests for Bricks 222 
 
 Thin Joints 223 
 
 Union of New and Old Work 223 
 
 To Stay-lath Walls 223 
 
 
Masons and Builders’ Guide. 
 
 Abaciscus. — A small square stone, or tessera for a tesse- 
 lated pavement. It is more correctly applied as a square 
 compartment, enclosing a part or entire pattern or design 
 of mosaic pavements. 
 
 Abutment. — A structure that receives the lateral thrust 
 of an arch. The abutment may be a pier or wing wall form- 
 ing a horizontal arch; or the arch maybe continued to a 
 piled or hewn foundation, which is then the abutment. In 
 the construction of abutments great care is required in lay- 
 ing the foundations, the joining of the stones and the filling 
 up or backing, for every portion of the structure has to bear 
 its proportionate' strain. 
 
 Walls and abutments are usually exposed to two forces — 
 their own weight acting in a vertical direction through 
 their centre of gravity, and the pressure occasioned by the 
 extraneous load which they have to sustain; and upon the 
 magnitude and direction of the resultant of their pressures 
 the stability of the structure depends. They may yield or 
 give way in three different ways: namely, the wall or abut- 
 ment may separate into two portions, one sliding or slip- 
 ping upon the other, or it may similarly separate and the 
 upper portion turn over about one or other of its edges; or 
 the material of the wall may be crushed by the pressure 
 exceeding its cohesion. Or, in case the wall or abutment is 
 too strong to be broken or crushed, it may still yield in any 
 one of the above ways by either sliding upon the surface of 
 the ground, or turning over upon one of its lower edges, or 
 from the ground yielding under the pressure. (See Walls.) 
 
 Alabaster. — A species of marble white or colored. 
 Sometimes call Oriental alabaster. A granular, compact, 
 semi-pellucid gypsum which is found in masses, white or 
 colored, and is readily turned into vases and ornaments. 
 When calcined or roasted and powdered, it forms the sub- 
 
2 
 
 stance known by the name of Plaster of Paris , of which the 
 inferior kinds only are manufactured into. 
 
 Angle-float. — A float made to fit any internal angle of 
 the walls of a room. 
 
 Assize.— A layer of stone, or one of the cylindrical blocks 
 in a column. 
 
 Artificial stone. — Many attempts have been made, 
 from time to time, to introduce an artificial stone, but how- 
 ever successful these may have been in so far as the making 
 was concerned, none have been commercially successful, or 
 have withstood the hard tests of our winters throughout the 
 Northern States. But some claim from a process which con- 
 sists in uniting the particles of sand into a solid mass by 
 means of a solution of flints in caustic soda; the mixture of 
 solution and sand is thoroughly incorporated by means of a 
 mill, and is then moulded into any desired form by hand, or 
 specially prepared moulds if the object is much ornamental. 
 But although the mass— in large objects the core may be of 
 broken brick, etc. — is thoroughly solid, hard and dense, the 
 solution (a silicate of soda) is soluble, so that if the mass 
 was exposed to the weather it would be washed out; to 
 render it insoluble the object is dipped into or saturated 
 with a solution of chloride of calcium, by which means the 
 top whole is hardened and rendered impervious to the action 
 of the rain. 
 
 An improved process in this work consists in making a 
 mortar of sand and cement and casting it in wooden and 
 iron molds. The next and new step in the work is to sub- 
 mit the window-sills, caps and other articles thus made to 
 the action of carbonic acid gas in an air-tight chamber. 
 The gas is easily obtained by burning charcoal and passing 
 the products of combustion through water to reduce the 
 temperature, the gas being turned into the chamber for two 
 or three days without intermission. The gas is absolved by 
 the damp mortar, and in time it becomes very hard, and 
 some claim that it will withstand as well as some natural 
 stone. The articles are plunged in water for a short time, 
 and are then ready for use. 
 
8 
 
 Architrave. — A molding around a door or window. 
 
 Architecture.— Or the art of erecting edifices, is as old 
 as civilized man himself; from a dweller in the mound, the 
 cave, the grotto, hut and tent, he has evolved to the posses- 
 sion of the luxuries of a palace. 
 
 The Egyptian style of building had its origin in the cav- 
 ern and mound; the Chinese structure, with its pavilion 
 roofs and pointed minaret, is moulded from the Tartar tent; 
 the Grecian is derived from the wooden cabin; and the 
 Gothic from the bower of trees. 
 
 After mankind learned to build houses, they commenced 
 the erection of temples to their gods, and these they made 
 more splendid than private dwellings. Thus architecture 
 became a fine art, and at last became a universal want to 
 society. All the architecture of ancient times sinks into 
 insignificance when compared with that of Egypt. The 
 obelisks, pyramids, temples, palaces, and other structures 
 of this country, are on the grandest scale, and such as 
 could only have been perfected by a people considerably 
 advanced in refinement. From Egypt, the architectural 
 art spread to Greece, where it passed from the gigantic to 
 the chaste and elegant. Aided, doubtless, by the examples 
 
 Egyptian art, the Greeks gradually improved the style 
 of architecture, and originated those distinctions which are 
 now called the Orders of Architecture. By this phrase is 
 understood certain modes of proportioning and decorating 
 the column and its entablature. The Greeks had three 
 Orders, called the Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian; these were 
 adopted and modified by the Romans,, who also added two 
 others, called the Tuscan and Composite. 
 
 Explanation of terms used in Architecture. — The front or 
 facade of a building, made after the ancient models, or any 
 portion of it, may represent three parts, occupying differ- 
 ent heights; tli pedestal is the lower part, usually support- 
 ing a column; and its place supplied by a stylobate ; the 
 stylobate is either a platform with steps, or a continuous 
 pedestal, supporting a row of columns. The lower part of 
 a finished pedestal is called the plinth ; the middle part is 
 the die , and the upper part the cornice of the pedestal, or 
 
4 
 
 surbase. The column is the middle part, situated upon the 
 pedestal or stylobate. It is commonly detached from the 
 wall, but is sometimes buried in it for half its diameter? 
 and is then said to be engaged. Pilasters are square or flat 
 columns attached to walls. The lower part of a column, 
 when distinct, is called the base ; the middle, or longest 
 part, is the shaft ; and the upper, or ornamental part, the 
 capital. The swell of the column is called the entasis. 
 The height of columns is measured in diameters of the 
 column itself, taken always at the base. The entablature is 
 the horizontal continuous portion which rests upon the top 
 of a row of columns. The lower part of the entablature 
 is called the architrave , or epsitylium. The middle part is 
 the frieze, which, from its usually containing sculpture, 
 was called Zophorus by the ancients. The upper or project- 
 ing part is the cornice. A pediment is the triangular face 
 produced by the extremity of a roof. The middle or flat 
 portion inclosed by the cornice of the pediment is called 
 the tympcinium. Pedestals for statues, erected on the sum- 
 mit and extremities of a pediment, are called acrosteria. 
 An attic is an upper part of a building, terminated at top 
 by a horizontal line instead of a pediment. The different 
 mouldings in architecture are described from their sec- 
 tions, or from the profile which they present when cut 
 across. Of these, the torus is a convex, but its outline is 
 only the quarter of a circle ; the echinus resembles the 
 ovals, but its outline is spiral, not circular ; the scotia is a 
 deep concave moulding; the cavetto is also a concave, and 
 occupying but a quarter of a'circle; the cymatium is an un- 
 dulated moulding, of which the upper part is concave and 
 the lower convex', the ogee , or talon, is an inverted cyma- 
 tium; th q fillet is a small square or flat moulding. 
 
 In architectural measurement, a diameter means the 
 width of a column at the base. A module is half a diam- 
 eter. A minute is a sixtieth part of a diameter. 
 
 I have’nt space to give in this book an extensive expla- 
 nation of the different styles of architecture which should 
 be interesting to every man working at the art of construc- 
 tion; but will make use of some remarks of Mr. Henry 
 
5 
 
 Yan Brunt, in an able essay lately written on Architecture 
 in the West, which I know will be instructive. “No people 
 in the world understands cheap construction and economi- 
 cal methods of building so well, and is so inventive in pro- 
 viding for it. But, unwilling to let it appear what it is, and 
 to let it grow into a legitimate expression of art by natural 
 processes of development, it has been forced to assume 
 forms which do not belong to it, which contradict its proper 
 functions, and which are devised to satisfy false and unset- 
 tled ideas of beauty and fitness. The facility with which 
 wood and galvanized iron may be moulded, painted, and 
 sanded to imitate stone or other nobler materials, makes 
 this baleful process possible, and tempts the builder to 
 mask his honest work with crude travesties of conventional 
 art. It must be admitted that this method of architectural 
 masquerading had its origin in the eastern part of our 
 country ; but there, under the influence of better examples 
 and higher education, it soon fell into disrepute, because, 
 theoretically, it is an offense against fundamental princi- 
 ples of art, so gross that it cannot survive its first touch of 
 intelligent criticism; and, practically, because this architec- 
 ture of pretense cannot stand the test of time. These 
 devices have been invented by practical men to meet practi- 
 cal wants in a practical way. When freed from the mis- 
 leading adornments imposed upon them by ignorance and 
 pretense; from shams of wood, galvanized iron, machine 
 made mouldings, and all other delusive made rubbish of 
 cheap deceit, which have no connection whatever with the 
 structure, these practical devices will develop style. Until 
 these quips and cranks of undisciplined imaginations shall 
 have shabbily descended into their inevitable oblivion, and 
 have been replaced by methods of decoration developed out 
 of the construction according to the spirit of precedents 
 furnished by the best eras of art which remains to us for 
 our delight and instruction, deliberate and permanent 
 architecture will not come into existence. The manner in 
 which these opportunities have been used during the past 
 eight or ten years gives encouragement to the hope so long 
 cherished, that we may at last have an American archi- 
 
6 
 
 tecture, the unforced and natural growth of our independ- 
 ent position in art. The hope that we are entering upon 
 such an era rests mainly upon the fact that the character- 
 istics of the best new work of the West are based, not on 
 the elegant dilettanteism, which is appreciated only by the 
 elect, but by the frank conversion of practical building into 
 architectural building without affectations of mannerisms, 
 thus appealing directly to the common sense of the people, 
 and creating a standard which they may be capable of 
 comprehending. It is based on a sleepless inventiveness in 
 structure; on an honest and vigorous recognition of the 
 part which structure should play in making a building fit- 
 ting and beautiful. It is in making the wisest use of these 
 that the leading architects of Chicago have achieved their 
 characteristic successes. A ten story office and bank build- 
 ing, fire-proof throughout; with swift elevators for passen- 
 gers and freight, a battery of boilers in the deep sub- 
 basement, giving summer heat throughout, and supplying 
 energy for pumps, ventilating fans, and electric djmamos; 
 equipped like a palace with marbles, bronze, and glass; 
 with no superfluous weight of steam beam, fire-clay arch, 
 or terra-cotta partition; no unnecessary mass of masonry 
 or column; the whole structure nicely adjusted to sustain 
 the calculated strains and to’ bear with equal stress upon 
 every pier of the deep foundations, so that no one shall 
 yield more than another as it transfers its accumulated 
 burden to the unstable soil beneath, — such a problem does 
 not call for the same sort of architectural inspiration as 
 the building of a vaulted cathedral in the Middle Ages; but, 
 surely, for no less of courage and science, and, in providing 
 for the safe, swift and harmonious adjustment of every part 
 of its complicated organism, for a far wider range of 
 knowledge. Whether one compares a modern building 
 of this sort with a cathedral of the first class, with one of 
 the imperial baths or villas of Rome, or with the Flavian 
 amphitheatre itself, it must hold equal rank as a production 
 of human genius and energy, not only in the skillful econ- 
 omy of its structure, and its defiance of fire and the other 
 vicissitudes of time, but as a work of fine art developed 
 
7 
 
 among practical considerations which seem fundamentally 
 opposed to expressions of architectural beauty. Indeed, 
 the architect’s most anxious study must be bestowed on the 
 structural part of the problem. If the artistic is one part, 
 the structural is nine parts of his endeavor. The question 
 which must pre-occupy his mind is how he can meet the 
 practical conditions with the greatest economy of material 
 and labor; how he may adjust the dimensions, forms, and 
 connections of every girder, beam, column, pier, and other 
 parts of his structure, so that each shall be adapted to the 
 service which it has to perform, with no superfluity of 
 weight and strength, on the one hand, and so that, on the 
 other, all considerations of stability shall be duly provided 
 for within the limit of safety. His inventive zeal must be 
 constantly on the alert to improve on the known methods, 
 for there are none which are not subject to improvement 
 more or less fundamental. Fire-proof structure, in especial, 
 makes a never-ceasing demand upon his resources. An 
 envelope of fire-clay, porous terra cotta, plastic, or some 
 other material imperVious to fiercest heat, must cover every 
 piece of structural iron or wood. There must be no brute 
 masses of material, such as formed the basis of Roman 
 structure. None of these devices and methods were dreamed 
 of when the old masters of architecture perfected their forms 
 and proportions; so that the decoration or artistic expression 
 of this complicated and, in each case, to a certain extent, 
 unprecedented organism, and the conversion of it into an 
 object of architecture, as contrasted with one of engineer- 
 ing, must demand of the architect such a freedom from 
 academical restraint, such a command of the resources of 
 design, as to make his task at once inspiring and perilous. 
 Under these conditions, error is far easier than success; the 
 grooves of custom, if indolently followed, will, sooner or 
 later, lead him astray from the opportunities of original 
 expression which are lying in wait for his use. The silent 
 growth of the building on the drawing-boards must be at- 
 tended by a constant strain of doubt and anxiety. The 
 spirit of a recognized historical style must be followed, in 
 any case, but these new, practical conditions of construction 
 
and service compel him to various and perplexing degrees 
 of divergence from consecrated types. To meet these diffi- 
 cult emergencies with adequate spirit, he must possess the 
 thorough knowledge of the scholar, the exact training of 
 the engineer, the enthusiastic zeal and inventive courage of 
 an artist, and the prompt decision of the man of business. 
 The stimulus of enterprise and the incitements of emulation 
 are in the air which he breathes. The qualities which I 
 have named have certainly been exhibited in some of the 
 best buildings in the West to a degree and in a manner 
 which distinctly differentiate them from any contemporary 
 work of the Old World, which challenge the best endeavors 
 of the East to emulate them, and are already giving cheer- 
 ing evidence of the establishment of a vigorous architecture 
 characteristic of the West. Architecture has not kept pace 
 with the advance of science and invention during the pres- 
 ent century. This has been one of its gravest reproaches. 
 But an architecture which, like this one of the West, is 
 frankly based upon science and invention, must keep fairly 
 abreast with them, and thus redeem the waning influence 
 of this noblest of the arts. If it can thus be made a living 
 art instead of a studio art, it will not be long before it w r ill 
 be justifying its function as an expression of our civiliza- 
 tion.” The relations of an architect and the mechanic are 
 so intimately connected with the successful construction of 
 a building, and the foregoing remarks that so explicitly ex- 
 plain the qualification that should be had by the former, 
 are such, that his association with an inferior workman in 
 the management of an edifice would be of the most unde- 
 sirable kind; therefore, every mechanic should take a pride 
 in cultivating and enlightening his mind on the scientific 
 principles of construction; and by so doing, he will not 
 leave himself, as is often the case, in the mercy of some 
 picture drawer, whose knowledge of sound and durable con- 
 struction is of the flimsiest and most clerical nature. 
 
 Plans and Drawings . — The various kinds of drawings 
 used in the erection of buildings are generally classed under 
 the name of plans. 
 
 The drawings consist of plans, elevations, sections and 
 
9 
 
 working drawings; they are classed as follows: 1. Block 
 
 plans; showing the mere outlines of the buildings, and their 
 position in relation to the surrounding objects. 2. Excava- 
 tion plans; showing the shape of the trenches to be dug 
 for the foundations, cellars, underground kitchens, etc. 3. 
 Basement plans; showing the foundations and works up to 
 the level of the ground, or as it is called, the ground line. 
 4. Floor plans; including (1) the ground floor plan; (2) the 
 chamber plans, showing the disposition of the different 
 rooms, which are not always arranged as on the ground 
 floor; but, of course, the main walls necessarily cause the 
 general apportionment to be the same; other divisions are 
 accomplished by means of partitions; and (3) the attic plan, 
 showing how the garrets or attics are arranged. 5. Roof 
 plans; showing the manner in which the roofs are disposed, 
 so as to secure the fall required, that rain may at once 
 pass off by the gutters and spouts. Plans resemble the ap- 
 pearance of any object viewed from a height above it. 
 They represent not only the piece of ground occupied, but 
 the space it overhangs as well. Plans, therefore, do not 
 convey any notion as to the appearance of a building, but 
 as to its reality. They do not show how a building looks, 
 but how its different apartments are arranged. Nor are 
 plans associated in the mind with what may have been seen; 
 for, of course, a true view 7 of a roof, such as would be given 
 in a roof plan, could only be obtained from a point above 
 it, looking immediately downwards. In fact, the ground 
 plan of any finished building is, properly speaking, a section 
 through the various walls; the only difference between it 
 and a common section consisting in this: that the common 
 section is taken vertically , whereas the actual section of a 
 building which is exhibited in any ground plan of it, is 
 supposed to be taken horizontally . Thus, if the workman 
 can imagine a house cut through horizontally, immediately 
 on the line of the first floor; that is, on the level of the top 
 of the first flight of stairs; and the whole part above this 
 cut, including the floor, to be removed; a drawing made of 
 the edges of the walls, of the floors, and stairs they include, 
 would be the plan of the ground floor. An elevation plan 
 
10 
 
 is the picture of the front or flank or rear of a building; and 
 if extensive, is accompanied with working drawing that the 
 mechanic may fully carry it out. 
 
 Scales used in Drawings . — The scale to which drawings or 
 plans are constructed are conventional arrangements by 
 which the proportion is maintained between the measure- 
 ment which the drawings gives, and the actual length of the 
 same parts when constructed, should, be. Thus, a part of 
 any building fifteen feet in length could obviously not be 
 drawn full size on paper; but if the length of each actual 
 foot was supposed to be represented by a distance of an 
 inch, a piece of paper a little over fifteen inches in length 
 would allow the line to be drawn; with a margin over, the 
 line on the drawing paper would be fifteen inches in length ; 
 but if the conventional measurement adopted was named 
 in the drawing, it would be known that the line would be 
 representing a line which in actual practice would be fifteen 
 feet in length. The formation of scales, of which the above 
 is the general principle, is a matter comparatively simple, 
 and will easily be understood by the mechanic. 
 
 Detail or Enlarged dr airings . — These are constructed on 
 the above principle, but are designed to give facilities for 
 measuring fractions of an inch, and are designed principally 
 for the mechanic to work from, and are therefore got up in 
 an enlarged or more simplified manner. Plans are always 
 accompanied with written specifications, furnished by the 
 architect or builder, and should specify in a plain and thor- 
 ough manner the work to be done and the quality to be ex- 
 pected from the mechanic, that he may base his estimate 
 upon the same. 
 
 It is a common practice with architects and engineers to 
 name the proportion of the scale on which the drawing is 
 made. The meaning of the fraction is that unity is 
 divided into equal parts expressed by the denominator. 
 Thus, a scale of feet ^ signifies that our standard foot is 
 divided into 48 equal parts, each part representing a foot on 
 paper, the result is i inch to the foot. It also means that 
 the original object, whether a building or piece of machinery, 
 is 48 times larger than the drawing which represents it. If 
 
11 
 
 the scale had been written, yards fa, it would be the same 
 as | inch to represent a yard. The way to arrive at this is 
 as follows : fa of \ 2 - equals \ inch to the foot, fa inches 
 of 3 V equals f inch to the yard. The above method of 
 stating the scale ought to be understood by every mason 
 having anything to do with plans. 
 
 The Color represented in plans is generally that of the 
 material w T hich they represent. Thus— red for brick; pale 
 India ink, for granite; and red sandstone by light red. 
 The lighter woods are represented by Raw Sienna; oak or 
 teak by Vandyke Brown; concrete works are colored with 
 Sepia, with darker markings; clay or earth with Burnt 
 Umber; slate with Indigo and Lake; lead with pure Indigo 
 mixed with India ink; cast iron with Grey or Neutral 
 Tint; and wrought iron with Indigo. Plans that have 
 many tints, the architect generally explains their meaning 
 so that the workman may not go astray. Although views 
 or perspectives are constantly made by the architect, they 
 are intended to show how the building will look when fin- 
 ished; but they are not in any way concerned in construc- 
 tion. 
 
 Arch. — Notwithstanding the great importance of the arch 
 in building, and the changes which its use has introduced, 
 as well as the style and taste of decoration as in construc- 
 tion, the era of its invention, its original form, the name or 
 country of its inventor, are involved in the deepest obscu- 
 rity. The shadowing wings of the cherubim meeting over 
 the ark of tile covenant, and the meeting of the branches 
 of the palm-trees, with carved and gilded representations 
 of which the walls of the temple of Solomon were adorned, 
 have been cited by some authors of warm imaginations, 
 and familiar with the mediaeval structures, as suggesting 
 the idea of a Gothic arch. Yet it is remarkable that in the 
 detailed description of this magnificent fane, no contrivance 
 similar to the arch appears to have been employed in its con- 
 struction. In the immense palaces built by the same prince 
 in Jerusalem, and in the forest of Lebanon (which required 
 thirteen years to complete them), the walls were formed of 
 immensely large stones 12 to 15 feet long, th e covering above 
 
12 
 
 being of cedar beams, upon rows of cedar pillars, In the- 
 account of these buildings we find staircases regularly for- 
 med, but no indications of arches. In the second temple, 
 built by Esdras, the temple itself, as well as the stately 
 cloisters surrounding it, the apertures were of the lintelled 
 kind; and when it was re-edified by Herod, the greatest part 
 of these ambulatories are again described to have been 
 roofed with beams of wood laid across, and resting upon 
 massive stone pillars. The antiquity of the arch, says 
 Wilkinson, is traced to the time of Amunoph I, who reigned 
 1540 B. C. He also thinks it probable that the chambers 
 of the brick Pyramids at Memphis, erected by the successor 
 of the son of Cheops, would prove to be vaulted over with 
 arches, which would carry back the antiquity of the arch 
 to 2020 B. C. In one of the Egyptian pyramids is an arch 
 turned over three stones which formed a stone arched ceil- 
 ing to the Sarcophagus chamber. The two outer stones 
 were set edgeways and inclined inward, having the outer 
 placed upon them, forming an arch. Over these stones 
 was turned a brick arch. This tomb is of the time of 
 Amunopli I., 1540 B. C. 
 
 The stone arch at Saccura is of the time of Psammeticus 
 II., 600 B. C. Arches are found in Chinese bridges of great 
 antiquity and magnitude; and, as before shown, those of 
 Egypt far antedate the periods of Greece or Rome. Arched 
 vaults are found among the ruins of Nineveh. The Greeks 
 did not allow arches to appear in their visible architecture, 
 but used them for covering drains and the like, as in the 
 temple of the Sun at Athens, and that of Apollo at Didymos. 
 It was, however, contrary to their architectural principles 
 to admit any but straight lines into any visible part of a 
 building, except, perhaps, as mere ornamentation, thus sac- 
 rificing in many instances convenience to secure that severe 
 simplicity of outline by which their public structures were 
 characterized. The Romans made very free use of the 
 arch. The Cloaca Maxima, or Great Sewer, of Rome, is 
 the oldest known example of Roman workmanship; it is 
 believed to have been constructed more than five hundred 
 years before the Christian era, and is yet in a perfect state 
 
13 
 
 of preservation, still continuing to perform its original 
 functions. That people used arches also as triumphal mon- 
 uments; the arch of Titus was erected A. D. 80; that of 
 Trajan, A. D. 114; and of Constantine, A. D. 312. The 
 Gothic style, which originated about the ninth century, and 
 soon spread over the whole of Europe, was emphatically 
 the style of arches. Its special characteristics are the clus- 
 tered pillar and the pointed arch. The mediaeval masons 
 treated them with a boldness and freedom unknown to the 
 builders of ancient Rome. Long before the properties of 
 the century had been developed by Hooke, it is more than 
 probable that they were known in practice to the old Free- 
 masons, who built Henry VIII. ’s chapel and other struc- 
 tures of similar and previous date. And now, at the pres- 
 ent time, the arch assumes an importance of the greatest 
 concern to the practical mason, for nowhere is there a struc- 
 ture of any importance being erected but what the arch 
 forms a prominent feature; either of brick, stone or plaster, 
 the construction of which should be intelligently under- 
 stood by the mechanic. 
 
 Arch. In building— A. mechanical arrangement of sep- 
 arate inelastic bodies in the line of a curve, which preserve 
 a given form when resisting pressure. A part of a build- 
 ing suspended over, or from, a given plan, and supported 
 or resisted at its extremities and concave towards the plan. 
 A concave structure raised or turned upon a mould, called 
 its centering, in the form of an arc of a curve, and serving 
 as the inward support of some superstructure. A building 
 open below and closed above, standing by the form of its 
 own curve. A ceiling , composed of stones, which, by act- 
 ing against each other, are supported by the same force by 
 which they would otherwise fall. 
 
 An aperture formed of bricks or stones of a wedge or 
 like tendency, by which it is adapted to resist perpendicu- 
 lar and lateral pressure, so as to support the edifice built 
 over it. An opening in a bridge, through or under which 
 the water and vessels pass. A concave ceiling, or floor, of 
 any material, or on any principal of construction. A tun- 
 nel. An excavation. The term arch , in its widest signifi- 
 
14 
 
 cation, is commonly understood to mean almost anything 
 of a curved shape employed for the purpose of bearing 
 weight or resisting pressure , hut in its more restricted me- 
 chanical sense may be defined as a collection of wedge- 
 shaped bodies, termed voussoirs, or arch stones, of which 
 the first and last at each extremity are sustained by a sup- 
 
 port or abutment, while the intermediate ones are held in 
 position by their mutual pressure and the adhesion of the 
 mortar or cement interposed between them. 
 
 The first, or lowest stones, or courses of stones, that form 
 part of the arch, are called springers; and the line on 
 which they are placed, or from which the arch begins to 
 rise or spring, is the springing line , or reins of the arch. 
 
 The impost , or platband , is the upper end of the pier on 
 which the arch rests. The stones ranged in the curved 
 line are called archstones, or voussoirs; the lower end of 
 the stones form the interior, or curve of the arch, the whole 
 of which concave surface is called the intrados or soffit. 
 The extrados is the upper or opposite convex surface of the 
 archstones. 
 
 The span , or chord of the arch, is measured from the 
 points or lines where the intrados rises from the impost. 
 The rise of the arch, or its versed line, is the distance of 
 the highest point of the intrados above the chord line. 
 
15 
 
 This highest point being by some called the vertex of the 
 arch, sometimes the crown ; but among workmen, the high- 
 est point of the intrados, or vertex, is called the under side 
 of the croton, the crown being the upper end of the stones 
 highest in the arch. 
 
 The upper or centre stone of the series of archstones, or 
 voussoirs, which connects the opposite portions of the arch, 
 and binds them together, is the keystone , or key. 
 
 The haunces, or hauces , are the spaces included between 
 a horizontal line drawn from the vertex of the arch, and a 
 perpendicular touching the springing line of the intrados. 
 Flanks are the spaces included between the extrados, and 
 a horizontal line from the crown of the arch, and a verti- 
 cal line from the springing of the extrados. 
 
 When this space is not built up with solid masonry 
 throughout the breadth of the arch, the walls built upon 
 the voussoirs to the same height are called liauce or flank 
 walls; the outer wall forming the elevation of the arch is 
 the spandrel wall. Sometimes a circle-arch is constructed 
 through the spandrel and haunch walls, which workmen 
 designate an ox-eye , — the extrados prolonged by an arch of 
 a reversed curvature passing over the pier, and connected 
 with a similar prolongation of the opposite arch, is called 
 a strutt arch , or strutt course. In the decoration of arches, 
 the archivolt is a collection of mouldings, on the face of the 
 archstones, concentric with the intrados. The keystone, 
 when ornamented, is sometimes named from its ornament, 
 as a console , 
 
 Arches are also denominated from the similarity of their 
 intrados to the periphery of the sections of various geomet- 
 rical solids, as semi-circular, elliptical, parabolic, cycloidal, 
 catenarian, etc., etc. 
 
 Groined arches. — A groin is the angular curve formed 
 by the intersection of two semi-cylinders or arches. The 
 centerings which are used in forming these arches will guide 
 the mason in this work. The turning a simple arch on a 
 centre only requires care to keep the courses as close as 
 possible, and to use very little mortar on the inner part of 
 the joints. 
 
16 
 
 In executing a brick groin, the difficulty arises from the 
 peculiar mode of making proper bond , at the intersection 
 of the two circles as they gradually rise to the crown, 
 ■where they form an exact point. In the intersection of 
 these angles, the inner rib should be perfectly straight and 
 perpendicular to a diagonal line drawn to the plane; after 
 the centres are set, the application of the brick to the angle 
 will show in what direction it is to be cut. 
 
 As for ^ the sides, they are turned as for common cylin- 
 dric vaults. It is usual for the mason, when laying out the 
 courses for a groin arch, whether of stone or brick, to use 
 a thin rod which will bend over the centre, and from it 
 mark the number of courses, which should be odd in num- 
 ber. From these spaces he may snap chalk lines on the cen- 
 tering bounds, which will guide him in cutting his groin 
 and keeping his courses uniform. 
 
 Arches intersecting a coved ceiling are similar to groins. 
 Such arches are called lunettes , and are generally practiced 
 for semi-circular-headed windows piercing the coves in the 
 ceiling. 
 
 Dome . — The dome is a hemispherical arch, or any other 
 curve, constructed to cover a circular, elliptical, or polygo- 
 nal area. There is an important difference between the 
 dome and the common arch, usullay called a cylindrical, or 
 cylindroidal arch, to distinguish it from the former. The 
 common arch cannot stand at all without its centering, un- 
 less the wffiole curve be complete; and when finished, the 
 crown or upper segment tends to overset the haunches or 
 lower segments. The dome, on the contrary, is perfectly 
 strong, and is a complete arch without its upper segment, 
 thus, as the pressure acts differently, there is less strain 
 upon the haunches and abutments of a dome than on those 
 of a common arch of the same curve. Hence, a sufficient 
 dome may be constructed with much thinner material than 
 would be proper for a common arch of same curvature. 
 However, to construct a stone dome on a large scale, so 
 that it shall resist the effects of time and climate, and last 
 for several centuries without repair, may be considered one 
 of the greatest triumphs of architectural and masonic art. 
 
17 
 
 which circumstance may account for the very few examples 
 in the world that are really satisfactory, either in design, 
 execution or durability. At first sight, it would appear 
 that the dome is a much more difficult piece of work than a 
 plain arch; this is, however, not actually the case in abso- 
 lute practice; for when we examine potters’ kilns, bakers 
 ovens, and glass-house cones— some of the latter of which 
 are of vast extent, erected by ordinary bricklayers, with 
 materials, in many cases, of an inferior nature, as compared 
 with good stone— our wonder ceases, and we naturally come 
 to the conclusion that the fact of curvature in the horizon- 
 tal direction, or the continuous abutment of a circular base- 
 ment, gives considerable extra stability to the superstruc- 
 ture. 
 
 Some authorities have placed the niche relatively with the 
 dome in construction, but the 
 
 Niche is now, for the most part, an ornamental figure in 
 construction, and inconsidered in the light of its former ap- 
 plication. As now used, there are three classes correspond- 
 ing in character with the order or composition in which 
 they are employed. The first agreeing with the Doric, ex- 
 presses strength and simplicity, and should be without dec- 
 oration; the second, following the character of the Ionic, 
 exhibits a moderate enrichment and lighter proportion than 
 the former, and is usually adorned with archivolt and im- 
 post; and the third extreme, delicacy and richness, accord- 
 ing with the Corinthian, and showing usually entablature, 
 pediment, and columns. 
 
 For the bricklayer, the construction of niches is, perhaps, 
 one of his most difficult operations. It is usual for him to 
 form all of his courses standing, and the bricks must thus 
 be reduced very thin at the inner circle, as they cannot ex- 
 tend beyond the thickness of one brick at the crown. 
 
 Skew arches . — In ordinary cases, the plan of an arch is 
 rectangular, the face of the abutments being at right angles 
 to the fronts; but of late years the necessity which has 
 arisen on railway works for carrying communications across 
 each other without regard to the angle of their intersection, 
 2 
 
18 
 
 has led to the construction of oblique or skeiv arches. In an 
 ordinary rectangular arch, each course is parallel to the 
 abutments, and the inclination of any bed joint with the 
 horizon will be the same at every part of it. In a skew 
 arch it is not possible to lay the courses parallel to the abut- 
 ments, for, were this done, the thrust being at right angles 
 to the direction of the courses, a great portion of the arch 
 on each side would have nothing to keep it from falling. 
 In order to bring the thrust into the right direction, the 
 courses must, therefore, be laid as nearly as possible at right 
 angles to the fronts of the arch at an angle with the abut- 
 ments; and it is this which produces the peculiarity of the 
 skeiv arch. The two ends of any course will then be at dif- 
 ferent heights, and the inclination of each bed joint with 
 the horizon will increase from the springing to the crown, 
 causing the beds to be winding surfaces instead of a series 
 of planes, as in a rectangular arch. The variation in the 
 inclination of the bed joints is called the twist of the beds, 
 and leads to many difficult problems in masonry and stone- 
 cutting, which requires considerable skill on the part of 
 the mechanic to execute. The general principles employed 
 in the erection of cylindrical arches and corridors should be 
 followed in the work, but the most extreme care should 
 be exercised in the proper development of the arch stones 
 or brick, which, from their cross direction, require great 
 nicety of adjustment and strict regard to radiation. 
 
 As a general thing, attending the construction of skew 
 arches, bridges, domes, and vaulting, a skilled engineer su- 
 perintends the work, and a mechanic, who understands the 
 general principles of arching, will find but little trouble in 
 getting along. For, practically speaking, we know that 
 this work is now within the domain of civil engineering, 
 and in stone construction, the various parts and geometri- 
 cal curves are, or should be, so shown on the working draw- 
 ings by the engineer that the practical mason, who does un- 
 derstand the sound principles of arching, should have but 
 little difficulty in cutting or setting his stone. 
 
 Equilibrium of arches. — When an arch is in a state of 
 perfect equilibrium, each stone or voussoir is acted upon by 
 
19 
 
 three forces, namely, the weight of itself and the load 
 above it acting in a vertical direction; and the pressure of 
 each of the two contiguous stones acting in directions per- 
 pendicular to their surfaces of mutual contact; then, since 
 their forces must be all in equilibrium, their lines of direc- 
 tion must all intersect in some common point within the 
 stone. 
 
 If we suppose its abutments incapable of yielding, it can 
 only fail in consequence of the crashing of its material, the 
 cohesive power of which is then the limit of the strength 
 of an arch. When, however, an arch is not in a state of 
 equilibrium, it may fail in two ways: in the first case, the 
 stones may slide or slip past each other, and so become dis- 
 placed; and, in the second case, they may yield by turning 
 upon some of the joints, the arch separating into three or 
 four large portions, and turning on the inner and outer 
 edges of certain of the joints. Now, the voussoirs of the 
 arch cannot slide upon each other unless the angle which 
 the line of pressure makes with a perpendicular to the joint 
 is equal to or greater than the limiting angle of resistance 
 for the material of which the arch is composed, which is 
 usually sixty degrees for .stone; and as this is very much 
 greater than the angle which the line of pressure ever makes 
 with the perpendicular to the joint, an arch may be con- 
 sidered in no danger of giving way from the slipping of its 
 voussoirs; to which we may add, that the cohesion of the 
 cement interposed between the stones, is an additional 
 security against the failure of an arch from this cause. 
 The second mode of failure, which is also the most usual, 
 takes place whenever the line of pressure deviates so far 
 from the position of equilibrium as to pass entirely out of 
 the substance of the arch, so as not to cut the joints at all. 
 The more the line of pressure deviates from the center of 
 the joints, the less will be the stability of the arch; but so 
 long as it continues to cut the joints, no motion can take 
 place; the moment, however, that it passes without the 
 joint, the motion will take place, the two voussoirs will 
 turn upon their edges nearest the line of pressure, and the 
 arch will fall. If, however, there be a deficiency of weight 
 
20 
 
 at the crown, then the line of pressure will fall within the 
 intrados and rise above the extrados, the arch separating 
 as in the former case, but now turning about the outer 
 edges, and the inner edges the crown rising and the haun- 
 ches falling in. We see, then, that when we deviate so far 
 from the arch of equilibrium as to cause the line of pressure 
 to approach either the intrados or extrados of the arch, we 
 begin to endanger its stability, actual contact with either 
 being the ultimate limit; and the stability of the arch being 
 greater, as we make the line of pressure approach nearer 
 the center of the joints. When an arch has all its parts in 
 equilibrium, the horizontal strain on every joint is the same, 
 and therefore the perpendicular pressure, tending to crush 
 the keystone of the arch, is equal to the horizontal thrust 
 against its abutment. Therefore, the power of an arch to 
 resist the horizontal strain at the crown is proportionate to 
 the depth of the keystone and to the cohesive power of the 
 material of which the arch is composed. The stability of 
 an arch is, therefore, directly proportional to the depth of 
 its keystone, multiplied by the cohesive power of the mate- 
 rial, and is inversely proportional to its radius of curvature, 
 multiplied by the weight on every foot of its surface. 
 
 So convinced were the Egyptians and Greeks of this prin- 
 ciple in an arch, that they never used any other construc- 
 tive expedient than a perpendicular wall or prop, support- 
 ing a horizontal beam, and half the satisfactory effect of 
 their buildings arises from their adhering to this simple, 
 though expensive, mode of construction. They were per- 
 fectly acquainted with the use of the arch and its proper- 
 ties; even to the present day the Hindoos refuse to use the 
 arch, though it has long been employed in their country by 
 the Mahometans. As they express it, u An arch never 
 sleeps ,” and it is true that by its thrust and pressure it is 
 always tending to tear a building to pieces: and when the 
 smallest damage is done, and surely if it be imperfectly 
 constructed , it hastens the ruin of a building, whereas, if 
 it was perfectly and mechanically built, might last for ages. 
 One of the great principles that ought to be carefully 
 studied in constructing arches is, that the longer the 
 
21 
 
 joints of the voussoirs the greater the strength of the arch 
 will be. 
 
 It is quite evident that the old Gothic architects were well 
 aware of this fact; for in the construction of their vaulted 
 roofs they introduced what are technically called ribs, 
 adopted in many cases both diagonally and at right angles, 
 which materially augment the strength of support required 
 for the spandrills that come between the ribs. 
 
 In designing an arch, two methods of proceeding present 
 themselves; we may either confine the load to the weight of 
 the arch itself, or nearly so, and suit the shape of an arch 
 to a given curve of equilibrium, or we may design the arch 
 as taste or circumstances may dictate, and load it until the 
 line of resistance coincides with the curve thus determined 
 upon. Those arches which differ most from their curves 
 of equal horizontal thrust are semi-circles and semi-ellipses, 
 which have a tendency to descend at their crowns and to 
 rise at their haunches, unless they are well backed up. The 
 depth of the voussoirs in an arch must be sufficient to con- 
 tain the curve of equilibrium under the greatest load to 
 which it can be exposed; and, as the pressure on the arch 
 stones increases from the crown to the springing, their depth 
 should be increased in the same proportion. Each joint of 
 the voussoirs should be at right angles to a tangent to the 
 curve of equilibrium at the point through which it passes. 
 
 To find the depth of keystones for cut stone arches, 
 whether circular or elliptical. — Find the radius which will 
 touch the arch at its soffit. Add together this radius and 
 half the span of the arch. Take the square root of the 
 sum. Divide this square by 4. To the quotient add y 2 ^ of 
 a foot. 
 
 For second class work, this depth may be increased about 
 §-th part; or for brick, or rubble, about jf. Trautwine, 
 C. E. 
 
 The above manner of ascertaining the depth of arch stones 
 will agree with all the present arches that have proven 
 successful in practice. 
 
 To find the radius of an arch , whether the arch be circu- 
 lar or elliptical, square half the span; square the whole rise; 
 
22 
 
 add these squares together; divide the sum by twice the 
 rise. 
 
 Drawing, Cutting and Setting Arches. 
 
 ! Arches are generally divided into the triangular-headed 
 arch, the round-headed, and the pointed arch. 
 
 Of round-headed arches there are four kinds: the semi- 
 circular, the stilted, segmental, and the horse-shoe. The 
 stilted arch is semi-circular, but the sides are carried down- 
 wards in a straight line below the spring of the curve till 
 they rest upon the imposts. In the horse-shoe arch, the 
 sides are also carried down below the center, but follow the 
 same curve. The pointed arch may be divided into two 
 classes, those described from two centers, and those described 
 from four. Of the first class there are three kinds: the 
 equilateral, the lancet, and the obtuse. The equilateral is 
 formed of two segments of circle, of which the radii are 
 equal to the breadth of the arch, and the obtuse shorter, 
 while the lancet is longer. 
 
 Of the complex arches, there is the Ogee and the Tudor. 
 The Tudor arch is described from four centers, two on a 
 level with the spring and two below it. Of foiled arches, 
 there are the round-headed trefoil, and the square-headed 
 trefoil. 
 
 The elliptic arch is not always truly elliptical, but is some- 
 times formed by the combination of the arcs of several 
 circles. 
 
 For the true ellipsis is derived from a diagonal cut through 
 the cone or cylinder; no portion of its curve, strictly speak- 
 ing, is any part of a circle; it cannot, therefore, be drawn 
 correctly either by the compasses or from centres, and it 
 must be remembered by the mason and the plasterer also, 
 that for practical purposes, when describing or working this 
 curve from the centres given, that a little modification in 
 the curve by hand is frequently an artistic improvement, 
 and as the purpose of this book is chiefly of a practical 
 nature, we do not wish to burden its pages with geometri- 
 cal definitions further than what is necessary for practical 
 purposes. 
 
 The semi-circular arch is the Roman Byzantine and Nor- 
 
23 
 
 man arch; the Ogee and horse-shoe are the profile of many 
 Turkish and Moorish domes. 
 
 The pointed and foliated arches are Gothic. Both domes 
 and vaults are found in Roman works, but with the de- 
 cline of Roman power the art of vaulting was lost, and 
 the churches of all Roman Christendom remained with t 
 nothing but timber roofs. 
 
 But among the Greek Christians or Byzantines, it was 
 retained, or else re-invented; but the Greek vaulting con- 
 sisted wholly of spherical surfaces, whilst the Roman con- 
 sisted of cylindrical ones. 
 
 The beds of all wedge-shaped forms, brick or stone, in 
 arches, should converge towards a common center . The 
 joints of all arches should be perpendicular to the surface 
 of the soffit. 
 
 The arches that the mason has to deal with generally 
 in the practical construction of buildings are termed rough, 
 plain and ornamental arches. 
 
 Plain or rough arches are those in which none of the 
 bricks are cut to fit the splay. Hence, the joints which 
 are quite close to each other at the soffit, are wider to- 
 wards the outer curve of the arch, and are generally used 
 as relieving, trimmer, tunnel, vaulting, and all arches where 
 strength is essential, and appearance no particular object. 
 
 In constructing arches of this kind, that is, where the 
 radius of curvature is small, not exceeding four or five 
 feet, the best arrangement is to build two or more four- 
 inch concentric brick arches over each other until the whole 
 necessary thickness is obtained ; each of their successive 
 rings should be built independent, having no connection 
 with the others beyond the cohesion of the mortar in the 
 ring joint. It is quite necessary that each course should 
 be bonded alternately throughout the length of the arch, 
 and the joint should be of a regular thickness. For, if one 
 ring is built with a thin joint, and another with a thick 
 one, the one having the most mortar will shrink, causing 
 a fracture and depriving the arch of much of its power. 
 
 The reason for building an arch composed of several rings, 
 without attempting to bond them together, is plain enoughs 
 
24 
 
 The joints of such an arch diverge so rapidly from the 
 soffit outward, that if it were built otherwise the brick 
 work would not be sufficiently compact, for, at the upper 
 part of the arch, the bricks would be separated to an ex- 
 traordinary degree. 
 
 s -4s the radius of the curvature of an arch increases , the 
 joints diverge less rapidly; therefore, it is objectionable to 
 build small span arches without cutting the brick, or form- 
 ing them of several concentric rings. In arches, however, 
 of greater radius, such as from six to eight feet, they may 
 be built without cutting the brick, in the usual method of 
 
 headers and stretch- 
 ers, or bonded, from 
 one side of the arch 
 to the other. 
 
 All plain arches 
 should be built in 
 the most substantial 
 manner of hard 
 burned brick, the 
 joints tight, and 
 formed of the best 
 mortar. Subjoined 
 figure shows the 
 manner of forming 
 
 a plain or rough archh over a lintel. 
 
 External or Ornamental Brick Arches. 
 
 These consist of all kinds of arches that are cut and 
 brought down to a given gauge, and are built of pressed 
 brick. 
 
 The bricks used in these arches always show their thick- 
 ness or edge in the face of the wall, which thickness gen- 
 erally being the full width of the brick at the eXtrados of 
 the arch, diminishes towards the soffit. 
 
 This splay is termed the sommering of an arch. The 
 bricks used in external arches should be cut and rubbed 
 with great care to the proper splay or wedge-like form 
 necessary, and according to the gauges or regularly meas- 
 
25 
 
 nred dimensions. This is not always done. Bricklayers 
 are generally allowed sufficient time to rub the outside of 
 each arch brick properly, so that their work may have 
 a handsome appearance to the eye, but often slur over all 
 the other parts of the work which are hidden from view. 
 Hence, in order to save time, they are very apt to cut away 
 the inside of the bricks of those arches to such a degree as 
 may even deprive them of their proper wedge-like form 
 everywhere, except at the external surface. 
 
 This neglect produces cracks, and causes the arch to bulge 
 forward. It may even cause one of the bricks of a straight 
 arch to drop down lower than the soffit or bottom of the 
 arch, which defects may be frequently seen over the win- 
 dows of many brick buildings. 
 
 It is well known that all ornamental arches,, generally, 
 are nothing more than mere shells, as far as strength is con- 
 cerned, and support a portion of the wall towards the out- 
 side only. But if properly executed, well cut, rubbed and 
 set, they answer the purpose for which they are designed. 
 It is, therefore, necessary that the mason should understand 
 this part of his trade thoroughly. Subjoined, we place be- 
 fore him the forms of the principal brick arches in use 
 throughout the States; and when he is called upon to con- 
 struct any of these in practice, all that is necessary for him to 
 do is to apply the rules for designing them as laid down here. 
 
 The mason may use them also for cutting and setting his 
 stone, and the plasterer for running his arches. All orna- 
 mental and cut brick arches, to be properly constructed, 
 should be cut and rubbed first before they are placed upon 
 the scaffold. It gives the mason a better opportunity to 
 select his brick or stone; and when everything is ready, the 
 sooner an arch is put in after it has been started the better, 
 for the mortar will bond uniformly throughoutthe arch. 
 
 Every mason should have a pair of compasses, a T square, 
 and a set square, a drawing board and his rule, and prac- 
 tice the drawing of these arches he is often called upon to 
 construct, and thereby become familiar with every one of 
 them, the higher problems connected with the cutting of 
 stone, which in the past belonged to the mason trade, we 
 
26 
 
 know, at the present time in the United States, is executed 
 by the stonecutters; and I trust there are sufficient number 
 of examples given here to answer the requirements of the 
 practical mason, who is often called upon to perform this 
 work. 
 
 To draw and build a semi-circular arch . — Place the point 
 of the compass at the center 0, and with the radius 0 C 
 describe the inner circle which will answer for the soffit; 
 
 Semi-circular Arch. 
 
 then with the same center describe the outer circle accord- 
 ing to the depth of the arch required. The number of 
 courses in a semi-circular arch is determined by finding how 
 many thicknesses of a brick (the kind that is to be used) are 
 required at the extrados or outside of the arch, as well as 
 allowing for the thickness of the joint, which is generally 
 one-tentli or one-eighth of an inch thick for pressed brick, 
 and from these points of division, drawing to the centre of 
 the arch, will determine the splay, and give the rule for 
 rubbing the brick to their proper form. It must be re- 
 membered that all bonded arches must be spaced off into 
 an odd number of courses, and the proper way to do this 
 is to lay out the key brick or course first, divide it in the 
 center of the perpendicular line, from which space down- 
 wards to the springing line of the arch, which number of 
 
27 
 
 spaces or courses should be alike on both sides of the key 
 brick; if of an even number, the key brick, and the brick 
 started at the springing line will be alike, that is, either 
 stretcher or header, depending upon the disposition of the 
 key brick at the soffit of the arch. The soffit line for the 
 brick of the arch is got by placing a set bevel across the 
 space occupied by one course of brick on the soffit lines 
 this is reversed for the brick on the extrados line. 
 
 Segment Arch. 
 
 center line to strike it with. This is taken in the perpen- 
 dicular line below the span, with radius according to the 
 rise required, and this is the point to which all lines must be 
 drawn, both to get the skew back and also size of the course. 
 
 Draw the tangent line 1, 2, bisect it at the point 3, place 
 the set-square at the point 3 at right angles with the line 
 
28 
 
 1, 2, which gives the line 3, 4, the intersection of which, 
 with the perpendicular, gives the center from whence the 
 segmental curve of the arch is drawn, and also the point 
 from which all the joints of the arch must radiate. 
 
 Semi-Circular Arch with a Gothic Head. 
 
 To draw the outside portion of this arch, it is necessary 
 
 to draw the line A. 
 B., bisect it at C., 
 draw a line with the 
 set-square from C., 
 at right angles with 
 A. B. to any point 
 D., and upon this line 
 the center is taken 
 to describe the out- 
 side curve of the arch, according to the haunch required; 
 and the inner ring must be divided in the same manner as 
 the outer ring of the semi-circular arch, but the bevels for 
 the tops must be taken separately. If the depth of the arch 
 be very deep, this inner circle must be so divided that the 
 joint at the outer circle may not be too large. 
 
 The Gothic or Pointed Arch. 
 
 Set out the width 
 line, then with a. for 
 center, and the dis- 
 tance a. b. for radius, 
 describe the arc c. b. ; 
 then with a. e. as 
 radius and with the 
 same center describe 
 the inner arc d. e. ; 
 this forms one side of 
 the arch; then with 
 b. as center, and same 
 radius used for the 
 first half, describes 
 
 of the arch a. b. on the horizontal 
 
 c 
 
29 
 
 the second. It will be observed that this is not the equi- 
 lateral Gothic arch, which arch is shown, however, by the 
 dotted lines within the pointed arch, and is described by 
 using the centre E. and F., and is built as follows according 
 to the pointed Gothic : 
 
 Divide the extrados into courses according to the size of 
 the bricks, and draw the lines to the point a., as shown, 
 taking care in dividing out the courses that half a course 
 shall be on each side of the perpendicular line at c., to 
 answer for key brick. The bevel once set will answer for 
 the whole of this arch, the same as semi-circular. 
 
 The bricklayer should observe with attention the manner 
 in which this arch is keyed, for, in practice, pointed arches 
 are often botched in a ridiculous manner in this respect, 
 simply because the mechanic either did not know how to 
 design it, or was not allowed sufficient time to execute 
 it properly, which only way is, for ornamental pressed 
 brick work, to draw the full size of the arch to be construc- 
 ted first — form your moulds, and cut and rub your brick 
 to them; then, when everything is all right, put the arch in 
 as quick as possible. 
 
 Sometimes the Gothic arch is cut as represented in the 
 following figure, but 
 it is very seldom, on 
 account of the extra 
 work in sofiiting the 
 bricks; for, in this 
 case, each course 
 must be cut to a 
 separate bevel, and 
 the lines for each 
 course must be 
 drawn from t h e 
 center O. I 1 0 
 
 Modified Gothic . — To cut this arch, it is necessary to 
 draw the lines a. b. and b. c. from the springing to the 
 under side of the crown; bisect a. b. and b. c. at d. and e., 
 and from these points of bisection draw the lines to the 
 
30 
 
 points F. F. with the set-square. And upon these lines the 
 points are taken to describe the arch according to the depth 
 required. 
 
 The extrados is then divided into courses and lines drawn 
 to the points F. F. for the wedge-shape of the brick, 
 if the arch is to be cut in the same way as the Gothic 
 arch. But if it is to be keyed in with an upright key, the 
 lines must be drawn to the center 0. The manner of 
 drawing and cutting the moulds of the Modified Gothic 
 applies to any Gothic whether greater or less than the 
 regular equilateral arch. 
 
 Modified Gothic. 
 
 Segment Gothic . — To draw the segment Gothic, lay out 
 the span a. b., and describe the soffit from the perpendicu- 
 lar line according to the rise required as at 0. ; the extrados 
 of the arch is obtained as shown for the modified Gothic. 
 Care should always be taken in laying out the courses of 
 
SI 
 
 this arch that the 
 key may appear 
 as shown in the 
 cut. The wedge- 
 shape form of the 
 brick are obtain- 
 ed from the 
 centers C. C. 
 The soffit and 
 cross joints are 
 obtained from the 
 center 0., but the 
 extrados line of 
 the arch must be 
 cut from the centers C. C., as well the line of skew-back. 
 
 Camber arch . — When the curve of the segmental arch 
 is very flat, the center from which it could be described is 
 very distant from the intrados of the arch, the bricks have 
 their joints converging to points near the arch, and are all, 
 therefore, cut to different forms; the arch is called a cam- 
 ber arch. It will be seen that in a straight arch of this 
 kind no two voussoirs, or bricks, are alike on the same 
 side of the key, but those of the contrary side correspond 
 with each other pair by pair. The ordinary way to de- 
 scribe this arch is to lay out the width of the opening, draw 
 the soffit line with a camber slip (a piece of board £ 
 inch thick and as long as the opening, and triangular in 
 shape, having a rise of •§• inch to the foot toward 
 the center of the opening), bisect the perpendicular line 
 with C. as center, and C. B. as radius; this is the point to 
 which the lines are drawn to get the proper skew back. It 
 is then necessary to measure the bricks to see how they 
 will work. If inches set off li inches on each side of 
 the centre line A., and draw lines to the point C., as shown, 
 this will give the shape of the moulds, of which there 
 ought to be three, made of stiff cardboard, and about 
 eighteen inches in length. If the arch is to be one foot in 
 depth, and in proportion if more or less, then mark them 
 all about three inches from the narrow end. Fix one of 
 
32 
 
 these upon the center line, as shown at A. , so the line above 
 mentioned shall be exactly at the soffit line of the arch, and 
 then trace the other two alternately towards the skew 
 back, keeping each line on the moulds to the soffit curve 
 each time. The bevels must be taken for each course, and 
 marked on the mould ready for working; one bevel will 
 answer for soffit, cross-joint, and top of each course, if it 
 is reversed for the two last named. But sometimes it 
 would be best to leave the tops and cut them when setting 
 the arch, for very often mistakes are made in taking the 
 length of the courses with the template; be sure and have 
 the cross joints in this arch level, and the courses uniform. 
 Plain as this arch appears to be in appearance, it is, how- 
 ever difficult to execute properly in practice; the full size of 
 the arch should be drawn first, and the moulds taken as 
 described, of course, allowance being made for the joint 
 when the cardboard or wood is being cut for the mould. 
 
 Camber A rch. 
 
38 
 
 Segment Camber . — The Segment Camber is somewhat 
 like the Camber arch, and is constructed with much less 
 labor, and looks well in a 
 building. Lay out the 
 height of the arch as re- 
 quired on the perpendicu- 
 lar line, and draw a line 
 
 l 
 
 parallel to the span of the j 
 
 arcli and intersect it with / 
 
 the line of the skew -back j 
 
 drawn from the center. / 
 
 Lay the courses out the / 
 
 same as in the camber, • 1 / 
 
 and it is only necessary to « • 
 
 cut for the beds and the upper line of the arch. 
 
 The Ellipse Gothic is rather more difficult in the work- 
 ing than the generality of Gothic arches, owing to the 
 different striking points. 
 
 To draw this arch, let the distance a. b. be set off equally 
 on each side of the perpendicular line; then divide it into 
 four equal parts by marking the.points c. d., and with d. as 
 center, and the distance d. b. as radius, describe the arc 
 from b. to E., mark the point b. e. equal with B. D., draw 
 the chord F. E. and bisect it at G., from which point draw 
 a line with the set-square to any point 0., and upon this 
 line the center is taken to draw the upper portion of that 
 part of the arch as shown; the soffit curves are obtained in 
 the same way. After the lines A. F. E. B. are drawn, they 
 can be made to answer either for soffit or extrados by strik- 
 ing .the other parts greater or less than those named; but 
 the center will do for either. The moulds for this arch are 
 taken in the same way as those in the camber ; that is, it 
 must be traced over with the moulds so that each course 
 shall be exactly of one size , and the bevels must be taken 
 separately. It is of the greatest importance that the me- 
 chanic should practice drawing this arch until he is thor- 
 oughly acquainted with every part; for ellipse Gothic, or 
 3 
 
34 
 
 Tudor arch, or four centered , vary greatly, and by thor- 
 oughly understanding the principles of the one here de- 
 scribed, he will be better able to reduce or elevate them to 
 suit his requirements. The construction of this arch is 
 slurred over more than any other we are apt to see, the me- 
 chanic forming two moulds to construct each side of the 
 arch, which should never be done when the appearance of 
 the arch is taken into consideration; and where great ex- 
 actness in workmanship is required in ellipse Gothic, or 
 any other form of arch, whether of stone or brick, the 
 mason should set out the full size of the arch in elevation 
 on a drawing, with the joints, soffit and extrados lines 
 marked thereon. Lay the full size of drawing on a thin 
 sheet of zinc, prick through the lines with a fine point into 
 the zinc to the form of the required stones or bricks, and 
 then cut them to their requisite shape, being numbered for 
 their requisite situation in the arch; they can then be ap- 
 
 Ellipse Gothic. 
 
35 
 
 plied to either the stone or brick to be worked, and when 
 they are formed they should be numbered or marked also, 
 and when setting the arch, the above drawing should be at 
 hand, and each course or voussoir placed as correspondingly 
 marked on the drawing. 
 
 Semi-ellipse Arch , which is somewhat like the ellipse 
 Gothic, the difference being in their crowns; but the draw- 
 ing is quite different. In drawing this arch, divide the span 
 into three equal parts, as shown at A., C., D., B. ; then with 
 D. as center and D. B. for radius, describe the arc from B. 
 to E. equal to D. E., and the same on the opposite side to 
 F. ; then withD. for center and the distance D. C. for radius, 
 describe an arc cutting the perpendicular line in G. ; and 
 from this point, with the distance G. F., describe the crown 
 F. E. ; the outer curves are taken from the same centers, 
 only with a greater radius. To get the moulds correctly, 
 that is, for ornamental brick work, where all the brick 
 should be of the same size, this arch must be traced over 
 in the same way as the camber and ellipse Gothic; that 
 is, take the thickness of the brick and set it equally on each 
 side of the center line at H. ; then draw the lines to G. ; 
 this will give the size of the mould very nearly; then if 
 they are worked alternately down to the springing line, it 
 will easily be seen where they want easing. There is on 
 
 Semi ellipse Arch. 
 
36 
 
 doubt but what these arches are stronger in every case when 
 they are built from their centering lines, and is the easiest 
 method; but the appearance is not so good as when the 
 courses in the arch are all of the same size, and for face 
 brick work their stability is sufficient for the amount of 
 weight they have to bear. 
 
 The adjoining mode is probably the closest approximation 
 that can be arrived at in showing the true ellipse by the 
 compasses or from centers, which we know will be useful 
 for the mason to understand. To draw it, erect the perpen- 
 dicular line A. 1. at right angles to the conjugate axis A. B., 
 and make it equal to 0. C. Divide A. I. into two equal 
 parts, and draw the dotted lines 2 C. and 1, 3, describe the 
 arcs Q. R. from the centers 4 and C. Draw the line S. S. 
 until it cuts the continued transverse axis at D., this being 
 the center of the larger curve of the ellipse 4 C. T. Next 
 draw the line 1 D., and where it cuts the conjugate axis at 
 5 is the center of the end curves of the figure. The fore- 
 going is probably the most ingenious mode of drawing the 
 ellipse by the compasses or by centers that has yet been 
 discovered. 
 
 The necessity for taking the face moulds for brick or 
 stone arches constructed from ellipse curve from the full- 
 sized drawing of the arch, arises from the fact that these 
 
 arches are generally 
 crippled at the junc- 
 tion of the small and 
 large curves T., and 
 they should be nicely 
 arranged in this re- 
 spect by the me- 
 chanic; also, that all 
 the face moulds of 
 — — the arch should be 
 exactly alike, especi- 
 ally for ornamental 
 brick work or ma- 
 sonry. And for the 
 plasterer, it lies 
 
37 
 
 within his skill to nicely adjust whatever imperfection 
 there is in the curve in this regard without the use of the 
 instrument called the trammel, that we know has been 
 used to run plaster arches of this description. The most 
 pleasing proportion for the elliptical arch is to make the 
 height equal to one-third of the width, which we have done 
 in the cut. 
 
 0. added to C. E. will be the longer 
 To draw an arch less in height 
 The following plan has been 
 put forward for finding the 
 curves of arches and ribs. The 
 fundamental rule that the 
 curves should spring from the 
 line of the impost has been 
 abandoned by many; one cen- 
 ter was to be taken a litlte 
 above this line, and so on. 
 
 The following rule furnishes a 
 principle which gives the cen- 
 ters of all these curves with 
 perfect certainty and perfect 
 harmony, at the same time 
 furnishing what is further re- 
 quisite, an independent projec- 
 tion for each rib. If the arch 
 to be drawn be less in height 
 than the half width, let A. B. 
 be the half width; B. C. the 
 
 To draw arches 
 whose height is greater 
 than their half width. 
 — For arches whose 
 height is greater than 
 their half width, draw 
 C. F. and B. E. per- 
 pendicular to A. C. ; 
 then E. C. will be the 
 smaller radius; and E. 
 radius H. 
 
 than the half width . — 
 
38 
 
 height; join A. C.; draw lines from B. and A. perpendicular 
 to A. C., and the points E. D. are those required. Then E. C. 
 will be the smaller radius, and E. C. added to A. D. will be 
 the longer radius H. 
 
 Saddles. 
 
 Saddles . — Where two or more arches are set close to- 
 gether, “ saddles” ought to be cut, as shown and not a con- 
 tinual straight joint, for, although this is often done, there 
 is no bond between the two arches. In the same cut is 
 shown the manner in which ornamental Gothic arches are 
 “keyed” when red, black, buff or white brick are used to 
 build them, as well their disposition when tuck pointed for 
 ornamental work, and the straight jointed key where 
 strength is desired instead of ornament. 
 
 Saddles. 
 
 The Wheel Arch, or Bulls-Eye. 
 
 In this arch the outer circle is divided out in such a way 
 that each line shall be in the center of the course; that each 
 of these points shall show a key brick, in the same way as 
 one key is shown in the semi circular arch. 
 
89 
 
 To draw an Ogee arch of one point. — Bisect the span in D., 
 
 draw the center 
 line C. D., describe 
 the arc A. G. ; bi- 
 sect A. G. in E., 
 and through E. 
 from A. draw a 
 line cutting the 
 centre line in H. ; 
 through H. draw 
 F. K. parallel to 
 the springing line, 
 and through E. 
 from D. draw a 
 line cutting F. K. 
 at M., which will be the center for the upper part of the 
 ogee arch. 
 
 The various forms and designs of the arch are of an 
 almost endless description, and as practiced in various 
 countries form a most interesting study for the mechanic; 
 but I trust I have described enough to answer the practical 
 mason and to further his knowledge and examination of 
 higher principles of arching, which are founded on the un- 
 erring laws of geometry and proportion. 
 
 In setting arches, the mason should be sure that the 
 centers are set level and plumb , that his arch brick or stone 
 may rest upon them square / when his brick or stone are 
 properly cut beforehand, he may gauge his courses with 
 them upon the center from the key downwards (never gauge 
 from the skew-back , as this often leads to mistakes in set- 
 ting arches), with the thickness of the brick or stone, and 
 joint at the soffit, as prepared. The soffit of each course 
 should fit the center perfectly; and in order that it should 
 do so, and the courses should come in right at the key, it is 
 necessary to have a radius line, and draw it up to each 
 course as it is set from the gauged points on the center. 
 This will prevent the mason from getting his work too 
 high or too low as he builds towards the crown. If this 
 is not done he is working at random, and often has to make 
 
40 
 
 his brick or stone smaller, or, otherwise, his bed joints 
 thicker when he gets to the key; depriving the arch of its 
 strength, and so causing a settlement when the centers are 
 struck. It should ever be remembered by the mason that, 
 when constructing an arch, its stability does not depend 
 on the cement or mortar between the stones or bricks of 
 which it is built; for the various parts should be so arranged 
 with such accurate skill and geometrical knowledge as to 
 be independent of extraneous aid, and as much mortar 
 should be used only to bed the stone or brick in an arch 
 with a close joint, the size of which should be calculated 
 beforehand when the stability or appearance of the work 
 is taken into consideration, and performing this work at 
 landom, and measuring, as it were, your way up the center 
 to execute it, is wrong, and contrary to the unerring laws 
 of proportion and geometry, on which the stability of all 
 arch construction depends. Every arch should be put in 
 by two masons, and as quick after began as possible, so 
 that the mortar may all set, as near as possible, at the same 
 time. All arches should rise evenly with the face line of 
 the building, and for the camber arch it is often necessary 
 to have two or three lines across its face to be put in prop- 
 erly. In setting cut stone arches (and all fine cut stone 
 work), the delicate mouldings and projections should have 
 the joints left open at the outer edge, so that the pressure 
 may be confined to the solid parts of the stone until all is 
 set and sound; the stone may then be stopped some time 
 previous to being cleaned down. Plugs of slate or hard 
 stone (not iron) may be inserted where required, and set 
 with Portland cement and sand, in order to connect the 
 voussoir stones more firmly together. But in brick arching 
 this should be avoided; all the joints should be properly 
 flushed up, and the arch receive sufficient time for the 
 mortar to bond before the center is removed. When there 
 are a long range of arches, one ought not to be set sepa- 
 rately; but a line drawn the whole length, so that when all 
 are set they shall be perfectly straight one with the other. 
 
 It is well known that the mason has little to do with 
 stone arches more than the setting of them, as the prepara- 
 
41 
 
 tion or cutting of these nowadays is generally done by the 
 stonecutters; but there are many instances where he is 
 called upon to cut them, and by making himself familiar 
 with the rules here laid down, he can make them answer 
 for almost any practical purpose. The plasterer also should 
 understand the principles for striking arches ; and then, 
 when called upon to run plaster arches, he would not find 
 any' difficulty in fixing his centers to do so. There are many 
 rules for describing some of the arches here given, but we 
 know of none that are plainer than those given, and within 
 the comprehension of the average workman. 
 
 A practical method of getting a voussoir of a stone arch. 
 — No difficulty occurs in working a block of stone, of which 
 the faces, beds and joints are to be either vertical or hori- 
 zontal planes, as the several dimensions 
 required can be obtained directly from 
 the plan and elevation. Nor is any 
 dfficulty introduced if some of the sur- 
 faces are cylindrical, as a cylindrical 
 surface can be worked with almost as 
 much facility as a plane; the only dif- 
 ference being that a curved rule is used in one direction and 
 a straight one in the opposite, whilst in the latter case the 
 straight edge alone is used. Subjoined Fig. shows the man- 
 ner of taking the vous soir shape of an arch stone from the 
 plan, when it is spaced off into courses; the courses of all 
 stone arches should be odd in number. 
 
 Bond. — In good brickwork the first thing to be consid- 
 ered is bond. There are, properly speaking, in brickwork, 
 but two sorts of bond; one is called Old English and the 
 other Flemish. 
 
 English bond, so called, as it was the only style used in 
 England up to the time of William III., consists of alter- 
 nate courses of stretchers and headers; and the Flemish 
 bond, introduced by Flemish workmen, who came over with 
 the Flemish king, consists of alternate header and stretcher 
 in the same course. Masons should pay great attention to 
 bond in construction, and pride themselves upon its perfec- 
 
tion. English bond is selected for heavy buildings on ac- 
 count of its superior strength. Mr. Purguson says: “I 
 cannot, of course, deny that its strength might exceed that 
 of Flemish bond if carried out in all its integrity, but this 
 I do affirm, without fear of contradiction, that Flemish 
 bond is equal to every possible and impossible emergency. 
 I defy any architect to point out any one instance of its 
 failure to sustain, without fracture, any superincumbent 
 weight or pressure ever brought to English bond, 
 
 bear upon it. The reason of failure, 
 when any such has taken place, is 
 not the weakness of the style of 
 bond, but the want of bond, by the 
 bricklayers snapping header after Cv , 
 
 header, in order to save a few front bricks, and the con- 
 tractor, to hurry the rise of the wall, has him to put in 
 bats for headers, for five or six courses, and then back up 
 the inside of the wall in a hurry, which should never be 
 done in this style of bond; but, on the contrary, each and 
 every exterior front course should be immediately backed 
 up to admit a lap for the succeeding course. If the courses 
 are laid regularly and fairly— the headers being properly 
 and constantly placed their whole length in the wall — it 
 cannot fail. 
 
 Nevertheless, the old English bond should be used in 
 rough work, inside and outside, or at least a header every 
 thiee or four courses, as it is a little quicker in practice, 
 and all the bats can thereby be used up t And in this there 
 is no failure in regard to strength, as walls never split or 
 separate in the center; these fractures are generally due to 
 the foundation; for a heavy pier will settle more than a 
 light one, and hence it frequently happens that the fracture 
 takes place through the arches of windows or doors; but 
 Flemish bond. for appearance the English bond can 
 
 never have the light appearance of 
 the Flemish ; ” and it is a question 
 with many mechanics whether the 
 absence of headers altogether in the 
 front of a building is any improve- 
 
 c\sr 
 
43 
 
 ment on the Flemish bond when accurately executed; 
 especially front piers of a building, when they are nicely 
 laid out in regard to bond. This bond, as before stated, 
 consists of alternate header and stretcher in the same 
 course. It should be started thus: First a stretcher, then a 
 header and stretcher to the end of piece of wall or pier, 
 always taking care that there be a stretcher at either corner 
 (sometimes this cannot be done in very small piers; the 
 bricklayer will then reverse one of the corners). This first 
 course being run out, start the next course with a header , 
 then a closer (a quarter brick), then a stretcher, etc., till the 
 end of the second course, taking care that hotli courses are 
 started alike, if it possibly can be done. 
 
 In a long pier or wall, if there be any broken bond, i. e. , 
 if in running out your bond you find it does not finish 
 alike at both corners, then start from each comer and work 
 to the centre, so that the broken bond, if there be any, 
 may fall in the middle of the pier. (This should be avoided 
 in first class work.) Sometimes it will require two headers 
 instead of one; if so, let them follow each other all up the 
 wall or pier until its finish; if you do not, it will detract 
 from the entire piece. Sometimes it will require three 
 headers; then you will find that it will require two stretchers 
 in the next course, and so on all up the wall. (This is not 
 considered broken bond.) In some instances it will require 
 a three-quarter, but this should at all times be avoided, if 
 possible. Never, under any circumstances, place a closer in 
 the middle, or any other portion of the wall or pier, except 
 at the angles next to the header. The beauty of brickwork 
 will very much depend upon the bond being perfectly kept, 
 that is, the perfect regularity of the perpendicular joints 
 light up the wall. Stretcher over stretcher should be kept, 
 parallel; so also should the broken bond, if any occur. If 
 this be neglected, as well the neatness required in striking 
 or trimming the joints, the beauty of the whole work is 
 entirely destroyed. The work should be also kept plumb , 
 and level on the face, the bricks being laid square to the 
 line for flush work; but where the joints are to be cut or 
 trimmed, as in close pressed brickwork, it will be an advan- 
 
44 
 
 tage in regard to appearance to roll the brick (as it is called) 
 a trifle, and the work will look all the better from a short 
 distance. There are often piers built in Flemish bond as in 
 No. 3 Fig., which is wrong, and should be as shown in No. 
 4 Fig., as well in No. 5 Fig., and should be as in No. 6 Fig. 
 
 Fig. 3. Fig. 4. Fig. 6. Fig. 6. 
 
 Blind Bond is generally used now by the bricklayer to 
 tie the front course to the wall in pressed brickwork, where 
 it is not desirable that any headers should be seen in the 
 face-work; and, when the binders are good hard burnt 
 brick, and the backing up is properly executed, it appears 
 to answer well enough for ornamental brickwork and fronts 
 of structures; but to construct the exterior face of a wall, 
 with costly hard pressed front brick, laid in a close putty 
 joint, and then to back it up with soft brick, and the joints 
 sometimes one-half inch thick or more, and a binder not 
 put in for a dozen courses, is wrong and careless. 
 
 To form this bond, the face brick is trimmed off at both 
 ends, so that it will admit a binder to set in transversely 
 from the face of the wall, and every layer of these binders 
 should be tied with a header course the whole length of the 
 wall. Those binders should be put in every fifth course, 
 and it is evident that the backing up of this work should 
 be done in the most substantial manner of hard brick laid 
 in a close joint; for the reason that the face work is laid in 
 a fine putty mortar, and the joints consequently close and 
 tight; and if the backing is not the same, the pressure upon 
 the wall will make it settle and draw the wall inward. 
 
45 
 
 Blind Bond. 
 
 Front. 
 
 The bricklayer, in starting this manner of facework, 
 should be careful in laying out his bond that no bats or 
 closers appear in any part of it; and in a first class job the 
 doors and windows are so arranged that such will be the case. 
 
 Bond, in masonry, consists in the placing of the stones 
 in such relative positions that no joint in any course shall 
 be in the same plane with any other joint in the course im- 
 mediately above or below it. This is called breaking joint. 
 Stones placed lengthwise in any work are called stretchers, 
 and those placed in a contrary direction are called headers. 
 When a header extends throughout the whole thickness of 
 a wall it is called a through. It is always advisable, when 
 a heavy load has to be supported on a few points, as in case 
 of a large floor resting on girders, and where a heavy 
 weight is thrown upon piers, to bring the weight as near 
 as possible on the center of the wall, and to distribute it 
 over a large bearing surface, by stone bonding through their 
 whole thickness. 
 
 Perpend-bond signifies that a heading stone is placed 
 through the whole thickness of the wall. 
 
 Binder, that it extends a part of the distance across the 
 wall. 
 
 Heart-bond, in stone work. In this there are no perpend 
 stones, but two headers meet in the middle of the wall, 
 and the joint between them is covered by another header. 
 
46 
 
 Chain-bond is the building into the masonry of an iron 
 bar or heavy scantling. 
 
 Chain bond is also a preventive to the disruption of the 
 foundation and other parts of large buildings, where con- 
 tinuous junction of parts is not always obtainable, when 
 this bond is introduced, which is of a very old practice. 
 This bond is sometimes of timber, but metal, properly pro- 
 tected from oxidation, is preferable on many accounts, if 
 made of iron hooping, laid in long lengths, tarred, sanded 
 and lapped or folded together at all joinings, and bedded in 
 cement. 
 
 Cross-bond. — A block bond in which the joints of the 
 second stretcher-course come in the middle of the first, a 
 course of header and stretcher intervening. 
 
 Block and cross-bond. — Theextrados of the wall is put up 
 in cross-bond; the intrados in block -bond. 
 
 Breast wall. — A wall built against an embankment. The 
 thicknfess and batter of a breast wall depend upon the char- 
 acter and inclination of the strata. It is held to be safe to 
 make the base of the wall not less than one-fourth, and the 
 batter not less than one- sixth of the vertical height of the 
 wall. 
 
 Bricklayers ’ hammer. — A hammer for trimming bricks 
 for caps, lintels, groins, etc., in ornamental brickwork, 
 which is only in its infancy in the United States. Such 
 edifices as exist in Turin, and in other cities in northern 
 Italy, have no parallel on this side of the Atlantic. 
 
 Brick. — A kind of a factitious stone, composed of an ar- 
 gillaceous earth tempered and formed in moulds, dried in 
 the sun, and finally burnt to a proper degree of hardness in 
 a clamp or kiln. There are so many different kinds of 
 bricks manufactured throughout the United States, which 
 have a local value of their own, that it would be almost 
 impossible here to enumerate them; but will treat of the 
 matter in such a way that the mason, who is called upon 
 very often to pass judgment upon brick, may do so in an 
 intelligent manner. 
 
 The importance of selecting proper brick for constructing 
 
47 
 
 buildings is so evident that it needs but the statement of 
 the fact, without argument, to have it generally accepted. 
 It is plain that in the construction of buildings care ought 
 to be taken to have them of such architectural design as 
 to present an agreeable impression to the eye; but as they 
 are intended for the future, as well as for the present, they 
 should be of such materials as to withstand, as far as may 
 be, the destructive effects of time. 
 
 They should be, in fact, both in design and material, rep- 
 resentatives of skill and judgment, that their valuation 
 may not too readily fall before they have served the pur- 
 pose of their construction. 
 
 Even a limited examination of edifices, public and pri- 
 vate, discloses the fact that brick of the same general char- 
 acter vary greatly in serving the same purpose. While 
 some preserve their soundness after years of exposure, 
 others quickly show signs of decay and rapidly crumble, 
 requiring continual repairs to keep them in proper condition. 
 In some buildings cracks and fissures appear in them, the 
 material not being in all cases of sufficient strength to re- 
 sist the superincumbent pressure; in other buildings a 
 similar variety of brick, though subject to equal or greater 
 pressure, remain unimpaired. 
 
 The value of building-brick, therefore, may be briefly ex- 
 pressed as depending upon two causes: 
 
 1st, their physical constitution; and M, their chemical 
 composition. The most important in its results of all ex- 
 periments regarding brick, is the determination of the force 
 required to crush them. The importance of determining 
 the resistance of building material to pressure cannot well 
 be overestimated. It gives accurate information obtaina- 
 ble in no other way. It enables us to make a classification 
 of building materials according to one of their most vital 
 qualities, so that those which are weak need not be placed 
 where strength is required. 
 
 Without this knowledge errors are frequently made, re- 
 sulting in some cases in bricks cracking and splitting, be- 
 fore the building in which they were placed was finished. 
 In other cases the brick, though specially selected for 
 
48 
 
 strength, gives away in the course of a few years, causing 
 sometimes the complete destruction of the edifice and even 
 loss of life. 
 
 The effect, it is evident in both cases, is owing to the in- 
 herent weakness of the brick, it may not at once appear, 
 but is gradually developed in accordance with the law that: 
 “ When any material is strained beyond a certain extent , 
 each time that the pressure is increased to that degree , or if 
 it is continued at that degree, there is a permanent derange- 
 ment of the structure of the material, which will eventually 
 increase to such an extent, that the parts separate The 
 strain which produces this permanent derangement in the 
 structure of materials, varies from one-fourth to three-fifths 
 of that which would directly destroy their cohesion. On 
 account of the many defects of bricks, and the different 
 qualities of which they are composed it is not considered 
 prudent ordinarily to subject a brick to more than one- 
 eighth of its crushing weight. 
 
 Crushing strength of bricks of course varies greatly. A 
 rather soft one wall crush under from 450 to 600 pounds 
 per square inch; or about 30 to 40 tons per square foot; 
 while a first rate machine pressed brick will require about 
 6222 pounds per square inch, or 400 tons per foot. This 
 last is about the crushing limit of the best sand stone; fas 
 much as the best marbles or limestones ; and £ as much as 
 the best granites or roofing slates. But masses of brick- 
 work crush under much smaller loads than single bricks. 
 It must, however, be remembered, that cracking and split- 
 ting usually commence under about one-lialf the crushing 
 loads. To be safe, the load should not exceed £ or T V of the 
 crushing load; and so with stone. Moreover, these experi- 
 ments were made upon low masses; but the strength de- 
 creases with the proportion of the height to the thickness. 
 The pressure at the base of a brick shot-tower, Baltimore, 
 246 feet high, is estimated at 6£ tons per square foot; and 
 a brick chimfiey at Glasgow, Scotland, 486 feet high, at 9 
 tons. Professor Rankin calculates that in heavy gales this 
 is increased to 15 tons on the leeward side. The walls of 
 both are much thicker at bottom than at top. With walls 
 
49 
 
 100 feet high, of uniform thickness, the pressure at base 
 would be 5.4 tons per square foot. With our present im- 
 perfect knowledge on this subject, it cannot be considered 
 safe to expose even first class pressed brickwork in cement , 
 to more than 12 or 15 tons per square foot, or good hand- 
 moulded, to more than two-thirds as much. 
 
 Porosity of bricks; in no respect do bricks differ more 
 than in the mode of the arrangement of their particles, the 
 best hard burnt brick have their particles so closely com- 
 pacted together, as to be free from sensible pores. Others, 
 on the contrary, are imperfectly compacted; they have 
 a porous or cellular structure, they readily absorb water, 
 and this oftentimes proves a cause of disintegration. But 
 all bricks absorb water, even the most homogenous and 
 compact; the difference between them in this respect is only 
 one of degree. 
 
 The effect of freezing and thawing in gradually disinte- 
 grating brick, is well known, and their comparative 
 value depends largely upon the degree of their resistance to 
 these influences. As ordinarily too much time would be 
 taken by submitting them to frosts of numerous winters, 
 experiments have been devised to imitate this operation of 
 nature, hastening the effects by increasing the energy of 
 the action. Subjoined we show the results obtained by Dr. 
 Page with hard and soft brick treated by Brard’s process: 
 
 Hard brick, specific gravity 2.294 
 
 Loss during treatment in grains 1.07 
 
 Soft brick, specific gravity 2.211 
 
 Loss in grains 16.46 
 
 It can be plainly seen that it is unsafe to trust any great 
 amount of weight upon piers, and walls built of soft brick, 
 and under no circumstance should a soft brick be exposed 
 to the effects of freezing and thawing. 
 
 The presence of foreign ingredients in the clay used for 
 bricks is frequently disastrous. Thus when vegetable fibres 
 are present, they are consumed during the burning, leav- 
 ing corresponding cavities, giving the bricks an open por- 
 4 
 
50 
 
 ous structure and rendering it of unequal strength in diff- 
 erent parts. 
 
 The occurrence of fragments of limestone, or other cal- 
 careous matter occasion the destruction of bricks, owing to 
 the caustic lime formation during the burning. 
 
 When the brick becomes moistened the lime slakes and 
 tears it in pieces. The presence of foreign ingredients which 
 are readily soluble, or which are rendered so by exposure is 
 deleterious. They sometimes cause the brick to break 
 down as if it was gradually slaked and always diminish its 
 durability. 
 
 There is oftentimes found, as we can see every day in 
 our cities, patches of a whitish color, that appear upon 
 brickwork, which might at first sight be mistaken for 
 vegetable mould. A close examination reveals the fact, 
 that these patches are composed of a multitude of minute 
 crystals, and that chemically they are composed of the alka- 
 lies or of lime and magnesia. 
 
 These salts are gradually dissolved by the moisture, and 
 with it brought to the surface by capillary attraction. As 
 the moisture is dissipated, the salts are left upon the sur- 
 face. The presence of such substances is not only unfortu- 
 nate as seriously disfiguring the appearance of the building, 
 but further as indicating a porosity and a chemical char- 
 acter in the brick, that is certain to materially diminish the 
 durability of the edifice. An interesting example of the 
 efflorescence described, may be observed upon the walls of 
 the Yassar Female College, Poughkeepsie, N. Y. Two 
 kinds of brick were used in the construction of these build- 
 ings, viz.: the hard Hudson River brick, and the “ Adams 
 sand brick.” No efflorescence ever appeared on the former, 
 but there has always been more or less on the latter. It 
 varies in quantity, and in the area of the spots, coming and 
 going with variations of temperature and humidity, but 
 finally disappearing entirely, sometimes in the second year 
 after building. If, however, the wall becomes saturated 
 with moisture, as by a leak in the gutter, the efflorescence re- 
 appears. It disappears latest from those parts of the walls 
 which are protected from the rain, as under the cornices. 
 
51 
 
 The efflorescence consists principally of compounds of potash 
 and soda. It must be remarked that the reactions and 
 changes mentioned in this section are generally increased 
 by variations of temperature and alternate dryness and 
 moisture (see Discoloration of Walls). 
 
 Biicks also have been experimented on which have with- 
 stood a compressive force of 13,000 pounds to the square 
 inch, w r hilst others have failed under a pressure of less than 
 500 pounds. In construction, brick is seldom subjected to 
 a pressure of over 100 pounds to the square inch. 
 
 Few structures have absolutely failed on account of the 
 crushing of either brick or stone, but unequal settlements of 
 foundations, or compression of the mortar in the joints may 
 change the strain upon the material from a compressive to 
 a transverse one and cause distractive cracks. 
 
 “ England the size of bricks is fixed by law, and the 
 same should be the case in this country. For want of such 
 a pi o vision gross frauds are perpetrated. Few persons are 
 aware of the loss they sustain in purchasing small bricks; 
 not only in the bricks, but also in the laying by the thous- 
 and, and in the increased amount of mortar required. In 
 our Eastern states a common sized brick is 8^x4x2 inches; 
 making 66 cubic inches; but bricks as small as 8x3fxlf 
 aie not unusual, containing only 52-| cubic inches. One of 
 8| x 4 x 2 inches is about \ part larger than this last. A 
 good hand moulded brick of 8|x4x2 inches will weigh 
 about 4f pounds, or 118 pounds per cubic foot; 1.4223 tons 
 per cubic yard, or 498 bricks per ton. A machine pressed 
 brick weighs about 5 pounds. If immersed in water, either 
 of them will in a few minutes absorb from 4 to 1 pounds 
 of water.” (Trautwine.) 
 
 FYre bricks are made from a compound of silica and 
 alumina, and the clay owes its refractory quality to the ab- 
 sence of lime, magnesia, potash, and metallic oxides, which 
 act as fluxes. 
 
 Hollow -bricks are made for the purpose of warming, ven- 
 tilating and removing moisture from the wall. 
 
 Water-proof brick’, bricks are glazed or rendered 'water- 
 proof by a composition which gives them a vitreous surface. 
 
52 
 
 This is performed by treating the surface with a flux 
 which melts the silex of the brick, or it may be applied to 
 the surface in solution, the liquid being afterwards expelled 
 by heat. Resinous compounds have also been used to ren- 
 der the surface non-absorbent. 
 
 They have also been treated with soluble silicate of soda, 
 which has been decomposed, leaving the insoluble silex in 
 the pores of the brick. Pigments added to the glazing com- 
 pounds give an ornamental appearance. 
 
 Air-brick is a grating the size of a brick let into a wall 
 to allow the passage of air. 
 
 Arch-brick usually means the hard burned partially vitri- 
 fied brick from the arches of the brick clamp, in which the 
 fire is made and maintained. 
 
 A brick made voussoir shape is known as a compass 
 brick. Clinker, a brick from an arch of the clamp, so 
 named from the sharp glassy sound when struck. 
 
 Feather -edge brick, of prismatic form for arches, vaults, 
 niches, etc. 
 
 Peeking , place, sandal, samel brick are local names ap- 
 plied to imperfectly burned or refuse brick. 
 
 Baltimore and Philadelphia lead in regard to the quality 
 of the finer of red pressed bricks in this country; but the 
 ornamental bricks produced in Philadelphia are of the high- 
 est rank. In Ohio, Milwaukee, New York and New Jer- 
 sey they are manufacturing a light colored pressed brick, 
 which are being used extensively in many places. 
 
 Blocking course ; a course of stones placed on the top of 
 a cornice, crowning the walls. 
 
 Bond-stones. — Stones placed at intervals in brick piers, 
 to give them additional strength; stones used in rubble 
 work, having their length placed in the thickness of the 
 wall. These stones are placed at regular intervals, both 
 horisontally and vertically, so that every stone of one row 
 falls on the vertical joint that is in the course below. Bond- 
 stones inserted the whole thickness of the masonry are 
 called perpends or perpend-stones. 
 
 Bastard-stucco is a light putty finish with a little plaster of 
 paris added, that the wall may receive paint or kalsomine. 
 
53 
 
 Bosses, etc. — They are usually understood to be project- 
 ing ornaments placed at the intersection of the ribs of roofs 
 and ceilings. 
 
 Corbels are a projection of stone, brick or other material 
 supporting a superincumbent weight, and are decorative 
 features, generally, in masonry, brickwork and plastering. 
 
 Consoles or Ancones are the brackets frequently attached 
 as supports to the projecting cornices of classic doors and 
 windows. In the proper signification of the term, namely, 
 that of bracket from the French word console ; it also ap- 
 plies, and perhaps more correctly, to the supports of a bal- 
 cony or other projection. The modillions of the Corinthian 
 cornice are strictly brackets or consoles. 
 
 Key -stone is of an arch the binding stone, and one of a 
 number necessary to the substantiality and proper action of 
 the others which compose it. It has a similar amount of 
 duty to perform, and should not by any seeming operation 
 of ornament be made to appear less able than its fellows to 
 perform it. 
 
 Cais§on is a large case or box floated over the area of a 
 foundation, and sunk by building the foundation inside of 
 it; as it sinks, the sides of the caisson are also carried up 
 sufficiently high to keep the water out, and thus tile great 
 box containing the masonry gradually sinks to the bottom; 
 the bottom must be levelled and prepared beforehand for it, 
 with the help of a diving apparatus. Caissons are gener- 
 ally made of wood, but wrought iron has been used. Any 
 soft stratum should be dredged away; and if the surface is 
 irregular, a bed of hydraulic concrete should be laid over it, 
 if the natural bed is too soft to carry the caisson piles must 
 be driven over the area and a platform of planks and con- 
 crete formed on the top of them for the caisson to rest on. 
 (See Foundation.) 
 
 Counter- forte. — A pier or buttress bonded as a revet- 
 ment to the back of a retaining wall, to support and also 
 tie the wall, such as the scarp of a forte to the bank in the 
 rear. The buttress is sometimes on the face. When arches 
 are turned between counter-fortes, it is called a counter- 
 arched revetment. 
 
54 
 
 Coving. — The overhang of the upper portions of a 
 building beyond the limits of the ground plan. The splayed 
 reveals or inclined jambs on the sides of a fireplace. 
 
 Creasing. — A layer of tiles forming a corona for a wall. 
 
 Cross-springer. — In a groined arch, the rib that springs 
 from a pillar in a diagonal direction at the intersection of 
 the arches forming the groin. 
 
 Crypt. — A vault beneath a church or mausoleum, and 
 either entirely or partly under ground. 
 
 Conical-areh. — Is an arch built in the shape of a cone 
 for kilns, glass works, or hop kilns. This arch has all the 
 bricks or stones at right angles to the sides, and radiating 
 towards the centre, and is remarkably strong, so much so 
 that a kiln of the greatest usual height may be built of one 
 brick thick only. 
 
 Coursed-rutofole. — Is the employment of stones, not 
 dressed or but roughly so as they come from the quarry, 
 but chosen of sizes somewhat uniform and of the same 
 thickness in each course so that a uniformity of line in the 
 course is obtained ; hence the name. The stones vary in 
 depth dependent upon the condition in which they come 01 
 are sent from the quarry, but they are carefully fitted and 
 well laid in mortar. Bond is obtained by the use of header s 
 and stretchers , there serving the same office as the biicks, 
 so termed in brickwork. 
 
 The angle quoins in coursed rubble are sometimes worked 
 very neatly and with great care; they serve in fact as gauge 
 courses for the others. A very nice appearance is pro- 
 duced by the quoins being tooled to a smooth surface coi- 
 responding to the dressings of the windows and dooiways; 
 this style is very much used in church building. 
 
 Copings. — These are either plain or ornamental. The 
 plain are slightly projecting courses used to cover brick 
 walls. 
 
 Ornamental are large moulded stone surmounting a coi- 
 nice. Copings are worked with a plain, horizontal bed, two 
 vertical faces, and an inclined or weathered surface, either 
 forming an obtuse angle with the inner and narrower face, 
 and an acute angle with the outer wider face, or slanting 
 
55 
 
 off from the middle towards each side, which latter is 
 technically termed a saddle-back coping. 
 
 In both cases they are made to project over the wall, and 
 in the projected part of the bed under the edges towards 
 which the inclination is given a channel or groove, called a 
 ‘ ‘ throat ” is cut, to intercept the water in its inclination to 
 run inwards towards the wall. 
 
 To protect the separate stones of a coping course from 
 the danger of being displaced by high winds or other acci- 
 dental causes, and to form a chain through its whole length, 
 the stones are linked together by cramps of copper let into 
 them and run with lead. 
 
 Center. — In building a combination of timber beams, so 
 disposed as to form a frame, the concave side of which, 
 when boarded over, corresponds to the cavity of an arch; 
 or the wooden mould used for turning an arch of stone or 
 brick during the time of erection. 
 
 CotTer-dam. — A hollow dam, constructed of a double 
 range of piles, with clay rammed between, for the security 
 and convenience of the workman while digging out and 
 building the foundation of an entrance lock to a dock or 
 basin, or canal, when it cannot otherwise be laid dry. 
 
 Coffer-dams are made either double or single. In the 
 double one, the space between the inner and outer rows of 
 piles is rammed with clay; the piles are driven as closely as 
 possible to each other Jby means of a pile engine, till fixed 
 firmly into the earth; sometimes they are grooved and 
 tongued; sometimes they are grooved in the sides, and fixed 
 at a distance from each other with boards let into the 
 grooves. (See Bricklaying.) 
 
 Cornice. — Any moulded projection which crowns or 
 finishes the part to which it is affixed; thus we have the 
 cornice of an order, of a pedestal, of a house, of a pier, of a 
 door, of a window, etc. 
 
 Cornices should be in proper proportion to their surround- 
 ings, and when of an expensive character they should be 
 consistent w r ith the order of architecture on which they are 
 formed. For ornamental plaster work cornices may be 
 from one-fourteenth to one-twenty-fourth of that of the 
 
56 
 
 room; and in coved ceilings the cove may be from one- 
 fourth to one-sixth of the height. 
 
 Crushing height of bricks and stone . — If we assume the 
 weight of ordinary brickwork at 112 pounds per cubic foot, 
 and that it would crush under 30 tons per square foot, then 
 a verticle uniform column of 600 feet high would crush at 
 its base under its own weight. Caen stone weighing 130 
 pounds per cubic foot, would require a column 1376 feet 
 high to crush it. Average sandstones at 145 pounds per 
 cubic foot would require one of 4158 feet high; and average 
 granite at 165 pounds per cubic foot, one of 8145 feet. 
 
 But stones begin to crack and splinter at about half their 
 ultimate crushing load, and in practice it is not considered 
 expedient to trust them with more than | to the part of 
 it, especially in important works; inasmuch as settlements 
 and imperfect workmanship often cause undue strains to 
 be thrown on certain parts. The Merchants’ shot tower at 
 Baltimore is 246 feet high, and its base sustains 6$ tons 
 per square foot. The base of the granite pier of Saltash 
 bridge (by Brunei), of solid masonry to the height of 96 
 feet, and supporting the ends of two iron spans of 455 feet 
 each, sustains tons per square foot. The base of a brick 
 chimney at Glasgow, Scotland, 468 feet high, bears 9 tons 
 per square foot; and Professor Rankin considers that in a 
 high gale of wind, its leeward side may have to bear 15 tons. 
 The highest pier of Rocquefavour stone aqueduct, Marseilles, 
 is 305 feet and sustains a pressure at* base of 13| tons per 
 square foot. 
 
 Weight of a cubic foot of the various building materials, 
 
 in pounds (approximate). 
 
 
 
 
 Granite 
 
 
 168 pounds. 
 
 Marble 
 
 
 165 
 
 U 
 
 Sandstone 
 
 
 135 
 
 i ( 
 
 Blue-stone 
 
 
 165 
 
 C i 
 
 Slate 
 
 
 180 
 
 u 
 
 Mortar, dry 
 
 
 . . 80 to 100 
 
 i < 
 
 Common brick 
 
 
 112 
 
 (i 
 
 Dry sand 
 
 
 100 
 
 a 
 
 Fire-brick 
 
 
 135 
 
 C c 
 
57 
 
 Cisterns.— Brick receives the preference for construct- 
 ing cisterns, it being sufficiently durable, and at the same 
 time cheap. As brickwork is not adapted to resist tensile 
 strains, brick cisterns of any considerable size cannot with- 
 stand water pressure, by the strength of walls alone. So 
 we put them under ground, getting the earth pressure 
 from without to balance the water pressure from within, 
 and at the same time protect them from the frost. The 
 circular form is generally used, and is strong enough in 
 itself to resist the earth pressure when the tank is empty, 
 for this is a compressive force. 
 
 The extended application of hydraulic cement enables us 
 to construct in almost any part of the world where com- 
 mercial relations exist, an imperishable and incorruptible 
 water tank, so far as its own materials go. But cistern 
 water will be more or less contaminated by the accumula- 
 tion of dust swept from the roof. Hence a cistern should 
 be thoroughly cleaned from time to time as occasion may 
 require. Every cistern intended for drinking use, should 
 have a filter. For this purpose a chamber can be parted 
 off on one side of the cistern, within which the suction-pipe 
 takes the water for use, and the filtering material placed 
 so as to pass the water through holes in this partition. 
 Sometimes soft or half burnt brick are used for this parti- 
 tion, through the pores of which the water passes freely, 
 if sufficient surface is used. If, however, it be desired to 
 remove any dissolved impurities from the water, these 
 mechanical filters, whether brick, gravel, sand or sponge, are 
 useless, and recourse must be had to a charcoal or spongy 
 iron filter, which acts chemically upon various substances 
 in solution, burning them up, as it were, by the oxygen in 
 the filter. 
 
 These filters, however, require such frequent cleansing for 
 the renewal of their efficiency, that they can only be used 
 in a portable form, and cannot therefore be built into the 
 tank. 
 
 By applying the following table a mason can build almost 
 any tank of a required capacity; a gallon contains 8 pounds 
 of pure water, multiply the gallons in the following table 
 
58 
 
 by the number of feet in depth of cistern, and you will get 
 the contents near enough for practice: 
 
 Chimney-piece and mantle-piece.— “ It is to be 
 
 observed,” says Blackburne, ‘‘that the wood chimney piece 
 is now accepted to mean and is limited to the decoration 
 or finish of the opening or recess in the wall constituting 
 the fire-place. Anciently the wood chimney appears to 
 have been used to designate a furnace, a stove, or a hearth; 
 and in mediaeval architecture, it had occasionally the same 
 application. The chimney-piece per se, and divested of 
 other adjuncts is the receptacle, or place for the fire, with 
 the aperture, or flue, for the voidance of smoke from it. 
 This latter was, in the first instance, a sloping and ascend- 
 ing cavity in the thickness of the wall; and later the flue 
 was carried up vertically to the top of the wall, as common 
 in the present day, and was there finished and capped in 
 mediasval times by an almost endless variety of what are 
 called chimney shafts and caps, with these, however, we 
 have in connection with the immediate subject in hand, 
 but little directly to do; our consideration is with that which 
 these are but the subservient accessories. The chimney as 
 viewed as above, therefore, may be taken as an opening at 
 the level of the floor of sufficient width and height for the 
 making of a fire, and the transmission of its heat to the 
 apartment. This is its essential necessity and appearance, 
 and ‘thus,’ says Ware, ‘it appears to us in the first con- 
 struction of rooms, and thus stands before the architect to 
 
 3 feet in diameter contains 
 
 55^ gallons. 
 
 10 
 
 5 * 
 
 6 
 
59 
 
 be finished.’ The form of this opening has had some variety, 
 but at the present time it is usually a rectangular recess, 
 of greater or less capacity, according to size or dignity of 
 apartment in which it occurs; the superincumbent wall be- 
 ing carried over the opening upon an arch. Such is the 
 chimney in its simple phase of utility; the chimney-piece is 
 properly the ornamentation applied in connection with this 
 opening, and is so distinguished among the commonly re- 
 ceived terms for the several parts into elaborate character, 
 technically divided. Of these terms as the A B C of expla- 
 nation as regards the modern chimney it will be necessary 
 now to speak. The main divisions are, the lower part, or 
 opening into the room, with its floor, sides and back, the 
 voiding course, or shaft for the smoke, which are the main 
 useful portions, and the finish which are the decorations of 
 the first. 
 
 The lower part is denominated the fire-place, its floor be- 
 ing called the hearth ; that portion which is within the 
 recess being designated the inner or hack-hearth, and that 
 in front of opening the outer or front-hearth, and some- 
 times slab, which is frequently in rich works of marble. 
 The vertical sides of the opening are termed the jambs, and 
 the term applies equally to the returned surfaces and verti- 
 cal front supports of the chimney-piece. The back wall is 
 called the chimney-back, and the front wall when in pro- 
 jection of the room, the chimney -breast. The conducting- 
 shaft for the smoke is called the flue, and the lower part of 
 it, which widens or tapers to accommodate the greater 
 cavity of the chimney opening, is termed the funnel of the 
 flue, the necessary contraction in the construction at this 
 part being known as the gathering-over, while the junction 
 of the funnel with the flue itself is called the throat. A 
 number of these flues conjoined and carried up together is 
 called a chimney-stack, and the part of them which rises 
 above the roof, the chimney-shaft or shafts, their finish be- 
 ing the chimney-cap or top. The chimney-piece or decora- 
 tive portion round the opening, is, in its more common 
 form and according to customary language, primarily 
 divided into mantel, jambs and shelf. The mantle, or man- 
 
60 
 
 tie-piece, is the horizontal portion immediately above the 
 fire-place. The jambs are the vertical additions or orna- 
 ments at the sides of the fire-place. Strictly the term ap- 
 plies to the return faces within the recess; but custom has 
 established it to include the entire portions which suppoit 
 the mantel. The shelf is the flat or other projecting slab or 
 cornice forming the covering, or crown, of the mantel. 
 The second form is that technically described as the profile 
 chimney, the distinction between this and the former being 
 that, in this case, the stone work of the chimney-piece 
 stands wholly in advance of the finish of the wall, showing 
 a return or profile of its outer ends. The projection of these 
 is accordant with the thickness of the stone used, and the 
 jambs are usually formed as pilasters, with a small cap and 
 nicking moulding under the mantel, the latter finished by 
 the shelf, a bed moulding being sometimes introduced be- 
 tween the two. The next and third form is that what is 
 usually called the box-chimney , from being constructed 
 hollow or box-fashion. This mode of construction will be 
 at once seen to owe its origin in economy as respects use of 
 material, the latter being applied in thickness instead of in 
 solid. 
 
 The box-chimney, it will be unnecessary to say, is wholly 
 in projection; and to graater or lesser extent, according to 
 what may be desired. In many cases, the execution of 
 chimneys of this last description, that is to say, according 
 to the design and projection of them in the solid, would be 
 great waste; and it is a very general practice, therefore, to 
 admit this mode of formation even in the best works, and 
 are ornamented with mantel-pieces composed of marble, 
 slate, terra-cotta and pressed brick, as well as with an iron 
 grate or summer piece. These mantel-pieces are fastened 
 to the wall with plaster of paris, and anchored also with 
 wire and sheet iron. 
 
 Cement and Lime. — The calcination of statuary mar- 
 ble, or any other pure variety of limestone, produces quick- 
 lime, by expelling from the carbonate of lime of which they 
 are composed, the carbonic acid gas, water of crystalliza- 
 tion, and organic coloring matter Lime is therefore a pro- 
 
61 
 
 toxide of calcium, or in other words, a metallic oxide. Pure 
 lime lias a specific gravity of 2.3, is amorphous, somewhat 
 spongy, highly caustic, quite infusible, possesses great 
 avidity for water, and, if brought in contact with it, will 
 rapidly absorb 22 to 23 per cent of its weight, passing into 
 the condition of hydrate of lime, in which condition it is 
 said to be slaJced. Lime, on account of its great affinity for 
 moisture, and, when moist, for carbonic acid, absorbs them 
 gradually from the atmosphere, returns somewhat to the 
 state of carbonate of lime. To protect it against the effects 
 of these deteriorating agents it is necessary to preserve it in 
 close vessels; and therefore the best lime for use is the 
 fresh burned lime. 
 
 The limestones which furnish the limes of commerce are 
 seldom if evei puie, but usually contain, besides the car- 
 bonate of lime and the water of crystallization, variable 
 proportions, seldom exceeding 10 per cent in the aggregate 
 of some if not all of the following impureties, viz. : silicia, 
 alumina, magnesia, oxide of iron, and oxide of manganese, 
 and sometimes traces of the alkalies, the presence of which 
 modifies to a greater or less degree the phenomena devel- 
 oped during the process of slaking, and renders necessary 
 certain precautions in their manipulation and treatment 
 when employed, for the purposes of construction, as 
 mortars. 
 
 The striking and characteristic property of hardening 
 under water, or when excluded from the air, conferred 
 upon a paste lime by these foreign substances, when their 
 aggregate amount exceeds 10 per cent of the whole, fur- 
 nishes the basis for a general arrangement of all natural or 
 artificial products suitable for mortars, into five distinct 
 classes, as follows : 
 
 1st. The common or fat limes. 
 
 2d. The poor or meagre limes. 
 
 '3rd. The hydraulic limes. 
 
 4th. The hydraulic cements. 
 
 5th. The natural pozzuolanas, properly so called, trass or 
 terras, the arenes, ochreous earths, schists, grauwacke and 
 basaltic sands, and a variety of similar substances. 
 
62 
 
 The common, fat or rich limes usually contain less than 
 10 per cent of the impurities mentioned above. In slaking 
 they augment to form two to three and a half times that 
 of the original mass. They will not harden under water, 
 or even in damp localities excluded from contact with the 
 air. In the air it hardens by the gradual formation of 
 carbonate of lime, due to the absorption of carbonic acid 
 gas. 
 
 The pastes of fat lime shrink in hardening to such a de- 
 gree that they cannot be employed as mortar without a 
 large dose of sand. When used alone they are unsuitable 
 for masonry under water, or for foundations in damp 
 soils. 
 
 Paste of fat lime may be added to a cement mortar in 
 quantities equal to that of the cement, without material 
 diminution of strength. 
 
 The poor or meagre limes generally contain silica (in the 
 shape of sand), alumina, magnesia, oxide of iron, some- 
 times oxide of manganese, and in most cases traces of the 
 alkalies, in relative proportions, which vary very consider- 
 ably in different localities. 
 
 Their aggregate amount is seldom less than 10 per cent, 
 or greater than 25, although in some varieties it reaches 
 as high as 35, and even, though rarely 39 per cent of the 
 whole. In slaking they proceed sluggishly, as compared 
 with the rich limes, and are accompanied by a much 
 smaller increase of volume. They dissolve in water fre- 
 quently renewed, and are not adapted to be used under 
 water or wet soil, or excluded from the atmosphere, or 
 carbonic acid gas. 
 
 The hydraulic limes, including the three subdivisions of 
 limes slightly hydraulic, hydraulic limes and limes emi- 
 nently hydraulic, seldom contain an aggregate of silica, 
 alumina, magnesia, oxide of iron, etc., exceeding 35 per 
 cent of the whole. The proportion in the first class ranges 
 generally between 10 and 20 per cent of the whole; in the 
 second class between IT and 24 per cent; while the emi- 
 nently hydraulic limes contain rarely less than 20, or more 
 than 35 per cent. 
 
63 
 
 They slake still slower than the meagre limes, and with 
 but a small augmentation of volume rarely exceeding 30 
 per cent of the original bulk. If mixed into a stiff paste 
 after being slaked, they possess the property of harden- 
 ing under water; slightly hydraulic from 15 to 20 days; 
 hydraulic, 6 to 8 days; eminently hydraulic, 1 to 4 days! 
 
 The hydraulic cements contain a larger amount of silica 
 alumina, magnesia, etc., than any of the proceeding varl 
 leties of lime, though the amount rarely, if ever, exceeds 
 61 per cent of the whole. 
 
 They do not slake at all after calcination differing ma- 
 terially in this particular from the limes proper. If pul- 
 verized they can be formed into a paste with water, with- 
 out any sensible increase of volume, and little, if any dis- 
 engagement of heat, except in certain instances among 
 those varieties which contain the maximum amount of 
 lime, or border on the intermediate limes, for all the 'pur- 
 poses of hydraulic construction; some of them being so 
 energetic as to set under water at 65° F., in three to four 
 minutes, although others require as many hours. 
 
 They do not shrink in hardening like the plaster of fat 
 lime, and therefore make an excellent mortar for some 
 purposes, without the addition of sand; although for the 
 sake of economy, sand, and frequently both sand and lime 
 are combined with them. In the United States, they are 
 almost exclusively depended upon for hydraulic mortars. 
 
 r llie natural pozzuolanas. — Their principal ingredients are 
 silica, and alumina, with a large preponderance of the former. 
 
 Most varieties contain small quantities of soda, potash' 
 oxides of iron and manganese, and not unfrequently mag! 
 nesia. None of them contain more than 10 per cent of 
 lime. When finely pulverized without previous calcination 
 and combined with the paste of fat lime in suitable propor- 
 tions, to supply their deficiency in that ingredient, they 
 possess hydraulic energy to a degree that will compare 
 favorably, in some of the varieties, with that of the emi- 
 nently hydraulic limes. 
 
 Pozzuolana, which confers the name upon this class of 
 substances, is of volcanic origin, and has therefore been 
 
64 
 
 subjected to the action of heat, whereby its constituent 
 elements have experienced a chemical change in their primi- 
 tive mode of combination. It was originally discovered at 
 the foot of Mount Vesuvius, near the village of Pozzuoles, 
 whence its name. Its value for the purposes of construc- 
 tion in combination with rich lime, has been known for 
 many centuries, and Vitruvius and Pliny both speak of its 
 admirable properties, as exhibited in the marine construc- 
 tions of the Romans, extant in their day. 
 
 Trass or terras . — In the valley of the Rhine between 
 Mayence and Cologne, and in various localities in Holland, 
 a substance of volcanic origin is found, called trass or terras, 
 which has been extensively employed throughout that re- 
 gion, particularly by the Dutch engineers, for the produc- 
 tion of hydraulic mortar. It is derived from immense pits 
 or quarries, occupying the sites of extinct volcanoes, and 
 enjoys in nearly every particular the distinguishing proper- 
 ties of Italian pozzuolana, closely resembling it in its com- 
 position, and in the details of its manipulation, requiring to 
 be pulverized and combined with rich lime, in order to ren- 
 der it fit for use, and to develop any of its hydraulic prop- 
 erties. some cements are remarkably quick in exhibiting 
 their hydraulic property, and will loose their plastic state 
 immersed in water at 65° P. in one or two minutes, but 
 afterwards proceed very sluggishly in their induration. 
 There are others, again, which, though comparatively slow 
 in developing the first indication of hydraulic energy, yet 
 in a few hours, greatly surpass the former in their ultimate 
 strength and hardness, and are therefore to be preferred 
 in all positions where a very quick induration is not spec- 
 ially important. 
 
 In pronouncing on the value of cements, from a compari- 
 son of their hydraulic activity, they should, therefore, be 
 mixed with two and a half to three times their volume of 
 sand. Even with this precaution, the result is far less re- 
 liable than some simple devise for trying the strength of 
 the mortars, when ten or twelve days old. As an evidence 
 of the truth of this remark, it may be stated that, although 
 eminent hydraulic activity or quickness is not necessarily 
 
65 
 
 accompanied by inferior hardness and strength, and con- 
 versely, neither is a slow setting cement necessarily a strong 
 one, still within the range of experiments, it is somewhat 
 remarkable that the quickest cements gave the worst re- 
 sults, and the slowest ones the best. 
 
 Color of cement . — The color of the manufactured cement 
 being due principally to the presence of oxide of iron, and 
 sometimes of magnesia, or to the carbonate of these oxides, 
 which for all practical purposes are considered to be a pas- 
 sive ingredient in hydraulic mortar, should be a matter of 
 indifference to consumers, except in special cases, as in ex- 
 terior stucco work or ornamentation, in pavements and 
 fronts of houses, where a particular shade of color is 
 sought for. 
 
 Many think that dark colored cements are the best, and 
 many contractors encourage this belief for the reason that 
 dark colored cements will stand a bigger dose of sand, 
 whilst the quickest setting cements manufactured at the 
 present day happen to be light colored, and the Portland 
 cement , both natural and artificial, though slow setting 
 has never been surpassed in strength and hardness by any 
 of the natural cements of this country or Europe. 
 
 In Europe all natural cements are generally denominated 
 Roman cements to distinguish them from Portland cem- 
 ents, which are artificial combinations of limestone (usually 
 chalk) and clay. 
 
 Parker’s Boman, as a facing to brick and other walls, 
 is a composition forming an artificial stone, and being 
 water-proof, is excellently adapted to this purpose; if the 
 wall be previously wetted it will adhere firmly. Arch 
 stones, cornices and ornamental parts of buildings may also 
 be conveniently made of this material. This material when 
 mixed with an equal quantity of sharp grit-sand, freed 
 from impurities, and when beaten up with a due proportion 
 of water, forms a handsome and durable covering for the 
 outside of buildings. If the sand should have been pre- 
 viously moistened, the cement must be immediately used, 
 and in no case mixed up beforehand. 
 
 5 
 
66 
 
 To give a proper finishing to this kind of work, a mixture 
 of 5 ounces of sulphate of iron to a gallon of water, is 
 mixed with as much lime and cement as will produce the 
 consistence and the color required, for a w^ash to be applied 
 to the surface of the work. Sometimes the color is modi- 
 fied by vitrolic acid, and when the face of the work is made 
 to imitate bonded masonry, the intersecting spaces are 
 tinted with amber. It is generally calculated, that one 
 bushel of cement, properly applied, will form a superficial 
 covering of nearly four square yards. In performing this 
 work, which is called floating , unceasing, laborious and 
 quick action will be required, as the composition sets almost 
 instantaneously. 
 
 Artificial or Roman cement . — A composition, said to be 
 equal to Roman cement, is made by dissolving three pounds 
 and a half of sulphate of iron (green copperas), and mixing 
 it with a bushel of lime, and a half a bushel of fine gravel 
 sand, previously made into mortar. 
 
 Portland cement is made from the nodules of conglomer- 
 ated stones containing clay and limestone, and sometimes 
 a small percentage of silica, found on the banks of the 
 Medway in England, and at Boulogne in France, and on the 
 Hudson river in this country. 
 
 These nodules are subjected to a high degree of heat in 
 a furnace, and thereafter all foreign matter, scorified por- 
 tions, etc. , picked out from the mass of the proper nodules, 
 which are then ground into a fine powder, and when mixed 
 with water form what is known as Portland cement, and 
 which has by far the highest reputation amongst practical 
 men of all the cements yet introduced. 
 
 Generally speaking, the hydraulic cements require mix- 
 ing with sand, but Portland cement may be used without 
 sand. It sets with a comparative slowness so that a good 
 quantity may be mixed at once and used, without the in- 
 convenience of immediate or very quick hardening, and 
 does not reach its greatest strength until years after it has 
 been used. Iron, bricks, stone and wood must be subjected 
 to indurating solutions for their preservation, no prepara- 
 tion is required on the other hand for Portland cement. In 
 
67 
 
 the air, in the water, and in fact under all circumstances, 
 the possibility of using this material with success forms one 
 of the greatest recommendations in its favor. 
 
 On account of the great demand for Portland cement, a 
 great many manufacturers have been induced to bring out 
 an artificial kind, and this is as much used as that made 
 from the cement stone, and on account of it being able to 
 stand a larger dose of sand than the common cement, it 
 is considered by some builders to be cheaper for that rea- 
 son, and is admirably adapted for the following purposes: 
 Concrete for foundation walls, wharfs and piers. Sidewalks, 
 garden and any outside walks. Cellar, stable, brewery and 
 malt-house floors, and any floor for heavy traffic, mastic 
 stucco or any outside plastering. For laying tile and 
 marble floors, roofs, kitchen hearths, abutment of bridges, 
 etc., etc. 
 
 Keen's cement in appearance is a great deal like plaster of 
 paris, and is of two qualities, coarse and superfine. 
 
 When used for walls the coarse should be used with equal 
 parts of sand for scratch coat , and then finished with super- 
 fine. They are almost always used for work which require 
 a hard and beautiful finish. But in no case should they be 
 used for outside work, or in any place where they are ex- 
 posed to the action of water, as they are like all pure limes, 
 partly soluble in water. 
 
 Parian or Keating's cement is said to be produced by 
 mixing calcined and powdered gypsum with a strong solu- 
 tion of borax, then recalcining, grinding and mixing with a 
 solution of alum. Thus are two qualities, superfine and 
 coarse . Parian is said to work freer than either Kein’s or 
 Martin’s cement, and is therefore preferable for large sur- 
 faces, which have to be hand-floated before troweling; but 
 the two latter cements are fatter, and produce sharper arises 
 and mouldings. 
 
 Martin's cement is made in a similar manner to Parian; 
 potash carbonate (pearlash) being used instead of borax, 
 and hydrochoric acid being sometimes added. 
 
 It is made in three different qualities: coarse, fine and 
 superfine; the coarser kinds being of a reddish white color, 
 
68 
 
 and the fine a pure white. It is said to cover more surface 
 in proportion to its bulk than any other similar material. 
 
 Metallic cement has a metallic lustre, is suitable for out- 
 side work, and is intended to dispense with coloring or 
 painting, but is not much used. One variety is made by 
 mixing ground slag from coppersmelting works with ordi- 
 nary cement stone. 
 
 Cement for uniting stone— A new mineral compound 
 for imitating stone and resisting water, one that is said 
 to be superior to hydraulic cement, is made by mixing 19 
 pounds of sulphur with 42 pounds of powdered glass or 
 stone ware. Over a gentle heat the sulphur melts, and the 
 whole is stirred till a homogeneous mass is obtained, when 
 it may be run into molders. It melts at 248° F., and be- 
 comes hard as stone, and will resist boiling at 230° F. It 
 may be reformed indefinitely by remelting, and used for 
 imitating stones, etc. 
 
 A paste made of pure oxide of lead, litharge and concen- 
 trated glycerine also is used for uniting broken stone. 
 
 A strong hydraulic cement for pointing up stone stoops, 
 etc., is made of powdered clay, 3 pounds; oxide of iron, 1 
 pound; and boiled oil to form a paste. 
 
 Coloring cements . — The pigments used to color hydraulic 
 and other cements, and obtain the shades here mentioned, 
 the following proportions are employed: 
 
 For black, pyrolusite 
 
 ‘ ‘ red, caput mortuum 
 
 “ green, ultramarine green 
 “ blue, “ blue.. 
 
 “ yellow, ochre 
 
 “ brown, “ 
 
 12 per cent. 
 6 “ 
 
 6 “ 
 
 5 “ 
 
 6 “ 
 
 6 “ 
 
 The strength of the cement is rather increased by the ad- 
 dition of ultramarine pigments, but somewhat diminished 
 by the others. The ill effects of the latter may be some- 
 what removed by grinding the cements again after the pig- 
 ments have been added, whereby it gains in fineness, and 
 the strengtn is so much increased that no difference is ob- 
 servable between this and the ordinary cement. 
 
69 
 
 Mortars . — Proportions sand , lime, cement. — The pro- 
 portions of one measure of quicklime, either in irregular 
 lumps or ground, and five measures of sand, is about the 
 average used for common mortar by good builders in our 
 principal cities; and if both materials are well mixed or 
 tempered with water, the mortar is as good as can be re- 
 quired for ordinary purposes as require no addition of hy- 
 draulic cement. The bulk of the mortar will usually ex- 
 ceed that of the dry sand about £ part. Allowing for the 
 usual waste; or 20 cubic feet, or 16 bushels and and 4 cubic 
 feet or 3^ struck bushels of lime, will make sufficient mor- 
 tar to lay in best manner 1,000 brick of the ordinary size of 
 8x4x2, with the coarse mortar joints usual in interior 
 house walls, varying say from f to i inches thick. For 
 mortar of fine screened gravel, for cellar walls of stone rub- 
 ble, or coarse brickwork, 1 measure of lime to 6 or 8 of 
 gravel is usual; and is good mortar. 
 
 In average rough massive rubble, as well as in brickwork, 
 about i of the mass is mortar, consequently a cubic yard 
 will require about as much as 500 such bricks; or 10 cubic 
 feet (8 struck bushels) of sand; and 2 cubic feet, or 1.6 
 bushels of quicklime. Superior, well scabled rubble care- 
 fully laid will contain but about £ of its bulk in mortar; or 
 5i cubic feet sand, and 1.1 cubic feet lime per cubic yard. 
 In work exposed to dampness an addition should be made 
 to the foregoing mortars, of a quantity of good hydraulic 
 cement equal to about iof the lime; or £ of the lime should 
 be omitted, and an equal amount of cement substituted for 
 it. If exposed to water the proportions of cement should be 
 increased and that of the lime diminished. — Trautwine, C. E. 
 
 It must ever be remembered by the mechanic, that in the 
 mixing of mortars an excess of water in slaking the lime 
 swells the mortar, which remains fight and porous, or shrinks 
 in drying; and an excess of sand destroys the cohesive pro- 
 perties of the whole mass. 
 
 Proportions of brick and mortar in a ivall. — With bricks 
 of 8|x4x 2 inches the following are the quantifies of mor- 
 tar as compared with the whole mass; and the number of 
 bricks required for a cubic yard of massive work: 
 
70 
 
 Size of joint, 
 
 Am’t of mortar in 
 
 No. of brick No of bricks- 
 
 inch. 
 
 whole mass. 
 
 in cub. yd. 
 
 in cub. ft. 
 
 8 
 
 i 
 
 638 
 
 23.63 
 
 i 
 
 i 
 
 574 
 
 21.26 
 
 t 
 
 A 
 
 522 
 
 19.33 
 
 * 
 
 i 
 
 475 
 
 17.60 
 
 1 
 
 tV 
 
 433 
 
 16.04 
 
 
 
 [Trautwine, 
 
 C. E.] 
 
 From the foregoing information the mason can easily 
 calculate how much his mortar will cost per thousand bricks 
 laid, and per cubic yard of stone, knowing the price of lime, 
 sand, and cement which varies in different parts of the 
 United States. 
 
 Concrete is admirably adapted to a variety of most im * 
 portant purposes, and is daily growing into more extensive 
 use and application. For foundations in damp and yield- 
 ing soils, and for subterranean and submarine masonry, 
 almost under every combination of circumstances likely to 
 occur in practice, it is superior to brickwork in strength, 
 durability, and economy; and in some exceptional cases, is 
 considered a reliable substitute for the best stone, while it 
 is almost preferable to the poorer qualities. 
 
 For submarine masonry, concrete possesses the advan- 
 tage that it may be laid without exhausting the water (which 
 under the most favorable circumstances, is an expensive 
 operation), and also without the aid of a diving-bell, or sub- 
 marine armor. On account of its continuity and impermea- 
 bility to water, it is well suited to the purpose of a substra- 
 tum in soils infected with springs, for sewers and conduits, 
 for basement and sustaining walls, for columns, piers and 
 abutments, for pavements in areas, basements and cellars; 
 for walls and floors of cisterns, vaults, etc. Groined and 
 vaulted arches, and even entire bridges, dwelling houses 
 and factories, in single monolithic masses, with moulded 
 ornamentation of no mean character, have been constructed 
 of this material alone. Concrete is composed of natural 
 hydraulic cement, under circumstances requiring only a 
 moderate degree of energy and strength, paste of fat lime 
 is sometimes added in quantities seldom greatly exceeding 
 
71 
 
 that of tlie cement, coarse gravel and broken stone is almost 
 invariably used as the basis of concrete, when made it is 
 at once deposited in its allotted place, and well rammed in 
 horizontal layers of about 6 in. in thickness, until all the 
 coarse fragments are driven below the general surface. 
 
 The ramming should take place before the cement begins 
 to set, and care should be taken to avoid the use of too 
 much water in the manipulation. The mass when ready 
 for use should appear quite coherent, containing water, 
 however, in such quantities, that a thorough and hard ram- 
 ming will produce a thin film of free water upon the sur- 
 face, under the rammer, without causing in the mass a 
 quicksand motion. 
 
 It will be found in practice that cements vary very con- 
 siderably in their capacity for water, and that fresh ground 
 cements require more than those that have become stale. 
 
 An excess of water is, however, better than a deficiency, 
 particularly when a very energetic cement is used, as the 
 capacity of this substance for solidifying water is great. 
 
 A too rapid desiccation of the concrete might involve a 
 loss of cohesive strength if insufficient water be used. In 
 the preparation of concrete the cement and sand should be 
 thoroughly mixed first dry; then add water gradually and 
 mix to a plastic mortar; the broken stone should be damp- 
 ened by sprinkling, when all should be thoroughly incor- 
 porated and carried as quick as possible to the trench, and 
 rammed as above described. Subjoined is an analysis of 
 concrete used under the supervision of some of the best 
 authorities upon the matter: 
 
 1 barrel German Portland cement (395 pounds). 
 
 5 $ “ damp and closely measured sand. 
 
 6 “ gravel and pebbles. 
 
 9 “ broken stone. 
 
 One batch of this concrete makes fifty cubic feet rammed 
 concrete. 
 
 This concrete is of first rate quality, being compact, free 
 from voids, and strong. It is richer in mortar than would 
 be necessary for most purposes. 
 
72 
 
 1 barrel Boulogne Portland cement (400 pounds). 
 
 14 “ slaked ground lime in powder. 
 
 8 “ loosely measured damp sand. 
 
 16 “ pebbles and gravel. 
 
 16 “ broken stone (2" cu.). 
 
 One batch of this concrete will make 105 cubic feet ram- 
 med concrete, of suitable quality for most kinds of massive 
 work. It contains the greatest admissible proportions of 
 gravel and broken stone. The quality of this concrete would 
 be improved by using 18 barrels of gravel and 14 barrels of 
 broken stone, instead of 16 barrels of each. This concrete 
 possesses a crushing strength of 220 pounds to the square 
 inch, when two months old, the pressure being applied to 
 5 inch or 6 inch cubes. 
 
 1 part Portland cement, 3 parts clean sharp sand, and 5 
 parts broken stone, are proportions used in some of the mas- 
 sive works in this country. From the above practical re- 
 ceipts the mason can modify them to answer any practical 
 purpose, and arrive at the cost of the same, knowing the 
 prices of materials in the different portions of the states. 
 
 Weight of good concrete, 130 to 160 pounds per cubic 
 
 foot. 
 
 Cost of concrete $5.00 to $9.00 per cubic yard if roughly 
 deposited; and $9.00 to $13.00 if first made into blocks; de- 
 pending upon the kind of cement, locality, etc. 
 
 Strength of cement.— The strength, hardness and adhes- 
 ion of cement to brick and stone are much greater than in 
 lime mortar. 
 
 The cohesion or strength to resist a pull, averages fiom 
 40 to 75 pounds per square inch ; or 2 to 5 to 4 to 8 tons per 
 square foot, in good Rosendale cement without sand; six 
 months after being laid. 
 
 It is sometimes 30 to 50 pounds within a month. The 
 Portland cement of Francis & White of London, when fresh 
 and of the choicest quality, is stated to have a cohesion of 
 of 100 pounds per square inch within seven days; and of 
 400 pounds within three months. Its adhesion to brick and 
 stone seems to be far less. 
 
73 
 
 Many spurious and inferior articles are sold under the 
 name of Portland cement. 
 
 The crushing strength of cement — Of bricks made of 
 best English Portland cement 3 and 9 months old, was found 
 to be 243 and 385 tons per square foot. With one part of 
 sand, 160 and 292 tons per square foot. 
 
 With 5 parts of sand, 61 and 108 tons. 
 
 The tenacity or cohesive strength of mortar , that is the 
 resistance of it to a pull; of hardened good common lime 
 mortar, according to careful trials by Gen. Totton of the U. 
 S. Army, with mortar only six months, varies from 00 to 
 34 pounds per square inch; or from 864 to 4896 pounds, or 
 from 39 to 2.19 tons per square foot. 
 
 About 15 \ pounds per inch is near the General’s experi- 
 ence; and is quite as high as should be assumed in practice. 
 It is true that his experience showed that at the end of 4^ 
 years, some of the mortars had acquired from 2 to 3 times 
 greater strength; but others in that time increased but ^ 
 part. Moreover, in practice the working strains are gener- 
 ally brought upon masonry by the time that some of its 
 mortar is not more than six months old or even less; there- 
 fore, we cannot avail ourselves of the increased strength 
 given by time; but if such increase is needed speedily, we 
 must add cement. 
 
 The crushing force may be taken at 50 tons per square 
 foot; or 777 pounds per square inch. 
 
 The sliding resistance, or that which common mortar 
 opposes to any force tending to make one course of masonry- 
 slide upon another, is stated by Roudelet to be but 5 pounds 
 per square inch; or about •§■ tons per square foot, in mortar 
 six months old. 
 
 Transverse strength— Prisms six inches long, 2 inches 
 square and 4 inches between the supports, made from equal 
 measures of quicklime and sand, will when six months old 
 break under a centre load of about 200 pounds. With more 
 sand they are weaker; and with less they are stronger. 
 
 The adhesion to bricks or stones may ordinarily be as- 
 sumed to be at least equal to its cohesive strength in prop- 
 erly executed work. 
 
74 
 
 But in practice it should not be exposed to more than im- 
 part of the above loads, or strains, in any of the cases. It 
 is the opinion of some good practical authorities that the 
 mortar will be better if the lime is slaked to a dry pow- 
 der, or made into a paste, for about a week before adding 
 the sand. The delay gives time for the numerous small 
 refractory particles which occur in all limes, to slack and 
 soften, otherwise they do so after the mortar is laid some 
 time; and thus produce in it a partial disintegration. On 
 this account ground lime, if fresh, is preferable to lump;, 
 the grinding breaks down these particles or the mortar may 
 be well mixed a few days before being used, and then 
 worked. The powder of slaked lime may be kept good for 
 several months. If closely packed in barrels, and kept dry. 
 
 The strength of all mortar depends to a much greater 
 extent than is generally supposed, upon the thoroughness 
 of the mixing. 
 
 In important works on a large scale, the lime should be 
 finely ground into paste with water by a mill, and the sand 
 and cement then added gradually, and also mixed with the 
 paste by a mill. 
 
 Air slaked lime makes a weak mortar; and an excess 
 of water in slaking (or what is called drowning the lime) is 
 also injurious. 
 
 The best mode of slaking so far as regards the quality of 
 the mortar, is by sprinkling , the loose lump or ground 
 lime, with about \ to £ by trial, of its own bulk of water, 
 and then covering it with sand. Water should not be 
 added after the lime begins to heat. 
 
 Good mortar for setting boilers and furnaces and build- 
 ing generally. A good mortar is a solid silicate of lime, 
 that is, the lime unites with the silica or sand to form a 
 silicate of lime. In ancient times those who had some con- 
 ception of the way the two things united superintended 
 their mixing: but nowadays anybody knows much about 
 it. Dry lime and sand laid together or mixed and kept 
 dry for a thousand years would not unite to form silicate of 
 lime any more than acetic acid and carbonate of soda dry 
 in a bottle would effervesce. To make silicate of lime just 
 
75 
 
 fis good as was made by the Romans, all that is necessary 
 is to proceed intelligently: Procure good caustic, i. e., fresh 
 burned lime, and if you find it all powder, i. e., air slacked , 
 don’t use it; use only clear lumps; slake this (if possible in 
 a covered vessel), using only enough water to cause the 
 lime to form a powder. To this while hot add clean sand, 
 not dirt and loam called sand, but sand\ and with the sand 
 add enough water to form a paste. Then let it lie where 
 it will not become dry by evaporation, if in a cellar so much 
 the better; for as soon as you have mixed the sand and 
 lime as above, they begin to react one on the other, and if 
 not stopped by being deprived by moisture will go on re- 
 acting until silicate of lime (as hard as any silicate of lime 
 ever was), is formed. But if you take this so-called mortar 
 as soon as made and lay bricks with it, unless the bricks 
 are thoroughly wet you stop the formation of silicate of 
 lime, and might as well lay your bricks in mud when used 
 in the above work. Lime and sand, after being mixed, 
 might lie two years with advantage, and for certain uses’ 
 such as boiler setting, or when the whole structure is to be 
 diied, the mortar ought to be mixed for one vear before 
 use, and two would be better; but for house building, if 
 the bricks are so wetted as not to rob the mortar of’ its 
 moisture as soon as used; mortar that has been mixed a 
 month will form good solid silicate of lime among the bricks 
 it is laid with in ten years, and will be still harder in a hun- 
 dred years. . The practice of mixing mortar in the streets 
 and using it at once is as foolish as it is ignorant, and 
 would be no improvement. 
 
 Silicate of lime is made only by the slow action of caustic 
 lime and sand, one on the other, under the influence of 
 moisture. Dry they will never unite, and mixing mortar 
 as now mixed and using it at once, so as to dry out and 
 stop the formation that the mixing induced, is wrong. 
 
 And when preparing colored mortar for fronts and plas- 
 tering, and as well as for tuck-pointing in their different 
 tints for stopping, the above instruction should be followed 
 as near as possible that the different shades sought may re- 
 tain their color when in combination with lime. 
 
76 
 
 A new mortar for the finish of walls, laying bricks, etc. 
 This material is designed for application to walls and 
 ceilings in place of sand finish, plaster of paris. 
 
 It is claimed to be greatly superior for many reasons. 
 Among its advantages are claimed the following: 
 
 It will not chip-crack, is applied with less labor, involves 
 no loss of material in gauging; can be painted or papered at 
 less cost; is a non-absorbent and non-conductor; is imper- 
 meable to grease, stains or germs of disease; can be washed 
 without injury; is pleasanter to the eye than the glaring 
 white of ordinary finish, and does not become discolored 
 with age, but improves in tone and cleanliness; presents the 
 finest surface for papering in oil or water colors; and its 
 cost compares favorably with that of any other kind of 
 finish. It is also supplied, ready mixed, in various colors, 
 red, blue, drab, etc. It makes a beautiful surface, and the 
 color is permanent. The soapstone finish has been used for 
 several years past on churches, school houses, etc. The 
 Providence, R. I., Soapstone Co., also manufacture the 
 Potter color mortar, which makes a close, strong joint for 
 brickwork, and being unaffected by heat, gases or expos- 
 ure to the weather, is well adapted for chimney tops 
 and fire-places, and for laying up fire-brick, making a 
 strong and durable joint. For this purpose it is furnished 
 in red, black, brown and buff colors. 
 
 A cement for stopping joints, such as around chimneys, 
 e t c . —White lead ground in oil, as sold by the keg, mixed 
 with enough pure sand to make a stiff paste that will not 
 run. It grows hard by exposure, and resists heat, cold and 
 water. Pieces of stone may be strongly cemented togethei 
 with it, allowing a few months for proper hardening. 
 
 Litharge cement is composed of equal measures of lith- 
 arge, sand and plaster of paris, made into a paste with 
 boiled linseed oil, used for pointing up stoops, etc. 
 
 Alum and plaster. — These two materials make a very 
 good cement for common use. The better way is to make 
 a strong alum water, and wet the plaster of paris with it to 
 the proper consistency. 
 
 Peio’s composition for covering buildings and colored mor- 
 
77 
 
 tars. Take the hardest and purest limestone (white marble is 
 to be preferred), free from sand, clay or other matter; cal- 
 cine it in a reverberatory furnace, pulverize and pass it 
 through a sieve; 1 part by weight is to be mixed with two 
 parts clay well baked and similarly pulverized, conducting 
 the whole operation with care. This forms the first pow- 
 der. The second is to be made of 1 part calcined and pul- 
 verized gypsum, to which is added 2 parts clay, baked and 
 pulverized. These two powders are to be combined, and 
 intimately incorporated so as to form a perfect mixture. 
 When it is to be used, mix it with about a fourth part of 
 its weight of water added gradually, stirring the mass 
 well the whole time until it forms a thick paste, in which 
 state it is to be spread like mortar upon the desirer surface. 
 It becomes in time as hard as stone, allows no moisture to 
 penetrate, and is not cracked by heat. When well pre- 
 pared it will last a long time. When in its plastic or soft 
 state, it may be colored any desired tint. 
 
 Higgins ’ stucco. —To 15 pounds of best stone lime add 14 
 pounds of bone ashes finely powdered, and about 95 pounds 
 clean washed sand quite dry, either coarse or fine accor- 
 ding to the nature of the work in hand. These ingredi- 
 ents must be intimately mixed, and kept from the air till 
 wanted. When required for use, it must be mixed up into 
 a, proper consistency for working with lime water , and used 
 as speedily as possible. 
 
 Ashlar work is usually set or pointed up in a putty mor- 
 tar formed of lime, white lead, and a small quantity of fine 
 sand or pulverized stone of the kind being set. 
 
 A cement which will stand a moist climate is composed 
 of 1 bushel of lime with 15 gallons of water, and bush- 
 els of fine gravel sand mixed with pounds of copperas, 
 disol ved in hot water and kept stirred while being incorpor- 
 ated, and while being used. Sufficient should be made for 
 the day during which it is to be used, as the color is not 
 easily matched. 
 
 Asphalt . — The best bituminous cements are obtained 
 from the natural asphalt. The mastic is of 3 qualities, 
 fine gritted, and coarse gritted. The first being without 
 
78 
 
 any admixture of grit, is used in special cases for close 
 joints in brickwork. The fine gritted is used for covering 
 arches, lining of tanks, and as a cement for brickwork. 
 The coarse is used for paving and flooring. These mastics 
 being ductile and readily yielding, require a proper foun- 
 dation to be prepared for them, 
 
 In melting asphalt about two pounds of mineral tar is 
 added to every fifty-six pounds of the asphalt, but they 
 are all inferior to the natural asphalt. 
 
 A hard cement for pointing stoops, basins and cementing 
 stone is made of 63 parts well burnt brick, and 7, parts 
 lithage pulverized and moistened with linseed oil. Moisten 
 the surface to which it is to be applied. 
 
 Mastic cement . — Boettger says that these cements are 
 mixtures of 100 parts each of sand, limestone, and litharge, 
 with 7 parts linseed oil. These ingredients, carefully mixed 
 and well worked together, will have the consistency of 
 moist sand, and at first but little coherence. When pressed, 
 however, the mixture gradually acquires the hardness of 
 ordinary sandstone. The binding agents in such cements 
 are the litharge and oil, the sand giving the body, and lime- 
 stone or chalk filling up the interstices. 
 
 Frozen mortar . — There is risk in using common mortar 
 in cold weather. If the cold should continue long enough 
 to allow the frozen mortar to set well, the work may re- 
 main safe; but if a warm day should occur between the 
 freezing and the setting of the mortar on that side, while 
 that on the other may remain frozen hard. In that case 
 the wall will be apt to fall; or if it does not, it will at least 
 always be weak; for mortar that has partially set while 
 frozen if then melted, will never regain its strength. Strong 
 hydraulic cements seem not to be injured by freezing. 
 
 Fire wall, the finishing wall of a building or that portion 
 which rises above and encloses the roof and should be built 
 with cement mortar and w£ll flashed with lead' to receive 
 the tin covering of the roof. 
 
 Salt in mortar . — The American architect asserts that 
 adding salt to cement mortar in cold weather to preserve 
 it from the bad effects of freezing, has been found bene- 
 
79 
 
 ficial. It is not quite clear why the salt should act in this 
 way, as the beneficial results of using it are visible with 
 mortar that has certainly been frozen, and frozen salt water 
 expands nearly as much as fresh water. But engineers and 
 contractors who have tried it are unanimous in their opinion 
 of its value. Many cases are seen where masonry has been 
 laid in cement incold weather, using a considerable amount 
 of salt in the mixture, which, after repeated freezing and 
 thawing, has remained in perfect condition, while work 
 near by laid in mortar of the same kind, but without salt, 
 has been disintegrated by the frost. 
 
 Dampness. — Prevention of damp in buildings. — Damp 
 is caused in buildings by the presence of water in the at- 
 mosphere and the soil, combined with the porosity of build- 
 ing materials which absorb it. Its effects are to cause dis- 
 integrating of masonry, the decay of timber, the develop- 
 ment of saltpetre on walls, and injury to the health of the 
 inhabitants of the buildings, with damage to the decora- 
 tions of walls and to furniture. Remedies to prevent and 
 cure it may be applied to both the causes by: 
 
 1st. Employing suitable materials for cellars and other 
 parts of buildings below or on the level of the soil; 2d, in- 
 serting damp courses to stop the upward progress of damp; 
 3rd, applying preparations to protect the face of the ex- 
 posed wall from the weather, or to prevent damp in the 
 wall from affecting an apartment; and 4th, adopting pre- 
 cautions against infiltration. Concrete covering the whole 
 ground-area of the future building with a layer four inches 
 thick, forms the most sanitary foundation. 
 
 Well-puddled clay is also good and inexpensive, but is 
 not effective in old buildings. The porosity of materials 
 has been obviated by injecting them with gas-refuse, by im- 
 mersing or washing them in solutions of soap and alum 
 successively, and by plunging them into a solution of sili- 
 cate of potash, and by painting them with gas-tar. Mor- 
 tars are made impervious by mixing them with cement. 
 Ventilating bricks admit air to the interior of walls, and 
 thus keep them dry. Under the Joument patent, ventible 
 and perfectly dry floors and areas are made by laying the 
 
80 
 
 cement around pipes, which being drawn out, leave the 
 foundation penetrated by tubes. Conduits are made with 
 the glycometallic liquid, or with gutta-percha. The stone 
 settings of windows should be made moisture proof, and 
 leaden gutters on the inside to catch the moisture that drops 
 from the glass, will be of service. Finally, drains from 
 closets should be furnished with ventilating pipes. 
 
 Damp courses.. — In structures used for domestic pur- 
 poses, it is scarcely necessary to say that it is of the utmost 
 importance that the walls be kept dry and free from damp; 
 the drainage of the site is of the utmost importance that 
 this may be attained. 
 
 It is usual, in order to keep the walls dry, to have near 
 the ground level a course, which is called a damp-proof 
 course, and for this purpose asphalt may be used, or a 
 double course of slate bedded in Portland cement. A course 
 of hard stone as well should be laid along the grade-line to 
 prevent moisture from the exterior. 
 
 The asphalt should be spread about | inch thick (and 
 sprinkled with coarse sand) and of the best quality, and 
 there may be no fear as to the compressibility of the as- 
 phalt of that thickness from the heat of the sun in the 
 summer-time, on account of the proximity of the soil, and 
 the alternation of temperature of day and night. And 
 there can be no question that the construction of masonry 
 below the ground line of buildings should be done in hy- 
 draulic cement mortar, as an effectual means of preventing 
 the ascent of humidity in buildings. 
 
 Dampness is said to prevail most in buildings finished 
 hastily; because the materials which compose the walls 
 having never been dry, conform themselves to the humidity 
 rising, in a regular current, by capillary attraction, never 
 allows the possibility of the walls afterwards becoming dry. 
 And the precaution should be taken as explained under 
 damp-proof course. 
 
 Mr. F. Ransome of London claims to render stone and 
 brick walls water proof by coating them to saturation with 
 a solution of silicate of soda, which is superficially decom- 
 posed by the further application of chloride of calcium. 
 
81 
 
 The surface thus obtained consists of silicate of lime, which 
 is perfectly insoluble, and therefore water-tight, while it 
 does not alter the appearance of the wall. 
 
 Dentils. — A row of similar and equal solids in a cor- 
 nice, disposed at equal parts each presenting four equal 
 sides of a rectangular prism; in setting a dentil course the 
 line should always be placed at the under side of the den- 
 til course. 
 
 Dwarf- walls are low walls of less height than the story 
 of a building. Sometimes the joists of aground floor rests 
 upon them; and the enclosures of courts are frequently 
 formed by them with an railing of iron on their top; 
 any low wall used as a fence may be termed a dwarf-wall. 
 
 Darby. — In plastering a two handed float, about 3|- 
 feet long and 4 inches wide, used by the plasterer to fetch 
 his browning coat to an even surface. 
 
 Diamond-work. — Reticulated work formed by courses 
 of lozenge-shaped stones, very common in ancient times. 
 
 Discharging-arch. — An arch built above a lintel to 
 take the superincumbent pressure therefrom. 
 
 Dots. — Nails driven into a wall to a certain depth, so 
 that their protruding heads form a gage of depth in laying 
 on a coat of plastic. 
 
 Drove. — A broad-edged chisel used by stone masons. 
 
 Dry. arch. — An arch sometimes employed in the founda- 
 tion of buildings for the purpose of keeping them dry. 
 
 Dead man. — A term generally used by the bricklayer 
 for a temporary constructed pier to guide his line when 
 racking up a wall. 
 
 Derrick. — A form of hoisting machine. The peculiar 
 feature of a derrick, which distinguishes it from some other 
 forms of hoisting machines, is that it has a boom stayed 
 from a central point, w T hich may be anchored, but is usually 
 stayed by guys. A derrick has one leg, a shears two, and 
 a gin three. A crane has a post and jib. 
 
 A whin or whim has a vertical axis on which a rope 
 winds. The capstan has a vertical drum for the rope, and 
 is volated by bars. The windlass has a horizontal barrel, 
 6 
 
82 
 
 and is volated by hand-spikes. The winch has a horizon- 
 tal barrel, and is frequently the means of winding up the 
 tackle-rope of the derrick; it is volated by cranks. The 
 crab is a portable winch and has cranks. The derrick is 
 commonly used in the United States, and has attained 
 wdiat appears to be maximum effectiveness with a given 
 weight. Two spars, three guys, and two sets of tackle, 
 one for the jib and one for the load, complete the apparatus, 
 except the winch, crab, or capstan for hoisting. 
 
 Deafening. — The process of filling between the floor 
 joists of floors with mortar and saw-dust, to prevent the 
 vibration of sound. Usually from 2 to 6 in depth. 
 
 Dowel-pin. — A pin or peg uniting two stones together; 
 their size is regulated in accordance to the weight of the 
 stone. 
 
 Draft. — The chisel-dressing at the angles of stones, serv- 
 ing as a guide for the leveling of the surface. 
 
 Drip-stone. — A corona or projecting table or moulding 
 over the heads of doorways, windows, arch-ways, niches, etc. 
 
 Discoloration of brick walls. — Brick buildings in 
 almost all of our cities are from time to time disfigured by 
 streaks and patches of white. Mr. Trautwine’s observa- 
 tions are eminently worthy of the attention of masons and 
 builders in localities where this disfiguration makes its ap- 
 pearance. The evil, he says, is most noticeable in dry 
 weather on parts of walls subjected to dampness, and on 
 entire walls after rain storms have soaked them. 
 
 The white coating is derived primarily from both the 
 bricks and the mortar. In some instances it undoubtedly 
 comes from the bricks; here the white substance is dissolved 
 by moisture from the bricks even before they are built into 
 the walls. He has found it in bricks just from the kiln. 
 
 It has a peculiar taste, that of sulphate of magnesia; but 
 besides this salt the bricks also contain sulphate of lime. 
 The theory is that the silicates of magnesia and lime in 
 bricks are converted into sulphates by the sulphuric acid 
 evolved from the sulphide of iron and iron pyrites con- 
 tained in the coal, which is employed in the kilns. 
 
 Now, sulphate of magnesia effloresces in dry air, andsul- 
 
83 
 
 phate of lime is dissolved by moisture and appears on the 
 surface of bricks. Hence, plainly, one mode of preventing 
 the incrustation is the employment of only wood, or of 
 coke free from sulphur in the kilns, at least this might be 
 done in the manufacture of pressed bricks for house-fronts. 
 
 As for the incrustations having their origin in the mor- 
 tar, comes from the fact that sulphate of magnesia is 
 largely produced by the decomposition of mortar. The ob- 
 servations on this head have special applications to vicini- 
 ties where most of the lime used in buildings are from mag- 
 nesia limestone. 
 
 The resulting mixture of limestone and magnesia, when 
 slaked and made into mortar, is very susceptible to the 
 influence of sulphurous fumes in the atmosphere, which 
 produces in the mortar sulphates of lime and magnesia. 
 
 The great solubility of sulphate of magnesia facilitates 
 its diffusion; sulphate of lime is comparatively insoluble, 
 and does not cause so much disfigurment. Of course, mor- 
 tar made from magnesia limestone quickly, decomposes, 
 and the bricks it was intended to cement become loose. 
 
 The remedy for this is the employment of lime from non- 
 magnesia limestone. The remedy also offered for this evil 
 is the addition of a small quantity of baryta to the water 
 used for tempering the brick clay. The baryta, having a 
 strong affinity for the free acid, would seize upon it, and 
 with it form insoluble sulphate of baryta. A like addition 
 of baryta to mortar, after it is prepared for use, may rea- 
 sonably be expected to check the tendency to efflorescence, 
 except of course, when the mortar, as in chimneys, is con- 
 tinuously exposed to the action of sulphurous vapors. It 
 is a fact that soda in one of its forms is the cause; simple 
 water dissolves it; and, next, linseed oil as a coating is an 
 excellent treatment. The best success has been attained 
 when dilute muriatic acid has cleansed the pores in the 
 bricks, and thus permitted the oil to penetrate further into 
 the bricks and keeping the wall dry. (See Washes.) 
 
 Dilute muriatic acid— Mix 4 troy ounces muriatic acid 
 with distilied water to make a pint. The specific gravity 
 of the diluted acid is 1.038. (U. S. Ph.) 
 
84 
 
 Drains. — The general principles are that each day’s in- 
 flux should be promptly passed out by natural flow or flush- 
 ing, and not allowed to deposit sediment. The alignment 
 should be good, especially at the bottom; the descent should 
 be uniform, and the interior surface smooth, so as to re- 
 duce friction and not to cause clogging; the walls should 
 be absolutely impervious, and the suction such as will cause 
 the most rapid possible flow with a minimum of sewage. 
 Rapid flow being essential, smooth interior walls should be 
 provided; mortar projecting from the joints of a brick sew- 
 er markedly impedes the flow and arrests putrefiable mat- 
 ter. A flat-bottomed form is the worst form as regards the 
 velocity of the flow; a circular bottom is better; an egged- 
 shaped section, with the point downward, permits of a 
 minimum current flushing and cleansing the bottom. In 
 brick sewers the mortar constantly moist; must sooner or 
 later succumb to the disintegrating action of the matters 
 passed through it, and the whole line gradually passes into 
 the form of a seive, allowing the liquid portions of the sew- 
 age to pass through it, and to saturate the subsoil, but re- 
 taining the solids. From the consequent saturation of the 
 soil result contagious fevers. Hence vitrified clay pipes are 
 now almost universally employed. The slip glazing is ap- 
 plied to these pipes resists the severest chemical action of 
 sewage matter. The slip glaze is produced by dipping the 
 unbaked clay into a mixture of slip clay, or Albany earth, 
 and water, which under a white heat continued from twelve 
 to thirty hours, produces a vitreous and very durable sili- 
 cious surface upon the wares. These pipes are very cheap 
 and are manufactured in almost all the States. From every 
 water pipe carrying off rain water from the roof of a build- 
 ing, as well as from every sink and water closet, a small 
 drain leads into a greater one, the former of which is called 
 a branch drain, whilst the latter is called the main drain of 
 the building. In all small drains, excepting those for clean 
 water only, it is necessary to have cesspools somewhat 
 larger and deeper than the drains to which they belong. 
 These cesspools, being covered with an iron grating, receive 
 the surface water which is accompanied with much sand 
 
85 
 
 and earth washed down, prevent the drains from being 
 choked up; and when the cesspools themselves are near full 
 the grating can be removed and the cesspools emptied. Be- 
 sides these cesspools, it is usual to form one of a different 
 description, termed stink-traps, within the building to pre- 
 vent offensive smells from passing into the water pipes from 
 the sinks of the building. They are made (generally of 
 tile) by forming part of a bottom of a drain at a lower level, 
 so that water must necessarily stand in it all times. Care 
 should be taken in arranging the small drains of a building 
 that nothing but clean water drains shall have any possible 
 communication with the tanks or cisterns for receiving rain 
 water from the roof when such are used. The slope of a 
 drain for clean water may be from to 2 inches in 10 feet; 
 the slope of a drain carrying down other sewerage should 
 be much more when such a slope can be commanded. 
 
 All drains should be well considered before commenced, 
 and should be about the first things executed about a build- 
 ing. A level should be taken from the bottom of the sewer 
 in the street back to the furthest part of starting in the 
 rear, and a computation taken to find how much fall can 
 be had to a foot; drains should not be cut too abruptly in 
 their course, and all branch drains should not enter the 
 main drain at right angles, but should, when possible, be 
 slanted a little to favour the direction in which the water is 
 to flow. All joints of drains should be well cemented to- 
 gether to prevent the escape of sewer gas. 
 
 All brick drains should be built of the hardest burned 
 brick, and laid in a strong hydraulic cement mortar, and 
 the closest possible joint to render them absolutely imperv- 
 ious to water; it is a simple enough matter for any practical 
 mechanic to estimate upon the drains for a building; but 
 those of a public character which are constructed for cities 
 and water ways are naturally followed with considerable 
 risk, not in regards ascertaining the quantity of material to 
 be used, but the difficulty encountered to perform the work, 
 which arises from rains and caving in of the embankment, 
 quicksand, etc., as well the general nature of the soil to be 
 met with, which necessitates a percentage to be added for 
 
86 
 
 all kinds of such work for risk unseen, which is known to 
 the judgment of the practical man acquainted with the 
 difficulties once met with. Of course the general princi- 
 ples of construction must be followed in any case, and one 
 who is acquainted with the difficulties encountered in deal- 
 ing with unreliable soils and rock, may from his knowledge 
 of such work knows what percentage to add to this kind of 
 work. 
 
 Encaustic tile. — The art of putting together small 
 tubes or tesserae of dilferent substances, so as to form pat- 
 terns and figures either in monochrome or in various col- 
 ors, was very ancient, being known to the Egyptians, 
 Assyrians and Babylonians. 
 
 Mosaic was applied to the decoration of walls and pave- 
 ments and was extensively used, especially for the latter 
 purpose, by the Greeks and Romans; but Mosaic took its 
 chief development after the spread of Christianity, and in 
 the decoration of Christian edifices, and may, therefore, 
 be called a Christian art. Although the chief merit of the 
 Mosaic must depend upon the designer of the cartoon, yet 
 much depends upon the judgment and the skill of the 
 mason who executes it. 
 
 Encaustic tiles are those in which colored devices are in- 
 troduced, the colors being burnt in during the process of 
 manufacture. 
 
 For ornamental tiling the whole surface to be paved is 
 screeded perfectly level with Portland cement mixed with 
 sand, and when sufficiently hard the tiles are laid with a 
 thin bed of pure Portland cement, according to a design at 
 hand; by frequently applying the straight-edge the work 
 will be brought to a uniform surface. 
 
 Entablitnre. — Is that part of an order which is sup- 
 ported by the columns and forms the covering or shelter to 
 the edifice. It consists of three principal divisions, viz., 
 the architrave which rests upon the capitals of the columns; 
 the frieze immediately above it; and the cornice at the 
 summit. 
 
 Excavating. — The mason is often called upon to esti- 
 mate on excavating, digging, etc., and he should be ac- 
 
87 
 
 quainted somewhat with this manner of work for that pur- 
 pose. There is a difference of opinion in regard of costs 
 and amounts of labor in this work among civil engineers’ 
 writings, which, I suppose, may be accounted for in the 
 different manner in which the work is managed. Mr. 
 Trautwine says that “ The aggregate cost of excavating 
 and removing earth is made up by the following items: 1st, 
 as an ordinary average loosening by the plough, from 200 
 to 400 cubic yards per day, 10 hours. By the pick, 14 yards 
 of stiff pure clay, or of cemented gravel, 25 yards of strong 
 heavy soils; 40 yards of common loam; 60 yards of light 
 sandy soils, all measured in place. 
 
 2d. Shovelling the loose earth into carts. Much of this 
 work depends upon the weight of the material, and the pro- 
 portioning the number of pickers and carts to that of 
 shovellers; but as an average 24 yards of light sandy soils; 
 20 yards of loam 17 of the heavy soils, measured in place, 
 per days work of man. 
 
 3rd. Hauling away the earth; dumping, or emptying and 
 returning to reload. 
 
 The average speed of horses in hauling, is about 2i miles 
 per hour, or 200 ft. per minute; which is equal to 100 ft. of 
 trip each way; or 100 ft. of lead, as the distance to which 
 the earth is hauled is technically called. 
 
 Besides this, there is a loss of about 4 minutes in each 
 trip, either long or short, in waiting to load, dumping, 
 turning, etc. Hence every trip will occupy as many minutes 
 as there are lengths of 100 ft. each in the lead; and four 
 minutes besides. Therefor, to find the number of trips per 
 day over any given average land, we divide the number of 
 minutes in a working day by the sum of 4 added to the 
 number of 100 ft. lengths contained in the distance to 
 which the earth has to be removed; that is : — The number 
 of minutes in a working day {600) -r (4 + the number of 100 
 ft. lengths in the lead) = The number of trips, or loads re- 
 moved per day, per cart. And since £ of a cubic yard 
 measured before being loosened, makes an average cart load* 
 the number of loads, divided by 3, will give the number of 
 cubic yards removed per day by each cart ; and the cubic 
 
88 
 
 yards divided into the total expense of a cart per day, w ill 
 give the cost per cubic yard for hauling. When removing 
 loose rock, which requires more time for loading, say 
 No. of minutes (600) in a working day + (6 + No. of 100 ft. 
 lengths of lead)= Number of loads removed per day, per 
 cart. 
 
 4th. Spreading or leveling of the earth into thin layers 
 on the embankment. A bankman will spread from 50 to 
 100 cubic yards of either common loam, or any of the 
 heavier soils, clays, etc., per day, depending upon their dry- 
 ness. 
 
 5th. Keeping the cart road in good order, for hauling. 
 Say iV of a cent per cubic yard, per 100 ft. of lead. 
 
 6th. Wear, sharpening, and depreciating of picks and 
 shovels.— Experience shows that about i of a cent per cubic 
 yard will cover this item. 
 
 7th. Superintendance and water carriers, trimming up 
 etc., about 2 cent per cubic yard. 
 
 8th. Profit to contractor.— Out of this item is generally 
 paid clerks, storekeepers, etc., and is generally put down 
 from 6 to 15 per cent, according to the magnitude of the 
 work. 
 
 Cost of excavating by barrows. — The cost by barrows 
 may be estimated in the same manner as by carts. Men 
 in wheeling move at about the same average rate as 
 horses do in hauling, that is 2£ miles an hour, or 200 feet 
 per minute, or 1 minute per every 100 feet length of lead. 
 The time occupied in loading, emptying, etc. (when, as is 
 usual, the wheeler loads his own barrow), is about 1.25 
 minutes, without regard to length of lead ; besides which, 
 the time lost in occasional short rests, in adjusting the 
 wheeling plank, and in other incidental causes, amounts to 
 about part of his whole time ; so that in practice we 
 must consider him as actually working but 9 hours out of 
 his 10 working ones, at the rate of 1.25 minutes per 100 feet 
 of lead. To find then the number of barrow loads he can 
 remove in a day, multiply the number of minutes (60) in a 
 working hour by 9 and divide the product by the sum of 
 1.25 added to the number of 100 feet lengths in the lead; 
 
89 
 
 that is: The number of minutes in a working day of 9 
 hours =1.25 X the number of trips of lead. 
 
 The number of trips or loads removed per day per bar- 
 row. The number of loads divided by 14 will give the 
 number of cubic yards, since a cubic yard measured in 
 place averages about 14 barrow loads. 
 
 For rock , which requires more time for loading, say num- 
 ber of minutes in a working day =1.6 X number of lengths 
 of lead ; number of loads removed per day per barrow. 
 
 Removing rock excavating by wheel barrows . — A solid 
 cubic yard of granite or sand stone when broken up by 
 blasting for removal by carts or barrows will occupy a 
 space of about 1.8 or If cubic yards; whereas, average earth 
 when loosened swells to about 1.2 or If of its original bulk 
 in place; although after being made into embankment, it 
 eventually shrinks into less than its original bulk. In esti- 
 mating for earth, it is assumed that ft cubic yard in place 
 is a fair load for a wheel barrow. Such a cubic yard will 
 weigh on an average 2,430 lbs., or 1.09 tons; therefore, 
 jpg. is the weight of a barrow load on 2.31 cubic 
 feet of loose earth. Assuming that a barrow of loose rock 
 would weigh about the same as one of earth, we may take 
 it at of a cubic yard; which gives = 177 lbs. per 
 load of loose rock, occupying 2 cubic feet of space. 
 
 Ample experience shows that when labor is $1 per 
 day, 45 cts. per cubic yard, in place is a sufficiently lib- 
 eral allowance for loosening hard rock under all ordinary 
 circumstances. In practice it will generally range from 30 
 to 60 cts. ; depending upon the position of the strata, hard- 
 ness, toughness, water and other considerations. Soft shales, 
 and other allied rocks, may frequently be loosened by pick 
 and plow, as low as from 15 to 20 cents; while on the other 
 hand, shallow cuttings of very tough rock, with an unfa- 
 vorable position of strata, especially in the bottoms of ex- 
 cavations, may cost $1 or even considerable more. These 
 are exceptional cases of comparatively rare occurrence. The 
 quarrying of average hard rock requires about \ to ^ lb. 
 of powder per cubic yard in place; but the nature of the 
 rock and the position of the strata, etc., may increase it to 
 
90 
 
 i-lb. or more. Soft rock frequently requires more powder 
 than hard. A good churn-driller will drill 8 to 12 feet in 
 depth, of holes about 2£ feet deep, and two inches in diam- 
 eter, per day, in average hard rock, at from 12 to 18 cents 
 per foot; drillers receive higher wages than common labo- 
 rers. 
 
 Float Stone.— A rubbing stone used by the bricklayer 
 tor smoothing compass-bricks. It takes out the axe marks 
 acquired in roughly dressing to shape. 
 
 Floors for cellars and walks.— The following will 
 be found to make a hard and durable floor or sidewalk: 
 Mix well together, dry, 3 parts of broken stones or brick 
 bats and 2 parts of coarse gravel and 1 of Portland cement. 
 Then add the water by sprinkling, and spread from 3 to 6 
 inches thick, well pounded, and before it is thoroughly set 
 another coat is put on of 2 inches thick, of 1 part of cement 
 and 2 of sand, screeded with a straight edge and well 
 troweled to a smooth and hand surface. This preparation 
 can be colored to suit the taste with lampblack and ochres, 
 as desiied, and explained in this work for that purpose. 
 
 Hair.— This is a very necessary material used by the 
 plasterer. It should be long (the longer the better), sound, 
 free from grease and dirt, thoroughly separated, beaten up, 
 or switched with a lath, so as to separate the hairs, and 
 thoroughly dried. 
 
 Grounds. Pieces of wood nailed on by the carpenter 
 as guides for the plastering which comes flush with the. 
 surface of the grounds. 
 
 Grout.— A thin coarse hydraulic mortar used to run into 
 crevices or joints between the stones or bricks of a wall. 
 All walls or foundations, where strength is the main object 
 to be attained, should be grouted. 
 
 Hawk.— Is a wooden tool used by the plasterer in plas- 
 tering. It is generally made of pine, thin on the edges, 
 being bevelled from the centre on the under side to each of 
 the four edges; and is made from 11 to 13 inches square; 
 the handle should be about 6 inches long and about 1^ 
 inches in diameter. 
 
91 
 
 Impost. — The upper member of a pillar column, or en- 
 tabliture, upon which an arch or superstructure rests. 
 
 Incrnstation. — A facing or covering to a wall of a 
 different material from which it is mainly built, such as 
 marble or stone. 
 
 Jack arch. — An arch of only one brick in thickness. 
 
 Jointer. — In bricklaying, a crooked piece of iron, form- 
 ing two courses of contrary flexure by its edges on each 
 side, used for drawing the coursing and vertical joints by 
 the edge of the jointing rule, in which way the work is 
 prepared for the painter for penciling. 
 
 level. — An instrument used by mechanics for ascertain- 
 ing levels. The most convenient kind of levels is the spirit 
 level, which is more accurate than any other, and is most 
 extensively used. This instrument consists of a cylindri- 
 cal glass tube filled with spirits of wine, except leaving in 
 it a small bubble of air; its end being sealed to keep in the 
 fluid. This bubble being the lightest of the contents of the 
 tube, will always run towards that end of the tube which 
 is most elevated; but when the tube is perfectly horizontal 
 the bubble will have no tendency towards either end. 
 
 Lintel. — A stone or beam of timber over an aperture; 
 for sustaining the superincumbent part above. 
 
 Ledger. — In scaffolding for brick buildings, the hori- 
 zontal pieces of timber or poles parallel to the wall, fastened 
 by chords in order to support the put-logs, on which are 
 laid the boards for working upon. 
 
 Masonry. — The art of arranging stone together for the 
 formation of walls, in the construction of buildings. The 
 early Greeks constructed their walls, particularly those 
 which surrounded their cities, of rough stones of an im- 
 mense size; such were those of Mycenea and Tiryns. The 
 interstices that were left between these shapeless blocks, 
 were filled up with small stones. According to the report 
 of travelers, there still exist in the isles of Gozzo and Malta 
 circular edifices of this construction. When the ancients 
 began to cut their stones, they did not cut them rectangu- 
 lar, but gave them an irregular figure of three, four or six 
 sides, but fitted them together, so that, when in their 
 
92 
 
 places, they left no interstices between them. The ruins 
 of the ancient wall about the city of Cora, near Velletri, 
 are an example of this mode of building. Winckelmann 
 makes the same remark on the walls of Corinth; on those 
 of Eretria, in Eubcea; and of Ostia, in Cyprus. 
 
 We also find in the ancient Lesbos, now called Mateling, 
 and in different parts of Greece and Asia Minor, vestiges 
 of similar walls. Chandler gives to this construction, the 
 name of incertum, and takes it, without doubt, for the in- 
 certum of Vitruvius. But the mode of building which the 
 Roman architect speaks of under that name, is of a very 
 different character. The ancients next employed stones cut 
 at right angles, and of an oblong form, but their size was 
 not uniform. We find the remains of such walls in Greek 
 and Etruscan buildings. The stones are generally from 
 nine to twenty- two feet long, and from two to six high, in 
 the walls of Volatarra, Cortona and Pestum; those of the 
 latter city have been restored by the Romans. Sometimes 
 they gave to the exterior of these stones the form of arom- 
 bus or lozenge, as we see in the ancient walls in the isle of 
 Syra, and in Samos. As by degrees the Greeks brought 
 their architecture to perfection, they constructed their build- 
 ings in a manner more agreeable, more regular and less 
 gigantic. There were three different modes of building: 
 The isodomon, which was formed of ranges of large stones 
 of equal height, and which gave to the buildings in which 
 it w T as employed a handsome appearance, and was, there- 
 fore, chiefly employed in the construction of temples; the 
 pseudisodomon , which consisted of ranges of stones of un- 
 equal height; and the emplecton , which was employed when 
 it was requisite to give a thickness greater than ordinary to 
 the walls, and in which the outside only of the walls was 
 built up of regular hewn stones, and the interior part filled 
 with rough stones and mortar. For the sake of greater 
 solidity, they placed with care at certain distances cross- 
 stones, which served to bind the two outer faces. 
 
 The Romans at first imitated the Etruscans in their man- 
 ner of building. But in later times, independent of the 
 use of bricks and hewn stones, the Romans had two modes 
 
93 
 
 of building, which they called reticulatum and incertum or 
 antiquum. The incertum consisted in employing the stones 
 just as they came from the quarries, ranged in any order, 
 as they could best fit them together. What was called 
 reticulatum opus, was a wall composed of square stones, 
 which were not placed in a horizontal direction, but in such 
 a manner that the junctures lay in a horizontal line, 
 which gave the wall the appearance of net work 
 which it received the name of reticulatum, and was 
 called by the Greeks dictyotheton. Vitruvius assures 
 us, that in his time this was the mode of build- 
 ing most commonly practiced. Many edifices of this 
 construction still remain. The Romans imitated the em- 
 plecton of the Greeks, but they did not execute with the 
 same care or the same solidity. They employed also stone 
 and brick at the same time; and the order and symmetry, 
 which is observed in walls of this construction lead us to 
 conclude, that their aim was to adorn and embellish them. 
 
 The walls of Armaira, in Persia, are described by Sir R. 
 K. Porter: Some of the towers are of prodigious magnitude, 
 and exhibit the finest specimens of the ancient high- 
 finished armaira masonry, being composed of white and 
 reddish stones, joined in the nicest art. The common thick- 
 ness of Grecian walls was seven or eight feet. Those of 
 the Acropolis of Pharsalia are fifteen and a half feet thick. 
 They are constructed sometimes with one single row of 
 blocks, but more generally with a double row, united with- 
 out any space in the middle. Those at Pharsalia and other 
 places, where they are of an unusual thickness, are lined 
 on both sides with large blocks while the interstices are filled 
 up with smaller stones, and earth and mortar, the em- 
 plecton of Vitruvius. The ancient Cyclopean walls were 
 an exception, being twenty-five feet thick at Tiryns, and 
 solid throughout. The walls of Platara, which in some 
 parts are in a high state of preservation, exhibit the mode 
 of building walls in Greece, in the age of Alexander, when 
 they were rebuilt. They are in general composed of regular 
 masonry, with some irregularity in the size of the stones, 
 which does not appear to be symmetric. They are about 
 
94 
 
 eight feet thick, and are fortified by square towers, with a 
 few of a circular form. The foregoing remarks will be 
 found interesting to those who will have use for this book; 
 as will the following remarks on masonry of ‘ ‘modern 
 times.” 
 
 “Hewn Ashlar Masonry. If set stone and stone, or 
 with thin beds of mortar, and the face work is either 
 backed up with rubble or brick, must be weak. Neither 
 science or care can make such hybrid work strong, or 
 preserve it true in line, or face, vertically, or horizontally ; 
 the backing will shrink and draw the face work. I do not 
 believe a straight cornice line can be found in any binding 
 of any length and height, unless there are numerous inner 
 and cross walls to counteract the shrinking and building 
 actions named.” Masonry may be defined as the art of 
 constructing with stone upon a plan or system calculated to 
 insure durability. Tne structure may be a single fence wall 
 of dry random rubble; or it may be the most complicated 
 and elaborately carved cathedral. Betwixt these extremes 
 their are many varieties of masonry. 
 
 Rough Rubble Masonry. 
 
 This class of work, whether set dry or in mortar, consists 
 of stones of small dimensions, on which no labor has been 
 bestowed, other than that necessary to raise them from the 
 earth or quarry. No stone should be larger than one man 
 can lift; and a skillful worker always finds a place for each 
 stone after he has once taken it in hand. As defined by 
 Johnson, ‘A mason that makes a wall meets a stone that 
 needs no cutting, and places in his work.’ 
 
 “ Rough or Random Rubble Masonry may be set dry, 
 or it may be set in mortar; but dry, it forms fence 
 walls, retaining walls, and backing, to prevent the earth 
 coming in contact with masonry or brick work — as behind 
 retaining walls of rubble set in mortar, of coursed wall 
 stone, or ashlar; or to protect foundation walls from clay, 
 marl, or wet earth. Rough rubble masonry consists of : 1. 
 Random rubble set dry, as in moor and field fence walls. 
 2. Random rubble set in mortar, — as fence walls, house 
 
95 
 
 walls, and other structures. 3. Coursed rubble set in mor- 
 tar, — as rubble stone, leveled up in courses, generally the 
 depth of ashlar, or single quoins. Snecked rubble set in 
 mortar, — as rubble stone having the faces snecked , that is, 
 the rough taken off so as to present a more even surface, 
 the beds remaining undressed. 
 
 i “Bubble masonry is also used as backing to many 
 varieties of masonry; the face of a wall, bridge and abut- 
 ment, or other structure, may be of wall stone, of block in 
 course, or of ashlar, and the backing may be of rubble; or 
 there may be two faces, with a filling or hearting of 
 rubble. 
 
 “Although random rubble forms work of the rudest 
 class, it is not certain that untutored men would construct 
 it, as considerable experience and skill are required to wall 
 small unhewn stone in line on face and in form.” 
 
 “Cyclopean Masonry. — This form of masonry seems 
 to have been adopted for military and for religious purposes 
 by the aborigines of countries wide apart. There are 
 remains of Cyclopean construction older than written 
 history. Most known examples blend with myths, and 
 are to be found in the deserts of India, of Asia, of Central 
 America, and in Druidical remains spread over Europe. 
 
 “Cyclopean masonry is essentially barbaric, whether 
 the stone be rough and unhewn, or hewn and squared, or 
 hewn and fitted in angles and irregular forms. The 
 temples of Egypt, of Palmyra and Greece may be excep- 
 tions; but like many exceptions confirm the rule. Masonry, 
 in its highest branches, consists in the art of constructing 
 with small stones— as the best abbeys and cathedrals. 
 
 “ Mr. Sharp states that few stones in the grand and ela- 
 borate structures exceed a cubic of two feet square; most of 
 the stones are of less dimensions, or such as a man could 
 carry. 
 
 “The newest forms of masonry most in use for modern 
 purposes may be specified as: Random rubble set dry; ran- 
 dom rubble set in mortar; random rubble set with quoins, 
 joints and architraves and levelled in courses; snecked 
 rubble, generally set in courses; rubble with ashlar binders', 
 
96 
 
 rubble in alternate courses with bricks or with tiles ; 
 hint rubble , whole or cut; boulder, or pebble rubble, whole 
 or cut. Flint and pebbles are generally used with brick, 
 tile, or stone quoins and courses. Slate rubble, this is set 
 in horizontal beds having an angle of 45°, or at any inter- 
 mediate angle, and examples may be found vertical. Her- 
 ring-bone rubble, where flat-headed stones are found, this 
 example of masonry may be seen. The Romans frequently 
 used it, not only for face work, but to back squared wall 
 stone, or to form the hearting to their military walls. In- 
 termediate betwixt true rubble and regular coursed wall 
 stone, or ashlar, there are forms of masonry in which 
 stones are set irregularly, labor being required to produce 
 irregularity. Much of this kind of work has neither 
 economy, beauty or strength to recommend it. 
 
 ‘ ‘ Wall stone squared and bedded ; coursed wall stone set 
 dry ; coursed wall stone set in mortar; rough faced wall 
 stone ; pitch faced wall stone ; scabbled wall stone ; punched 
 wall stone ; skutched wall stone ; bousted ivall stone. There 
 are other forms of finish for the face of coursed wall stones, 
 and the beds and joints generally rise in finish to accord 
 with the faces; that is, rough faced, or pitch faced, punched, 
 or skutched off wall stones have a higher finish on the face; 
 will have clean bousted beds and joints. Coursed wall 
 stones vary in depth up to nine inches. 
 
 “ Block in course. — This form of masonry may have all 
 the varieties as named for coursed wall stone, the difference 
 consisting in dimensions alone. Block in course may com- 
 mence from 9 ins. (the depth of each course), uj)wards 
 until it verges into rough ashlar. The engineer or archi- 
 tect should, however, in all cases, specify the dimensions 
 for coursed wall-stone and block in course, as also that 
 which is to constitute the difference betwixt these and ashlar; 
 and all the other varieties of masonry should be defined.” 
 
 Stones with two faces. — Parpoints may consist of wall- 
 stone, block in course, or ashlar. Stones of this denomina- 
 tion are used in walls such as battlements or parapets to 
 bridges. The faces may be rough, or rubbed, or of any 
 intermediate grain of workmanship. 
 
97 
 
 Ashlar. — Ashlar forms the main feature in true masonry. 
 The stones are always set in true courses, and the depth 
 may be from 12 inches to any available thickness. The 
 beds and joints should always be chiseled dressed; that is, 
 drafted and bousted off. The varieties of finish for the 
 face of ashlar are too numerous to describe. The work 
 may be rough faced, frosted, sparrow pecked, rock faced, 
 drafted and pecked, or punched, in a variety of ways, or 
 diamoned , or reticulated, or rowed, either horizontally, 
 diagonally , or herring hone. There are varieties of drafted 
 and housted work, randomed tooled and stroked tooling , as 
 also ruhhed or polished faces. Ashlar may also have all 
 the varieties of rustic, from a plain chamfef to the com- 
 pound of fillet and segment. 
 
 When the stones which compose the ashlar facing are 
 quite smooth, and exhibit none of the marks of the tools 
 by which the stones were cut, it is called plane ashlar. 
 When wrought in a regular manner, so that the surface 
 has the appearance of parallel flutes, placed perpendicularly 
 in the building, it is called tooled ashlar. When the sur- 
 faces of stones are cut with a broad tool, without care or 
 regularity, it is said to be random tooled. When wrought 
 with a narrowed tool, chiselled or boasted ; when cut with 
 very narrow tools it said to be pointed; and when the 
 stones project from the joints, with either smooth or broken 
 surfaces, the ashlar is said 
 to be rusticated. In the 
 construction of ashlar the 
 mason is called upon to use 
 a great deal of skill, espec- 
 ially in the smaller towns 
 and villages throughout the 
 states, as then he is sup- 
 posed to be able to both la 
 and cut stone to a certain 
 extent. 
 
 To form a plane surface 
 on a stone the mason first 
 knocks off the superfluous 
 
98 
 
 stone along one edge of the block a. b. until it coincides 
 with a straight edge throughout its whole length; this is 
 called a chisel draught. 
 
 Another draught is then made along one of the adja- 
 cent edges, as b. c., and the ends of the two are con- 
 nected by another draught, as a. c.; a fourth draught is 
 then sunk across the last as b. d., which gives another 
 angle point d, in the same plane with a, b, and c, by 
 which the draught d, a, and a, c, can be formed; and the 
 stone is then knocked off between the outside drafts until a 
 straight edge coincides with its surface in every part. The 
 cutting that the mason is principally called upon to perform 
 at the present time is the rusticated or rock-faced and bro- 
 ken ashlar or block in course ; he must fetch his stone first 
 to a rectangular form; the edges are simply cut about one- 
 half or two-thirds of an inch round the margin, so as to 
 be in the plane of the wall, or parallel to it; and the inter- 
 mediate part is broken with the hammer, so that the pro- 
 tuberant parts may project generally about an inch or more 
 beyond the margin. Rustic chamfered is that class of work 
 in which the faces of the stones are beveled at an angle of 
 135 e with the surface of the wall, and as the joints are at 
 right angles to the faces, the margins will also be at 135 c 
 with the joints, so that when two rustics come together the 
 bevelling or chamfering, will form an internal right angle, 
 as in cut A, which shows the rectangular, and cut B that 
 
 Cut A. Cut B. 
 
99 
 
 shows the chamfered joint. Both the chamfered and other 
 kinds of rusticuted stone work have other distinctions in 
 the nature of the work or ornamentation on the surface of 
 the projecting part of the stone, the cutting of which is 
 generally within the province of the stonecutter, or those 
 whose knowledge of character and peculiarities of execution 
 in the ornamentation of different periods of the art, and 
 mechanical skill in the representation of the same, a satis- 
 factory result in the production is, to a very large extent, 
 if not wholly dependent, of these. 
 
 Rustic work frosted is that in which the margins are re- 
 duced to a plane parallel to the plane of the wall, and where 
 the intermediate part has the effect of ice with an irregu- 
 lar surface in protuberant parts. 
 
 Rustic work vermiculated is that where the margins are 
 reduced to a plane parallel to the plane of the wall, and 
 where the intermediate part of the stone or general sur- 
 face is so formed as to have the effect of being eaten by 
 worms. 
 
 Block-in-Course. 
 
 Differs from coursed rubble in that no course in line 
 comes up to the same level, but a continuation of the bond 
 on the face is carried into the upper and lower course; and 
 thus carried throughout the whole surface of the wall. 
 
 (A) Block in Course. 
 
100 
 
 Masons throughout the states call this workmanship also 
 broken ashlar or double binding and it taxes the skill of the 
 mason in constructing it in a regular manner. As a general 
 thing he usually starts this bond all right, but before lie 
 goes far, runs somewhat at random, and should be guided 
 by a sketch or plan similar to the one here given, accord- 
 ing to the dimensions of the pier or wall to be constructed, 
 and by referring to it from time to time he will be enabled 
 to have his work appear in an uniform and regular man- 
 ner and a center joint carried plumb throughout; bearing 
 in mind always for a first class job that the rises of this 
 work, or as near as possible to them should run 4, 8 and 
 12 inches, and 8, 16 and 24 inches in their lengths, and he 
 should work his stone to the best advantage for that pur- 
 pose. Blocks of stone of a rectangular form look best in 
 this style of work, and those of a square surface should be 
 avoided as much as possible. Much of this work is per- 
 formed in the rock-faced style, and looks well if 
 properly performed. The beds of every stone should 
 be wmrked quite straight and not dished or hol- 
 lowed out, which masons are too apt to do, with the 
 view of making a fine joint. This practice cannot be too 
 severely depreciated, as stones which have been thus 
 worked, or dished out, are liable to flush or break off at the 
 angles. 
 
 Ashlar is commonly set in fine mortar or putty, and be- 
 fore the mortar hardens the joints are raked out about a 
 quarter of an inch, to be tuck-pointed (when the work is 
 cleaned down), with a putty mortar in imitation of the 
 color of the stone put on with a tuck pointer. 
 
 In setting ashlar, both the upper and lower beds of a 
 stone, as well as the vertical joints, should be at right 
 angles to the face of the stone, and the face, bed and verti- 
 cal joints at right angles to the beds. In an ashlar facing, 
 where the stones run nearly of the same thickness, it is of 
 some advantage, in respect of bond, that the back of the 
 stone should be inclined to the face, and that all the backs 
 thus inclined should run in the same direction, as this gives 
 a small degree of lap in the setting of the next course; 
 
101 
 
 whereas, if the backs were parallel to the fronts, there 
 could be no lap where the stones run of an even length in 
 the thickness of the wall. It is of great advantage like- 
 wise to select stones so that a thinner and thicker one may 
 follow each other alternately. The disposition of the 
 stones in each course should follow in the same order as 
 those in the course below, and every vertical joint should 
 follow as nearly as possible in the middle of the stone below. 
 All ashlar should be properly anchored in the backing up, 
 with anchors. The brickwork on the back of ashlaring 
 should be laid in the most substantial manner of hard 
 brick, and lime and cement mortar; as the joints in brick- 
 work being more numerous, are more liable to be com- 
 pressed, and consequently that portion of the wall is liable 
 to settle more than the stone front of the wall, it is prudent 
 never to hurry the brickwork, but to carry it regularly all 
 around the building, and where there are piers with ashlar 
 facing to keep them well stayed as the work progresses. 
 
 When backing up light-colored ashlar, and even granite, 
 it is prudent to use lime mortar against the immediate 
 back of the ashlar, as it has been found that some cements 
 penetrate and discolor the front. 
 
 To tie in ashlaring to brick walls cramps are used either 
 of cast iron, wrought iron, copper or bronze. The two 
 latter, of course, are the best; the former exfoliating by 
 air or damp, and splitting the stone unless perfectly secured. 
 When iron anchors are used, they should be put in the 
 holes hot, and surrounded with asphalt. By this proceed- 
 ing the iron is forever preserved from oxidation; it has 
 proved the best system, because the application of mortar, 
 gypsum, sulphur and lead have all failed. Anchors are 
 also set in Portland cement. With reference to the 
 modern practice of cramping, do welling, joggling and 
 tying, etc., it will be found that the terms are frequently 
 used indifferently to denote the same processes. A cramp 
 may, however, be properly distinguished, perhaps, as a 
 vertical or horizontal bar of iron or other metal, caulked 
 or bent at either end, inserted in the beds or courses of 
 stones, to connect or tie the same together, or in various 
 
102 
 
 other forms to attach ashlar facings to the main work of 
 walls, etc. Do welling, properly, may be taken as the ap- 
 plication of vertical or horizontal plugs of wood, stone or 
 metal to connect and prevent a longitudinal or other slip 
 or separation of the material, as in the case of the stone 
 courses of a column, the boarding of a floor, etc. Joggling 
 is the uniting of two pieces of stone by means of a pro- 
 jection formed in the vertical section of the edge of one, 
 called the male joggle, and a corresponding recess or 
 groove in that of the other, called the female joggle; as in 
 the case of landing of stairs, balconies, or other surfaces 
 formed of slab stone. Tying, it is, perhaps, hardly neces- 
 sary to add, is an introduction of iron, or other metal, in 
 lengths to act against outward thrust and to connect oppo- 
 site and distinct points, or to preserve connection under 
 settlement. Iron, chain-bound, hoop iron, and other such 
 like contrivances, are used in foundations, domes, etc. 
 Lead, in connection with iron, should never be admitted 
 where there is exposure to the air, or at all, if it 
 can possibly be avoided. It is better to expend time, pa- 
 tience, and extra expense in good fitting, and to bed the 
 metal in first-class cement. If, however, it is unavoidable, 
 as in harbors, light-houses, and other such heavy works, 
 cast iron should be adopted in preference to wrought, and 
 the metal should be heated slightly and coated with oil pre- 
 vious to being inserted, and the lead then run in. It may 
 be questioned, nevertheless, whether the harder kinds of 
 wood and stone might not be used with advantage in all 
 cases, due care being taken, however, with respect to the 
 former, that it is thoroughly seasoned, and placed in a situ- 
 ation where moisture or wet cannot reach it. It should also 
 be accepted as an axiom, that thoroughly good fitting is 
 essential in every of the above methods, to render the work 
 sound and permanent. Iron should be used with caution, 
 and only in such situations as will allow of all exclusion- of 
 the air from contact with the metal so employed. Sir Chris- 
 topher Wren urges this latter point strongly, and says that 
 in “ Cramping of stones no iron should be within nine 
 inches of air, if possible; ” and he advocates the employ- 
 
103 
 
 ment of strong mortar as the fixing medium, “seeing,” he 
 says, “ that it has been observed in taking out cramps from 
 stonework at least four hundred years old, which were so 
 crusted in mortar that the air was perfectly excluded, the 
 iron appeared as fresh as from the forge.” 
 
 With Buttresses, Water-tables, String courses and mould- 
 ings, generally, the mason has to set, fit and construct, in 
 reference to which Mr. Blackburne says: “as portions of 
 constructive masonry, though of themselves in a measure 
 simple are matters, executively speaking, requiring some 
 consideration on the part of the mason. As features adding 
 much to the proper and effective character of the outline in 
 a building, it is of no little consequence that the latter 
 should be fully alive to the spirit and character of the de- 
 tail desired to be exhibited by the architect designing the 
 same. It is not sufficient that he should confine himself 
 solely to the manipulation, according as it is to be obtained 
 fioni the drawing or section, of such furnished to him. 
 
 There is something beyond this essential to the perfect 
 i ealization, in many cases, of the architect’s desire and in- 
 tention, in aid of which the manual capability possessed by 
 the mason is to be assisted by a knowledge of the theoretic 
 and artistic principles which he has to put in a material 
 shape. It is vain to expect, without the existence and pos- 
 session of this in him, that the most perfect design can be 
 properly carried out; and the maxim applies not only to 
 the mere ornamental features or enrichments of stone 
 work, but equally to every part of the wrought or chiselled 
 portions. Dependence, on the part of the architect, upon 
 the mason s correct appreciation of the proper form of a 
 par ticular moulding, exists here almost to the same extent 
 as it does in the case of the more elaborate operations of the 
 cai vei ; and as it often happens in the carrying out of a 
 work, points arise unforeseen, and, consequently, unex- 
 pressed when the design is prepared, it cannot be questioned 
 but that something more than the mere manual-labor 
 knowledge of his work is necessary to be known, to enable 
 the mason to properly carry out that which is set before 
 him. It has often been objected that the operator is em- 
 
104 
 
 ployed to work, and not to think. The general admission 
 of this would paralyze correct expression in all art. For- 
 tunately, however, this would appear to be less likely than 
 those who advocate this theory could wish, since, for the 
 education of the art workman, many facilities are now af- 
 forded which did not formerly exist, and which it should 
 be the object of all who are interested in its progress to aid 
 and assist. The art-workman should be thought-tutored as 
 well as hand-practiced , until which time, the hand is largely 
 a fittual hand, not only as respects the exposition of his 
 own, such as they may be, but of the ideas of others who 
 may seek his executive aid? 
 
 The above remarks, though fully applicable to the por- 
 tion of masonry under consideration, may apply also to 
 other portions of this work where examples and illustration 
 other than of a practical manual character have been given, 
 to show to the mind and judgment of the industrious 
 worker, either in stone, brick, or mortar, the knowledge he 
 should possess in regard to the art and science of masonry, 
 to be considered a true and proficient mechanic, and to be 
 in accord with the advance stride which scientific construc- 
 tion has assumed within the past few years in many of our 
 cities throughout the states. Proceeding then with but- 
 tresses, the plainer or ordinary forms of which no particu- 
 lar constructive consideration present themselves. The 
 work is for the most part usual wall work, the outer and 
 inner angles of the projections, etc., of free stone disposed 
 alternately, each with a long and short return in reversed 
 position, so as to break joint; and this is the case generally, 
 whether the main bulk of the buttress is ashlar-faced, or 
 formed, as is very commonly the case of rubble or random, 
 or coursed stone-work, of less free working nature. The 
 buttress tables are generally each slope of one stone, but in 
 works of large proportions the breadth of face frequently 
 precludes this, and the same contain more than one piece 
 in each course. The joints of these are of course perpen- 
 dicular to the horizon, or at right angles to the beds, and it 
 is of importance here, as in all other stonework, that the 
 stone should be laid to bed as it does naturally in the 
 
105 
 
 quarry. A good tailing in of the buttress slopes is also of 
 some consequence constructively, as well as artistically 
 speaking, The various separations or jointings of the parts 
 are usually, or should be so, shown on the working draw- 
 ings furnished by the architect; the setting of the various 
 forms of tablings, strings, and corbellings, etc., as con- 
 nected with buttresses, and with other projections formed 
 by varying thicknesses in different parts, usually called set- 
 offs, or by overhanging portions of walls, require, as re- 
 spects their proper treatment and formation, a due atten- 
 tion on the part of the operative mason. In regard to the 
 setting and construction of the flying arch it is performed 
 on the ordinary arch principal, the same radiating to a 
 common center. The stones at either end, that is to say, 
 at the respond and at the buttress forming portion of it; 
 and upon the accuracy of position, and true arrangement of 
 these stones, the efficiency of the action of the latter ma- 
 terially depends. This is particularly the case with that 
 part which is constructed with and derives support from 
 the buttress itself. This is the main butment, and the con- 
 nection should be such that while the courses bond horizon- 
 tally together, the thrust or pressure of the arch should 
 be directed to, and thrown as vertically as possible upon 
 the body of the buttress; the shaft and pinnacle being de- 
 signed to act for constructive purposes as a superincum- 
 bent weight or resistance at the haunch of the arch. 
 
 The mason should make himself familiar and handy in 
 the rigging of derricks and the handling of them with care, 
 before he raises a stone to its place, be sure that it is the 
 right one for its position in the structure, have its bed 
 dampened, and the mortar spread just in time to receive it, 
 lower the stone first upon one or more strips of wood as 
 near as possible to its true position, and then by the aid of 
 pinch bars it may be moved one way or the other while the 
 mortar is damp, and truly plumbed and leveled. In using 
 bars and rollers in handling cut stone the mason should be 
 careful and protect the material by old carpet, etc. 
 
 In constructing rock-faced work the line is carried above 
 it, and care must be taken that it is kept plumb with the 
 
106 
 
 cut margins of tlie corners and angles. All projecting 
 courses, sills, lintels, etc., should be covered as the work 
 progresses, and clean from all mortar stains, and other in- 
 jury. A pailful of clean water should be at hand when set- 
 ting cut stone, and when any fresh mortar comes in con- 
 tact with the face of the work, immediately cleaned off 
 with it. The cut stone work may be cleaned down with 
 soap and water, or boil 1 pound of pipe clay, a quart of 
 water, and a quart of sour beer, and put in a bit of stone 
 blue. Wash with this mixture and when dry, rub the 
 stone with flannel and a brush. The following remarks 
 from an essay on “ Modern Masonary ,” will be instructive 
 to the mechanic : 
 
 “All masonry ought to depend upon gravity for stability.’ 
 
 Rustics, rough faces, rock work, and other analogous 
 forms of masonry, are not necessarily any stronger, be- 
 cause of the mass on the face beyond the bed bearing lines. 
 
 “Acute angles, either in beds or in joints, are not allow- 
 able. Any angle more acute than a right one tends to 
 weakness.” 
 
 “ Bent heads in arch stones, or in masonry generally, 
 must be weak.” 
 
 “Mitre joints are not legitimate masonry, all mouldings 
 must be returned. The mouldings will mitre; the bed or 
 the joint square.” 
 
 “Weight over spaces tends to weakness. Pyramidal 
 formed arches are objectionable.” 
 
 “Ashlar should have harmonious proportions. On face 
 1, 3, 5, on bed never less than the depth of the face, and 
 square full to the back of the ashlar ; slab veneering is 
 false masonry.” 
 
 “Arch stones should have a just proportion to the open- 
 ings, and to the ashlar generally in which they are set.” 
 
 “Projecting stones, bearing weight on acute angles are 
 weak, and this mode of construction is false in masonry.” 
 
 “The springing line in arches must be the line of great- 
 est strength. Pyamids do not stand on their apex.” 
 
 “Combination of rustic and of moulded masonry are in- 
 compatible with strength or with beauty.” 
 
107 
 
 “ Single stone architraves, mullions and groins are a cause 
 of weakness.” 
 
 The bedding of the courses should be carried throughout. 
 
 ‘ ‘ Single stone columns are weak, especially those of lam- 
 inar sandstones or of limestones. Built columns, like those 
 of the Madeleine in Paris, are better masonry. 
 
 “ Moulding ought to accord with the stone in which they 
 are cut. Classic mouldings cannot be cut in sandstones so 
 as to show and endure. 
 
 “Buildings constructed out of the stones of the district 
 are most in keeping with the landscape. 
 
 “Ashlar faced walls should not be backed with brick- 
 work, or with rubble, without precautions to prevent 
 shrinking or separation of the parts. 
 
 “Deep quoins and their courses produce weak work, 
 especially in towers and in spires. 
 
 “Notched and broken coursed masonry is only allowable 
 where the stone of a district is unsuitable for a more regu- 
 lar form of masonry. To spoil good stone for the sake of 
 such imitation is false in masonry and extravagant in ar- 
 chitecture. Put every stone to its best use in the best form 
 and not in the worst form. 
 
 “Horizontal openings cannot be spanned with vertical 
 jointed masonry; columns, architraves, and piers must be 
 covered with single stones or with an arch; joggles, dowels, 
 and cramps cannot make such work good masonry. 
 
 “All building stones which have had an aqueous forma- 
 tion, such as stratified sandstones and limestones, should 
 rest on their natural beds. 
 
 Combinations of brickwork and stones for face work 
 are allowable under certain conditions. Perfect courses of 
 bricks may alternate with courses of stone. Combinations 
 of various kinds of stone are allowable. Perfect courses 
 of stone may alternate in variety.” 
 
 The tools used by the mason for cutting stone consists 
 of the mallet and chisels of various sizes. The mason’s 
 mallet differs from that used by any other artisan, being 
 similar to a dome in contour, excepting a portion of the 
 broadest part, which is rather cylindrical; the ( handle is 
 
108 
 
 short, being only sufficiently long to enable it to be firmly 
 grasped; the point, which is the smallest chisel, only about 
 i inch broad on the cutting edge; the inch tool; the boster , 
 which is 2 inches wide; and the broad tool, the cutting 
 edge of which is 3£ inches wide. Besides the above cutting 
 tools the mason uses the banker, straight edges , squares, 
 bevels , and templets, for making the shapes of the blocks, 
 and for trying the surfaces as the work proceeds. A tem- 
 plet is a pattern for cutting a block to any particular 
 shape; when the work is moulded, the templet is called a 
 mould; and are commonly made of sheet zinc, carefully 
 cut to the profile of the mouldings with shears and files* 
 For setting his work in place he uses the trowel , lines and 
 pins, the square, level, plumb and battering rides. In set- 
 ting heavy masonry the mason uses the derrick. In hoist- 
 ing blocks of stone they are attached to the tackle by 
 means of a simple contrivance called a lewis. 
 
 Cost of Masonry. — The following estimates are from the 
 best authorities obtainable on the subject: Every item com- 
 posing the total cost is liable to much variation; therefore 
 we can merely give an example to show the general princi- 
 pal upon which an approximate estimate may be made; 
 assuming the wages of a common laborer to be $2.00 per 
 day for 8 hours working, and $3.50 per day for a mason: 
 
 Cost of Ashlar Facing Masonry. — The average size of 
 the stones, say 5 feet long, 2 feet wide and 1 foot 4 inches 
 thick, or two such stones to a cubic yard. Then supposing 
 the stone to be granite or gneiss, the cost per cubic yard of 
 
 masonry will be: 
 
 Getting out the stone from the quarry by blasting, 
 allowing | for waste in dressing, cub. yd. at $3. . $4 00 
 
 Dressing 14 ft. of face at 85 cts 4 90 
 
 Dressing 52 ft. of beds and joints at 18 cts 9 36 
 
 Hauling, say one mile; loading $nd unloading 1 20 
 
 Mortar, say 40 
 
 Laying, including scaffolding, hoisting machinery, 
 etc 2 00 
 
 Net cost 21 86 
 
109 
 
 Profit, say 15 per cent, to contractor 3 28 
 
 Total cost $25 14 
 
 Dressing will cost more if the faces are to be rounded, or 
 moulded. If the stones are smaller than we have assumed 
 there will be more square feet per cubic yard to be dressed, 
 etc. If, in the foregoing case, the stones be perfectly 
 well dressed on all sides, including the back, the cost per 
 cubic yard will be increased about $10; and if some of the 
 sides be curved, as in arch stones, say $12 or $14; and if 
 the blocks are carefully wedged out to given dimensions, 
 $16 or $18, thus making the net cost of the dressed stone 
 at the quarry, say $36 to $38 per cubic yard. The item of 
 laying will be much increased if the stones are to be raised 
 to great heights; or if it has to be much handled; as when 
 carried in scows, or to be deposited in water piers, etc. 
 
 Almost every large work presents certain modifying pe- 
 culiarities, which must be left to the judgment of the con- 
 tractor. 
 
 Cost of largo scabbled granite rubble, such as is usually 
 
 used for the foregoing ashlar; stones average about £ cubic 
 yard each. 
 
 At the above rates of wages: 
 
 Getting out the stone from the quarry by blasting, 
 allowing £ for waste in scabbiing; 1| cubic yards 
 
 at $3.00 $3 43 
 
 Hauling one mile, loading and unloading 1 20 
 
 Mortar, 2 cubic feet, or 1. 6 struck bushels of 
 quicklime, either in lump or ground, and 10 cub. 
 ft. or 8 struck bushels of sand or gravel, including 
 
 mixing 1 50 
 
 Scabbiing, laying, including scaffold, hoisting ma- 
 chinery, etc 2 50 
 
 Net cost $8 63 
 
 Profit to contractor, say 15 per ct 1 29 
 
 Total cost - $9 92 
 
110 
 
 Common rubble of small stones, the average size being 
 such as two men can handle, costs to get out at the quarry 
 about 80 cents per yard of pile; or to allow for waste, say 
 $1.00; hauling one mile, $1.00. It can be roughly scabbled 
 and laid for $1.20 more; mortar as foregoing, $1.50. Total 
 net cost, $4.70; or with 15 per ct. profit, $5.40, at the rate 
 of wages herein stated. 
 
 With smaller stones, such as one man can handle, we may 
 say stone, 70 cents; hauling, $1.00; laying, and scaffold, 
 tools, etc , $1.00; mortar, $1.50, making the net cost, $4.20; 
 or with 15 per cent profit, $4.83. 
 
 Neat scabbled irregular range-work cost from $2 to $3 
 per yard more than the common rubble, according to 
 the character of the stone, etc. 
 
 The laying of thin walls cost more than that of thick 
 ones, such as abutments, etc. 
 
 Cost of ashlar facing masonry. If the stone be sand 
 stone, with good natural beds, the getting out may be put 
 at $3 per cubic yard. 
 
 Face dressing at 26 cents per square foot, say $3.64 per 
 cubic yard. Bends and joints, 13 cents per square foot, say 
 $6.76 per cubic yard. The neat cost laid $17, instead of 
 $21.86 per cubic yard for granite; and the total cost $19.55 
 instead of the $25.14 for granite. 
 
 And the total cost of large well scabbled ranged sandstone 
 masonry including mortar may be taken at about $10 per 
 cubic yard, at the stated cost for wages. When dressed 
 ashlar facing is backed up by rubble the expenses per cubic 
 yard of the entire mass will of course vary according to the 
 proportion of the two. 
 
 Thus if ashlar at $12 be backed up by an equal thickness 
 of rubble at $5, the mean cost will be $12 + $5 = $8.50, or 
 
 2 
 
 if the rubble be twice as thick as the ashlar, then $12 + 5 + 5 
 
 =$7. 33, etc. A t the above prices, cellar and other walls of 
 rough rubble are generally estimated at from $5 to $6 per 
 perch of 22 cubic feet of wall. Outside walls with a facing 
 of broken range rock-work of sandstone (as common in 
 
Ill 
 
 Gothic chuches), is generally estimated at $8 to $10 per 22 
 feet in wall including everything. A perch of stone work, 
 in walls or foundations, measure 24f cubic feet. (Traut- 
 wine, C. E). 
 
 Dressing stone.— A stone cutter will first take out of 
 wind and then fairly patent hammer dress, 8 to 10 feet of 
 plain face in hard granite, in a day of 8 hours working or 
 twice as much of such inferior dressing as is generally be- 
 stowed on the beds and joints; and generally on the faces of 
 bridge masonry, etc., when a very fine finish is not re- 
 quired. In good sandstone and marble he can do about 
 one-fourth more than in granite. Of finest hammer finish, 
 of granite 4 to 5 feet. 
 
 A cubic yard of solid stone broken up and thrown to- 
 gether in a pile will measure about ly^- yards of pieces; 
 when a yard of pieces are built in a wall, adding the space 
 which the mortar occupies, they wifi measure up about 22 
 cubic feet of wall. 
 
 Hauling by Horses. — When working all day, say 10 
 working hours, the average rate at which a horse walks 
 while hauling a load, and while returning with empty 
 vehicles, is about 2 to 2^ miles per hour; but to allow for 
 stoppages to rest, etc., it is safest to take it at 1A miles per 
 hour, or 160 feet per minute. 
 
 The time lost in each trip, in loading and unloading, may 
 usually be taken at about 15 minutes. Therefore, to find 
 the number of loads that can be hauled to any given dis- 
 tance, first find the time required in minutes in hauling 
 one load and returning empty. Thus: Divide the number 
 of feet in the round trip by 160 feet. The quotient is the 
 number of minutes the horse is in motion during each trip. 
 Io this quotient add 15 minutes lost each trip by loading 
 and unloading ; the sum is the total time in minutes occu- 
 pied in each trip. Divide the number of minutes (600) in 
 a working day by the number of minutes required in the 
 
 round trip, the quotient will be the number of loads hauled 
 per day. 
 
 . In estimating rough quarry stone for buildings , etc., bear 
 in mind that each cubic yard of common, scabbled, rough 
 
112 
 
 masonry requires the hauling of about 1 T 3 0 cubic yards of 
 the stone as usually piled up for sale in the quarry, or 
 otherwise; or about f of a cubic yard of the original rock 
 in place. A cubic yard of solid stone , when broken up into 
 pieces, usually occupies about 1^ cubic yards perfectly looser 
 or about If yards when piled up. A strong cart for stone 
 hauling will weigh about f tons, or 1500 lbs., and will hold 
 stone enough for a perch of rubble masonry; or l^ pers. 
 of the rough stone in piles. The average weight of a good 
 working horse is about \ ton. (Trautwine, C. E.) 
 
 Stone . — In selection of building stones for the exterior 
 walls of a building, color , texture and durability are objects 
 of the first importance; and all of these should be combined 
 to render the structure perfect. Too little attention has 
 been given to the subject of building stones; and while on 
 the one hand we are largely using a brown stone, which 
 gives a somber, cheerless aspect to the structure, the oppo- 
 site extreme has been sought in the white marble, or that 
 which is more nearly white in color. In a few eastern towns 
 we find the light gray granites now used in preference to 
 thb brown free stone, the white marble, or the dark granite 
 which have been much in use in the past years. No one 
 can fail to experience the sensation of relief afforded by 
 the structures, of light, colored granites in the city of Bos- 
 ton, or those of the buff or dove colored limestones in the city 
 of Chicago, or of the light, gray free-stone of many buildings 
 in Cleveland and other places, and of the bull colored biick 
 of Milwaukee. In these cases we have not the excessive 
 reflection of light, or the glare which comes from white build- 
 ings whether of marble or painted brick; nor the somber, 
 cheerless expression of the darker stone, caused by its gi eat 
 absorption of light. In many cases where the lock is ho- 
 mogeneous throughout and the color uniform and satisfac- 
 tory, it is only to be inquired whether the coloring material 
 is such as will produce decay or disintegration of the parti- 
 cles. When the general color is produced by the aggregation 
 of different materials of distinct coloration, the character 
 of each one is considered, and its effects upon the whole; and 
 it is important to have such material comparatively fin© 
 
113 
 
 grained, and the different parts as uniformly mingled to- 
 gether as posssble. As a general rule, it is only in the darker 
 stones that the coloring matters has any tendency to dis- 
 integrate the mass. In the selection of building stones 
 the simple presentation of a sample is not enough. The 
 rock in place should be examined in the outset; for in its 
 material outcrops it has been exposed to the action of the 
 weather, in all its influences, for many thousands of years. 
 One of the principles taught in elementary geology is 
 that the soft and decomposing rocks appear in low rounded 
 and flattened exposures, or entirely covered by the soil 
 of their own debris, forming no conspicuous feature in 
 the country; while on the contrary the harder rocks stand 
 out in relief, producing marked and distinguishing fea- 
 tures in the landscape. 
 
 It is tiue, however, that no artificial structure or position 
 will evei subject the stone to the same degree of weather- 
 ing influence to which it is exposed in its natural position, 
 but the same changes in degree will supervene upon any 
 fieslily exposed surfaces In its natural position the bed 
 has been encased in ice, washed by currents, saturated with 
 rains and melting snows, frozen and thawed, and exposed 
 to the extreme of summer heat without mitigation. 
 
 The rock which has withstood these influences is quite 
 equal to with -stand the exposures of a few centuries in an 
 artificial structure. Yet there are occasionally modifying 
 influences and conditions which have sometimes subdued 
 the permanence of a building stone, and given preference 
 to others less durable. It therefore becomes necessary to 
 carefully examine all these conditions, and to determine not 
 only from the rock in place, but also from its physical con- 
 stitution, whether it will meet the requirements of the 
 structure proposed. It not infrequently happens, in work- 
 ing a quarry, that layers are reached which have not been 
 exposed to the weather, and it is then necessary to test the 
 strength and power of endurance of the stone. 
 
 This may be done by repeated exposure of freezing and 
 thawing, by testing the strength or power of resistance to 
 8 
 
114 
 
 pressure, etc. The exposure to freezing and thawing will 
 not only determine its power of resisting the action of the 
 weather, but will determine also whether such foreign in- 
 gredients as iron pyrites may exist in the mass. 
 
 Chemical analysis may be resorted to, for the purpose of 
 comparison with specimens of known composition and 
 durability; but chemical analysis alone cannot determine, 
 without other testing experiments, the strength or power 
 of endurance of stone. In some countries, and in certain 
 localities in our own country, the evidence obtained from 
 ancient structures is available in determining the durability 
 of the stone which has been used. Yet it would seem that 
 this information has been of little avail in many places, 
 when the rebuilding of edifices is repeated every century. 
 Experience in many cases does not teach the lesson antici- 
 pated; and when a dilapidated structure is pointed out, the 
 argument is made that “ these stones are not well selected” 
 or they were obtained “at the first opening of the quarry, 
 and were not as good as now furnished.” 
 
 And, again, there are few cases where parties are permit- 
 ted to select the material without prejudice, the influence 
 of interest, or the absence of important information. Ex- 
 amples are everywhere before us of the improper se- 
 lection of materials for buildings, and these examples do 
 not deter from their use in the erection of others. When 
 good material is abundant and accessible, it will be used; in 
 other situations, comparatively few durable structures are 
 likely to be erected. The rock or varieties of rock offered 
 in nature, and from which we are compelled to make our 
 selections, may be named under the following heads; 
 
 1. Granite , Sienite, Genets s, etc. 
 
 2. Marbles, or Matamorphic crystalline limestones . 
 
 3. Limestones. 
 
 4. Sandstones, or Freestones', and all the stones used in 
 building under whatever names they may be known, are 
 composed of a few essential elementary minerals. These 
 are: 1 . Silica or Quartz ; 2. Alumina-Clay , or Argilla- 
 ceous matter ; 3. Carbonate of lime; 4. Carbonate of mag- 
 nesia. 
 
115 
 
 Beyond these, except in crystalline rocks, the presence of 
 other materials is almost non-essential or advantageous, and 
 usually injurious to the integrity of the mass. The ulti- 
 mate chemical composition of a stone has little to do, as a 
 general rule, with its character for durability, nor will a 
 chemical analysis determine the value of a stone for build- 
 ing purposes. 
 
 Manner of laying.— Sandstones or Freestones and all 
 varieties of argillaceous sandstones should be laid in the 
 building according to the natural bedding of the rock, so 
 that the wear of the elements may act upon the exposed 
 edges of the laminae. Since it is impossible to have any 
 great thickness of stratified stone, especially sandstone, 
 entirely uniform and homogenous in texture, or without 
 interlamination, it follows that by turning the blocks upon 
 their edges, we shall in one case have the face of a harder 
 or coarser layer, and in another of a softer layer of the 
 same rock, thus exposing the wall to unequal weathering. 
 Not infrequently the face of the stone is the line of the 
 soft shaley parting, and the effects of this practice may 
 often be seen in the scaling off of an entire surface of a 
 block of ashlar for several feet square in extent. 
 
 Such examples may be seen in some of our buildings, 
 which have been erected within the past twenty-five years. 
 Had these blocks been laid in an opposite direction, the 
 edges of the shapely seams only would have been exposed, 
 and their destruction would have been comparatively slow. 
 The sandstones separate usually with great freedom along 
 the line of bedding, and thus offer great facilities for dress- 
 ing the surface in the direction of the laminas; and from 
 this course, and a desire to present as large a surface as 
 practicable in each block, has arisen the practice of setting 
 them upon their edges. A block of stone may, however, 
 be split in the same direction, through one of its more sandy 
 layers, and the objections urged may not be so palpable. 
 An equally reprehensible practice is the cutting of step 
 stones from blocks with distinct shaley partings, which pro- 
 duce exfoliation and consequently inequality of the sur- 
 face. 
 
116 
 
 Mode of dressing . — In the use of argillaceous sandstones, 
 as well as some other rocks, there are some considerations 
 as to the mode of dressing which should not be forgotten. 
 There are some stones which, if dressed elaborately, disin- 
 tegrate rapidly upon the surface. 
 
 This comes from the crushing of the material under the 
 tool (called by the workmen deadening ); the natural tex- 
 ture and cohesion of the particles being broken up, it ab- 
 sorbs more water, and on freezing decays rapidly and be- 
 comes unsightly. Many stones that are unfit for finely 
 dressed work are nevertheless quite durable if rough dres- 
 sed; that is, by dressing the joints close and a smooth space 
 along the edge, while the greater part of the face is left 
 roughly broken without tool work of any kind. During 
 wet weather, the moisture will collect at the numerous 
 projecting points or edges, and much of it drops off, which 
 would be absorbed by a smooth dressed face stone. The 
 effect of freezing is much less destructive under such con- 
 ditions. Moreover, a moderate degree of weather wearing 
 on such surface is less conspicuous than on finely dressed 
 stone. 
 
 Durability of Building Stone. — Dr. Alexander A. Julien 
 has made examinations of buildings of various ages and of 
 tombstones of the older grave yards around New York city 
 to assist in determining the durability of the various stones 
 used in buildings in this country. The coarse brown stone, 
 which is largely employed, appears to be one of the most 
 perishable materials in use, so that many builders are 
 returning to brick, although the firm varieties of brown 
 stone are better and compare favorably with other ma- 
 terials. Among the causes of decay of this stone are men- 
 tioned, erection on bed of lamination, the heat of the sun 
 on exposed sides, and imperfect pointing with poor mortar, 
 which falls away and leaves the joints exposed to the 
 weather. The presence of sea salt in the atmosphere has 
 exerted no appreciable effect, and lichens growing on the 
 stone do not appear to have occasioned any decay or corro- 
 sion. The light-colored Nova Scotia sandstones have been 
 
117 
 
 too recently introduced to show marked defect, but evi- 
 dences of exfoliation and of slight moldering in damp spots 
 have begun to appear. 
 
 Buildings constructed of the Amherst (Ohio) sandstone 
 show little decay, only discoloration; and that is regarded 
 as a favorable sign rather than otherwise, for it indicates 
 durability, while a stone that cleans itself does so by dis- 
 integration of its surface, the grains dropping out and 
 carrying away the dirt. The coarse fossiliferous limestone 
 from Lockport has disintegrated rapidly within the last 
 ten years, chiefly on account of careless arrangement in 
 masonry. The oolitic stone from Ellettsville, Indiana, 
 shows an almost immediate and irregular discoloration, 
 said to be produced by exudation of oil. The oolitic from 
 Caen, France, has shown decay in several instances where 
 it was not protected with paints. The dolomitic marble 
 from Westchester county, N. Y., has decayed considerably 
 after sixty years of use, but much of this is owing to the 
 stone having been improperly laid. Often marbles of 
 various kinds in tombstones are in fairly good conditions 
 Horizontal slabs show a tendency to bend. The frequent 
 obliteration of inscriptions, the general and often rapid 
 granulation of the surface, and the occasional Assuring of 
 slabs, show that the decay of marble — in the varieties 
 hitherto long used in New York city — is steady, inevitable, 
 and but a question of time; and if unprotected, this ma- 
 terial is likely to prove unsuitable for out of door use, at 
 least for decorative purposes or cemetery records, within 
 the atmosphere of a city. 
 
 A blue stone or gray wacke is yearly coming into more 
 general use, and though somewhat sombre in tone and dif- 
 ficult to dress, seems likely to prove a material of remark- 
 able durability. The bluish Quincy granite has been used 
 in many buildings, and rarely shows as yet many signs of 
 decay. A fine grained granite from Concord, New Hamp- 
 shire, also promises to be durable. The light colored and 
 fine grained granite of Hallowell, Maine, in which the white 
 feldspar predominates, has shown some exfoliation, but in 
 
118 
 
 the single building in which this is remarked, the stones ap- 
 pear to have been set on edge, and as their structure is lam- 
 inated, that is an important matter. The weathering of 
 granite does not proceed by a merely superficial wear, 
 which can be measured or limited by fractions of an inch, 
 but by a deep insinuation along the lines of weakness, be- 
 tween grains, through cleavage-planes, and into latent fis- 
 sures. Thus, long before the surface has become much .cor- 
 roded or removed, a deep disintegration has taken place by 
 which large fragments are ready for separation by frost, 
 from the edges and angles of a block. 
 
 When directly exposed to the heat of the sun, an addi- 
 tional agency of destruction is involved, and the stone is 
 suddenly found ready to exfoliate, layer after layer, con- 
 centrically. The following is an approximative estimate 
 of the life of different kinds of stone, signifying by the 
 term life, without regard to discoloration or other objec- 
 tionable qualities, merely the period after which incipient 
 decay of the variety becomes sufficiently offensive to the 
 eye to demand repair or renewal: Coarse brown stone, Jive 
 to fifteen years ; laminated fine brown stone, one hundred 
 to two hundred years; blue stone, untried, probably cen 
 turies ; Nova Scotia stone, untried, perhaps fifty to tivo 
 hundred years; Ohio sandstone (best siliceous variety), 
 perhaps from one to many centuries ; coarse fossiliferous 
 limestone, twenty to forty years; fine oolitic (American) 
 limestone, untried, coarse dolomite marble, forty years ; 
 fine dolomite marble, sixty to eighty years; fine marble, 
 fifty to two hundred years ; granite, seventy-five to two hun- 
 dred years; gneiss, fifty years to many centuries. 
 
 Many of the best building stones in the country have 
 never been brought to the city. In this country the en- 
 durance of stone in a great measure depends to a great ex- 
 tent on its power to resist the action of frost, as we may 
 easily satisfy ourselves by an inspection of the walls of 
 buildings all around us. The determination of the power 
 to resist this action is accomplished by soaking the stone in 
 a strong solution of sulphate of soda, and then permitting 
 
119 
 
 the salt to crystalize in its pores; repeating the operation a 
 few times, the stone soon begins to show effects, which are 
 measured by weighing the particles that are broken off. 
 Another method of estimating the same disintegrating 
 action is that proposed by Professor J. C. Draper, of alter- 
 nately heating and then quenching it in cold water, and 
 weighing the detached particles. 
 
 The Preservation of Building Stones . — The following ab- 
 stract is taken from a paper read before the American 
 Institute of Architects at their eighteenth annual meeting, 
 Albany, N. Y., October, 1884, by Dr. R. Ogden Doremus: 
 He mentioned many well known buildings that were 
 crumbling away, such as Girard College, the College of 
 New York, Trinity Church, N. Y. He had dined with 
 Gorridge soon after the obelisk was put up in Central Park, 
 and the subject of the weathering of the obelisk was sug- 
 gested. Gorridge said that it had stood 4,000 years, and 
 would stand 4,000 years more. But, in fact, the obelisk is 
 crumbling away. He showed several vials full of chippings 
 collected at the foot of it; also specimens of stone found 
 peeled off from inside the new capitol during the visit of 
 the institute to it in the afternoon. A simple remedy was 
 suggested, and one that has been extensively applied in St. 
 Louis, and to some extent in New York, namely, an appli- 
 cation of paraffin mixed with a little creosote. 
 
 The building is heated by a small furnace, and when there 
 is ornamental work a blow pipe is sometimes required to 
 heat depressions. 
 
 The paraffine is then applied in a melted condition, and 
 sinks in about a quarter of an inch, giving a beautiful and 
 indestructible glossy finish, and rendering the material ab- 
 solutely water proof and air tight. 
 
 In reply to a question about fire, he said that a fire would 
 only drive it in a little. 
 
 It costs on an average about 50 cents a yard, and never 
 needs to be applied a second time, as no chemical agent in 
 the air or in the rain affects it at all. Even caustic potash 
 does not unite with it. 
 
120 
 
 If the application is made to marble that has been 
 weather beaten the marble should first be cleaned with 
 steel brushes. 
 
 Marble thus cleaned, however, unless treated with 
 paraffine soon becomes covered with a yellow stain, as ap- 
 pears in the building 50 Wall St., N. Y. Some of the build- 
 ings in New York, which have been treated with paraffine 
 are St. Mark’s Memorial Church, houses 124-6 South Fifth 
 Ave., and other buildings in New York. 
 
 The paraffine method is confidently commended by Dr. 
 Doremus as the very best used. Kuhlman’s process con- 
 sists in coating the surface of stone to be preserved with a 
 solution of potash or soda silicate. The hardening of the 
 surface is due to the decomposition of potash or soda sili- 
 cate. If the material operated upon be a limestone, pot- 
 ash carbonate, lime silicio-carbonate, and silica will be de- 
 posited; besides which the carbonic acid in the air will com- 
 bine with some of the potash, causing an efflorescence on 
 the surface which will eventually disappear. When ap- 
 plied to lime sulphate, crystallization takes place, which 
 disintegrates the surface. In order to correct the discolor- 
 ation of stone sometimes produced by the application of 
 preservation solutions, Kuhlmann proposed that the sur- 
 faces should be colored. Surfaces that are too light may 
 be darkened by treatment with a durable manganese and 
 potash silicate. 
 
 Those that are too dark may be made lighter by adding 
 baryta sulphate to the silicious solutions. By introducing 
 the iron, copper, and manganese sulphate he obtained red- 
 dish-brown, green and brown colors. Among other pro- 
 cesses which have been tried are: Solution of baryta fol- 
 lowed by solution of ferro-silicate acid so as to fill the pores 
 of the stone with an insoluble ferro-silicate of baryta; solu- 
 tion of baryta followed by solution of superposphate of 
 lime producing an insoluble lime phosphate and baryta 
 phosphate. Soluble alumina oxalate applied to lime stones 
 produces insoluble lime and alumina oxalate. These three 
 processes last alluded to possess the advantage of produc- 
 
121 
 
 ing by the changes they undergo within the structure of 
 the stone an insoluble substance, without at the same time 
 giving rise to the formation of soluble salt likely to cause 
 efflorescence which necessarily attends the use of alkaline 
 silicates. 
 
 Ultimate average crushing loads in tons per square foot 
 for stones, etc. The stones are supposed to be on bed, and 
 the height to be not less than two or three times the least 
 side. Stones generally begin to crack or split under about 
 one-half of their crushing loads. In practice, according to 
 some authorities, neither stone or brickwork, should be 
 trusted with more than to T V of the crushing load, ac- 
 cording to circumstances and some authorities; 
 
 Tons sq. ft. Av. tons. 
 
 Granites and Syenites 300 to 1200 750 
 
 Limestones and Marbles 700 
 
 Oolites, good 100 to 250 175 
 
 Sandstones for building 150 to 250 
 
 Sandstone, red of Connecticut and New 
 
 Jersey 200 
 
 Brick 50 to 300 175 
 
 Brickwork, ordinary cracks with 20 to 30 25 
 
 Brickwork, first rate in cement 50 to 70 60 
 
 Brickwork, good in cement 30 to 40 35 
 
 Slate 400 to 800 600 
 
 Caen stone 100 to 200 150 
 
 Caen stone to crack 20 to 30 25 
 
 Plaster of Paris, 1 day old 40 
 
 Concrete, lime 1 part, gravel 3 parts, 3 
 
 weeks old 30 to 50 40 
 
 Portland hydraulic cement, English. 
 
 pure, 6 weeks’ old 80 to 160 120 
 
 Portland cement, 1 part, 1 part sand. . . 80 
 
 Portland cement, 1 part, 3 part sand. . . 40 
 
122 
 
 Av. tons. 
 
 Portland cement, 10 spits shingle 
 
 Roman hydraulic cement, English pure . 
 Roman, 1 part cement, 2 parts sand . . . 
 Sheppy & Atkinson’s cement, pure 
 
 18 
 
 50 
 
 5 
 
 80 
 
 Jlen s ii ratio n.— E very mason should understand how 
 to estimate the quantity of superficial feet contained within 
 any form or figure, as well as its solid contents. From 
 an ignorance alone of these simple rules of mensuration, 
 many an honest and capable mechanic has been left in the 
 rut, and struggled on for a life-time*as a wage-worker for 
 men, generally as found, less skillful than himself as a 
 mechanic. I, therefore, urge upon every mason the neces- 
 sity of making himself familiar with these simple rules, 
 and to carry them every day with him and apply them 
 in a practical manner with his work, and after a short 
 while he will begin to understand them to his advantage. 
 Masonry , in a word, is nothing more or less than practical 
 Mensuration , and, therefore, every mason should thoroughly 
 understand it. 
 
 I will take it for granted, that every mason is acquainted 
 with the elementary principels of arithmetic, that may be 
 learned in a primary school book, and if he is the examples 
 which are here given, or the principels on which they are 
 computed, may be applied when estimating upon work 
 from the proportions of the smallest hut to the most embel- 
 lished cathedral. 
 
 The meaning of the signs and marks : 
 
 + plus, or more; the sign of addition: as 5 -j- 6 = 11. 
 
 minus , or less; the sign of substraction: as 20 — 5 = 15. 
 X multiply by; the sign of multiplication: as 8 X 9 = 72. 
 -h divide by; the sign of division: as 16 -f- 4 = 4. ===== equal 
 
 to, the sign of equality: as 27 cubic feet = 1 cubic yard. 
 
 : : proportion ; the sign of proportion : as 3 : 6 : : 8 : 16. frac- 
 tion. V square root. V cube root. ' feet. " inches. 
 
 The following table of measurement is used for stone and 
 brickwork in many places: 
 
123 
 
 1 Perch, mason’s or quarrymen’s measure, 
 
 16! feet long, i 
 
 16 inches wide, 1= 22 cubic feet; to be measured in wall. 
 12 inches high, J 
 16! feet long, ^ 
 
 18 inches wide, 1= 24.75 cubic feet; to be measured in pile. 
 12 inches high, J 
 
 1 cubic yard = 3 feet X 3 feet X 3 feet = 27 cubic feet. 
 The cubic yard has become the standard for all contract 
 work of late years. Stone walls less than 16 inches thick 
 count as if 16 inches thick to mason; over 16 inches thick, 
 each inch additional is measured. 
 
 The following number of brick also are allowed for each 
 square foot of face of wall in measuring brickwork when 
 laid by the thousand by the mason in some places: 
 
 Thickness of wall. No. brick. 
 
 4 inches 74 
 
 8 “ 15 
 
 12 “ 22 | 
 
 16 “ 30 
 
 20 “ 37! 
 
 24 “ 46 
 
 28 “ 52! 
 
 32 “ 60 
 
 36 “ 67! 
 
 42 “ 75 
 
 Cubic yard = 600 bricks in wall. 
 
 Perch (22 cubic feet) = 500 brick in wall. 
 
 To pave 1 sq. yard on flat requires 48 brick. 
 
 To pave 1 sq. yard on edge requires 68 brick. 
 
 Square yard = 3 feet X 3 feet = 9 square feet. 
 
 We will now proceed to the various forms of plain sur- 
 c faces, and the methods of measuring 
 them, and beginning with the square, 
 which has four equal sides, and four 
 right angles, as A, B, C, D. Rule : Mul- 
 tiply the given side by itself, and the 
 product is the area required. 
 
 6 Ex. 12 X 12' = 144'. 
 
 ' 12'0‘J 
 
 7T 
 
 ? 
 
 
 'N. 
 
 fO 
 
 
 c 
 
 
 % 
 
 
 
124 
 
 The next figure will be a parallelogram , or oblong square. 
 
 Rule : Multiply the length by the breadth ha i o ir *7 
 
 and the product gives the area. 
 
 Ex. 18' 0" X 6' 0" = 108' 0" 
 
 The next figure will be a rombus, which 
 has four sides all equal but not right angle. 
 Rule: Multiply the base by the perpendicu- 
 lar height and the product is the area. 
 
 Ex. 16' 0" X 14' O' = 224' 0". 
 
 The next figure will be the rhomboid , 
 which has its two sides equal and parallel , 
 but no right angle ; 
 it is a long square pushed aside. 
 
 Rule: Midtiply the longer side by 
 the perpendicular height, or breadth, 
 
 D6 
 
 /lTo* 
 
 and the product is the area. Ex. 18' 0" X 5' 6" = 99' 0". 
 
 The next figure will be a right-angled 
 triangle, having one of its angles a true 
 square; or just 90 degrees. Rule : Mul- 
 tiply one of the legs forming the right 
 angle by half the other ; the product is 
 the area. Ex. 16' 0" 2 = 8' X 20' 0" 
 
 = 160'. 
 
 The next figure will be a tri-angle. Rule : Multiply the 
 longest side by one-half the perpendicu- XT 
 lar, and the product is the content. 
 
 Ex. 14' 0" ^ 2 == V 0" X 24' 0" = 168' 
 
 O''-, area required tri-angle. 
 
 The next figure will be the tra-pezium, 
 which consists of four unequal angles; 
 
 it is, indeed, two triangles, and may be 
 / measured at twice, as shown in the pre- 
 
 /£ \\ ceding triangle, or by this Rule : Midtiply 
 
 — — X the diagonal by one-half the sum of the 
 
 two perpendiculars. Ex. 8' 0" + 4' 0 = 12' 0" — 2 = 6' 0" 
 X 20' 0" = 120' 0"; the area required. 
 
 The next figure will be the area of a circle. Rule : Square 
 the diameter , and multiply that product by • 7854, a decimal , 
 and the product will be the content. 
 
125 
 
 parallel, instead of dividing it and measuring it as a paral- 
 lelogram and an angle, take 
 the mean of the two perpen- 
 
 diculars and multiply by the 
 length; the product will be 
 the area required. Ex. 12' 
 20' 0" -r 2 = 10' 0" X 32' 0" = 320; area. 
 
 0 " + 8 ' 0 " 
 
 It is now necessary to take into 
 consideration the methods of meas- 
 uring solid or cubic bodies; for ex- ^ 
 ample, to begin, viz. : a solid bound- 
 ed by six square sides, similar to a y 
 die. Rule : Multiply the side by ^ 
 itself, and that product by ‘the side *■ 
 
 
 
 
 0 6* 
 
 '/ 6 
 
 * 0 11 O 
 
 ~A 
 
 again; the last product wall be the solid content. Ex. 6' 
 0" X 6' 0" X - 36' 0" X 6' 0" — 216' 0", cubic feet. 
 
 The next is th eparal- 
 lelopipedon, or oblong 
 cube. Rule : Midtiply 
 the breadth by the depth 
 and the product by the 
 
 V , 
 H—f 
 
 32 - 0 - 
 
 14- 
 
 length ; this last pro- 
 duct will be the con- n 
 tent of it. 
 
 Next proceed to 
 the prism, to meas- 
 
 32 ' 0 " 
 
126 
 
 ure which find the area at the end, multiply that by the 
 length, and that product is the content. Ex. The perpen- 
 dicular height, 6' 0" 2 = 3' 0" X 12' 0" = 36' 0" X 32' 0" 
 
 = 1152' 0". 
 
 The inclined plane and wedge may be measured by the 
 same rule as the prism. 
 
 The next figure is a square pyramid, and the one-half of 
 which is a very prominent formation in banks, and is meas- 
 
 X 6' 0" 216' 0"; content. 
 
 Arriving now at the cylinder, this is measured by multi- 
 plying the area of the base, or end, by the length. Ex. 12' 
 0" X 12' 0" = 144/ 0" X .7854 = 
 
 of a square pyramid, which also is a form peculiar in em- 
 bankments and cuttings. Buie : To four times the area of 
 the mean base add the area of each end, which divide by 6; 
 multiply the product by the length, you will find the con- 
 tents. Ex. 4' 0" -f 6' 
 
 will be 5' 0"; 5' 0" X 
 
 5' 0" = 25' 0" X 4' 0" =100' 0" + 36' 0" = 136' 0" + 16' 0" 
 = 152' 0" ; 152' 0" -r 6' 0" = 25' 4" X 20' 0" = 506' 8", 
 contents. 
 
 The same rule applies to the frustum of a cone. I know 
 of no quantity of excavating, masonry, brickwork or plas- 
 tering, pertaining to a structure, that may not be estimated 
 by applying the rules given in calculating the superficial 
 
 ured by multiplying the area of the 
 base by one-third the height or 
 length. Ex. 6' 0" X 6' 0" = 36' 0" 
 
 The cone is also measured by 
 multiplying the area of the base 
 by one-third the perpendicular 
 
 113, 0976 X 20' 0" = 2260 0". 
 
 height. Ex. 12' 0" X 12' 0" = 144' 
 0" X .7854 = 113' 0" X6' 8" = 
 753' 4". 
 
 The next figure is the frustum 
 
 0" 10' 0" -7- 2 = 5' 
 
 0", the mean height of t 
 the base, or thickness, 
 
 //& 
 
 20'j D* 
 
127 
 
 and solid measurement of the above plain examples. And, 
 any mason that will thoroughly make himself familiar with 
 the items in respect to the labour , as given in their several 
 branches of this work — as excavating, masonry, bricklaying 
 and plastering, etc.— and ascertaining the local prices of the 
 different materials, may consider himself competent to esti- 
 mate upon any structure in an intelligent manner. 
 
 Gauging. — Gauging is the art of measuring the capacity 
 of casks and vessels of any form. To gauge accurately use 
 the following general rule : Having taken the necessary 
 linear measurements, compute by the rules of mensuration 
 given, the volum of the inside of the cask or vessel in cubic 
 inches. Divide this by 2150.42 for the measurement in 
 bushels, by 282 for beer gallons, by 231 for wine gallons. 
 
 Plain and ornamental brickwork. —The art of 
 erecting edifices or walls of brick cemented together w r ith 
 mortar. I will therefore treat the subject in a general man- 
 ner, so as to give the mechanic a thorough understanding 
 of the different parts he often is called upon to exercise his 
 skill in the erection of a building. For the business of a 
 bricklayer or mason not only consists in the performance 
 of all kinds of brickwork and stonework, but he is often 
 called upon to take charge of the erection of an edifice, and 
 works of construction and to carry them on to a successful 
 termination; and he should, therefore, be familiar with 
 all the knowledge necessary to that end, for those who have 
 the reputation of possessing such knowledge, their employ- 
 ment is more anxiously sought for by those who carry on 
 the business of erecting buildings, as well as by the pub- 
 lic generally who have work of a private character to be 
 done; we have, therefore, not only in this portion of our 
 book, but in every other part of it, endeavored to place be- 
 fore the mind of the practical mason that knowledge which 
 we deem essential for him to possess to be in harmony with 
 the advanced stage of construction that is being advocated in 
 many parts of our country at the present time. 
 
 In preparing for the erection of any building the first 
 
128 
 
 thing the mechanic should make himself familiar with is 
 the plan, elevation and section of the proposed edifice (see 
 plans and drawings), and upon which too much care cannot 
 be bestowed, so that lie may get them thoroughly im- 
 pressed upon his mind, for by so doing very many mistakes 
 will be prevented. 
 
 The determination of the exact position of an intended 
 building being sometimes difficult to accomplish, a few re- 
 marks on the subject may be acceptable. 
 
 The setting out of the leading lines are simple enough on 
 level ground, when nothing occurs to interrupt the view", or 
 to prevent the direct measurement of the required distances; 
 but to perform this operation at the bottom of a foundation 
 trench when the surrounding ground is blocked up with 
 brick and stone and other material, requires a degree of 
 skill and patience not alw r ays to be met with. Before, there- 
 fore, the excavation is begun it is necessary to establish the 
 centre and main front lines by driving proper stakes a suffi- 
 cient distance from the excavation that they may not be 
 disturbed and are accessible at any time to draw lines from, 
 which the mason with the use of a plummet is enabled to 
 locate at the bottom of the trench or cellar, as the case may 
 be, those lines being fixed, it is then easy enough to meas- 
 ure from them all the rest or side lines. It is also neces- 
 rary that he establish in the middle of the cellar a proper 
 guide to regulate him in carrying his work up to its several 
 heights, as drains, areas, door sills and lintels, window 
 sills and lintels, all slots and chimney starting points, height 
 of floor joists, etc. This is accomplished by erecting a 
 smooth broad board in the middle of the cellar, or works, 
 and marking upon it the grade line which must be trans- 
 ferred from the surveyor’s stake, or one established by the 
 parties interested, this being done, mark from it the several 
 distances downward as they are shown upon the section 
 plan of the building; resource can be had from time to time 
 to this until the walls are up to receive the first tier of tim- 
 bers, which will guide him thereafter. This is a very sim- 
 ple and practicable manner to engineer a foundation out of 
 the excavation, and saves time in not being compelled to 
 
refer continually to the plans. When the excavations have 
 been made, the ground must be tried by the repeated blows 
 of a rammer, or by driving into it an iron bar, and work- 
 ing it backwards and forwards, in order to ascertain 
 whether it be sufficiently firm to sustain the proposed 
 ^ weight of the building. If it be not sufficiently firm, it 
 ( must be piled and planked, or sleepered and planked as the 
 , case may require. Or a layer of concrete may be put down 
 under the walls, which is the common way of dealing with 
 I unreliable soils at the present time. The operation of pil- 
 ing consists in driving large piles of wood, tapered at one 
 end, and shod with iron, into the earth, till they extend the 
 whole width of the footings ; and then, at any distance, 
 not exceeding 5 feet, drive another course; and so in con- 
 tinuation throughout the whole length of the walling. 
 
 This operation being completed, the ground between the 
 different courses of piles, in the longitudinal direction of 
 the wall, is well rammed and made good. Planks of wood 
 called sleepers, are then laid on the heads of the piles, in a 
 transverse direction to the length of the building; and other 
 planks are laid in the opposite direction, that is, with their 
 length extending in the direction of the length of the wall, 
 resting partly on the sleepers, and partly on the ground 
 which has been made good. Sleepered and planked con- 
 sists in placing planks of wood in a similar direction to the 
 above, without having recourse to piling. When the in- 
 tended walling is to be, for instance 2 feet thick, the sleep- 
 ers and plank should extend about 2 feet on each side of 
 the wall that is the sleepers should be 6 feet in length. 
 When the soil in general proves firm, but has in one or 
 more places loose earth, the parts that are loose must be ex- 
 cavated, until the bricklayer arrives at a part that is suffi- 
 ciently firm to sustain a pier or piers. 
 
 These piers, similarly to the walls of a building, must 
 have footings ; and must be carried up until they are on an 
 exact level with the first course of the footings of the wall, 
 of which thickness the piers must terminate at the top. 
 Sometimes, when not very loose, the ground may be made 
 firm, by ramming into it large stones, after the manner of 
 
130 
 
 paviors, which stones are close packed together, and are of 
 a breadth at the bottom proportional to the intended insist- 
 ing weight. 
 
 Foundation trenches also in good soils may here and there 
 present bad parts of a yielding or compressible nature, the 
 bad parts may be removed until good soil is met with, fil- 
 ling up the holes thus made with sharp sand. 
 
 Perhaps there is no part of the building business in which 
 the skill and judgment of the mechanic is taxed more 
 than the successful dealing with compressible soils in the 
 erection of an edifice ; in fact, the public look upon the op- 
 eration with caution, and are not satisfied unless the work 
 is entrusted to men of practical experience, and reputed 
 care and judgment in the successful performance of such 
 work. We have, therefore, subjoined extracts from reports 
 of engineers to Congress upon such work, and of the suc- 
 cessful operation of the building of foundations generally, 
 that the mechanic’s mind may be enlarged upon the subject, 
 and, if his judgment be sought in regard to such matters, 
 he may be enabled to pass it with intelligence based upon 
 the experience of the past. 
 
 Foundations in compressible soils. Hollow iron cylin- 
 ders sunk by atmospheric pressure in very compressible 
 soils . — The principle was applied by Mr. Hughes in sinking 
 the piles at Rochester bridge, England. With his modifica- 
 tions it has entirely superseded the ordinary diving bell for 
 foundations in deep water. 
 
 Compressed air is made to free a hollow pile from the 
 water within it after it has been placed in its situation 
 (the bed of the river or other place), there used as a diving- 
 bell, without again being dra.wn up, and remains as a part 
 of the permanent structure. Mr. McAlpine has used it with 
 success for a bridge over the Harlem river, N. Y., in a 
 muddy and sandy soil. The draw piece of this bridge was 
 composed of one central, and ten circumscribing iron col- 
 umns, each 6 feet in diameter and 50 feet in height, the 
 water being 20 feet in the deepest part. These piles were 
 sunk by the pneumatic process (both plenum and vacuum). 
 
131 
 
 It had been decided to fill the columns with concrete; and it 
 was suggested to extend this masonry below the bottom of 
 the iron cylinders (as the men could work in water), under- 
 mining the adjacent earth as far as practicable, and to ex- 
 tend the concrete into the space thus undermined. This 
 was done in sections of about 2 feet in width ; and, when 
 the rim had been completed, it was found that the column 
 was virtually extended, and that the crater would readily 
 sink under the pneumatic pressure, to a level with the bot- 
 tom of the concrete, so that the sand within it was easily 
 removed, and the space filled with concrete to a depth, 
 generally, of 4 feet or more. 
 
 The cement set with greater rapidity under the pneuma- 
 tic pressure, than in the open air. The last column was 
 driven from 16 to 20 feet in from 3 to 6 days, in sand and 
 porous material, free from obstruction, 12 men, all told, 
 were sufficient to do the work, including engine-drivers, 
 stevedores, and foremen. The metal in the columns was 
 li in thick. No ill effects were experienced by the work- 
 men from a pressure of 2^ atmospheres. This system is 
 perfectly reliable in all cases where the compressible soil 
 can be removed and a hard bottom reached on which to 
 found the contemplated structure. 
 
 Pile foundations . — The next system for consideration is 
 that of piles driven into the ground on which the super- 
 structure rests directly, or through the intervention of a 
 floor of wood or masonry. 
 
 The most extensive and oldest application of pile driv- 
 ing for foundations to which instructive reference can be 
 made is in the city of Amsterdam, Europe. The original 
 site of this city was a salt marsh. All the buildings 
 (28,000) fora population of 224,000 souls in 1850, covering 
 a surface of 900 acres, are supported on piles of from 50 
 to 60 feet in length. After passing through a mixture of 
 peat and sand of little consistence, at a depth of about 40 
 feet, they enter a bed of firm clay. The ends of the piles 
 are sawed level and covered with thick plank on which the 
 masonry is constructed. Though the houses have declined 
 from the perpendicular, they are considered to be quite 
 
132 
 
 secure against falling; yet such a contingency occurred in 
 1882 by the sinking and total ruin of a large block of 
 ware-houses heavily filled with corn— wheat in bulk that 
 shifted the weight. The palace built in 1648 is supported 
 on 13,659 piles. It is 282 feet long, 253 feet wide, and 116 
 feet in height, exclusive of a cupola of 41 feet. 
 
 The labors of engineers in the valley of the Thames river 
 at and about London, give much useful information in the 
 construction of ancient as well as modern pile foundations. 
 
 Old London bridge was commenced in 1176, and finished 
 about 83 years thereafter. The piers rested on piles driven 
 only around the outside of the pier, so placed as to carry 
 the whole weight. They were of elm, and at the expira- 
 tion of 600 years on being drawn up, remained without 
 material decay. A part of this bridge fell about 100 years 
 after it was finished, and the whole structure was removed 
 to give place to the new bridge in 1825. 
 
 Old Westminster bridge was built between 1733 and 1747. 
 Piles were used under one pier only. Its piers (with one 
 exception) were constructed in caissons or flat-bottomed 
 boats. Lach caisson contained as much timber as a forty 
 gun frigate. They were 80 feet long by 30 feet wide. These 
 foundations failed; the caisson bottoms or floors sunk in 
 the middle; the sides and ends projecting beyond the stone 
 work broke off and bent upwards. The sinking of the 
 bearing area of the sub-stratum, under the partial and un- 
 equal pressure of the floors of the caissons, has had more 
 to do with the failure than any other defect. 
 
 Waterloo bridge, built between 1809 and 1817. The foun- 
 dations of the piers of this bridge are built in coffer-dams 
 or caissons; the floors of which rest on piles, about 3 feet 
 apait, under the entire base of the pier, penetrating the 
 clay about 18 feet. The foundation is arranged with plank, 
 concrete and stones, as in the New London bridge. 
 
 The estimated pressure per foot on the head of each pile 
 is, in this case, about 68 tons. The arches are 120 foot 
 span, and weigh about 2,500 tons each. 
 
 New London bridge, built between 1825 and 1831. The 
 foundation of the piers under the entire area of the bases 
 
138 
 
 of the piers, the piles are about 20 feet long and 3 feet 
 apart, penetrating the clay 18 to 19 feet. On the heads of 
 the piles were laid sleepers; the loose earth between the 
 heads of the piles is replaced with rubble concrete, on which 
 blocks of stone and brick work filled up the spaces between 
 the pile heads, and immediately the platform of oak plank- 
 ing which carried the first course of granite. 
 
 The pressure upon each pile is 80 tons, or 5 tons per square 
 foot of the entire area of the pier. Each pier of this bridge 
 settled from 6 to 10 inches towards the down stream. No 
 further settlement is apprehended. 
 
 New Westminster bridge, built in 1858 and since. The 
 arches of this bridge are of wrought and cast iron. Elm 
 piles 32 feet long are driven in alternate rows of 3 and 5 ft. 
 each, to the number of 145 in each pier, and 18 to 20 feet 
 into the London clay, each tested to a bearing weight of 60 
 tons. Circumscribing the area into which the elm piles are 
 driven, hollow cast iron 15 inch diameter, 25 feet long, are 
 driven 4 feet apart, and between these, in grooves cast on 
 hollow piles, flat iron piles are driven to nearly the same 
 depth, forming a coffer-dam, within which all the soil over- 
 laying the gravel bed is excavated, and concrete filled in to 
 the top of the piles, which are cut off 6 inches below low 
 w r ater. On the heads of the elm piles is a course of stone 
 covering two or three piles alternately, upon this the bot- 
 tom course of granite of large size is laid. The bearing 
 piles are 14 inches square driven at intervals of 1 foot 9 
 inches from centre to centre, to an average depth of 20 feet 
 in the clay. It will thus be noticed that the solid stone 
 piers sustaining the iron arches, rest* upon the heads of the 
 wooden piles, which stand a considerable height above the 
 bed of the river; that these piles are within an enclosure of 
 cast iron and granite slabs; and around the piles and fil- 
 ling up the casing or enclosure there is a solid bed of con- 
 crete as good as rock. 
 
 From the above, the conclusion arrived at by the English 
 engineers is that the compressibility of volitic and tutiary 
 clays can only be overcome by piling deep sinking, heavy 
 ramming, or heavy weighting. 
 
134 
 
 The point of bearing must be carried below the possi- 
 bility of upward reaction. The depth of a foundation in 
 compressible ground ought not to be less than one-fourth 
 the intended height of the building above ground— that is, 
 for a shaft of 200 feet the foundation should be made 
 secure to a depth of 50 feet by piling or well sinking and 
 concrete. Masses of concrete, brick or stone, placed on a 
 compressible substratum, however cramped and bound, 
 may prove unsafe. Solidity from a considerable depth can 
 alone be relied upon. Mere enlargement of a base may not 
 in itself be sufficient. The following weights supported by 
 the foundations of the piers of several of the remarkable 
 and heaviest structures in pounds per square foot : 
 
 Dome of St. Peter’s, Rome 35,254 
 
 St. Paul’s, London 41,713 
 
 Invalids, Paris 31,862 
 
 “ the Pantheon, Paris 43,440 
 
 Column of the Basilica of St. Paul 42,950 
 
 Steeple of the Church of St. Mary’s 63,325 
 
 Practice and experience of United States engineers in the 
 construction of foundations in different localities and in 
 compressible soils : 
 
 The dry dock at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, New York, 
 was commenced in 1841 and completed in 1851. It con- 
 tains 13.837 cubic yards of masonry, resting upon 38,532 
 cubic feet of pile timber. The soil was found to be chiefly 
 vegetable decomposition to the depth of 10 feet, and below 
 this almost impalpable quick sand, containing a large pro- 
 portion of mica. When confined and not mixed with 
 water, it is very firm and unyielding, presenting a strong 
 resistance to penetration. When saturated with water it 
 becomes a semi-fluid , and moved by the slightest current of 
 water passing over or through it. Small veins of course 
 sand were also occasionally encountered, through which 
 flowed springs of fresh water. 
 
 Borings were made to the depth of 80 feet and brought 
 up sand, clay and fresh water. There is a small propor- 
 tion of clay in any part of the foundation. The borings 
 
135 
 
 extended 40 feet below the foundation of the dock. The 
 foundations for the superstructure of this dry-dock were 
 placed 37 feet below mean tide and 52 feet below the sur- 
 face of the ground. 
 
 Black mica overlaid the quicksand under the coffer-dam; 
 3504 piles were driven, averaging 39 feet in length by 15 
 inches square. The earth above low water was removed be- 
 fore the coffer-dam was formed, and about 10 feet was re- 
 moved by dredging. The semi-fluid state in which the ma- 
 terial was found, after the water was pumped out of the pit r 
 was very difficult to remove. It was so fluid as to require 
 tubs for its removal. Bottom springs of fresh water were 
 found in about 6 feet of the required depth of the foundation; 
 the largest discharged 10 gallons per minute. When flow- 
 ing from a level of 26 feet below low water it discharged 38 
 gallons per minute, containing 27 ounces of sand; at a level 
 of 22 feet it discharged 33 gallons per minute, containing 
 17 ounces of sand; and at a level of 17 feet it discharged 10 
 gallons per minute unmixed with sand. These springs pre- 
 sented great difficulties in laying the foundations from the 
 flowing of the water, which as it came up brought large 
 quantities of sand, which, if continued to flow, would soon 
 have endangered the surrounding work. 
 
 The pressure of the water was so great as to raise the 
 foundation however heavily it could be loaded. The sett- 
 ling of the piles supporting the pump well w T as the first evi- 
 dence of undermining of one of these springs. The site of 
 the well was changed but the spring followed, and com- 
 pelled another change of the well. This spring was driven 
 out of the old well by driving piles until it was filled up, 
 but it immediately burst up among the foundation piles of 
 the dock near by. 
 
 In a single day it made a cavity in which a pole was 
 ran down 20 feet below the foundation timber; 150 feet 
 of stone were thrown into this hole, which settled 10 feet 
 during the night, and 50 feet more were thrown in the fol- 
 lowing day, which drove the spring to another place where 
 it undermined and burst up through a bed of concrete 2 
 feet thick. This new cavity was repeatedly filled with con- 
 
Crete leaving a tube for the water to flow through; but in 
 a few days it burst up through a heavy body of concrete in 
 a place 14 feet distant, where it soon undermined the con- 
 crete, and even the foundation piles, which settled from 1 
 to 8 inches, although 33 feet long and driven by a hammer 
 of 2,200 pounds falling 35 feet at the least, blow not mov- 
 ing the pile \ inch. It was then determined to drive as 
 many additional piles into the space by means of followers 
 to force those already driven as deep as possible. The old 
 concrete was then removed to a depth of 20 inches below 
 the top of the piles. An area of about 1,000 square feet 
 around the spring was then planked, on which a floor of 
 brick was laid in dry cement, and on that another layer of 
 brick set in mortar. The space was next filled with con- 
 crete and the foundation completed over all. Several vent 
 holes were left through the floor and -foundation. After a 
 few days, wnen the cement had well set, the spring was 
 forced up to a level of about 10 feet above the former out- 
 let at which it flowed clear without sand. Two other of 
 these springs were closed by freezing in 1848 and forced up 
 in one case 800, and in the other 1,200 square feet of the 
 foundations. This took place between the lower timbers 
 and the planking lifting also the first course of the stone 
 floor; which was from 1 2 to 15 inches thick. 
 
 The whole number of bearing piles in the foundation is 
 6,549. They are chiefly round spruce timber 25 to 40 feet 
 long, averaging 14 in diameter at the head. The average 
 length of all the piles driven was 32 feet 7 inches. The 
 piles were originally driven three feet from centres. After- 
 wards as many piles were driven as could be placed into 
 the earth. Whenever a hammer of 2,000 pounds weight, 
 falling 35 feet, drove the pile for the last few blows, exceed- 
 ing 3 inches per blow, another and larger pile was driven 
 alongside. With the exception of 541, all these piles were 
 driven by hammers from 2,000 to 4,500 pounds each, fall- 
 ing from 35 to 40 feet. The average number of blows per 
 pile was 151 with the small hammers and fifty blows only 
 with the large hammers. The 541 piles were driven with a 
 Nasmyth steam pile engine. 
 
137 
 
 The foundation was mostly laid as follows : The excava- 
 tion being completed to the proper depth, and piles cut off 
 to a uniform level, 2 feet in thickness of concrete was ram- 
 med between the bearing piles. These piles were capped 
 with 12 and 14 inch yellow pine timber, laid transversely 
 with the axis of the dock, and tre-nailed to each pile. The 
 concrete was then raised to the top of these timbers and a 
 light flooring of 3 inch yellow pine plank was laid upon and 
 spiked thereon. Another course of similar timber was then 
 placed upon this floor, breaking joints with those below, to 
 which they were tre-nailed. The intervals were next filled 
 with concrete, and another floor of 3 inch plank spiked down; 
 which completed the foundation. The support of this foun- 
 dation is derived mainly from the cohesion of the material 
 into which the piles were driven and slightly from their 
 sectional area. It was ascertained that it required a weight 
 of 122 tons to draw up one of these piles, or rather start or 
 put it in motion, when driven 33 feet to the point of ulti- 
 mate resistance with a ram of one ton falling 30 feet at the 
 least blow. 
 
 The piles average 12 inches in diameter in the middle, 
 making at least a support of .100 tons per square foot of 
 foundation. 
 
 The railroad bridge at Havre de Grace , on the Susque- 
 hanna river, was commenced in October, 1862, and finished 
 in November, 1866. 
 
 The foundation of the piers of this bridge are referred to 
 as examples of piles driven ir the compressible bed of the 
 river, supporting an iron caisson on a grillage of timber 
 resting on the piles, and a caisson lowered to solid rock 
 through 15 feet of compressible soil. In 1863 piles were 
 driven and sawed off 40 feet below the surface of the water 
 for the foundation of pier No. 3; a platform or grillage of 
 timber, strongly ironed, upon which the pier was to rest, 
 was constructed near the site of the work and floated over 
 the site of the foundation under which the piles had been 
 driven. 
 
 This platform was placed between two substantial con 
 struction piers of timber; lowering screws, 6 in number, of 
 
138 
 
 3^ inch diameter, were attached by hooks to the platform; 
 and to the construction piers a section of an iron caisson 
 was constructed, resting upon the wooden platform thus 
 suspended. The masonry was then built within the caisson, 
 lowered by means of the screws, as it approached the top of 
 the section, when a second section of the iron caisson was 
 added, built within and lowered by the screws in like man- 
 ner as the preceding, and thus continued until the platform 
 or grillage rested upon the heads of the piles. Another 
 pier (No. 7) was founded on the rocky bed of the river un- 
 derlaying the compressible bed of the stream for a depth of 
 of 15 feet. This latter had been displaced in several places 
 by the spring freshets of 1865, rendering piling impractica- 
 ble; all the earth was in consequence, removed down to the 
 surface of the rock. At the site of the pier the rock bed 
 was 18 feet below the original undisturbed bed of the river. 
 To remove this earth a wrought iron foundation caisson, 
 averaging 8 feet square, was lowered so as to enclose the 
 site of the pier. This was gradually depressed to the rock 
 by removing the earth within it by means mainly of power- 
 ful pumps, aided by the constant exertions of skilled divers. 
 The masonry was then laid within the tank upon the solid 
 rock, and being brought to a level some feet below the top 
 of the foundation caisson; the caisson of the pier resting 
 upon the platform of timbers was lowered and built upon. 
 The foundation of this pier was 36 feet below low water. 
 
 The soil of part of the foundation of Fort Richmond, now 
 Fort Wadsworth, on being excavated to low water level, 
 was found to be very compressible, discharging large quan- 
 tities of w T ater. The scarps and counter scarps of the 
 southern half of the land front and face of the adjacent 
 bastion of the water front were situated on such a soil, 
 resembling that of the dry dock at Brooklyn. 
 
 The weight to be sustained was a granite casement bat- 
 tery of four tiers of 8 and 10 inch guns, with the shot, shed 
 and other munitions therefor. The scarps, piers and arches 
 are all of granite. Piles were in this case resorted to, and 
 no settlement has since been noticed. The work was com- 
 menced in 1856, and finished to receive its armament in 
 
189 
 
 1861. The piles were 30 feet long, 12 inches square at the 
 head, and not less than 10 inches at the small end. They 
 were driven by a hammer of 1,800 pounds weight, with 
 blows in quick succession, the last blow of the hammer 
 being from a height of 45 feet. They were cut off level 
 with the surface of the ground and capped with large flat 
 stone, covering the heads of from three to five piles, the 
 joints being filled with concrete, well rammed. A second i 
 layer of large flat stone breaking joint with the first, on 1 
 which the masonry of the granite scarpe was commenced. 
 It will be noticed that there was no timber grillage cover- 
 ing the heads of these piles. The formula deduced by engi- 
 neer, Mr. McAlpine, from his labors at the Brooklyn navy 
 yard, applicable to rams of 6,000 to 3,000 pounds, falling 
 from 20 to 30 feet, was — X = 80 (W + .0228 sf F — 1). 
 In which X was the supporting power of a pile driven by 
 the ram W, falling a distance F; X and W being in tons 
 and F in feet, and that not more than i of the result given 
 by this experience should be borne or relied upon for any 
 pile. 
 
 Major Studers’ formula deduced from his experience in 
 driving piles at Fort Delaware with a ram of 3,500 
 pounds, falling 3| feet, driving a pile 4 feet 2 inches, is 
 
 r h b 
 
 3,500 X 42 + 4.2 = 3,500 =the 4,375 lbs. weight the pile 
 ' 8 ' 8 
 would bear with safety. 
 
 Grillage Foundations . — Third system of foundations for 
 compressible soils is that of grillage, resting on the natural 
 formation on the surface or at any selected depth. The fol- 
 lowing are examples of this character by engineers who 
 have constructed many edifices on this principal in the 
 United States: The earliest structure of this character, of 
 which the writer has information, is a building at the Balize 
 Bayou of the Mississippi river, near the site of the pilot . 
 houses. It is built of brick masonry, constructed by the 
 Spaniards or French during the early settlement of the 
 country, and apparently for a magazine. It had settled so 
 deep up to the year 1829 as to make it impracticable at that 
 
140 
 
 time to ascertain the uses to which it may have been ap- 
 plied. From the practice of the inhabitants of the country 
 it is inferred, in the absence of positive knowledge, that a 
 grillage was used in this case. The foundations of Fort 
 Pike, on the Rigolets, were commenced about the year 
 1820. The soil is very similar to that at the mouth of the 
 Mississippi, the surface being mostly vegetable matter 
 underlaid by a combination of vegetable earths and dry 
 clay. The foundations of the scarps and piers of the case- 
 ments were all laid on a grillage of round pine logs, side by 
 side, resting on the excavated soil and crossed on top at 
 right angles by similar logs of from 10 to 12 inches 
 diameter, and about 2 feet apart in the clear. The masonry 
 of the piers was built in, and thus united to the masonry 
 of the scarps. The work was finished about the year 1828. 
 The foundations are about 6 feet below the level of the 
 waters of Lake Pontchartrain, and the ground below that 
 level is saturated with water. The work settled irregularly. 
 The masonry of the casement piers broke from the scarps, 
 making cracks about 4 inches wide. The timber grillage in 
 this case failed to overcome the compressibility of the sub- 
 soil or to preserve uniformity of settlement. The St. 
 Charles Hotel in the city of New Orleans was commenced 
 in 1836 and finished in 1837. The foundations were of 
 brick masonry, on a grillage of flat-boat gunwales of 60 to 
 80 feet in length, 20 to 30 inches wide, and 6 to 12 inches 
 thick, and laid about 6 feet below the sidewalk. This 
 building settled 2 feet in twelve to fourteen years. 
 
 The present hotel was commenced in 1850 on top of the 
 old foundations and finished in 1853. It has settled over 
 12 inches more (in addition to the settlement of the former 
 building), making a total compressibility of the subsoil 
 since 1837 of over 3 feet. 
 
 In this case grillage has failed to secure the desired object. 
 The First Presbyterian Church in New Orleans was com- 
 menced in 1846 and finished in 1857. The main tower is 
 20 feet square and 115 feet high, surmounted with a wooden 
 spire. The foundations were built of brick masonry, laid 
 in cement mortar, on a grillage of two thickness of flat-boat 
 
141 
 
 gunwales of 45 feet in length, crossing one another. The 
 excavation was 12 feet below the surface of the street. The 
 bottom was a hard, stiff, blue clay, the best ever seen, after 
 a practice of thirty years of an architect in New Orleans. 
 It settled 5£ inches in eleven years. 
 
 Custom House , New Orleans, was commenced in 1848, 
 and progressed from time to time to 1860. It is founded 
 upon a flooring of plank laid on the excavation seven feet 
 below the street pavement. On this floor a timber grillage 
 is laid of 12 inch logs, side and side, over which similar 
 logs are placed transversely, distant from each 2 to 3 feet 
 in the clear. The space between the timbers is filled with 
 concrete, which is continued over the whole grillage for a 
 depth of one foot. Counter arches lj bricks thick support 
 the walls of the interior subdivisions of the building, thus 
 throwing the weight of the building upon the entire sur- 
 face within the outline of the building. 
 
 As a concrete and grillage foundation to support this 
 heavy building, no greater surface, to resist the weight and 
 pressure of the walls, could well be attained. 
 
 The walls of 2 feet 6 inches thick rest on grillage tim- 
 bers 10 feet wide. Walls of 4 feet thick on grillage tim- 
 bers 15 feet wide, walls of 9 feet thick on grillage timbers 
 20 feet wide. 
 
 In 1860 the granite walls of this building had been car- 
 ried 75 feet above the concrete base to the architrave line 
 of the enlablature, and all the iron floor beams of the 
 fourth story finished. The exterior walls are 4 feet thick, 
 exclusive of projections; 2^ feet of which is of brick 
 masonry, \\ feet of stone masonry. m In 1851 a commis- 
 sion reported that borings at the custom house, and at a 
 point not far removed from it, indicated different degrees 
 of compressibilty. It is situated upon the firmest, dryest 
 and most reliable ground in or about New Orleans. The 
 maximum settlement of the building in any one point, up 
 to 1S60, was 2 feet six inches. This compressibility of the 
 soil beneath the grillage was very variable. The line of 
 the exterior walls in 1864, on which the temporary roof 
 rested, varied in the level 3 feet. This grillage covers a 
 
142 
 
 surface of about 300 feet square, and although well con- 
 structed, and with great care it lias failed in its object. 
 
 We know the following account will be interesting and 
 instructive as the greatest achievement of mankind in 
 carrying constructive masonry to its highest altitude in the 
 past or present time. 
 
 Washington’s Monument.— Mr. Wm. A. Eddy, in a 
 treatise on the highest structure in the world, says: A 
 tower about 1,000 feet in height was first thought of dur- 
 ing the organization of the Centennial Exposition at Phila- 
 delphia in 1876, and its possible construction was discussed 
 at the time. But consultation with engineers and archi- 
 tects probably resulted in the conviction that the scheme 
 was impracticable, and the expense beyond the value of the 
 investment, especially if masonry were used. Aside from 
 the question of outlay, a serious difficulty in the construc- 
 tion of any kind of material to such an altitude, there are 
 questions of pressure and danger that daunt experienced 
 engineers. M. G. Eiffel, constructor of some of the greatest 
 works in France, notably the trestle work viaduct at Gara- 
 bil, 407 feet high, concluded that the building of such a 
 tower had not been attempted in ancient times, so far as 
 known, because iron then lacked the lightness, strength 
 and adaptability seen in modern work. The enormous 
 weight of masonry in so great a mass would not only im- 
 peril, by its tremendous pressure, the courses of stone near 
 the ground, but would cause an irregular settling of the 
 foundations, as in the well known instance of the Leaning 
 Tower of Pisa. In modern work, a pressure of 66 pounds 
 for each square centimetre is considered dangerous. (A 
 square centimetre is about 2-5 of an inch on a side.) It is 
 admitted that 5o pounds in this proportion is too extreme 
 for safety, although owing to peculiarities of construction, 
 this has been exceeded in some of the following instances 
 cited by M. Navier: 
 
 Pillars of the dome of the Invalides, Paris . . . 
 
 Pillars of St. Peter’s, Rome 
 
 Pillars of St. Paul’s, London 
 
 32.55 pounds 
 
 36.08 “ 
 
 42.70 
 
 (( 
 
143 
 
 Columns of St. Paul-horo-leo-Murs, Rome.. 43.58 pounds 
 
 Pillars of the tower of St. Merri, Paris 64.85 “ 
 
 Pillars of the dome of the Pantheon, Paris. . 64.94 “ 
 
 M. Navier includes an estimate of 99.25 pounds for the 
 church of La Toussant a 7 Angers, which is in ruins, and so 
 not a convincing example. It thus appears that the resis- 
 tence in some daring structures is from 33 to 44 pounds, 
 and only rises to nearly 65 in two instances. M. Eiffel 
 cites Washington Monument, which in its simplicity and 
 boldness he considers remarkable. In M. Navier’s estimates 
 given for the greatest feats of architectural engineering in 
 the Old W orld, this huge obelisk stands high on the list of 
 wonderful structures, the pressure at its base amounting 
 to 58.35 pounds in the proportion above given. With the 
 exception of the Eiffel tower, it is easily a bolder undertak- 
 ing than any other of its kind known in the world, be- 
 cause it stands upon a relatively small base, with no side 
 support, with a weight upon its foundations of 45,000 tons. 
 This immense square shaft, about 55 feet on a side, served 
 as an illustration of the danger in attempting to carry 
 masonry to a greater height than before achieved. Fortu- 
 nately, the foundation settled evenly, but to prevent prob- 
 able demolition part of the base was reconstructed and filled 
 in with concrete. Meantime the structure began to lean 
 to an extent that caused great uneasiness, and finally the 
 suspension of the work. The construction was began in 
 1848, and in 1854, when it reached a height of 152 feet, its 
 dangerous condition became somewhat marked. Its origi- 
 nally intended altitude of 600 feet was then reduced to 500. 
 
 In 18S0, after great difficulties, the base had been wid- 
 ened and the foundation enlarged and deepened. Work 
 was then recommenced, and the masonry continued up- 
 ward at the rate of about 100 feet yearly, until the topmost 
 stone was laid December 6, 1884, 555 feet high at the 
 greatest altitude ever achieved in masonry by man. An 
 additional source of peril in the use of masonry, not included 
 in the danger of settling, as in the Washington Monument, 
 is the insufficient adherence of modern mortar to great 
 
144 
 
 masses of stone, causing serious crumbling, and a reputa- 
 tion for danger much to be dreaded. An attempt to extend 
 stonework to a height of 1,000 feet would cause an expense 
 too great for the end attained, and the danger of fracture 
 would be incessant and unavoidable. It seems that we can 
 excel the ancients very little in the treatment of masonry. 
 There is no easily discovered evidence that they built any 
 such structure higher than the great Pyramid of Cheops, 
 originally 480 feet in height. They had good reasons for 
 this caution. If the foundations are solid, the stone may 
 disintegrate, owing to the unequal distribution of the enor- 
 mous weight, due to the limited power of the mortar to 
 act as a cushion to equalize the force. The Egyptian and 
 other ancient builders constructed some masonry without 
 mortar by polishing and closely fitting the stone, but it is 
 not probable that they tried to carry such work to a very 
 great height. In some modern buildings it is found that 
 the resistance of very hard stone increases that of the mor- 
 tar. Stone or brickwork might reach a higher point than 
 the Eiffel tower by the invention of cements more efficient 
 than any now known. 
 
 The pressure upon the base of the Eiffel tower is not 
 more than nine pounds for each square centimetre, while 
 in the case of the Washington Monument it is, as we have 
 seen, more than 58 pounds in like proportion. 
 
 Height of the greatest structures in the word of masonry: 
 
 Washington Monument 555 feet. 
 
 Cathedral of Cologne 522 “ 
 
 Old St. Paul’s, London (destroyed by fire) 520 “ 
 
 Cathedral of Eouen 492 “ 
 
 Pyramid of Cheops 480 u 
 
 Cathedral of Strasbourg 465 “ 
 
 Cathedral of Vienna 453 
 
 St. Peter’s, Rome 432 “ 
 
 Present St. Paul’s, London 404 “ 
 
 The idea of a tower 1,000 feet high first assumed definite 
 form, it will be remembered, in the United States, and it 
 
145 
 
 remained for a man of constructive genius in another and 
 newer republic to crystallize it into an accomplished fact. 
 
 To determine the resistance of stone piers Gen. Smith 
 had a pier of Lemont stone nine feet high and one foot 
 square, composed of six stones with carefully dressed beds, 
 f laid up with only a wash of Portland cement mortar, and 
 its crushing strength was 800,000 pounds. 
 
 1 James M. White in Architecture and Building , April 4, 
 1892, says that Gen. Wm. Sooy Smith lectured before the 
 students of the Engineering College of Illinois March 31st 
 on the “ Engineering Problems of Tall Building Construc- 
 tion.” He advocated a new method of construction which 
 does not employ steel in either foundation or superstructure. 
 For foundations, he recommends piers extending to bed 
 rock when possible, or piles driven to bed rock, then cut 
 off well below water level and masonry piers built upon 
 them. This method was designed particularly to suit con- 
 ditions such as those found in Chicago. He would substi- 
 tute stone piers for iron and steel columns, and the floor 
 construction is a modification of the Guastavino method, 
 brick arches with steel tie rods being used instead of steel 
 beams to support the tile vault. The fire-proofing is a 
 plaster composed of one part talc and three of plaster of 
 Paris. 
 
 Foundations in Quicksand. — Mr. McAlpine, the eminent 
 engineer, has adopted many expedients in dealing with 
 foundations in quicksand. One of these was a method 
 employed at Albany, N. Y., in the preparation of the 
 foundation for the Capitol. The ground on which the 
 edifice is built consists of a rather soft blue clay, which 
 suffers considerable compression from any heavy weight 
 placed upon it. To obviate any disturbance from this 
 cause Mr. McAlpine first proposed to bore holes at equal 
 distances in the clay, and to fill them up with sand, form- 
 ing thereby sand piles, which were practically incompres- 
 sible; but on further consideration it appeared to him that 
 these piles might be dispensed with by taking the precau- 
 tion to make the area of the foundation for every wall in 
 10 
 
146 
 
 the structure strictly proportionate to the weight which 
 such foundation would have to sustain, so that the pressure 
 per square inch of the foundation would be equal in every 
 part. In such a case it was clear that though the building 
 would sink somewhat, it would all sink equally, and so no 
 damage would be done by the unequal settlement of the 
 parts. This was the plan that was practically carried out, 
 and it has been found to be in all respects successful. 
 
 A new form of foundations for buildings has been made 
 the subject of some recent experiments. Trenches were 
 cut down to the hard pan and then filled with water. Sand 
 was then sifted into the water till the trenches were filled 
 with the mingled sand and water, and when the sand had 
 settled into a compact mass concrete was spread over it, 
 and on this the walls were erected, and no better plan 
 could be adopted for a base-course to buildings of a firm 
 substratum. 
 
 Thus we have at some length given the manner of form- 
 ing some of the principal and artificial foundations in the 
 United States and Europe, from which the mason can de- 
 rive sufficient knowledge to guide him in any ordinary build- 
 ing; ever keeping in his mind the object to be attained in 
 the construction of any foundation is to form such a solid 
 base for the superstructure that no movement shall take 
 place after its erection. We must bear in mind that all 
 structures built of coursed masonry (whether brick or stone) 
 will settle to a certain extent, and that, however trifling 
 its character, all soils more or less, will become compressed 
 under the weight of a building. Our aim, therefore should 
 be not so much to attempt to prevent settlement as to insure 
 against inequality of settlement and lateral escape of the 
 supporting material , that it should be uniform, so that the 
 building should remain without crack or flaw. In building 
 upon a natural bottom, the only precaution necessary is to 
 level the foundation trenches so that the masonry may 
 start from a level bed. 
 
 If it is necessary that some parts ofthe foundation should 
 start from a lower level than others. Care must be taken 
 to keep the mortar joints as close as possible, or to execute 
 
147 
 
 the lower parts of the work in cement or the work will 
 settle at those points where the greatest number of joints 
 are. 
 
 Strong gravel may be considered as one of the best soils 
 to build upon, as it is almost incompressible; sand, as well, 
 forms an excellent foundation, so long as it can be kept 
 from escaping; but as it has no cohesion, and acts like a 
 fluid when exposed to running water, it must be looked 
 upon with suspicion and treated with caution. Another 
 necessary precaution which we must never fail to observe 
 in all foundations, is the keeping of the excavations per- 
 fectly dry. The drainage of the site of a building, there- 
 fore, is of the utmost importance, and should be thoroughly 
 carried out. 
 
 The use of timber is objectionable where it cannot be 
 kept constantly wet, as alternations of dryness and mois- 
 ture soon cause it to rot, and for this reason concrete is 
 very extensively used in situations where timber would be 
 liable to decay. To prevent the lateral escape of the sup- 
 porting material this is especially necessary when building 
 in running sand, or soft, buttery clay, which would ooze 
 out from below the work and allow the superstructure to 
 sink. In soils of this kind, in addition to protecting the 
 surface with planking, concrete, or timber, the whole area 
 of the foundation must be inclosed with piles driven close 
 together. When concrete is used, it should be tipped over 
 from a barrow into the trenches, and not thrown from a 
 height, as was formerly the practice, as the materials are 
 then apt to separate. Particular care should be taken in 
 excavating the trenches no wider than is absolutely neces- 
 sary to take the concrete, in order that there may be an 
 undiminished lateral support. Particular care also should 
 be taken in pounding this concrete; after it is spread out 
 evenly of about six inches deep at a time, it should be 
 tamped until the water oozes on top, which is suffi- 
 cient evidence that the concrete is thoroughly saturated 
 alike. Concrete may, under ordinary circumstances, 
 be from two to four feet in depth, and about one and 
 a half to twice the width of the lower course of foot- 
 
148 
 
 mgs; but as the material has little transverse strength, the 
 depth should be proportional to the width. When brick 
 footings are used on concrete they should all be of whole 
 brick, the hardest and best burnt being selected. The bot- 
 tom courses should be double, and no brick joints be 
 allowed beyond the face of upper work, except in double 
 courses, the projections also being kept very slight (2£ 
 inches to 4^ inches), or fracture of the footings, or conse- 
 quent settlement of the wall, will probably occur. Mortar 
 should be sparingly used; and sometimes footings are laid 
 dry. There are various building acts in the States for the 
 width of footings and walls that the mechanic must 
 follow. 
 
 In building where wells or cesspools are to be sunk, it 
 would be well to have them made previously to the sink- 
 ing of the foundations, as they answer two purposes; first, 
 that of ascertaining the nature of the ground on which 
 the building is to be erected ; and secondly, that of supply- 
 ing water, in many cases, for the mason to slaken his lime. 
 In building upon an inclined plane, where the length of the 
 wall is to be very great, and the inclination of the plane is 
 very rapid, the bottoms of the trenches should form a series 
 of level steps; the extent of each of the levels being decided 
 by the number of courses of brickwork that is necessary 
 to bring the height of the first level with that of the sec- 
 ond, and that of the second, to a height of that of the 
 third, and so on progressively. The number of courses of 
 brickwork necessary to this purpose should never exceed 
 four. 
 
 In building upon an inclined plane, where there is to be a 
 range of buildings separated by party-walls into distinct 
 houses, as is frequently the case in forming the streets of 
 large towns and cities, it would be as well, and perhaps 
 better, to make the steps extend from party- wall to party- 
 wall, which will make the distance the extent of the front- 
 age of each house. 
 
 Footings . — The stones for footings should be chosen as 
 large as can be conveniently obtained, and square stones 
 
149 
 
 are not so good as those which are rectangular in plan. 
 It is not essential that the courses should be all of the same 
 thickness; but it is essential, in order to prevent unequal 
 settlement, that all the stones of the same course should 
 be of the same thickness. The length of the stones should 
 be such, if possible, that they will reach across the full 
 breadth of the footings, and should be laid without mortar 
 for the first course, well packed together, and pounded 
 down level. (With buildings in general it is a rule to 
 make the foundation course twice the thickness of the 
 wall.) The joints of this course should be well chinked 
 up and grouted with cement, and if there be the second 
 course of footings care should be taken that the joints of 
 the first course are broken with them, and they diminish 
 equally on both sides, and the set-off in each course should 
 not exceed 3 to 4 inches. The outward and interior walls 
 of a building should rise from the same level. 
 
 Inverted Circles . — In places where the soil is loose, and 
 often even in good foundations, over which it is intended to 
 place the apertures of the intended building, as the doors, 
 windows, etc., while the parts on which the piers are to be 
 constructed are firm, the best plan is to turn an inverted 
 arch under each of the intended apertures, as then the piers 
 in sinking will carry with them the inverted arch, and by 
 compressing the ground compel it to act against the under 
 sides of the arch, which, if closely jointed, so far from 
 yielding will, with the abutting piers, operate as one solid 
 body. But, on the contrary, if this expedient of the in- 
 verted arch be not adopted, the part of the wall which is 
 under the aperture, being of less height, and consequently 
 of less weight, than the piers, will give away to the resis- 
 tance of the soil acting on its base, and not only injure the 
 brickwork between the openings, but fracture the window 
 heads and sills. In constructing so essential a part as the 
 arch, great attention must be paid to its curvature, and 
 where there is great weight depending, we strongly recom- 
 mend the parabolic curve as the best adapted for this pur- 
 pose; but if, in consequence of its depth, this cannot be 
 
150 
 
 conveniently introduced, the arch should never be made 
 less than a semicircle. The bed of the piers should be as 
 uniform as possible; for, though the bottom of the trench 
 be very firm, it will, in some degree, yield to the great 
 weight that is upon it; and if the soil be softer in one part 
 than in an other, that part which is the softest will of 
 course yield more to the pressure and cause a fracture. If 
 the solid parts of the trench happen to be under the in- 
 tended apertures, and the softer parts where the piers are 
 wanted, the reverse of the above practice must be resorted 
 to; that is, the piers must be built on the firm parts, and 
 have an arch that is not inverted between them. In per- 
 forming this, attention must be paid to ascertain whether 
 the insisting pier will cover the arch, for if the middle of 
 the pier rest over the middle of the summit of the arch, 
 the narrower the pier is, the greater should be the curva- 
 ture of the arch at its apex. When suspended arches are 
 used, the intrados should be kept clear of the ground, that 
 the arch may have its due effect. Inverted arches are of 
 great utility in giving stability to buildings, as they dis- 
 tribute the weight over the whole length of the founda- 
 tion. 
 
151 
 
 When the radius of curvature of an inverted arch is 
 small, that is to say, when it is under or not exceeding 
 three or four feet, the best arrangement is to build two or 
 more four- inch concentric brick arches as shown in figure • 
 each of these successive rings being built as an independent 
 arch, laid- close and in the strongest cement mortar. 
 
 One matter also requires particular attention in construct- 
 ing inverted arches. They should never be used unless 
 there is a strong abutment for them on both sides, as any 
 settlement will tend to force the side wall out of the per- 
 pendicular. For the same reason, when arches are turned 
 over apertures near angles, the outward thrust should be 
 counteracted by means of one or more iron bars turned up 
 at the ends. 
 
 Generally upon the footings the rubble masonry is 
 started, and rough in appearance as this manner of wall is, 
 nevertheless, there is no mode of construction that requires 
 more care or caution on account of the weight it generally 
 has to support, and should always be built with both 
 exterior lines, and these lines should be leveled off every 12 
 or 16 inches of the rise of the wall, and on these levels 
 binding courses should be laid. 
 
 Rubble masonry built below the surface of the ground 
 should be laid in a strong hydraulic cement mortar; and as 
 there are more joints in this irregular mode of masonry 
 than any other, the stone should be laid in the closest pos- 
 sible manner, the mason repeatedly striking the stone with 
 his hammer, and all the spaces properly flushed up. Care 
 should be taken that the several heights to which this work 
 is to drop off should be reached accurately to receive the 
 cut stone or brick work, which we will now proceed to 
 consider. 
 
 First in importance in brick-laying is that it be perfectly 
 plumb or vertical, and that every course be perfectly level, 
 both longitudinally and transversely. The lowest course in 
 footings of a brick w T all should be laid with the strictest 
 attention to this particular ; for, the bricks being of equal 
 thickness throughout, the slightest irregularity or incorrect- 
 
152 
 
 ness in that will be carried into the upper imposing courses, 
 and can only be rectified by using a greater or less quanity 
 of mortar in one part or another; so that the wall will, of 
 course, yield unequally to the superincumbent weight, as 
 the work goes on, and perpetuate the infirmity. To insure 
 correct work, the brick-layer, on clearing the footings of a 
 wall, builds up 6 or 8 courses at the external angles, which 
 he carefully plumbs and levels across, and from one to the 
 other. 
 
 These form a gauge for the intervening parts of the 
 courses, a line being tightly strained from one end to an- 
 other, resting on the upper and outer angles of the gauge 
 bricks of the next course to be laid, and with this he makes 
 his work range. If, however, the length be great, the line 
 will, of course, sag, and it must, therefore, be carefully set 
 and propped at sufficient intervals. Having carried up 3 
 or 4 courses to a level, for the guidance of the line, the 
 work should be proved with the level and plumb rule, and 
 particularly with the latter at the corners and reveals as 
 well as on the face. A smart tap with the end of the han- 
 dle of the trowel will generally suffice to make a brick 
 yield what little it may be out while the work is so green, 
 and not injure it. Good workmen, however, take a pride 
 in showing how correctly their work will plumb without 
 tapping. 
 
 To work which is circular in the plan, both the level and 
 the plumb rule must be used, together with a guage mould 
 or a ranging trammel, to every course; as it must be evi- 
 dent that the line cannot be applied to such in the manner 
 just described. (See bond.) 
 
 Fire-places , chimney -breasts, flues, etc. — The mason 
 should see to it on the start, that the fire-places and flues 
 are properly formed. The fuel in open fire-places is con- 
 sumed in an iron grate of various degrees of ornamenta- 
 tion, this being enclosed in a brick, stone or slate mantle 
 piece, and the whole termed a chimney -breast. The brick- 
 work of the flues does not rest simply upon the joists or 
 beams of the floor, but upon parts projecting from the wall 
 
153 
 
 called jambs, and are generally started in the 
 cellar or foundation. 
 
 These jambs serve the important purpose 
 of continuing the flues, by which the smoke 
 is conveyed from the fire-place to the open 
 air. These flues are generally formed above 
 the arch covering the fire-place opening to 
 the dimension of the jambs, before the height 
 of the chimney -breast reaches the next floor 
 joists, leaving in the middle of the breast the 
 same space to form the fire-place for the next 
 story. 
 
 In the case of a single fire-place the flue 
 is a simple matter; but in the case of a house 
 with several stories, and several apartments 
 in each story, the arrangements of the flues 
 become a much more complicated affair and 
 requires no small degree of care and skill. 
 In the cut we give a rough sketch of a chim- 
 ney-breast for a three-story house, the kitchen 
 chimney-breast is generally larger than the 
 other stories, to allow for a stove or range; 
 in this case it is 5 feet 8 inches, and the two 
 other stories 5 feet and tops out 3 feet 4 
 inches; but in cases when there are more than three stories 
 the breast must be larger or it is necessary to corbel out for 
 the extra flue or flues as the case may be. 
 
 In the case of floors where timber joists are used, in 
 order to prevent accidents arising from the communication 
 of the heat of the fire-place to the wood- work, a flat stone, 
 called a hearth stone, is placed immediately below the 
 grate; and still further to prevent accidents, this hearth 
 
 Hearth Stone 
 
 stone does not rest upon the joists, but upon a brick 
 arch called a trimmer arch, which springs above the ceil- 
 
 * 
 
154 
 
 ing line of the story below from the chimney breast, and 
 finishes against the trimmer joist enough below the floor 
 line to admit the hearth stone. 
 
 All the joints of the flues should be properly filled on 
 the inside, or the joints of the brick struck to prevent 
 smoke from escaping and to insure them a good draft, 
 the capacity of any flue should be continued throughout 
 of the same 'proportion that it was started with; generally 
 for ordinary houses the size is 64 square inches. 
 
 In carrying up a building, the walling should be carried 
 up as regular as convenience will permit, and ought never 
 to be carried more than 4 feet out of level at any time 
 without having its contingent parts added to it. This is a 
 very necessary precaution, for as all walls shrink imme- 
 diately after building, the part which is first brought up 
 will settle before the adjacent part is brought up to it, and 
 when the adjoining part is raised to the same height, a 
 shrink or settling will take place and separate the former 
 from the latter, and cause a crack which will show more 
 and more evident as the work proceeds. Nothing but abso- 
 lute necessity can justify the work being carried higher in 
 any particular part than one scaffold, for whenever it is 
 done the workman is certainly answerable for all the evil 
 which may arise from such error. 
 
 If, for any reason, one part is carried up above another 
 during the progress of the works, it should not be toothed 
 to take the remainder, but be racked, or sloped back at 
 each end, and such racking should be well wet, if in warm 
 weather when the adjoining wall is being built. All the 
 internal joints of a wall should be flushed qp with mortar, 
 and for heavy cement walls the interior joints should be 
 grouted with liquid cement mortar; if walls are built other- 
 wise they are weak and hollow and the damp penetrates 
 to the interior; this matter is often neglected from the 
 joints not being seen, and for the purpose of saving the 
 mortar and the time that it would take in the using of 
 it. Angles and junctions of return walls require very 
 sound construction, and piers are useful as well in adding 
 to the strength of walls as increasing the base on which 
 
155 
 
 they stand. Sets-off, or diminutions in thickness of walls, 
 are best made equally on both sides because of the greater 
 stability thus insured. Corbelling is carrying out brick 
 work to support flues, fire-places, cornices, etc. In the 
 soundest construction joists should not be built into 
 the walls on account of the cutting up of the bond, the 
 decay often induced at the ends, and the unequal bearing, 
 unless strong plates are used; it is preferrable to set out the 
 the plates, supporting them on brick or stone corbelling, 
 or strong irons. Where there are heavy timbers or iron 
 girders they should be laid on large pieces of hard stone, 
 thus distributing the weight; this end being also promoted 
 by introducing stones above, and the opening left facilitates 
 the circulation of air, of value in preserving the ends of 
 timbers from effects of damp, as it is at the ends that decay 
 generally commences. Trimmer walls in basements are 
 used to carry slabs of fire-places. Mortar joints should be 
 as thin as possible, and the mortar of a kind that sets 
 quickly, in order that it may not be unequally pressed 
 closely at varying times. Where walls are faced with 
 stones, the latter should be properly squared to sizes that 
 will bond securely with the brick work, or the materials 
 will be very liable to separate. 
 
 When there is a continuation of walling or great weight 
 of brickwork over a window or other opening, it is a good 
 practice to turn an arch above the lintel in the interior face 
 of the wall, correspondent to that in the exterior face. 
 Arches may also be advantageously turned above the lintels 
 in partition walls, as also above the lintels in chimney 
 breasts. Each of these arches should consist of three dis- 
 tinct courses of brick, by means of which an advantage 
 will be gained, should at any time the door or chimney 
 breast be required to be raised, it can very easily be effected 
 by taking away the first and second courses of the arches. 
 
 The mason should be ever watchful and see that the walls 
 are properly anchored and stay-lathed, as the work pro- 
 gresses the walls of a building can never be safely said to 
 be secure from storms until the roof is on and the flooring 
 is laid. Walls that are faced with stone or pressed brick, 
 
156 
 
 and backed up with an inferior kind of work should be 
 stayed and watched until the work is dry and the building 
 inclosed. 
 
 The following from Carpentry and Building will be of 
 interest to bricklayers in regard to flushing up their walls: 
 
 In some of the ruder kinds of early masonry bricks were 
 often used as mere lacing or string courses, to bind together 
 at varying heights the whole of the underlying constitu- 
 ent parts of the masonry. When so used in the construc- 
 tion of arches in combination with stone, the object of their 
 use with the builders seems to have been to obtain even 
 and equal bedding planes here and there throughout the 
 arch by the insertion, as it were, of bricks or brick courses, 
 irregularly alternating with the rough, un worked, or rudely 
 scraped stones of uneven beds, chiefly composing the body 
 of the arch. 
 
 Bricks are still sometimes so employed, says the Building 
 News , and as inclosures to flint diaper work, but more in 
 the capacity of ornamentation, and as units or scales of a 
 known dimension to aid the eye in the realization of the 
 extent and effect of the composition as a whole, than as 
 parts of construction necessity. In modern work some of 
 the greatest achievements of engineering skill have been 
 carried out chiefly in brickwork, and in some instances al- 
 most to the entire exclusion of stone. This being so, it will 
 not be out of place to consider the essential conditions of 
 what is now universally accepted as being worthy the name 
 of good brickwork. In the first place, brickwork has made 
 rapid and well-marked strides in the last quarter of a cen- 
 tury, or since the decadence of the stuccoed front, and the 
 revival and use of pressed brick and terra-cotta under the 
 sympathetic and able advocacy of our architects and mas- 
 ters of modern refined thought as applied to architecture. 
 Prior to the time mentioned, the shuff, the grizzle and 
 rough stock were mostly in demand, but which are now 
 happily supplanted by bricks of a better class and quality, 
 except in the erection of suburban villas and other jerry- 
 built structures. One of the recommending advantages of 
 the use of bricks over stone is the thorough and perfect 
 
157 
 
 bonding which may be obtained throughout the mass of 
 the work; the ease and certainty of obtaining solid and 
 homogeneous bedding of the bricks when laid by skilled 
 bricklayers working under the recognized conditions essen- 
 tial to the production of good work. Also the imperishable 
 nature of the material as compared with most of the build- 
 ing stones in use, even the granites ; and the ease with 
 which they lend themselves to the construction and produc- 
 tion of complex forms and outlines under a skilled treat- 
 ment as compared with the vastly greater expenditure of 
 labor and material required to bring about similar results in 
 stone. Of the importance and necessity of solidly bedding 
 the bricks and effectually flushing up the interior joints 
 (known as cross joint and wall joints), no one is so fully 
 alive as the civil or municipal engineer, long experienced in 
 the construction or personal superintendence of sewers, 
 water works, and hydraulic works generally. The sewers 
 built recently in a western suburb afford a good instance — a 
 case in which the brick- work is so badly executed that to 
 connect the house drains to the sewers “ would be,” said the 
 reporting engineers “nothing less than converting the 
 whole of the inhabited area into a hot-bed of typhoid fever 
 The question of flushing up as applied to a building, differs 
 in degree of importance as applied to a sewer or similar 
 work. Apart from flushing up the brick- work, as a means 
 of obtaining the maximum amount of tensile strength, in 
 addition to that obtained by good transverse and longitudi- 
 nal bonding, to carry the loads to which most walls are sub- 
 jected, and to provide against the possible lateral movement 
 of any of the constituent parts when the whole is under 
 strain, the question has its sanitary aspect also ; and by ref- 
 erence to most of the published engineers’ pocketbooks will 
 be found formulae to find the amount of air in cubic feet, 
 w r hich will in a given time, under certain conditions stated, 
 pass through walls of various thickness built of different 
 kinds of material. The walls of dwelling houses defect- 
 ively flushed up are, therefore, admittedly air filters on a 
 large scale. They are liable to be receptacles of damp driven 
 in by storms, and induced by the hollow, or partially hoi- 
 
158 
 
 low, state of the brick- work, leading up to disease, and in 
 some cases probably to fatal consequences. 
 
 The seemingly paradoxical aphorism that “wet building 
 makes a dry house” is worthy of all acceptance. Walls 
 built wholly of dry or insufficiently wetted bricks will be 
 found wanting in two chief characteristics of good work, 
 viz., solidity, and a firm and binding adhesion of the bricks 
 and mortar. This is nowhere better exemplified, on the 
 one hand than in old brick footings and walls in situations 
 subjected to the continuous presence of adjacent moisture — 
 many retaining walls, for instance, supporting an undrained 
 or badly drained bank of nonporous earth — in which case 
 the chemical action set up between the sand grains and the 
 lime, has gone on so uninterruptedly that the mortar has 
 crystallized and attained that condition known to practical 
 men as water bound brickwork. In this condition the mor- 
 tar, though set, is not hard and could easily be reduced to 
 a plastic pulp by heating, yet the adhesion between the 
 bricks and mortar is so firm that to separate them is no 
 easy task, the mortar very frequently tearing away with it 
 portions of the bricks at the line of separation, the separa- 
 tion being generally effected by steel-pointed wedges driven 
 by sledge hammers. The extreme opposite case is that of 
 building walls with dry bricks in the height of summer. 
 The dust coating the bricks is unremoved, forming a separ- 
 ating medium or layer between the bricks and the mortar, 
 and so preventing adhesion. 
 
 And where dust is not present the moisture of the mor- 
 tar is taken up with such avidity by the dry bricks that 
 very little or no adhesion is the result, and the mortar, by 
 examination when dry, is found to be little better than a 
 cake of slightly moistened compressed dust. On the other 
 hand, the bricks should not be wetted to the degree of sat- 
 uration , or they will be incapable of absorbing the finer 
 particles of the mortar into their body which they should 
 do, forming so many threads binding the bricks and the 
 mortar together. Unless the bricks be well wetted to in- 
 duce the mortar into the cross joints and w^all joint during 
 the modus operandi of flushing up every course, the work 
 
159 
 
 should be grouted. But under any conditions and circum- 
 stances the bricks should be wetted before use , except in 
 winter or frosty weather , when the air is generally so humid 
 as to reduce the absorbant power of the bricks. It is then 
 advisable to forego the risk of wetting the bricks, especially 
 if the work is in exposed situations. 
 
 All biick work should be built as level as practiceable, 
 as it lises in its different courses; the workmen frequently 
 comparing their several heights of corners with the floor 
 joint line as the work progresses, that both may come to 
 their requisite heights in the same number of courses from 
 said line or level. In building in dry and warm weather, 
 the brick must be well wetted or dipped in water, as they 
 are laid, to cause them to adhere to the mortar, which they 
 would not do so well if laid dry; for the dry, sandy nature 
 of brick would absorvb the moisture from the mortar and 
 prevent adhesion. In the winter and frosty weather the 
 brick should be kept perfectly dry, and for work that must 
 be accomplished at this time of the year cement mortar 
 should be used immediately as made, but the use of frozen 
 moitar tempered up cannot be too much deprecated, as 
 well as brick that have been wet and frozen and laid in that 
 condition. We know that good results have been attained 
 with brick work in frosty weather when the lime has been 
 slaked and immediately made into mortar and used in a 
 wai m condition, for the dry nature of the brick absorbs the 
 water that may be in the mortar, and cohesion takes place 
 before the frost can accomplish much injury; and the 
 Deutsche Bauzeitung says that at “ Christiana, in Norway, 
 building operations are successfully carried on at tempera- 
 tures as low as 12 degrees Farenheit, and that the work 
 executed under these conditions compares favorably with 
 summer work. In fact the Christiana builders maintain 
 that it is superior. The secret of successful work under 
 these conditions is said to be in the use of unslacked lime 
 in mixing the mortar in small quantities at a time, being 
 made up immediately before use. The mortar must be put 
 in place before it loses the heat due to the slacking of the 
 lime. The lower the temperature the larger the quantity 
 
160 
 
 of lime required, so that below 12 degrees Farenheit the 
 work cannot be carried on profitably.” — Engineering } 
 London. 
 
 In the winter it is very necessary to preserve the un- 
 finished walls from the alternate effects of rain and frost; 
 for it be exposed, the rain will x^enetrate into the bricks 
 and mortar, and by being converted into ice will expand 
 and burst, or crumble the material in which it is contained; 
 consequently, as soon as the stormy weather and frost set 
 in, the unfinished walls should be covered either with straw 
 or weather boarding, and the trenches around the founda- 
 tion well filled in with stable manure. 
 
 Front work in pressed {brick. — There is perhaps no 
 branch of the bricklayer’s art which requires more atten- 
 tion, and to be thoroughly understood, than that of pressed 
 brick face work, which is becoming more and more in 
 demand in the United States. Mr. Fergusson says : “Sub- 
 blimity is not perhaps to be attained in brick- work; the 
 parts are too small; and if splendor is aimed at, it may re- 
 quire some larger and costly material to produce the desired 
 effect; but, there is no beauty of detail or of design on a 
 small scale that may not be obtained by the moulded bricks, 
 and they are in themselves far more durable, and, if care- 
 fully burnt, retain their sharpness of outline longer, than 
 most kinds of stone. 
 
 Burnt clay may be moulded into shape as elegant and ar- 
 tistic, as can be carved in stone; and the various colors 
 which it is easy to impart to bricks may be used to form 
 mosaics of the most beautiful patterns, but to carry out all 
 this with success requires a genuine love of art, and an 
 energy in the prosecution of it, which will not easily be sat- 
 isfied. Without this the facilities of brick architecture are 
 such that it can be executed by the commonest workman .” 
 A mason, therefore, to be considered a proficient workman 
 at the present time,. should study, and cultivate a taste for 
 ornamental brick-work, and when an occssion is opportune 
 for him to practice this branch of his art, he may do so in 
 a skillful manner, and not to slur it over; it takes time, and 
 those who wish to have it done, should see that it is done in 
 
 * 
 
161 
 
 a thorough workman-like manner; by so doing this branch 
 of the trade might be extended still further; for there are 
 many qualities of front brick manufactured in this country 
 that will outlast stone for the exterior face of buildings; 
 and when the workmanship is wisely and accurately exe- 
 [ cuted, they will stand as representatives of skill and labori- 
 k ous industry of the workmen who erected them. The 
 Romans fully appreciated the elegancies of architecture in 
 granite and marble; but underneath the marble there was 
 a substratum of brick. Among the hundreds of temples, 
 palaces, porticoes, and triumphal arches which old Rome 
 ever boasted, only a few shattered and blackened fragments 
 survive, but the bricks in Roman edifices contiue to hold 
 their own beauty to this day. The Coliseum has been 
 peeled and stripped and flayed of its last layer of cuticle; 
 but the brick shell and the brick foundations for the seats 
 remain, laughing stone to scorn. All over Europe are to be 
 found the remains of Roman walls in brick , and they seem 
 to grow tougher every day. W e should remember— always 
 without vanity — that we can build in modern times as good 
 as they ever did in the old, and that Flemish bond and old 
 English, in brick, may outlast all the stones of Venice and 
 all the Pentelican marbles. The friezes of the Pantheon 
 preserved in the British Museum, are still very beautiful to 
 look upon, but they exhibit in many portions evidences of 
 decay, and even of disintegration. So it is of the columns 
 of the Pantheon at Rome. The foliated capitals have been 
 worn perfectly smooth by the attrition of atmospheric Time; 
 whereas there are extant thousands of works of antiquity 
 in terra-cotta — and what is terra cotta, but moulded brick ? 
 as sharp to-day in every touch and every outline as they 
 were two thousand years ago. And many people ask to- 
 day, “What is the use of building stone mansions if the 
 stone is to crumble away in rapid decay ? 
 
 Far better would it be to abide by the homely, but dura- 
 ble product of the kiln, than to use many of the stones 
 that we see disintegating in many of our buildings. If 
 the chisel plays us false, let us pin our faith to the trowel 
 21 
 
162 
 
 and the brick. Fine specimens of ornamental brickwork 
 may be seen now in many of our city buildings. Good 
 effects may be had by brick corbelling out , and the use of 
 terra cotta, and the employment of moulded bricks in 
 strings , lintels and cornices, and jambs of doors and win- 
 dows, etc. , and some evenly well burnt brick such as the 
 Caliamore brick may be carved, and in panels and strings 
 will have an exceedingly harmonious contrast if nothing 
 but brick be used. This is now being largely done in Eng- 
 land. The carving has to be well studied in low -relief to 
 adapt itself to the material, the brickwork being built up 
 with ordinary jointing like the other work, and carved 
 when the mortar is set. This carved brickwork may be 
 seen in N. Y. City. There should be more of it. Its beauty 
 is in its shades and color which the wood cut cannot give. 
 In pointing the brickwork it is most desirable of a dark 
 color, and may be readily formed either with black Munich 
 cement or Indian red pigments mixed with mortar. Also 
 the dark moulding sand obtained from iron founders, if 
 mixed with a good cement, produces a very pleasing, dark 
 colored durable mortar that harmonizes well with most of 
 the red bricks used. They are using colored mortars at the 
 present time in Boston, New York and Philadelphia, of al- 
 most any required tint, a small amount answers for the 
 front of a dwelling, which harmonizes well with the light- 
 colored brick of New York, Ohio and New Jersey; and none 
 can fail to remark the extent to which the use of these 
 materials has effected construction in many of our cities 
 within the past few years. 
 
 There are manufactured also brick of various designs and 
 shapes, sizes, colors and shades; as red, buff, brown, drab, 
 old gold, obsinian, pink, black, white, garnet, blood-stone, 
 onyx, mottled, drused, marbled, Roman, ashlar, etc. 
 
 Cheerful edifices faced with these brick, having their cor- 
 nices, string courses, and other decorative details formed 
 in moulded and cut brickwork now meet the eye in all 
 directions; evincing to the mind of the practiced mason 
 the appreciation which the public regard this manner of 
 construction in which he is himself particularly interested 
 
163 
 
 as it raises his work from the old and plain manner of 
 brickwork as generally executed in the States for front 
 work to that of the artistic, the performance of which any 
 industrious and intelligent mechanic may accomplish who 
 has the skill and desire to perform all of his inferior 
 branches of the trade in a thorough and workmanlike 
 manner. 
 
 And for the apprentice, we advise him to pay strict 
 attention to his older worker in the trade, whose advice 
 and handiwork in the mechanical arrangements of his art 
 has taken years of practice and study. While he is learn- 
 ing the constructive portion of his trade on the building, 
 he should pass his leisure time in the exercise of mechani- 
 cal drawing at home, with the reading and study of works 
 on sound constructive principles, that his mind may be 
 stored with sufficient and useful knowledge to direct his 
 hands in after life. And it requires study, for we are fast 
 passing away in this country many of the rude forms of 
 construction and returning to the older and more genuine 
 practices of our forefathers in the old; for it must be 
 remembered that ornamental brickwork is by no means a 
 modern introduction. The Chinese have long excelled in 
 its application. Terra-cotta cornices and bas-reliefs were 
 used in ancient Greece. In ancient Rome the ornamental 
 parts of many edifices, even Corinthian capitals, were 
 carved in brickwork. An edifice still exists near the grotto 
 of Egeria. in which cornices, modillions, dentils, and other 
 features are cut in yellow bricks closely cemented together. 
 As Mr. Hope remarks : “ Wherever they found clay more 
 abundant, or easier to w r ork than stone, they used it plen- 
 tifully, both in regular layers throughout the body in 
 walls, as we do, and in an external reticulated coating, 
 from the firmness of its texture and the firmness of its 
 joints as durable as stone itself. Indeed, far from consider- 
 ing brick only as a material fit for the rough and most 
 indispensable ground -work of architecture, they regarded 
 it as equally fit for the elegancies of ornamental form, all 
 tile details of rich architraves, capitals, friezes, cornices, 
 and other embellishments. Sometimes it owed to the 
 
164 
 
 mould its various forms, and at others, as at the Amphi- 
 theatrum Castrense and the temple of the god Ridiculus, 
 to the chisel .” — Essay on Architecture. 
 
 A matter of importance in connection with press brick 
 work is finishing, commonly called striking the joints, a 
 matter which has undergone during the last twenty years, 
 more or less, a complete transformation of character in style 
 of work, skill displayed, and mode of execution. The style 
 called white work, or pressed brick laid in white mortar, re- 
 quires a great deal of skill and experience on the part of 
 the mechanic, and when properly executed excels all other 
 methods of face work, both in regard to appearance and 
 durability. The brick are laid in a close joint, and for a 
 first class job should not exceed | of an inch thick, and set 
 with an imperceptible batter in themselves, which may not 
 be perceived when looking at the work direct, but gives the 
 joint a prominent feature and the work a good appearance. 
 It can therefore be plainly seen that the brick must be 
 gauged with great care and exactness, that the joints may 
 appear all alike. However, as it is almost impossible to 
 have a large amount of them, all of the same thickness, 
 but they can be utilized by using those of the same thick- 
 ness, within a certain rise of the work, which must be care- 
 fully looked after. The bond used for the face of the wall 
 is called by the American bricklayer the running bond; 
 every seventh course the brick are clipped in the back, and 
 a binder placed transversely therein when backing up to 
 hold the front. The cross joints in this work are supposed 
 to be kept plumb from the bottom to the top, and are 
 usually put in when the front is being cleaned down, but 
 for durability they should be put in as the work progresses. 
 The mortar is composed of white sand, which must be 
 washed from salt, and fine putty lime previously run 
 through a sieve before mixed with the sand. The mason 
 when using this mortar carefully spreads, or butters it on 
 the bed of the brick which is to be laid, in such a way that 
 when the brick is set, the mortar will protrude about a 
 half an inch from the face of the wall. When there are a 
 number laid, and before the mortar becomes too hard, the 
 
165 
 
 joint or mortar that protrudes is cut off flush with the 
 wall, the joint struck in a downward direction, and the 
 upper and lower edges of the joint cut in an neat manner 
 with a knife guided by a small straight edge. When the 
 front is built, the whole is cleaned down with a solution of 
 muriatic acid and water, not too strong, and oiled with lin- 
 seed oil cut with turpentine and applied with a flat brush. 
 After the front is thoroughly cleaned with the muriatic acid 
 solution, or that portion which is being cleaned at the time, 
 and before the oil is applied, give the work a wash of clean 
 water to remove all remains of the acid solution. 
 
 Red Work is performed similar to white, the red mor- 
 tar, when for a fine job is composed of the same lime and 
 sand as are used for the white work, but colored with 
 Indian red, Spanish brown and Venetian red, and some- 
 times a small portion of vegetable black, and to add to the 
 stay mg qualities of this mortar incorporate a dilution of 
 copperas with it, not too strong and when the liquid is 
 cold. 
 
 When colored mortars of this kind are required, the lime 
 and sand should* be previously mixed, that is made into 
 mortar, at least ten days ahead, before the colored pigments 
 are added to it, and they should be w T ell soaked in water 
 before being added to the mortar. 
 
 Enough mortar should be made at one time to complete 
 the front or building, and before starting lay a few brick 
 in the mortar, and let the joint dry in the sun, and if too 
 dark or light, you may arrive at the tint required by ad- 
 ding to a sufficient amount of the above ingredients. 
 
 Of course red w’ork does not require the same amount 
 of cleaning down as that of white, but to give the front an 
 uniformity of color and appearance it should be brushed 
 down with a light solution of muriatic acid and water with 
 a small portion of the pigment used in the mortar; if the 
 front is to be oiled the same as in white work, apply it 
 after the above wash; the acid solution cleans the pores of 
 the brick at the time and readily admits the oil to pene- 
 trate into them, and prevents dampness in the wall, and 
 often the discoloration appearing on this work. 
 
166 
 
 Black mortar work is executed in about the same way as 
 white, but still more care is required in using the mortar, 
 which, if it comes in contact with the face of the brick, 
 stains them, and can hardly ever be taken off in a satisfac- 
 tory manner, therefore this mortar must be used in a very 
 careful way; as little water should be used as possible that 
 the mortar may remain always in a plastic state, while 
 being used, and free from stains of any kind, as this work 
 cannot be washed down like the white. The black mortar 
 should never be stained with lamp-black , foundry sand or 
 forge blowers, but procure from a powder manufactory a 
 refuse called green charge', when it can be obtained it is in 
 a wet state like mortar, very cheap and a little will go a 
 long way. It should be thoroughly mixed with the white 
 sand and putty when the mortar is being made up, so as to 
 avoid different shades of color when the work becomes 
 dry. 
 
 Another style of front work is that when the bricks are 
 laid in a similar manner to the above, though the joints 
 may not be quite so tight, say of an inch thick, is called 
 white- skate jointed tuork or groove joint. 
 
 The brick may be laid eitheir in red, white or black mor- 
 tar, the cross joints being put in as the work progresses, 
 the mortar used and allowed to protrude as in the foregoing* 
 and before it gets hard cut off flush and the jointer ran 
 through the joint guided with a straight edge. This jointer 
 has a face the same width as the intended joint, and leaves 
 its impress upon the material, the superfluous margins 
 being cut or dragged off by the Frenchman, the same as be- 
 fore. This Frenchman is simply an old dinner knife ground 
 to a point, the top of which is turned down square to form 
 a hook, the hook being intended for cleaning off the super- 
 fluous mortar cut by the edge of the knife as it passed along 
 the straight edge. 
 
 Weather joint. — Another special noticeable change has 
 taken place in the form of the joints, whether struck in the 
 first place or pointed afterwards. This is brought about by 
 the adoption of what called the weather joint. Now it is one 
 of the conditions of the weather joint that the face shall be 
 
167 
 
 bevelled inwards, thus leaving the bottom arris of the bricks 
 above bare and undercut; and that the lower edge of the joint 
 may have some pretence to a straight line, it is usual for 
 the bricklayers to cut it, in which case the top arris of the 
 bricks beneath is to a certain extent undercut also. So 
 there are two open furrows or channels to every joint laid 
 open to receive any amount of moisture. With the old and 
 legitimate system of pointing it would not be so, because 
 (alwaying providing the work is skillfully done), the whole 
 surface of the joint would be struck flush to the face of the 
 bricks, and completely scaled at both edges to the arrises of 
 the course above and below, with no undercutting what- 
 ever. We cannot say that this new style of work has any 
 advantage over the old in respect to weather, and surely it 
 has none in regard to the general appearance. 
 
 There is another description of front work where the brick 
 are laid as for tuck-pointing. The pointing mortar is gen- 
 erally laid on with a jointer guided by a straight edge and 
 and trimmed by the Frenchman. 
 
 This kind of work is preferrable to tuck-pointing for 
 much exposed work, inasmuch as it is capable of being 
 made sound and durable, especially if the original joints have 
 previously and effectually been raked out; also the mortar 
 may contain a greater proportion of grit, and need not con- 
 tain any coloring matter to depreciate its setting qualities, 
 if for white work. It can also be pressed into the natural 
 joints with greater effect, thereby insuring stability, and 
 finished flush with the face, which will be a nearer approach 
 in appearance to work legitimately struck off the trowel. 
 
 There are many reasons why, during the winter months, 
 face brick-work should be left rough for after pointing. We 
 all know what even one night’s hard frost will do in the way 
 of injury to the finished joints which have not had time to 
 get sufficiently hard or dry to resist it. Nor would this 
 pointing business be so bad if the joints were raked out 
 effectually, so as to give a sufficient key, and the material 
 of a proper description and quality; judiciously mixed, and 
 beaten to the necessary state of consistency, used by an 
 efficient workman with handy tools, and a reasonable allow- 
 
168 
 
 ance of time for execution; for then there would be some 
 guarantee for future stability, and also some possibility of 
 mitigating the evil offects of slovenly brick-laying. 
 
 To perform front work in cold weather great caution is 
 required; in the first place, the bricks, previous to using, 
 should be kept dry, the mortar made up under cover with 
 fresh lime (kept fresh in a weather-tight shed), which, if 
 not ground in a mill, should be dry-slaked, and only suffi- 
 cient water used in the mixing to bring it into a fit state 
 of consistency; the top and face of all walls, so soon as 
 built, completely and effectually covered up, and during 
 the building to be covered every night; the covering to 
 remain until the danger is past, or only uncovered to meet 
 the exigencies of the work. Pressed brick should be well 
 wet a day or two before using on the fronts, but should be 
 at time of using in a damp condition for summer work. 
 On account of the closeness of the joint and the waste in 
 cutting, the finest kind of pressed brickwork should be 
 estimated at nine brick per square superficial foot, and for 
 cut arches not less than ten brick per square foot. In 
 measuring the workmanship of front work it is generally 
 rulable to allow the workman all the openings on account 
 of building corners, jambs, pointing up, etc. 
 
 Brick Mouldings . — As a general thing now arch brick 
 and moulded brick are manufactured, but there are in- 
 stances where the mason has to depend upon his own skill 
 for the production of this kind of work; and it is accom- 
 plished by simply making a template the form of the brick 
 required, and marking the brick on both sides, and then 
 % cutting or rubbing it down to these marks. But for mould- 
 ing birds’ mouth, splays, bulls’ noses, and, in fact, almost 
 any kind of work, it will be found much better if a box is 
 made that will hold three or four bricks, either flat or on 
 edge, as they may be required, taking care that the ends 
 are both alike, and the exact shape of the brick required. 
 The boxes for this purpose are usually covered with sheet 
 iron to protect the wood from wear while cutting the bricks 
 and keeping the mould in its true form. 
 
 Tuck pointing . — This is an important branch of work 
 
169 
 
 which the mason has to deal with and is getting more in 
 practice at the present time than heretofore, and if prop- 
 erly executed, will answer all the purposes of front work , 
 especially where the work is protected by eaves as in villas, 
 etc. It is classed under the following heads: Tucked and 
 
 Stained, White, Black and Red Tuck-pointing. 
 
 As a general rule all brickwork for tuck-work, is laid with 
 the ordinary common brick mortar, the bond properly laid 
 out and kept plumb, and before the mortar is set, raked 
 out of the joints about \ inch deep. When there is not to 
 be much ornamental brickwork on the front of a building, 
 the brickwork may be laid overhanded, and then tucked 
 from a swinging scaffold. 
 
 Tucked and stained. — In common brick when the brick 
 used are of an inferior kind, that is, not pressed and of a 
 uniform color; it becomes necessary to stain the entire face 
 of the work, because some of the bricks are much darker 
 than others, and therefore have a bad appearance when 
 finished. The first thing to lie done in preparing for all 
 kinds of tuck-pointing, is the cleaning down or washing of 
 the front, free from all mortar stains and dirt, with a solu- 
 tion of muriatic acid and water, use one pint of the acid to 
 a pailful of water. That the acid might not leave any 
 damaging effects after it, the work should also receive a 
 cleansing of pure water immediately after the application 
 of the solution. It is only necessary to clean about as 
 much of the wall at a time as can be easily reached by the 
 workman. The next operation to be performed is the stop- 
 ping. Red stopping is composed of one part fine putty 
 lime to three parts fine white, washed sand. This is col- 
 ored with Venetian red and Spanish brown and made to 
 suit in shade as near as possible a brick stained with the 
 subjoined stain. There should be sufficient amount of the 
 stopping made up at once to complete the building on which 
 it is to be used; say, three hods of stopping to 200 square 
 feet of work. This stopping should be stayed with cop- 
 peras, say 1 pound to every three hods of stopping, dissolved 
 in hot water and incorporated when cold. The joints are 
 then pointed up or stopped, in a rough manner, and no more 
 
170 
 
 should be done at a time than can be immediately finished 
 hy applying the putty joint before the stopping lias become 
 too hard. If this is not done, the stopping gets so dry and 
 hard that the putty joint will not combine with it as it 
 ought, and it will fall off in a very short time. 
 
 When a sufficient amount is stopped in, it is usual to 
 rub it well with a piece of dry carpet or sacking, or some- 
 thing of that kind, and rub the stopping well into the pores 
 of the bricks that the work may appear as uniform as pos- 
 sible. 
 
 When this is properly performed the wall is ready for 
 the color, which is composed of the same minerals as the 
 stopping: Venetian red and Spanish brown one pound of 
 
 each to one and a half gallons of water, and as this color 
 has no setting properties it is necessary to add about one 
 pound of copperas to three gallons of the stain, prepared in 
 the same manner as for the stopping. Alum is also used 
 in the same proportions; and sometimes half a gallon of 
 stale beer to the same quantity of color for setting. Two 
 ounces of red analine dissolved in alcohol will brighten up 
 a barrel of the above color if required. This is applied with 
 a flat brush in the usual way, when the work is ready 
 to receive the tuck-joint, which may be either white or 
 black. 
 
 White joint, or putty, for this work is composed of the 
 same lime and sand as used for the stopping, but marble 
 dust should be used whenever it can be obtained instead of 
 the sand, or both together, on account of its giving the 
 joint a beautiful glaze. The lime is slacked and sifted 
 through a fine sieve. Sometimes sperm oil is mixed with 
 it to make it work better, and also to give it greater bind- 
 ing properties; but this must be done while the lime is hot 
 and dry, and one pint of oil to half a bushel of lime is 
 enough. The hlach joint or putty is composed of the same 
 material as the above and colored with lamp-black, green 
 charge or vegetable black, the last named is easy to mix 
 # with the lime and sand, and enough should be mixed at 
 once to finish the job. And care should be taken that this 
 color is well worked up , if not the joint will have a bad ap- 
 
171 
 
 pearance when laid on the work. When all is ready the 
 joint is laid on, and care should be taken that the putty 
 joint is laid on the brick joint, and the courses kept level 
 and of an uniform thickness, and the cross joints plumb 
 from top to bottom of the building. The rule used to lay 
 on the bed joints is about 4 feet 6 inches long and 5 inches 
 wide, and about 2 inch thick, and there ought to be two or 
 three pieces of wood a quarter of an inch thick nailed on the 
 back to keep the rule from the work, so as to allow room 
 for the waste putty that is cut from the joint to fall clear 
 to the ground. The joint or stuff is laid upon this rule, 
 and afterwards taken off it with the jointer and laid on the 
 work that is stopped in. After this the rough edges of the 
 joint are cut off with a knife or Frenchman. 
 
 The tuck joint should not be more than 3-16 of an inch 
 thick and well pressed when laid on. 
 
 Tucked work in pressed brick whether for white, black 
 or red joint is performed similar to the proceeding with the 
 exception that there is no color or stain used on the brick, 
 which are generally the best quality of pressed, and there- 
 fore need no color from their manufactured shade, but, 
 after the stopping is laid in and well rubbed with the sack- 
 ing, the work should be brushed slightly off with a solu- 
 tion of muriatic acid and water, say pint to a pailfull of 
 water, this acts as a stain, and relieves the brick of any 
 surplus amount of stopping that might besmear the brick. 
 Bed joint, putty and sand for this joint are colored with 
 Indian red and presents a joint a shade or two darker than 
 the stopping, not much used except for mantels, vestibules 
 and interior work. 
 
 When coloring the mortar for the black joint, use green 
 charge when it can be obtained. There are mechanics who 
 will stop-stain and joint fifty to one hundred square feet of 
 this work in a day, depending upon the number of angles, 
 coves, etc., and it may be seen that the cost of the material 
 is small. 
 
 A tuck- jointer is made of steel, about 4| inches long, -J 
 to 1 ^- inches thick and about inches wide; for cross- joints 
 it is smaller. 
 
172 
 
 When preparing the stopping for light colored pressed 
 brick, care should be taken that any of the pigments used 
 contain no iron pyrites or magnesia, as they affect the brick 
 the same as when used in mortar for light colored stone. 
 In preparing the stopping for tuck-pointing, as well as 
 colored mortar for face brickwork or stone-pointing, the fol- 
 lowing instructions should be strictly adhered to and they 
 will give satisfactory results. The lime and sand should be. 
 made up beforehand, as described in page 74; the longer 
 the better. The pigments used to be well soaked in distilled 
 water also, and not incorporated into the mortar until this 
 mortar has some age. In preparing the copperas, pound it 
 up fine, and thoroughly dissolve it in boiling water, let it 
 stand for at least 24 hours, and then strain it from all im- 
 purities; use about a pint of this dissolved copperas to a 
 pail of water in tempering up your mortar with the color. 
 For red, be sure and use English Venetian or Indian red. 
 Indian red costs more per pound, but it goes a good ways in 
 the mixing. For black, use bone black, and dissolve it 
 thoroughly in high proof alcohol for the putty joint. 
 For stone-pointing and front mortar there is none better 
 than Portland cement; you may obtain almost any required 
 tint by mixing the cement and color dry to any degree first, 
 then temper and use it; it don’t require much for the front 
 of a dwelling, and if carefully handled there is no better 
 mortar for this purpose. When buying your Venetian red 
 endeavor to get the genuine article, especially for that used 
 in the stain. 
 
 We have in the foregoing pages endeavored to give such 
 instruction in regard to ornamental facework which, if fol- 
 lowed, we know from experience will produce good results. 
 And all masons should be anxious to excel and encourage 
 this style of work, for we believe that the greater the 
 number there are who are capable of performing it cor- 
 rectly, the greater will be its demand by the public. That 
 it requires skill and time to execute it properly none can 
 deny, and all masons who have an opportunity to perform 
 it should do so for a pride in the work for its own sake; 
 that pride and love that were the parents of mechanical 
 
173 
 
 skill and artistic sense that old-timers in the craft used to 
 feel when they could put their best efforts into everything 
 they constructed; but we know that much of this work is 
 hurried and botched in a shameful manner that is dis- 
 couraging to those who have the means and capital to have 
 it done, and consequently an injury to the workman; and 
 no one, therefore, should be stronger than himself in the 
 condemnation of inferior workmanship of this kind, and 
 none should be more anxious to perform it accurately. 
 
 Fire proof buildings — A prize having been offered for 
 the erection of a fire-proof dwelling-house of moderate 
 cost, a model fire-proof house was erected in Chicago, and 
 filled with representative furniture and tested with fire. 
 The furniture and a part of the window framing was con- 
 sumed, and a portion of the wall plastering fell; but beyond 
 this, the building was not seriously injured, either by fire 
 or water, and, in the opinion of the committee of experts, 
 who conducted the tests, the builder was entitled to the 
 prize. The dwellings erected on the same plan as this tested 
 house are of the cheapest possible construction consistent 
 with protection from fire, and as some account of this mode 
 of construction may be of value to masons we will give a 
 brief account of it: 
 
 The foundations are of stone, laid on concrete, and the 
 walls are of brick 1% brick thick at the lower story, and 
 1 brick thick at the second story, the floor beams and raft- 
 ers for the flat roof in each case resting on a projecting 
 shelf. These beams and rafters, though of wood, are ren- 
 dered fire-proof by building them in a concrete of 50 parts 
 sifted cinders, 25 parts mortar, and 25 parts of plaster of 
 paris. Wired netting nailed to the underside of the beams, 
 served for a support for the plastering. Above the plaster- 
 ing the concrete is poured in between the beams about 1J 
 inch thick, and when it sets it forms a hard fire-proof skin 
 above the ceiling and inclosing the lower sides of the beams. 
 Rough floor boards are laid over the beams, and on these 
 above each beam is nailed down a beveled stick of wood 
 about \\ inch thick, and placed with the narrow edge upper- 
 most. Between these strips concrete is poured in the form 
 
174 
 
 of a pasty mass till the floor is covered to the top of the 
 strips. A stream of water from a hose is used to temper 
 the concrete and smooth it down, and when it sets it gives 
 a hard white stone like floor. Finishing floor boards are 
 then laid over the concrete and nailed down to the strips. 
 The roof is also covered in the same way, except that the 
 tin roofing is laid down over the concrete. The partitions 
 are made either of hollow brick or concrete laid up against 
 iron wires. The plastering is spread over this and against 
 the brick walls of the house. The stairs are of brick, laid 
 in cement mortar, and the flues in the chimneys are lined 
 with clay pipes. Houses built on this plan, two stories 
 high, entirely finished without and within, provided with 
 pipes, gas, and water pipes, bath-room, etc., and with gar- 
 den in the rear, marble door steps and terra cotta window 
 caps have* been erected for $2,000, and smaller houses have 
 been erected for $1,200. These houses more nearly repre- 
 sent cheap fire-proof houses than any thing erected in this 
 country, and are valuable as illustrating some of the more 
 recent applications of concrete in domestic construction. 
 Old rails (second-hand from the railroad), have also been 
 used for fire-proof floors in Chicago. They are laid about 
 20 inches apart, and are fastened together by rods passing 
 through them and secured to the walls in front and rear of 
 the building. 
 
 A table is raised just under the rails and then concrete — 
 cinders — or powdered coke — mortar and plaster of paris, is 
 poured in between the rails. When it sets, the tables below 
 are removed, and the floor may be plastered below and board- 
 ed above. Though only about four inches thick, it is suffi- 
 cient to resist fire and sustain the load on the floor. 
 
 Boiler setting . — The foundation for all boilers should be 
 of the firmest character, either of stone or brick, and the 
 best material used throughout. Less than a 12 inch wall 
 should not be allowed even in the smallest class of horizon- 
 tal boilers. 
 
 Large boilers have 12 inch, 20 inch and 24 inch additional 
 to the fire-brick lining of furnace. 
 
 In setting a boiler, arrangement should be made to carry 
 
175 
 
 ■on combustion with the greatest possible heat. This re- 
 quires good non-conductors of heat, such as fire-brick to line 
 the furnace box, and continued over the roof of boiler, as 
 well as top of bridge wall should be of fire-brick, and laid 
 as an inverted arch, for stability. 
 
 The arch over the back connection of boiler should not 
 be turned against the boiler, but should be sprung from 
 the side walls, and free a i inch from the boiler. The 
 lugs of a boiler should rest on iron plates, built in the wall 
 for the lugs to give and take on the rollers, otherwise the 
 expansion of the boiler will crack the wall. The arch 
 over a boiler should spring from the side walls and be self- 
 supporting, and not turned on the boiler, which should be 
 1 or 2 inches from the fire-brick. 
 
 Lay strips of wood lengthwise on the boiler, and turn the 
 arch on them, when the arch is keyed remove what you 
 can of them, the fire will remove the remainder. Many 
 claim that an air space within a boiler wall is not of any 
 service, and the same thickness of brick would be better, 
 and the wall stronger. 
 
 Deep ash-pits are the best, and a second or ash-grate 
 will help preserve the grate proper; as there is less reflec- 
 tion of heat from it than there would be from a hard brick 
 bottom. The bars of a furnace should be 18 or 20 inches 
 below the boiler or crown of the furnace. They should 
 slope downward toward the back part, about -J inch to the 
 foot. 
 
 There is one object that requires very particular atten- 
 tion, and which must be of a certain size to produce the 
 best effect, and that is the flue leading from the boiler to 
 the chimney, as well as the size and elevation of the chim- 
 ney itself. (See Chimney.) 
 
 Fire-cement . — Fire clay, wet 100 parts; white lead, 3 
 parts; powdered asbestos, i part; mix all together and use 
 as mortar. 
 
 Fire clay mortar is generally used: One fire-clay to one 
 or two of ground or powdered old fire-brick or refractory 
 sand. 
 
 The brick work about boiler setting is often imperfectly 
 
176 
 
 laid. It is mostly done by contract, with no one to super- 
 vise it who understands the severe use to which it is to be 
 put. The bricklayer, who may never have worked on a 
 job of this kind before, builds good looking inside and out- 
 side walls, but the space between is apt to be filled up with 
 odds and ends in the most promiscuous manner. Further- 
 more, he puts the same joint in that he would use if he 
 were building a house, and this is just what we do not 
 want in boiler setting, particularly in the fire brick lining 
 of the furnace. The joints throughout the setting should 
 be thin , and the work should be done as faithfully inside as 
 outside. Kaolin or prepared fire clay is used in laying the 
 fire brick, and it should be mixed up so thin that it cannot 
 well be used with a trowel. Some mill owners who have 
 had experience in this direction will not allow a trowel to 
 be employed at all, but require the man to use iron spoons. 
 The fire brick should be dipped in water as they are used, 
 so that when they are laid they will not immediately drink 
 up the water from the cement. They should then receive 
 a thin coating of the prepared fire-clay or kaolin paste, and 
 be carefully placed in position with as little of the kaolin 
 or fire-clay as possible, Every sixth course, beginning 
 with the grates, should be a row of headers, ivell bonded 
 into the masonry behind. The headers are of little use un- 
 less they are well secured into the walls of the setting , for 
 when the lower courses of fire brick have burned away 
 more or less, we have to rely on their headers to a con- 
 siderable extent to hold the front of the wall in position. 
 In repairing fire brick linings the lower courses, which 
 burn out fastest, can be removed and replaced without dis- 
 turbing the upper part of the wall, provided the headers 
 are secure; while if they are not, the entire wall may have 
 to be rebuilt, and this cannot be done without either re- 
 moving the boiler or tearing down a considerable part of 
 the setting. The locomotive — Those who have had con- 
 siderable experience in setting and repairing boiler settings, 
 claim that it is not best to put in the fire brick header 
 course until the lining is carried up nine courses above the 
 grate. 
 
177 
 
 Composition for covering boilers, etc. — Road scrapings, 
 free from stones, 2 parts; cow manure, gathered from the 
 pasture, 1 part; mix together thoroughly, and add to each 
 barrowful of the mixture 6 lbs. of fire-clay; | lb. of flax 
 shoves or chopped hay, and 4 ozs. of teased hair. It must 
 be well mixed and chopped; then add as much water as will 
 bring it to the consistency of mortar — the more it is worked 
 the tougher it is. It may either be put on with the trowel 
 or daubed on with the hand, the first coat about 1 inch 
 thick. When thoroughly dry, another the same thickness, 
 and so on, three inches is quite enough, but the more the 
 better. Let each coat be scored like plaster to prevent 
 cracks, the last coat light and smooth, so as to receive paint, 
 whitewash, etc. The boiler or pipes must be first washed 
 with a thin wash of the mixture to insure a catch. 
 
 The setting of a horizontal boiler is a matter that almost 
 any competent mason may accomplish, either for heating 
 purposes or power by following these instructions and the 
 examination of the setting of a boiler in place. 
 
 When upright boilers are inclosed in brick -work for heat- 
 ing purposes the outside is usually built square, to suit the 
 door castings, and for appearances; but the inside is gener- 
 ally built round, three or four inches from the boiler; to 
 make a flue or an air space, which will be the same distance 
 from the boiler, at every part. If it is necessary to have a 
 flue so constructed, with the outside still square, build two 
 walls; around one and a square one; but the inner one must 
 not touch the outer or the latter will crack ; otherwise build 
 the square inside and outside. 
 
 Baker s ovens . — In building ovens, the work is generally 
 done according to the situation and the owner’s conveni- 
 ence, as well as a thorough examination of an oven that 
 gives satisfaction, when almost any skilful mechanic will 
 be able to perform the task. To construct a baker’s oven 
 to heat with coals; the size of the base being arranged, it 
 should be carried up to the height of the furance door, and 
 the ash-pit left according to the width of the door and the 
 length of the furnace bars, allowing for the door being set 
 12 
 
178 
 
 4| inches from the face of the brick-work. Let the frama 
 and the door be about 1 foot square, like the furnace door 
 of a copper, and the bars about 20 inches long, and level 
 with the bottom of the oven and of the door. Let the flues 
 be about 16 inches square for the fire to shoot into the oven 
 from the shoulder, where the furnace is straight across to 
 to the opposite angle of the oven, and the fire catching the 
 crown in its course it will spread all round. Let a register 
 be fixed in the flue, and the copper five or six inches above 
 the furnace, not so as to get too hot, for it is usually warm 
 water only that is required in a bake shop. A register 
 should be fixed within a little of where the flue enters the 
 oven, and rise slanting; which, being stopped when the 
 oven is hot enough, leads into the chimney flue. The gen- 
 eral rise of the crown above the flue is from 18 to 20 inches, 
 which form is often made from sand. Sometimes the oven 
 is constructed without the copper; and perhaps it is the best 
 plan; for it is certain the two will act better apart than they 
 do together; but of course the latter is a little the cheapest 
 as regards fuel. The side walls, from which the crown of 
 the oven springs, ought not to be less than 2 £ bricks 
 thick, and the crown springing from about 9 inches above 
 the floor. 
 
 The angles should all intersect, and all be laid with as close 
 joint as possible The brick lining the oven are now gener- 
 ally of fire brick laid in fire clay mortar. When the oven 
 is domed , spread some sand on the top so that when the 
 work gets dry the sand may fill up any cracks. 
 
 Brickivork impermeable to acids construct with bricks 
 which have previously been dipped in very thick boiling 
 tar, then lay in a mortar made of resin and a refractory 
 sand applied hot, and rub the joints with iron (used around 
 chemical works, etc.). 
 
 Brick Stack . — Much care and caution is required in 
 putting down the foundation for a chimney of any great 
 height, as are generally used for manufactory purposes; 
 that it should be of the firmest nature there can be no doubt, 
 as the weight it is supposed to bear is confined to a small 
 base, which should be broad enough to insure against set- 
 
N 
 
 179 
 
 v- 
 
 rr. 
 
 tlement. Sometimes the chimney is built of one solid wall, 
 which surrounds the flue, in which case the brickwork is 
 apt to split and crack from the heat expanding it; whereas, 
 if there was an air chamber between the main flue wall 
 and the exterior wall this would never happen. The fol- 
 lowing cut illustrates a cross section of a chimney 8 feet in 
 diameter at base, with a flue 2 feet in diameter, 8 inch wall, 
 an air chamber surrounding it, and exterior wall of 1 foot 
 
 4 inches. This chimney 
 may rise to any available 
 height according to the bat- 
 ter given to the exterior 
 ^ X-L c ^\ \ wall, and when the air 
 chamber closes from that 
 account, 4 inches at a time 
 may be dropped from the 
 interior of the main wall to 
 form another one, until the 
 required height and thick- 
 ness of wall is required to 
 top out in. It is of the 
 utmost importance that a 
 chimney of this kind be built perfectly plumb, that it may 
 withstand the wind and storm. Small air flues may be 
 built across the main wall to admit cold air into the air 
 chamber. Of course when a chimney is built battering, 
 we mean by being built plumb, that the battering angles 
 are perfectly regular in that respect, so that the whole shaft 
 shall stand plumb on its centre, and consequently secure 
 against high winds. The stability of a chimney-stack de- 
 pends on the weight of the brickwork above the joint at the 
 base, being such that it preponderates over the wind pres- 
 sure at the centre of gravity of shaft to such a degree that 
 the resultant of the two forces shall fall within the base of 
 stack at the joint sufficiently to prevent crushing of the 
 material on that side, or tension on the opposite or wind- 
 ward edge. For the sake of stability, the line of pressure, 
 or resultant of the weight and wind pressure, should fall 
 within the shaft thickness at the joint level by at least i of 
 
180 
 
 the whole width of chimney. It is easy to find the weight 
 of the brickwork above the level of joint. Then if we know 
 the superficial feet exposed to the wind pressure, multiplied 
 by the wind pressure, we shall obtain the total force which 
 acts against the side of the chimney at its centre of gravity, 
 and this force has to be counteracted by the weight of 
 brickwork acting through the centre of the chimney’s 
 thickness. There are thus three external forces acting 
 upon the stack exposed to the wind; the weight of chimney 
 acting vertically, the wind pressure acting horizontally, and 
 the reaction of the resultant. By taking moments about 
 the centre of gravity, and assigning definite values to each 
 force, the actual stability of the chimney can be found. 
 
 A smoothly plastered chimney gives a better draft and 
 keeps clean longer than any other, but for durability the 
 joints of the flue should be struck flush with the trowel and 
 all built in the most substantial manner. The flue must 
 be capable of passing sufficient air for the greatest con- 
 sumption of fuel likely to be used. 
 
 Less air will not do. More than is needed does no harm 
 for it is in the power of the fireman to diminish the draft 
 if necessary. However, before constructing a shaft, it 
 would be well to examine one that has proved sufficient 
 from practical results in regard to the capacity of the boiler 
 used; for the size of the flue depends upon the grate sur- 
 face of the furnace, or the amount of coal it is capable of 
 consuming per hour, for a greater or less horse power 
 boiler. A factory chimney suitable for a 20 horse-power 
 boiler is commonly built 20 inches square inside, and 80 feet 
 high, and these dimensions are correct for consumption of 
 15 pounds coal per horse-power per hour, a common con- 
 sumption for factory engines. 
 
 Every chimney should be built several feet above all sur- 
 rounding structures, so that there is no obstruction to break 
 the air from the top of the chimney. 
 
 The small abutting brick piers which are built from the 
 main shaft wall to sustain the flue wall in its position, 
 should have no connection with the latter wall, and free 
 
181 
 
 from it at least b of an inch, which will allow the flue wall 
 to expand without injury to the main shaft. 
 
 Retorts for gas houses . — Although there are masons who 
 make a specialty of the setting of retorts and building 
 the benches for them, I am satisfied that any practical 
 bricklayer may accomplish the task by a little careful at- 
 tention. 
 
 The party who manufactures and supplies the retorts, fire- 
 brick and blocks for the setting of a bench, generally sends 
 a complete plan for their building, and if that be carefully 
 carried out there can be no mistake made; for I have my- 
 self built benches and set the retorts, and followed the 
 plan furnished for their execution, which have given the 
 very best of satisfaction, and prior have never seen one 
 built. 
 
 The fire clay should be well soaked in w r ater, and well 
 pounded before used; and each fire-brick and block should 
 be w T ell pounded to a close joint. The fire-clay is mixed 
 with a refractory sand, two of which to one of clay. Kao- 
 lin is now generally used for this purpose. 
 
 Brick-measurement. — Mr. Trautwine, C. E., gives the fol- 
 lowing scale for brick measurement. Allowing for the 
 usual waste for cutting brick to fit corners, jambs, etc., the 
 average number of 8 1" x 4' 7 x 2" bricks required per square 
 feet of wall is : 
 
 Thickness of Wall. 
 
 8b" or 1 brick 
 12f" “ lb “ 
 17 “ 2 
 
 21b “ 2b “ 
 
 25f “ 8 “ 
 
 No of Brick. • 
 
 14 
 
 21 
 
 28 
 
 35 
 
 42 
 
 As a rude approximation, a bricklayer with a laborer to 
 keep him supplied with materials, will in common house 
 walls, lay on an average about 1,500 per day of 10 hours 
 work. 
 
 In neater outer faces of brick buildings from 1,000 to 
 1,200; in good ordinary street fronts, 800 to 1,000, and for 
 the very finest fronts from 150 to 300, depending upon the 
 
1£2 
 
 number of angles, arches and plumbing, etc. In plain mas- 
 sive engineering work he would average about 2,u00. In 
 estimating upon brick buildings, we must take into con- 
 sideration that the labor item changes from the above ac- 
 cording to the massiveness of the work, and the distance 
 which the tender may have to carry the material, etc. But 
 as a rule in practice one tender to each mason answers in 
 many cases, whereas not so much is required sometimes, 
 and again when the carrying is very high, one tender to 
 each mason will not answer and the judgment of the con- 
 tractor must be used. 
 
 In making out an estimate for brick work, the several 
 grades of work should be figured separate and a price made 
 for each. Arches, cornices, moulding courses, should be 
 estimated by the foot, which varies according to the 
 amount of cutting and size, etc. At the present time 
 brickwork for ordinary buildings, including scaffolding, 
 mortar, etc., averaging an entire building, is worth about 
 $8 per 1,000 brick, to lay in good manner, but good first- 
 class front pressed brick is worth from $15 to $20 per 
 1 , 000 . 
 
 For large works a certain amount of percentage should 
 be added, according to the time such works would take to 
 complete them, and the amount of risk incurred, etc. 
 
 Almost any mason can learn to estimate upon the cost 
 of brickwork from the above items, knowing the cost per 
 thousand for bricks in his neighborhood, as well that of 
 lime, cement and sand, and making himself familiar with 
 the rules of mensuration, there is no reason why he should 
 not be ready at any time to estimate on brickwork. (See 
 proportions of brick and mortar in a wall according to joint 
 used.) 
 
 Ordinary bricks are about 8 inches in length, and, with 
 the mortar joint about half that in width, so that each 
 brick on flat will give horizontal surface of about 32 square 
 inches, or 4f bricks will cover 1 square foot. As ordinarily 
 laid, there are nine courses to every 24 inches, or 4i to the 
 foot; 4^ courses, with 4^ bricks to the course, will give 
 20| bricks to the cubic foot. Waste, cutting and closer 
 
183 
 
 joints will easily require an allowance of 21 bricks per cubic 
 foot, laid 9 courses to 21 inches in the rise of the wall. 
 
 Generally, one thousand common bricks laid in a wall 
 makes about 50 cubic feet, varying somewhat in different 
 kinds of bricks. 
 
 Fire brick generally lay 6 brick to superficial foot of lin- 
 ing, and 1,000 for 170 feet of face lining, as generally 
 laid. 
 
 The bricklayer’s tools consist of the trowel , the brick 
 hammer and scutch for shaping his brick into any required 
 bevel or shape. The banker is a bench upon which the 
 bricks are cut. The jointer and the jointing rule are em- 
 ployed for running or marking the centres of the mortar 
 joints. 
 
 The camber slip is a thin piece of wood with one curved 
 edge for the lower part of the camber arch. 
 
 The bevel is used for drawing the soffit line on the face 
 of the bricks; the templet takes the length of the stretcher 
 and the width of the header; and the mould is for form- 
 ing the face and back of the brick. The raker is for rak- 
 ing out mortar for the purpose of pointing. The compass 
 for drawing and spacing out his several grades of work. 
 The plumb ride with a line and plummet, and the level 
 for keeping his work vertical and horizontal. 
 
 The square is adopted for setting out right angles, and 
 templets and battering rules for circular and battering work; 
 the courses are guided by lines and pins; and when brick 
 and stone work are carried up together, the gauge-rod 
 marks the height of the courses. Dimensions are taken 
 by means of measuring rods. In the construction of the 
 bricklayer’s scaffold, standards, ledgers and putlogs are 
 used for outside scaffolding and wooden horses for ordi- 
 nary building. The standards, or uprights, are tapering 
 poles, usually of fir, forty or fifty feet in length and six 
 or eight inches in diameter at the lower ends which are 
 let into the ground, or barrels filled with broken stone and 
 sand. Increased height, when necessary, is obtained by 
 lashing additional poles above and tightening the junctions 
 by driving wedges between the poles. Ledgers are hori- 
 
184 
 
 zontal poles parallel with the wall and secured by cords to 
 the standards. The putlogs are cross-pieces, generally of 
 birch, placed at right angles to the wall, into which they 
 are let in putlog holes, and the other end rests on the led- 
 gers. Stout scaffold boards, hooped at the ends, are laid 
 on the putlogs. 
 
 Plain and Ornamental Plastering.— The plaster- 
 ing of the inside of buildings, whether done on laths, bricks 
 or stone, generally consists of three separate coats of mor- 
 tar. The first of these is called by the mason scratch-coat ; 
 and consists of about one part of quick-lime to 4 of sand 
 (which latter may not be of the purest kind), and | meas- 
 ure of bullock’s hair; the last of which is to make the mor- 
 tar more cohesive, and less liable to split off in spots. This 
 coat is about £ to i inch thick; is put on roughly; and 
 should be pressed with the trowel with sufficient force to 
 enter perfectly between the laths; which for facilitating, 
 these should not be nailed nearer together than i inch. In 
 rude buildings, ancTTor cellars, etc., this is often the only 
 coat used. When this first coat is put on, it is roughly 
 scored or scratched (hence its name) with pointed sticks, 
 nearly through its thickness by lines running diagonally 
 across each other, and about two to 4 inches apart. * This 
 gives a better hold to the second coat, which might other- 
 wise peel off. If the first coat has become too dry, it is 
 well to dampen it slightly as the second one is put on. The 
 second coat or browning is put on about \ inch to f inch 
 thick, of the same hair mortar, with an additional amount 
 of sand, as this coat should be poorer, and will not be so 
 liable to crack. The rough surfaces of walls are more or 
 less warped, or out of line; and it is not possible for the 
 plasterer to rectify this perfectly by the eye, as maybe seen 
 in almost every house; even in those called first-class 
 houses, a quick eye can generally detect unsightly undula- 
 tions of the plastered surfaces. To prevent this the process 
 of screeding must be resorted to. Screeds are a kind of 
 guage or guide formed by applying to the first coat, or 
 scratch coat, when partly dried, horizontal strips of plaster- 
 
185 
 
 ing mortar, about 8 inches wide and from 2 to 4 feet apart 
 all around the room. These are made to project out from 
 the first coat to the intended face of the second coat; and 
 while soft are carefully made perfectly straight and out of 
 wind with each other, by means of the plumb line , straight 
 edge, etc. When this is done the second coat is put on, 
 filling up the broad horizontal spaces between them; and 
 is readily brought to a perfectly flat surface, corresponding 
 to that of the screeds , by means of long straight-edges ex- 
 tending over two or more of the screeds. The third coat, 
 ^ inch thick coulains no hair; and for giving it a still whiter 
 and neater appearance more lime is used, say 1 of lime to 2 
 of sand; and the purest or white sand free from salt, and 
 marble dust is used. This mortar is by plasterers called 
 stucco, which name is sometimes given to mortar when 
 used for plastering outside of buildings. Or, instead of 
 stucco, the third coat may be and usually is of hard finish 
 or guage-stuff ; which consists of one measure of ground 
 plaster of Paris to about two of quick-lime putty , without 
 sand. Hard finish works easier, but is not as good as 
 stucco for walls intended to be painted in oil. The plaster 
 of Paris is for hastening the hardening. Either of these 
 third coats is smoothed or polished to a greater or less ex- 
 tent, according as it is to show or to be papered, painted, 
 etc , and stucco should be well worked with the float in a 
 circular direction, if notit will crack. The polishing tools 
 are merely the trowel, the hand-float (a kind of wooden 
 trowel) and the water brush (a short-handled flat brush for 
 wetting the surface part at a time with water in order to 
 polish more freely). For finer polishing, a float made of 
 cork is used. 
 
 The smooth piece of board about 10 to 12 inches square 
 with a handle beneath, on which the plasterer holds his 
 mortar until he puts it on the wall with his trowel, is called 
 a hawk. 
 
 The more thoroughly hard-finish is gone over with the 
 water-brush and trowel, the firmer and stronger will it be. 
 Frequently only two coats of plastering are put on in infer- 
 
 K 
 
186 
 
 ior rooms; or when great neatness of appearance is not 
 needed. 
 
 The first is of hair mortar; this is scratched with a broom 
 and then covered with the finishing coat of finer mortar 
 {stucco). If this last is nearly all lime, or with but very 
 little sand, to make it work easier, it is called a slipped coat 
 or shimmed coated. 
 
 A very good effect may be produced in school houses, 
 churches, etc., by only two coats of plaster in which fine 
 clean screened gravel is used instead of sand. 
 
 When lined into regular courses, it resembles a buff-col - 
 01 ed sandstone, very agreeable to the eye. In purchasing 
 hair for plastering, care must be taken that it has not been 
 taken from salted hides; inasmuch as the salt will make 
 the walls damp. For the same cause sea-shore sand should 
 not be used. 
 
 It is almost impossible to wash it from salt. In brick 
 walls intended to be plastered, the mortar joints should be 
 left very rough, to let the plaster adhere. If it is put on 
 smooth walls (for outside mastic or stucco), without first 
 raking out the joints, it is very apt to fall off, as can be 
 seen any day in any of our cities. The walls should also 
 be washed clean from all dust; and should be slightly damp- 
 ened as the plaster is put on. 
 
 To imitate granite on wall: After the second or smooth 
 coat of plaster is dry, it receives a coat of lime wash, 
 slightly tinted by a little umber, or ocher, etc. After this 
 is diy, in case it appears too dark, or too light, another may 
 be applied with more or less of the coloring matter in it. 
 Finally, a wash of lime and mineral black is sprinhled on 
 from a flat brush, to imitate the black specks in granite. 
 
 By this simple means a skilful workman can produce ex- 
 cellant imitations. 
 
 The horizontal and vertical joints of the imitation mas- 
 onry, may be ruled in by a small bush, using the black- 
 wash, and a long straight edge. 
 
 A day's work at plastering.— This varies greatly accord- 
 ing to the quality of the work and material used, but the fol- 
 lowing items will greatly aid the mechanic in his calcula- 
 
187 
 
 tions. A plasterer, aided by one or two laborers, to mix 
 his mortar, and to keep his hawk supplied, can average from 
 100 to 200 square yards a day, of first coat, or scratch coat, 
 about 50 to 75 yards a day of second coat or browning , and 
 the same amount, or average of hard finish , sand finish or 
 stucco, and of slipped coated, or shimmed about from 200 
 to 300 square yards per day. These amounts depends upon 
 the number of angles, size of rooms, whether on walls or 
 ceilings, or if the work be properly screeded, darbied or 
 floated, and if the finishing coat be thoroughly troweled, 
 etc. 
 
 The cost of plastering . — We can only give the quantities, 
 the prices must be arrived at according to local circum- 
 stances, which varies in almost every locality. Plastering 
 laths are usually of split white or yellow pine, or hemlock, 
 and come in lengths of about 3 to 4 feet, and are about l£ 
 inches wide, and £ inch thick. 
 
 They are nailed up horizontally about £ inch apart. The 
 upright studs of partitions are spaced at such distances 
 apart that the ends of the laths may be nailed to them. 
 Laths are sold by the 1,000 of 50 and 100 bunches. A square 
 foot of surface requires l£ four feet laths, or 1,000 such 
 laths will cover 666 square feet, but in estimating on plast- 
 ering we should allow about 1,400 laths and 5 lbs. of nails 
 to 100 yards of plastering. A lather will nail up from 10 
 to 20 (100 bunches) bunches in a day. It requires about six 
 bushels of lime, f of a load of sand (or about 18 bushels), 
 and one bushel of bullock’s hair to scratch coat and brown 
 100 yards of plastering. It wall require about 2 bushels of 
 putty lime and about £ of a barrel of plaster of paris to do 
 100 yards of hard finish; if for stuceo or white sand finish, 
 about one bushel of putty lime to 2 bushels of the sand. 
 
 Plasterer 1 s work is usually charged by the superficial yard. 
 At the present rate of wages, mason at $4 per day and 
 laborer at $2 at the current rate for material, plastering is 
 taken from 30 to 45 cents per square yard, depending upon 
 the style of finish, etc. Take friezes, soffits, etc., accord- 
 ing to description, by the foot, measure raised panels ex- 
 tra by the foot superficial. Take the mouldings on the 
 
188 
 
 panel by the foot running. Cornices are generally taken 
 by the foot. If the girth of the moulding from the ceiling 
 to the wall line is under 6 inches, take it by the running 
 foot, and if over 6 inches take it at the superficial foot. If 
 there are coves to the cornices, take them by the superficial 
 foot. Number all angles and mitres above four, stopped 
 ends, etc., stating the girth whether the mitres are internal 
 or external. The cost of cornices and mouldings varies 
 according to size of mould, and whether plain or orna- 
 mental, it is generally taken by the running foot, and at 
 the present rates of wages, masons at $4 and laborers at 
 $2 per day, from 20 (small panelling) to 50 cents per foot 
 running. Plaster arches are taken by the piece, and the 
 mechanic must place a price upon them from former ex- 
 perience; but for ordinary buildings they run from $3 up 
 to $20, and even more for very stylish and ornamental 
 arches. Trusses, center-pieces, etc., are bought by the 
 piece, and at the present time from $1 up to $15. From 
 the rules under mensuration almost any mason can de- 
 termine the number of yards in any building to be plas- 
 tered. 
 
 First find the number of yards of lathing and how much 
 per yard it will cost to put it on. Then the number of 
 yards of scratch coat and cost per yard; as well that for 
 browning , then the number of yards of finishing , and 
 whether it be hard finish , stucco, or skimmed coated. 
 
 Ornamental Decoration .— Cornices (Plaster) —Cor- 
 nices are either plain or ornamental. In order to execute 
 a cornice according to a given design, it is necessary to pre- 
 pare a mould of the several members, which mould is 
 usually made of sheet brass, iron or steel, indented so as to 
 represent exactly the forms and projections of the said 
 members, and fixed into a wooden frame with a handle. 
 If the cornice is of unusual size, such as are used for large 
 halls and dining-rooms, it is necessary to frame them. This 
 is done by nailing brackets to the wall about 16 feet apart, 
 to which laths are nailed; the whole is then covered with 
 rough mortar, allowing about an inch to receive the putty 
 
189 
 
 which forms the cornice. To run cornice two masons are 
 necessary to do it properly. Before using the mould they 
 gauge a screed on the wall and ceiling, formed of putty 
 and plaster, and wide enough to receive the top and bottom 
 of the cornice to be formed. 
 
 Then fit the cornice mould squarely in the angle at one 
 end of the room and mark the outer edge of the mould on 
 the ceiling screed, repeat the same at the other end of the 
 angle, from the two marks obtained strike a dark line with 
 a cord. On the screed formed on the wall nail a pine 
 straight edge about \ inch thick and 3 inches wide, have 
 the underside of the mould to set squarely upon this, and 
 at the same time the upper outside edge of the mould to 
 line with the dark line upon the ceiling; this forms a guide 
 to run the cornice. When all is so far ready, the putty is 
 to be mixed with about one-third of plaster of Paris, and 
 rendered of a semi-fluid consistence by the addition of clean 
 water. One of the workmen then takes two or three 
 trowels full of the prepared putty on his hawk and spreads 
 it along upon the parts where the cornice is to be worked, 
 the other occasionally applying the mould to see where 
 more or less of the material is required. When a sufficient 
 quantity has been put on to fill up all the parts of the 
 mould, the mould is worked backwards and forwards, being 
 at the same time held firmly to the ceiling and wall, by 
 which means the superfluous material is removed and the 
 contour of the cornice completed to the form required. 
 Sometimes it is necessary to repeat this operation several 
 times in order to fill up such parts as are deficient in the 
 former application. Sometimes when the cornice is large 
 it is necessary to use three or four moulds, which are used 
 in succession. The mitres* at the angles are finished by 
 hand, and requires skill and taste by the workman. Orna- 
 mental cornices and other enrichments are formed, in the 
 first place, in the manner already described, excepting that 
 additional sinkings are left in parts of the plain mouldings 
 to receive the several enrichments, which are cast in plaster 
 of Paris by means of moulds prepared for the purpose. All 
 the ornaments, which are cast in plaster of Paris, are pre- 
 
190 
 
 viously modelled in clay, or some other tractable substance, 
 from designs made for the purpose. It requires both skill, 
 taste and judgment to make a model for a plaster cast; but 
 a certain measure of success is within the reach of any 
 plasterer possessing an ordinary amount of perseverance. 
 When the model is finished it must be left until it hardens, 
 when it is oiled all over with sweet oil and placed in a 
 wooden box prepared purposely for it; the several parts 
 are examined and touched up wherever required and oiled 
 again. The next operation is to pour melted wax and rosin 
 into the box until the model is covered, when it is left to 
 cool and fix itself. TV hen cold and hard it is turned upside 
 down and the wax mould easily separates from the clay 
 model and becomes the matrix or mould for future cast- 
 ings. The wax moulds are so made that they will not 
 cast more than a foot in length of ornament at a time, 
 greater lengths being difficult to handle. The casts are 
 made with the purest and finest of plaster of Paris, satu- 
 rated with water; and the wax moulds must be well oiled 
 before the plaster is poured in. 
 
 When the intoglios or casts are first taken out of the 
 mould, they must be handled with care, as they are not 
 very firm; they must then be placed in the open air, or in a 
 hot oven, where they will dry and become very hard. 
 When hard enough to bear handling, they must be scraped 
 and cleaned preparatory to being used. Enriched friezes 
 and bas relief are formed in a similar manner to the orna- 
 ments just described, excepting that the wax mould is so 
 formed as to allow of a ground of plaster being left behind 
 tiie ornament of about an inch in thickness; this is cast to 
 the ornaments or figures and strengthens and defends their 
 piopoitions, as well as promotes their general effect, when 
 fixed in the situation for which they are intended. The 
 capitals of columns are produced by a similar process, but 
 they require several moulds to complete them; still, there 
 
 110 difficulty in producing them, but such as the ingenu- 
 ity of the operator will readily overcome. In forming the 
 Coiinthian capital, it is necessary first to prepare the bell 
 01 vase, which must be so shaped as to promote a graceful 
 
191 
 
 effect in the foliage and volutes, for each of which, as well 
 as the other details, separate and distinct cameos will be 
 required. These are all cast separately, and afterwards at- 
 tached to the bell or vase by means of liquid plaster of 
 Paris. 
 
 lo make plaster ornaments known as gelatine, and which 
 are greatly used to make the above ornamental casts. Good 
 glue soaked and swelled; pour off excess of water; mix 
 glycerine six times the weight of the dry glue used. Heat 
 and evaporate water sufficient to make the mixture the 
 proper consistence for use. 
 
 To make modeling clay, knead dry clay with glycerine 
 instead of w T ater, and a mass is obtained which continues 
 moist and plastic for a length of time, thus removing 
 one of the greatest inconveniences experienced by the 
 modeler. 
 
 Cornices under usual circumstances, in ordinary rooms 
 should be light, extending rather along the ceiling than 
 down the walls, as giving the effect of increased height. 
 If columns or pilasters are introduced attached to the walls 
 the received proportion according to the order should be 
 adhered to; and if an entablature is adopted without col- 
 umns or pilasters, its height will be in good proportion, if 
 from one-seventh to one-ninth that of the room. Plain, 
 large cornices may be from one-fourteenth to one-twenty- 
 fourth. 
 
 In coved ceilings the cove may be from one-fourth to 
 one-sixth of the height. For running plaster arches and 
 rib work, the plasterer should understand the rules for draw- 
 ing the arches shown in this work, and he may apply them 
 in setting his rods for the execution of this work. 
 
 Interior Decoration. — Much attention has been given 
 of late in many localities to the interior decoration of walls, 
 ceilings and cornices; and kalsomine, painting and frescoing 
 seem likely to partially supercede paper for the interior 
 walls of our private and public buildings. While this is a 
 gain to the "workman, it has one disadvantage in the finish- 
 ing of dwellings. The paint, if applied too soon, cuts 
 
192 
 
 off the air from the plaster or stucco and retards its harden- 
 ing, so that experts now recommend a delay of one year 
 before coloring the walls or ceiling of new buildings. This 
 has led to the suggestion of employing colored plaster and 
 mortars, and it is thought that in time some modifications 
 may be made in decorative plastering by this means. The 
 design is to replace the sand commonly employed in mak- 
 ing mortars with colored sands, or powders made from dur- 
 able colored substances, like marbles, slate, glass, pottery 
 and stones. Any material would answer that is free from 
 metalic substances which might oxidize on exposure to air. 
 Mica and bone ash are reported as giving good shades of 
 gray, and many of our natural sands would give fine tints 
 of reds, browns and yellows. Cement bricks colored in 
 this way have already been extensively used in the neigh- 
 borhood of Boston, both for the interior and exterior 
 decorations with good results, and, by use of properly 
 colored plasters, mortars and stucco judiciously combined, 
 this field of the mason trade might be extended. 
 
 When it is desirable to finish the interior of buildings in 
 tints or colors, it can be done also by mixing with the putty 
 coat such coloring material as are not affected by lime. 
 Blue tints may be obtained by using ultramarine blue, blue 
 vitriol or indigo. Blacks by using lamp black, powdered 
 charcoal, or ivory black. Red and its tints by using ver- 
 milion, Venetian red, or Indian red. Browns, by using 
 Spanish brown and the umbers. Yellows and all its tints, 
 by using chrome yellow, or clay pulverized. Orange by 
 using a mixture of red and yellow. Green, by using blue 
 and yellow. And any color that can be produced by com- 
 bining any of the above colors. 
 
 That many are preferring hard wood for cornicing, pan- 
 elling, etc., instead of plaster for interior decoration of 
 rooms is apparent. And the public prefer ornamental wood 
 work rather than have their rooms defaced by unsightly 
 cracks, in work designed for a better purpose. That the 
 mechanic is often to blame for much of this inferior work- 
 manship and the improper manner in which the material is 
 prepared for interior decoration there is no question, and 
 
193 
 
 consequently he is the loser in an artistic sense; but by far 
 greater blame should be attached to those who employ the 
 mechanic, not giving him sufficient time to gauge his ma- 
 terial properly and to execute his workmanship in a thor- 
 ough manner, and, not having the mortars properly pre- 
 pared for him. It must be remarked, also, that the sub- 
 stantiality of ornamental plaster work depends too upon 
 the general character in which the structure in which it is 
 being used was erected— if the foundations were poorly put 
 down, no damp-proof courses, and the walls constructed of 
 inferior brick, poor mortar and large joints, and the timber 
 used of a green and unseasoned quality, surely the plast- 
 erer and workmanship should not be censured for the fail- 
 ure of tile interior decorative plaster work of a building of 
 this kind; and those who are paying for such work either 
 through their ignorance of constructive principles or their 
 penuridusness in not employing competent mechanics to 
 perform their work are in many cases to blame; for this 
 work will endure to the best satisfaction of its employment 
 for decorative purposes as many examples in the past testify 
 to its endurance, when, the building in which it has been 
 employed, was constructed from its foundation to its finish 
 in a thorough and workman like manner consistent with 
 the' true XDrinciples of scientific construction and the em- 
 ployment of the best materials for its stability and endur- 
 ance; and when the plaster has had sufficient time to ex- 
 clude the humidity occasioned by its use, impervious washes 
 have been applied to protect it against its absorbent nature, 
 and a protection for its future enrichments of tints and 
 colors. That decorative papering has attained to a high 
 state of perfection is evident, but will never satisfy those 
 who are genuine lovers of art in decoration, for at its best 
 it is simply imitations and not the real panelled arrange- 
 ments and broken surfaces they pretend to be. And for 
 sanitary purposes they rather increase than otherwise the 
 objection to dampness, as paper is absorbent; and the size 
 used in its manufacture, the glue, and the paste particularly, 
 are all more or less objectionable. u The old wainscotted 
 13 
 
194 
 
 rooms and relieved decorations in composition of the last 
 century were far more satisfactory, as expressing genuine' 
 ness at least; and there appears no good reason why a re- 
 turn to the same principle as respects wall decoration in 
 plaster should not be indulged in; at all events to an 
 extent applicable to modern wants and received notions in 
 style. Walls enriched in plaster-work might be made very 
 effective and pleasing; and the medium affords opportunity 
 for extensive and elaborate enrichment, where such might 
 be desired. Witness the character of the enrichments of 
 this kind in Moorish architecture, and the somewhat simi- 
 lar compositions applied to stone-work and wood- work in 
 mediaeval times as relieved ornament to plain surfaces.” 
 Metal Lath and Mastic Construction . — The use of plastic 
 material for exterior finish in modern building construc- 
 tion is not, strictly speaking, a novelty, although its 
 employment in this country is by no means general. 
 Examples of work of this kind, which are to be found in 
 various parts of the land, having been erected many years 
 ago, are in many cases unsatisfactory in evidences of dura- 
 bility, and for this reason architects and builders have been 
 loth to repeat the experiment. It should be explained, 
 how ever, that such buildings have been for the most part 
 inadequately constructed, and to a certain extent the lack 
 of dui ability of the exterior finish has been due to weak- 
 ness in the building itself and the material composing the 
 covering. The idea of using cement is, in some respects, 
 quite recent, but the best cement has not been used gen- 
 erally on account of its excessive cost. German Portland 
 cement, in the proportion of one of cement to two of sharp, 
 clean sand, has been used to good results. Great care 
 must be taken in the execution of the work that the conse- 
 cutive coats follow each other as rapidly as possible. Even 
 brackets on gables, the overhangs and lower course mold- 
 ings, as well as those about the arches of the porches, are 
 run, while the fascia work at the eaves, dentil and capital 
 moldings aie applied. Window sills and heads are also run 
 in place with this material, which may be colored and tinted 
 to suit the taste. Frame buildings covered with metal lath 
 
195 
 
 for the exterior with this cement forms a construction which 
 adds in a very large degree to the fire-proof qualities of 
 wooden buildings. The cement also lends itself readily to 
 moldings and to other architectural features, and if intelli- 
 gently applied goes to ornament the house as well as to 
 make it serviceable and durable. Heavy water-proof paper 
 prevents waste on the back of the lathing, while also check- 
 ing too rapid drying and setting of the cement. It is a 
 well-known fact that this Portland cement becomes hard 
 and durable like artificial stone, and when employed in the 
 manner indicated above, it is practically impossible to tear 
 it from the strong steel netting to which it is applied with- 
 out the use of tools. 
 
 A new style of wall and ceiling plastering has been intro ■ 
 duced which claims to offer some advantages in ease and 
 speed in covering the walls and in securing the plastering 
 against falling, and fire. In place of spreading the plaster 
 on laths fixed to the wall, it is prepared in solid blocks or 
 slabs, and these are nailed to the rafters or joists. The 
 slabs are made of any convenient shape or size by a simple 
 process that may be carried on in buildings, or at the plas- 
 terer’s shop. A smooth, hard surface is prepared, and a 
 sloping edge is set up to give the slabs a beveled edge, and 
 on this is spread a layer of plaster of Paris. Upon this, 
 and securely bedded in it, is spread a sheet of canvas or 
 other heavy fabric, or a layer of some loose fibres; laths 
 are then laid along two opposite sides of the slabs, and over 
 it all is spread a thick layer of common plastering mortar; 
 before this sets it is brushed over with a coarse broom to 
 give it a rough surface to make a key for the finishing coat 
 of mortar. When the mortar has set, and the slab is hard 
 and dry, it is raised to its place and fastened there by nails 
 driven through the laths. The finishing coat is then ap- 
 plied in the usual way, covering the division between the 
 slabs so that the surface is uniform. Such a system of 
 plastering has the advantage of quick and cleanly work, 
 but we should judge of no saving to cost, and making a 
 wall covering that will not fall in masses when wet, nor 
 take fire, as the laths are bedded in the plaster. 
 
196 
 
 Stucco or mastic panels might be formed on the exter- 
 ior of rural cottages by spreading on a background of reeds, 
 or on wattles, which should have the bark on so that the 
 moisture from the plaster will not expand the wood. This 
 panelling is best in coves and other positions not much ex- 
 posed. Intaglio decorations may be scraped in the plaster 
 and afterwards colored. Very pretty effects can be had by 
 sticking necks and bottoms of bottles, fancy shells, etc., 
 into the damp mortar so as to form patterns, or to repre- 
 sent flowers and plants cut into the plaster and then col- 
 ored afterwards. The play of light on many colored glass 
 so exposed is often very beautiful. 
 
 Scagliola is used in the formation of columns, walls and 
 ornamental works in imitation of marble, which is per- 
 formed with astonishing effect. In forming columns, a 
 frame or cradle is made of slips of wood, about two inches 
 and a half in diameter less than it is intended to be when 
 finished. This cradle is then lathed round, and covered 
 with a rough coat of lime and hair mortar. When this is 
 quite dry, the plasterer lays on the composition, which is 
 made to imitate the most beautiful and costly marbles, 
 and which when dry receives a high polish, and proves so 
 complete a deception, that nothing but a fracture of its 
 substance can discover the difference. The plaster used in 
 making the scagliola must be of the best plaster of Paris. 
 It is composed of plaster, with alum and some color mixed 
 into a paste, and afterwards beaten on a prepared surface 
 with fragments of marble and as many different shades 
 of color must be mixed up separately as there are in the 
 kind of marble to be imitated; the colors are put upon the 
 woik as it forms, by which means it becomes incorporated 
 with its substance; forming the veining appearance so 
 much admired. The workman, when the composition is 
 piopeily hardened, smooths the work with a pumice stone 
 with one hand, while with the other he washes it with a 
 sponge and water; he then polishes it with tripoli, charcoal 
 and a piece of fine linen ; then he polishes it with a piece 
 of felt, dipped in a mixture of oil and tripoli, finishing his 
 
197 
 
 operations with the application of pure oil laid on with 
 cotton wool. 
 
 The bases and capitals of these columns are generally of 
 real marble. 
 
 Scraffto is a modification of plaster filling where layers 
 of different colors are put on, and the scratching made deep 
 enough to reach the different colors as desired, just as 
 cameos are engraved. Specimens of this, centuries old and 
 still in good condition, are to be seen in Italy. The two 
 foregoing methods are almost untried in this country, but 
 they are successfully used in England, and there is no 
 reason why skillful mechanics should not introduce the 
 work in this country. Rough-cast plastering, with gravel 
 or pebbles thrown on it, is not an unknown here, but it is 
 generally used to cover the walls of inferior buildings. 
 Tastefully introduced in panel work it could be advanta- 
 geously used in good houses. It should not come near the 
 ground, as it would soak up moisture. Many believe the 
 less hard -finish on walls the better, and especially for sur- 
 face decoration the walls should be sand finished, which 
 gives texture to the work, just as rough paper does to a 
 water color. 
 
 It is well known that the above external rough-casting 
 of old timber houses was stamped or wrought in small de- 
 vices, known by the name of pargetting. Why not further 
 extend the art of decorative plastering by impressing the 
 common stucco with geometrical or other forms, and ap- 
 plied according to taste, either under string courses, cor- 
 nices, around arches, in spandrils, sapphites, or in large 
 masses of diapering; and texts may be imprinted on the 
 plaster instead of being simply painted on the walls. If 
 color be desired, it can be effected by mixing the desired 
 color with the coat forming the groundwork, then by lay- 
 ing the stencilled pattern against it, and filling in the solid 
 portions of the device with the ordinary stucco or plastei. 
 These patterns can be made so that they may be used 
 repeatedly. The process does not pretend to do more than 
 enliven wall surfaces, but for this purpose it can be made 
 very effective. 
 
198 
 
 Preparing Ground for Fresco Painting.— The wall to be 
 treated must contain no damp or decaying stones or bricks, 
 and the latter should be hard burned. If the wall be 
 already covered with stucco or mortar, this will serve as 
 the fiist ground, provided it be in a thoroughly sound 
 and dry condition, and it win then be sufficient to clean 
 and level it before applying the second, or painting ground. 
 If not, the stucco must be cleaned off, the bricks laid bare, 
 and the mortar between the bricks picked out to a depth 
 of about f inches. This more thorough preparation is 
 always preferrable in a work of greater importance, or 
 where special pains are advisable to secure durability, as, 
 for instance, when undertaking the exterior decoration of 
 a building. Upon this surface a thin squirting is cast, 
 composed of the following mortar: Course quartz sand^ 
 infusorial earth, and powdered marble, mixed in certain 
 proportions. Of this mixture four parts are taken to one 
 of quicklime, slaked with distilled water. Upon this 
 squirting-cast, the object of which is to secure adhesion to 
 the surface of the wall, follows mortar of the ordinary con- 
 sistency, composed of the same ingredients, to fill up all 
 inequalities and produce a smooth surface, and upon this 
 again the second, or painting ground, is applied. The 
 painting ground is composed of the finest white quartz 
 sand, marble sand artificially prepared and free from dust, 
 marble meal and calcined fossil meal (infurocial earth). 
 The sand composed of these materials, carefully mixed in 
 the proper proportions, is mixed with quicklime slaked 
 with distilled water, in the proportion of 8 parts sand to 1 
 of slaked lime. This mortar is applied to the wall as thin 
 as possible, not exceeding | to l inches in depth. When 
 coated with a stucco of this composition the wall presents 
 so hard a surface as to admit of sparks being struck from 
 it with a steel. It is absolutely essential that throughout 
 the work only distilled or filtered rain water be employed, 
 otherwise the painting would be impaired. When used on 
 the exterior of buildings as a mastic , pumice stone, in ad- 
 dition to the other ingredients of the mortar, is employed. 
 
 When the mortar is perfectly dry, down to the stone or 
 
199 
 
 brick of the wall, it is treated to a solution of hydro-fluo- 
 silicic acid, to remove the thin crust of crystallic lime car- 
 bonate which has formed on the surface, and thus to open 
 the pores. It is then soaked with 2 applications of potash 
 water — glues (potassium silicate) dilated with distilled 
 water, and when dry, the ground will be found hard, but 
 perfectly absorbent, and ready for painting. The ground 
 may be prepared in any tint or color that may be desired, 
 and, therefore, as a preparation in imitation of stone it can- 
 not be surpassed. 
 
 Carton-pierre. —This is a material used for the making 
 of raised ornaments for wall and roof decorations. It is 
 composed of the pulp of paper mixed with whiting and 
 glue, this being forced into plaster moulds backed with 
 paper, then removed to a drying-room to harden. It is 
 much stronger and lighter than common plaster of paris 
 ornaments, and is not so liable to chip or break if struck 
 with anything. 
 
 A beautiful plastic substance can be prepared by mixing 
 callodion with phosphate of lime. The phosphate should be 
 pure, or the color of the compound will be unsatisfactory. 
 On setting the mass is found to be hard and susceptible of a 
 fine polish. The material can be used extensively, applied 
 in modes that will suggest themselves to any intelligent 
 plasterer, to high class decoration. 
 
 Putty -lime . — This is made by slacking fat-lime in a barrel 
 or box with a small portion of water, and then sufficient 
 water is added to run the whole through a fine seive into a 
 box, where it is allowed to settle some time, the longer the 
 better, when it is kept covered with water that all the par- 
 ticles may be thoroughly slakened and prevent future pop- 
 ping in the walk and insure sound work. 
 
 Plaster of paris . — A new process in the manufacture of 
 plaster of paris has been announced, that is said to give ex- 
 cellent casts that set slowly, and are of a pure white color, 
 instead of the usual grayish white. The unburnt gypsum 
 is first immersed for fifteen minutes in water containing 
 ten per cent of sulphuric acid, and then calcined. 
 
 Sugar in plastering mortar. — A correspondent of the Sci- 
 
200 
 
 / 
 
 entific American has used beet sugar, costing four cents a 
 pounds, and all lumps mashed up before putting in the mor- 
 tar, where the sand was poor and loamy for plastering pur- 
 poses with good results. The mortar must be dry or stiff 
 when the sugar is put in, as it makes it very soft when 
 mixed thoroughly. It is put in the hair mortar only and 
 for the first coat, and use about forty pounds sugar for one 
 hundred yards. It does not color the white coat any, and 
 where good sand cannot be obtained for the purpose, as is 
 often the case, it may be used. 
 
 Sawdust in plastering . — Two western inventors have ob- 
 tained patents for the use of sawdust in place of sand in 
 plastering mortar. One of the patents is for the use of 
 equal parts of plaster of paris or cement and sawdust, with 
 the ordinary amount of plastering hair and water, and the 
 other calls for the use of about 4£ pounds each of slaked 
 lime and sawdust to 1 pound of plaster of paris, and a £ 
 pound of glue, and T V of a pound of glycerine with plasterer’s 
 hair. Sifted sawdust has before been used to some extent 
 by experienced workmen for mixing mortar for plastering 
 external walls, exposed to the alternate action of water and 
 frost, as a preventive of scaling. Certainly the experiment 
 of introducing sawdust in place of sand in mortar is worth 
 trying, for in many places sharp sand suitable for the pur- 
 pose is difficult to obtain. 
 
 In plastering the ceilings of the fire-proof houses in 
 Chicago the following method is pursued: The joists of 
 f the floor having been laid, strong iron wire is nailed to the 
 lower sides of the timbers at distances of a few inches so 
 as to make a course netting in place of lathing. Woven 
 wire netting has been found in other cities to be much bet- 
 ter. A movable platform of convenient size is brought 
 under the joists and raised by screws to within an inch and 
 a half of the wires. Prepared concrete is then poured 
 down from the floor above till the space between the beams 
 and the top of the table is filled. As soon as the concrete 
 is set, the platform is lowered and rolled away, and when 
 flry the plastering is sufficiently strong to support the 
 weight of a man upon it. The underside of the plastering 
 
201 
 
 is then ready for the usual hard finish. The concrete is 
 composed of 50 parts cinders, crushed slag, or pounded 
 bricks, 25 parts good common hair mortar, and 25 parts 
 strong plaster of Paris. 
 
 A fire-proof plaster composed of one part talc and three 
 of plaster of Paris is also used for fire-proofing the interior 
 of buildings. 
 
 Portland cement stucco is a mixture of Portland cement 
 and chalk. It is of good color and close texture; weaker 
 than Portland cement, but not so liable to crack. 
 
 It may be used for the best class of internal plastering, 
 and, as they set very quickly, they can be painted within 
 a few hours, which is a great advantage. They are ca- 
 pable of receiving a very high polish, to obtain which the 
 surface is rubbed down with grit-stones of various degrees 
 of courseness; afterwards stopped or laid over with semi- 
 liquid neat cement which fills up the pores; rubbed again 
 with snake-stone, and finished with putty powder. These 
 plasters should not be used in situations much exposed to 
 the weather, on account of their solubility. 
 
 Cement or mastic for outside walls. — Indeed, there is no 
 subject hitherto so little understood by the majority of our 
 practical masons as that of cements suitable for resisting 
 the attacks of the weather on exterior walls. However, 
 there are a number of cements that will resist the weather 
 for a long time, if they be properly incorporated and laid 
 on. Mr. Downing says the frequent failures in exterior 
 cements arise, 1st. From the use of sand composed of 
 rounded worn particles, mixed with earthy matter; 2d. 
 From the employment of hydraulic cements of inferior or 
 unsuitable quality; 3d. From the use of poor lime; and 4th. 
 From the imperfect mixture and application of the ma- 
 terials. In making the cement choose a hydraulic lime 
 that has been thoroughly tested, and is known to be well 
 adapted to resist the weather in the air, as well as under 
 water, and let it be perfectly fresh, as it will be nearly 
 worthless if it has been long prepared. 
 
 The very best and purest lime should also be selected, of 
 the greatest tenacity in mortar, and such as will slacken 
 
202 
 
 thoroughly throughout. Especial pains should also be 
 taken to procure sharp angular sand , which, if not perfectly 
 clean , must be freed from any admixture of earthy parti- 
 cles, by repeated washing. Let the lime be thoroughly 
 slaked, and a good mortar made of sufficient quantity for 
 the whole of the work, of the lime and sand. When the 
 masons are ready for plastering, open one of the casks of 
 cement, and mix the latter in equal proportions with the 
 mortar, making a hod of the mixture at a time, as it would 
 otherwise partially set before it could be used. Only one 
 coat of cement should be put on, as it will then form one 
 homogenous mass with the wall In finishing the surface, 
 float it off as smoothly as possible, and mark it off in 
 courses to resemble stone, coloring it while the cement is 
 yet only partially dry, so that the coloring matter may set 
 with the cement. In mixing the coloring material, choose 
 some of the ochres, or earthy colors, for a base, rendering 
 it liquid by the use of milk , and vary the tint by adding 
 other colors until the desired tint be obtained. In order to 
 protect the cement against moisture it is the practice of the 
 most successful plasterers to incorporate with the coloring 
 wash, or paint, a quantity of thick boiled grease or fatty 
 matter, in proportion of six or eight quarts to a half barrel 
 of the paint. The cement should be applied in fine weather, 
 free from frost, and it is better in all cases that buildings 
 to be covered with it should be finished in time to allow 
 them to become thoroughly dry before winter. 
 
 The common hydraulic cements of New York are unfit 
 for plastering the exterior of houses, and many persons who 
 have personally seen these employed (mixed perhaps with 
 dirty, instead of sharp, clean sand) suppose that all cements 
 are equally liable to crumble by exposure to damp and 
 frost. The cement (or hydraulic limes) of Connecticut and 
 Pennsylvania are greatly superior for stucco, or external 
 plastering, becoming, when well applied, nearly as firm and 
 durable as stone. — [Downing.] 
 
 Portland cement of the best quality, thoroughly mixed 
 with an equal quantity of clean, sharp sand, and perhaps, 
 one-fourth as much saw-dust. Brush and wash the wall 
 
203 
 
 off thoroughly, roughen it by hacking, unless it already 
 presents a good key for the plastering. If well done, the 
 mortar will last as long as tho brick and will never come 
 off. Do not paint it until the whole is well dried out, 
 which will take two or three months, as the paint will blis- 
 ter if put on over the damp work. 
 
 The best quality of Rosendale cement may be used in 
 place of Portland at half cost, but is not half as good for 
 the purpose. (See Mortars.) 
 
 Whitewash , Kalsomine and Coloring. — Whitewash is 
 made from pure white lime mixed with water. It is used 
 for common walls and ceilings, especially where for sani- 
 tary reasons, a frequent fresh application is considered pref- 
 erable to any coating that would last better. It readily 
 comes off when rubbed, will not stand rain, nor adhere well 
 to very smooth or non-porous surfaces. It is cheap, and 
 when used for sanitary purposes should be made up of hot 
 lime and applied at once, under which conditions it adhers 
 better. It is improved by adding 1 pound pure tallow 
 (free from salt), or one pint linseed oil to every bushel of 
 lime. The process is generally described as lime whiting. 
 
 Common coloring is prepared by adding earthy pigments 
 to the mixtures used for lime whiting. The following pro- 
 portions maybe used per bushel of lime; more or less ac- 
 cording to the tint required: Cream color, 4 to 6 pounds 
 
 ochre; fawn color, 6 to 8 pounds umber, 2 pounds Indian 
 red, 2 pounds lamp-black; buff or stone color, 6 to 8 pounds 
 umber, and 3 to 4 pounds lamp-black, dissolved in alcohol, 
 the pigments should be soaked well at least 24 hours before 
 being added to the lime wash. 
 
 Kalsomine is the name for all coloring mixed with water 
 and size. 
 
 While kalsomine is a mixture of whiting and size, the 
 best way of mixing is as follows: Take 6 lbs. best whit- 
 ing and soak it in soft water sufficient to cover it for 
 several hours. Pour off the water and stir the whiting 
 into a smooth paste, strain the material, and add 1 qt. 
 size in state of weak jelly; mix carefully, not breaking 
 the lumps of jelly, then strain through muslin before using; 
 
204 
 
 leave in a cold place, and the material will become a jelly, 
 which is diluted with water when required for use. Some- 
 times add about \ tablespoonfnl of blue black before the 
 size is added. It is sometimes directed that the size should 
 be used hot, but in that case it does not work so smootly 
 as used in the condition of cold jelly, but on the contrary 
 drags and becomes crumpled, thus causing a rough sur- 
 face. When the white is required to be very bright and 
 clean, potato starch is used instead of the size. 
 
 Colored kalsomine is tinted with the same pigments as 
 are used for colored paints, whiting being used as a basis 
 instead of white lead or zinc white. In mixing the tints, 
 whiting is first prepared, then the coloring pigments, the 
 latter being introduced sparingly; size is added, and the 
 mixture is strained. The colors are classed as common , 
 superior and delicate. If the ceiling is new, nothing 
 further is required than a coat of good Paris white (whit- 
 ing of a superior kind) with just sufficient glue-size added 
 to bind it, provided the finishing plastering was of good 
 workmanship; but if inferior and very porous, it will re- 
 quire a preparation of strong size, soft-soap and a handful 
 of plaster of Paris. For old ceilings, all the previous 
 whiting, etc., must be thoroughly washed off with an old 
 white-wash brush or sponge and hot water, and allowed 
 to dry before re-whiting. When this is done, if the ceil- 
 ing is hot, i. e., porous, and soaks in the moisture very 
 quickly, it must be prepared with a mixture of one. hand- 
 ful of lime, the same of whiting, \ lb. glue, \ lb. soft-soap, 
 and if smoky or damp, about 2 oz. alum, to make a pail £ 
 full TV hen this is dry, it is ready for the finish. Use the 
 preparation thin. 
 
 Before putting on the whiting or kalsomine shut all 
 doors and windows to exclude the draught, take a sweep 
 right across the room, and continue till finished. If two 
 are engaged in it so much the better, as it requires to be 
 done quickly; be careful to cover well or you will not make 
 a nice job. When finished, the doors and windows can be 
 opened, as the sooner it dries after it is once on the more 
 even and solid it will look. For whiting and coloring 
 
205 
 
 walls, great care is required in preparing them if old; all 
 the old stuff is to be cleaned off, well rubbed down with 
 dry lump pumice, all holes well and evenly stopped with 
 plaster of Paris, and a preparation of strong size, whiting 
 and alum thickly laid on of the color you are going to 
 finish, but a little darker in shade. When this is well 
 dry, rub it well down to a good level and smooth face with 
 lump pumice, or course sand paper. The finishing coat 
 may be made in the same way for the ceilings; but if 
 exposed to the liability of being touched or rubbed against, 
 a little more or stronger size is to be used; and if in any 
 way to damp, a little alum. To get any of the colors 
 required, it is necessary to get the dry powders and rub up 
 with the whiting prior to mixing with size, adding by de- 
 grees till the required depth of tone is arrived at. For the 
 different shades of drab or stone color, yellow ochre, umber, 
 black and red are used. For shades of blue, from the French 
 grey to sky blue, ultramarine, etc. If glue is employed 
 to give body, it is destroyed by the corrosive action of the 
 lime, and in consequence the latter easily rubs off the walls 
 when dry. This is the case also if the lime is employed, as 
 is often absurdly recommended, simply slaked in water, 
 and used without any fixing material. 
 
 The colors most commonly mixed with whiting to pro- 
 duce the various tints are as follows: Straw color may be 
 made with white and masticot, or Dutch pink; fine grays, 
 with white and refiners veroditie; and inferior grey may be 
 compounded with blue black or bone black, and damp blue 
 or indigo,* pea-greens w r itli French greens, Olympian green; 
 and fawn color, with burnt sienna or burnt umber, or 
 white, crome yellow, with yellow ochre, and so of any in- 
 termediate tint. All the colors used in distemper should 
 be ground very fine, so as to insure the most minute divi- 
 sions of their particles. When the old plastering has be- 
 come discolored with stains, and it be desired to have it 
 colored, it is advisable to give the old plaster, when properly 
 cleaned off and prepared, one coat at least of white lead 
 ground in oil, and used with spirits of turpentine, which 
 
 
206 
 
 will generally cover all old stains, and, when quite dry, will 
 take the water color very nicely. 
 
 When it is required of the mason to mix tints for kalso- 
 mine, the following combination of colors may be referred 
 to, to produce the required tint, of course whiting being 
 the basis of them all, the amount of which to use depend- 
 ing upon the tint sought: 
 
 For Buff — White, yellow ochre, red. 
 
 For Chestnut— Red, black, yellow. 
 
 For Chocolate — Raw umber, red, black. 
 
 For Claret — Red, umber, black. 
 
 For Copper — Red, yellow, black. 
 
 For Dove — White, vermillion, blue, yellow. 
 
 For Drab— White, yellow ochre, red, black. 
 
 For Fawn — White, yellow, red. 
 
 For Flesh — White, yellow ochre, vermillion. 
 
 For Freestone— Red, black, yellow, white. 
 
 For French Gray — White, Prussian blue, lake. 
 
 For Gray — White, black. 
 
 For Green Bronze — Chrome green, black, yellow. 
 
 For Pea Green — White, chrome green. 
 
 For Lemon — White, chrome yellow. 
 
 For Limestone — White, yellow ochre, black, red. 
 
 For Olive— White, yellow, blue, black. 
 
 For Orange — Yellow, red. 
 
 For Peach — White, vermillion. 
 
 For Pearl-White, black, blue. 
 
 For Pink — White, vermillion, lake. 
 
 For Purple— Violet, with more red and white. 
 
 For Rose — White, madder lake. 
 
 For Sandstone— White, yellow orchre, black, red. 
 
 For Snuff — Yellow, Vandyke brown. 
 
 For Violet — Red, blue, white. 
 
 Washes. The following washes will be found useful 
 
 to the plasterers and masons generally : 
 
 \Vasli6s used on the Croton resorvoir, N. Y., and proved 
 to be impervious to water. The process consists in using 
 two washes or solutions for covering the surface of brick 
 
207 
 
 walls; one composed of castile soap and water; and one of 
 alum and water. The proportions are: f- pound soap to 1 
 gallon water; and half pound alum to 4 gallons water; 
 both substances to be perfectly dissolved in water before 
 being used. The wall should be perfectly clean and dry; 
 and the temperature of the air should not be below 50 de- 
 grees Fahrenheit, when the compositions are applied. The 
 first, or soap wash, should be laid on when at boiling heat, 
 with a flat brush, taking care not to form a forth on the 
 brick work. 
 
 This wash should remain 24 hours, so as to become dry 
 and hard before the alum wash is applied; which should be 
 done in the same manner as the first. 
 
 The temperature of this wash when applied may be 60° 
 or 70°; and it should also remain 24 hours before the second 
 coat of the soap wash is put on; and these coats are to be 
 repeated alternately until the walls are made impervious to 
 water. — Trautwine, C. E. 
 
 Painting on cement . — According to a French journal, it 
 is known that the caustic lime that is not in a state of com- 
 bination in cement saponifies the oil used in painting; con- 
 sequently, painting on cement is only practical when, under 
 the influence of the air, carbonic acid has united with the 
 caustic lime to form carbonate of lime. When it is desired 
 to paint cement without delay, attempts are made to neu- 
 tralize the lime by acids; but the above journal recom- 
 mends in preference carbonate of ammonia, the acid of 
 which combines with the lime while the acid is liberated. 
 The effect produced is however, only superficial. Various 
 other expedients are referred to, but the solution of the 
 problem would seem to consist in the use of caseine. Fresh 
 white cheese and slaked fat lime are added to the color. 
 This mixture hardens rapidly, assumes the consistency of 
 stone, and insoluble in water, a formation of albuminate of 
 lime taking place. It is according to this system that the 
 mural paintings at the Berlin war museum were executed. 
 To make composition, three parts of cheese and one of 
 slaked fat lime are stirred, the quantity of color to be added 
 being regulated by practice. Only earth colors or oxides of 
 
208 
 
 iron WQuld be used for light red to dark brown shades; for 
 blue, ultramarine or cobalt blue would be used: for white, 
 oxide of zinc or sulphate of baryta; and for black, animal 
 black. Inorganic colors, such as those of aniline, would 
 not be used. Prussian blue, Vermillion, blue ochre and 
 white lead not to be employed on account of the injurious 
 effects of the sulphur present in the cheese in combination 
 with these substances. If the painting surface is too dry, 
 it can easily be damped. The caseous lime should be pre- 
 pared daily, and the brushes should be cleaned after the 
 applicatian of each coat of paint. The process thus des- 
 cribed is recommended for its economy. The caseous paint 
 does not easily take fire, and is, therefore, considered partic- 
 ularly suitable for theaters, halls and churches. 
 
 Zinc Kalsomine is composed of zinc white mixed with 
 water and glue sizing. The surface to which it is to be ap- 
 plied must be clean and smooth. For ceilings mix ^ lb. 
 glue with 15 lbs. zinc; for walls 1 lb. glue with 15 lbs. zinc. 
 The glue, the night before its use, should be soaked in 
 water, and in the morning liquified on the fire. Paris white 
 is often used, but it is not the genuine article. The zinc 
 kalsomine mixture may be colored to any required tint by 
 mixing appropriate coloring matter with it. 
 
 Wash for brickwork , masonry , mastic , rough-cast , etc. 
 
 • — Slack ^ bushel lime in a tight barrel by pouring over it 
 boiling water sufficient to cover it 4 or five inches deep ? 
 stirring it until slaked; then fill the barrel f full of water, 
 and add a bushel of hydraulic cement. Add 8 pounds of 
 sulphate of zinc, previously dissolved in water. 
 
 It may be colored by adding powdered ochre, Indian red, 
 umber, etc. It is improved by adding to it a peck of white 
 sand, stirred in before being used. Use best quality of 
 Portland cement for all exterior washes of masonry, which 
 is a good wash in itself. 
 
 Wash for brickwork. — Apply two coats of Pansome’ s 
 Patent Liquid Glass to surface of brickwork, it is most 
 effective in preventing damp from penetrating through the 
 wall, and will not discolor the bricks; also to make brick 
 or stone walls impervious to wet, wash the walls with a hot 
 
209 
 
 solution of f pound of mottled or soft soap in a gallon of 
 water, laid evenly with a brush. As soon as this is dry, an- 
 other coat composed of f pound alum thoroughly dissolved 
 in three gallons of water. Fair weather should be selected 
 for the work. 
 
 Porous bricks have been effectively weathered by this 
 process. 
 
 Coal tar wash for masonry . — Coal tar has recently come 
 into extensive use abroad as a means of rendering masonry 
 impervious to water, especially in positions exposed to dir- 
 ect contact with water. The tar is employed in a boiling 
 state in one or more layers, or it may be made to flame up 
 before being used. 
 
 The first is suitable for surfaces exposed to the air, while 
 the second is appropriate to parts intended to be covered 
 up. This method of treating foundations is of special ap- 
 plication in all public buildings, especially those designed 
 for the preservation of works of art. It prevents the dis- 
 agreeable consequences of the exudations of water charged 
 with lime salts from the mortar. 
 
 To whiten or color over smoked stained walls, make a 
 wash with about ten cents worth of white vitriol, pulver- 
 ized, in two quarts of water; wash the walls with this 
 solution and let it dry over night, when you may apply 
 your other wash. 
 
 A wash that is made of \ pound diluted glue and 5 pounds 
 of plaster of Paris, kept well stirred while being applied, 
 will cover a room 15 x 18 feet. To cover over old ceilings 
 and walls with a wash of alum water composed of about a 
 piece of alum as big as an egg pulverized and diluted with 
 water, 1 pint of plaster of Paris, and i pint of soft soap for 
 a pailful, well stirred while being used, generally answers; 
 if the stains still show through the first coat of kalsomine 
 give that another coat of the wash, thinner, and the second 
 coat will come out all right. To walls that are damp in- 
 tended to be kalsomined apply this wash first. 
 
 A water-proof compound for brickwork : Dissolve soft 
 
 paraffin wax in benzoline spirit in the proportion of about 
 14 
 
210 
 
 one part of the former to four to five parts of the latter by 
 weight. 
 
 Into a tin keg place one gallon of benzoline spirit, then 
 mix pounds or two pounds of wax, and when well hot 
 pbur into the pail. Apply the solution to the walls whilst 
 warm with a white -wash brush. To prevent the solution 
 from chilling, it is best to place the tin in a pail of warm 
 water, but on no account should the spirit be brought 
 into the house or near a light or a serious accident might 
 occur. 
 
 Fire-proofing exterior surfaces . — It is found that a most 
 effective composition for fire-proofing exterior surfaces may 
 be made by slacking a sufficient quantity of freshly-burnt 
 quick-lime of the best grade, and when the slacking has 
 become complete, adding such an amount of skim milk or 
 water in its absence as will make a liquid of the consist- 
 ency of cream. To every ten gallons of this liquid are 
 added separately and in powder aud with constant stirring 
 the following ingredients in the order named: Two pounds 
 of alum, 21 ounces subcarbonate of potassium or commer- 
 cial potash and one pound of common salt. If white paint 
 is desired no further addition is made to the liquid though 
 the whiteness is found to be improved by a few ounces of 
 plaster of Paris. Lamp black has the effect of giving a 
 number of shades from slate color to black. But whatever 
 tint is used it is incorporated at this stage, and the whole 
 after being strained through a sieve, is run through a 
 paint- mill. When ready to apply the paint is heated nearly 
 to the boiling point of water and is put on in its hot con- 
 dition. It is also found that the addition of a quantity of 
 fine white sand to this composition renders it a valuable 
 covering for roofs and crumbling brick walls. 
 
 M. Sarel, of Paris, has made an invention which is pro- 
 nounced better than plaster of Paris for coating the walls 
 and ceilings of rooms. A coat of oxide of zinc, mixed 
 with size, made up like a wash, is first laid on, and over 
 that a coat of chloride of zinc is applied in the same way 
 as the first wash. The oxide and chloride effect an imme- 
 diate combination, and form a kind of cement, smooth and 
 
211 
 
 polished as glass, and possessing the advantages of oil 
 paint without the disadvantages of smell. 
 
 A red wash. — To remove the green that gathers on bricks, 
 pour over the bricks boiling water in which any vegetables, 
 not greasy, have been boiled. Do this for a few days. To 
 color them red again melt 1 oz. glue in a gallon of water; 
 while hot, put in a piece of alum the size of an egg, \ lb. 
 Venetian red and 1 lb. Spanish brown. Try a little on the 
 bricks, let it dry, and if too light add more red and brown; 
 if too dark, put in more water. 
 
 Fire-proof white-wash. — Make ordinary white-wash and 
 add 1 pint silicate of soda or potash to every 5 parts of the 
 white-wash. 
 
 White-wash that will not rub off. — Mix up a half a pailful 
 of lime and water ready to put on the wall; then take \ pt. 
 of flour, mix it up with water; then pour on it boiling 
 water, a sufficient quantity to thicken it; then pour it while 
 hot into the white-wash, stir all well together, and it is 
 ready for use. 
 
 To make glue sizing. — Break up the glue into small 
 pieces, put it in a vessel with sufficient cold water to just 
 cover it; let it soak over night, and in the morning the glue 
 will be soft enough to melt readily with a moderate heat, 
 or. in a water bath. Never boil it, or you will, in a measure, 
 destroy it altogether; 3 ounces of glue to one gallon of 
 water. Be sure that the glue is all dissolved before using 
 any of it. If a wall is to be painted or kalsomined that 
 has never been washed, or even washed, size it with two 
 coats of the size. Let the first coat dry before the second 
 is put on. 
 
 Washes for blackboards. — Incorporate flour-emerv with 
 shellec varnish, adding sufficient lamp black to give the 
 required color. If too thick, reduce its consistency with 
 alcohol. This varnish, applied to the surface of wood with 
 a camel’s hair varnish brush, produces an excellent black 
 writing surface; or pulverized slate or quartz rock mois- 
 tened to the consistency of a thick fluid with silicate of 
 soda (water-glass of commerce), and applied to the boards 
 
212 
 
 
 by means of a brush; or merely paints, such as asphaltum 
 or grahamite dissolved in petroleum naptha. 
 
 Whitewash that will Stand Washing. — The following for 
 a wash which can be applied to lime walls and afterward 
 become water-proof so as to bear washing: Mix together 
 the powder from three parts of silicious (quartz);, three 
 parts marble dust and sandstone, also two parts of burned 
 porcelain clay, with two parts freshly slaked lime still warm. 
 In this way a wash is made which forms a silicate if often 
 wetted, and becomes after a time almost like stone. The 
 four constituents mixed together give the ground color to 
 which any pigment that can be used with lime is added. 
 It is applied quite thickly to the wall or other surface, let it 
 dry one day, and the next day frequently cover with 
 water, which makes it water-proof. This wash can be 
 cleaned with water without losing any of its color; on the 
 contrary, each time it gets harder, so that it can even be 
 brushed, while its porosity makes it look soft. The wash 
 can be used for ordinary purposes as well as for the finest 
 painting. A so-called fresco surface can be prepared with 
 it in the dry way. 
 
 Wash for Whited Brick Walls. — In an interesting article 
 published in The Builder on the efflorescence of brickwork, 
 H. C. Standage suggests a very cheap and simple remedy. 
 He says that the white discoloration that appears on the 
 surface of brick walls is derived from soluble salt of sodium 
 in the mortar. Mr. Standage says: “ Acting on the hint 
 conveyed by the fact that the excess of sodic hydrate in 
 soap-making is expelled from the soap by salting it, i. e., 
 strewing the surface of the soap as it floats on the lye with 
 common salt (soda chloride), he applied a solution of com- 
 mon salt to the white efflorescence on the bricks that were 
 badly stained therewith. In every instance where such 
 fluid was applied the white efflorescence was instantly 
 removed; and what is more, has never reappeared. In ob- 
 stinate cases three applications, or one application, well satu- 
 rating the bricks with the common salt solution, has sufficed 
 to affect the desired result.” 
 
 To Clean Marble. — Brush tlje dust off with a piece of 
 
213 
 
 chamois, then apply with a brush a goou coat of gum 
 arabic, about the consistency of thick mucilage, expose it 
 to the sun or wind to dry. In a short time it will pull off; 
 wash it with clean water and a clean cloth. If the first ap- 
 plication does not have the desired effect, it should be tried 
 again. Another method is to rub the marble with the fol- 
 lowing solution: One-quarter of a pound of soft soap, one 
 quarter of a pound of whiting, and one ounce of soda and 
 a piece of stone blue the size of a walnut; rub it over the 
 marble w r ith a piece of flannel, and leave it on for twenty- 
 four hours; then wash it off with clean water, and polish 
 the marble with a piece of flannel or an old piece of felt, or 
 take two parts of common soda, one part of pumice stone, 
 and one part of finely powdered chalk, sift it through a fine 
 sieve, and mix it with water; then rub it well over the 
 marble; then wash the marble over with soap and water. 
 To take the stains out of white marble, take one ounce of 
 ox gall, one gill of lye, one and a half tablespoonfuls of 
 turpentine; mix and make into a paste with pipe clay; put 
 on the paste over the stain, and let it remain for several 
 days. To remove oil stains, apply common clay saturated 
 with benzine If the grease has remained in long the polish 
 will be injured but the stain will be removed. Iron mould 
 or ink spots may be taken out in the following manner: 
 Take ^ ounce of butter of antimony and 1 ounce of oxalic 
 acid and dissolve them in one pint of rain water; add 
 enough flour to bring the mixture to a proper consistency. 
 Set it evenly on the stained part with a brush, and after it 
 has remained for a few days wash it off, and repeat the 
 process if the stain be not wholly removed. 
 
 Sand in building is chiefly used as an ingredient in mor- 
 tar, and is known as argillaceous, silicious or calcareous 
 according to its ingredients. It is procured from pits, shores 
 of rivers, sea-shores, etc. 
 
 Pit sand has an angular grain, and a porous, rough sur- 
 face, which make it good for mortar, when free from im- 
 purities. River sand is not so sharp or angular in its grit, 
 and is, therefore, well suited for plastering. Sea sand is 
 not fit for building purposes, as it contains alkaline salts, 
 
214 
 
 which attract moisture, and it can hardly be washed free 
 from them. Sand should be well screened when the 
 strength of the mortar is taken into consideration. 
 
 Sand found to contain impurities such as clay, loam, etc., 
 should be washed and the impurities carried off. 
 
 Sand which contain these impurities can be detected by 
 rubbing the sand between the moist hands, and will leave 
 no slain when it is of a pure quality. Salts can be de- 
 tected by the taste. 
 
 Staining bricks red and black. — For staining bricks red, 
 melt one ounce of glue in one gallon of water; add a piece 
 of alum the size of an egg, then one pound of Venetian red 
 and one pound of Spanish brown. Try the color on the 
 bricks before using them, and change to light or dark with 
 the red or brown, using a yellow mineral for buff. For 
 coloring black, pint of asphaltum to a fluid state, and mod- 
 erately heat true surface bricks and dip them. Tar and 
 asphalt are also used for the same purpose. It is important 
 that the bricks be sufficiently hot, and be held in the mix- 
 ture to absorb the color to the depth of TIT of an inch. 
 
 Sill. — The stone, iron, or wood, on which the window or 
 door of a building rests. In setting stone sills the mason 
 beds the ends only, the middle is pointed up after the build- 
 ing is inclosed, they should be set perfectly level, and have 
 an inclination for the water to flow from the frame and 
 have a projection from the the line of the building. 
 
 The strength of manilla ropes , like that of bar iron, is 
 very variable; and so with hemp ones. Ropes of good Ital- 
 ian hemp are considered stronger than manilla; but their 
 cost excludes them from general use. The tarring of ropes 
 is said to lessen their strength, and, when exposed to 
 weather thsir durability also. We believe that the use of 
 it in standing rigging is partly to diminish contraction and 
 expansion by alternate wet and dry weather, The common 
 rule for findieg the strength of ropes, by multiplying the 
 square of the diameter, or the circumference by a given co- 
 efficient are entirely erroneous. Well made ropes vary in 
 strength, that of f of an inch in circumference will break 
 at 560 pounds, and one of 14 inches in circumference, or 
 
215 
 
 4~iVo inches in diameter, at 37 tons or 82,880 pounds. A 
 rope 3 inches in circumference, will break at 6,115 pounds, 
 one 2 inches in diameter at 29,120 pounds. 
 
 Terra cotta , which although it has been long known, is 
 really brick material, but brick of the highest quality, pro- 
 duced from the purest and best clay, and moulded and 
 burnt with the greatest care. Thus produced, the mater- 
 ial lays claim, and with justice, to a high place as a build- 
 ing material, and is capable even, at least in many cases, 
 of supplanting stone, this being more especially true where 
 ornamentation is to be carried out to any extent; the orna- 
 ments in terra cotta, well moulded, being produced at a 
 much cheaper rate than the ornaments cut by hand with 
 stone. Terra cotta possesses a hard and dense body, with 
 a fine surface quite untouchable by any of the causes which 
 bring about decay in stone, and possesses moreover a beau- 
 tifully diversified, or, what may be called, a grained-colored 
 surface, which vies with that of rich and old marble. 
 
 Terra cotta is subject to unequal shrinkage in burning, 
 which sometimes causes the pieces to be twisted. When 
 this is the case, great care must be taken in fixing the 
 blocks, otherwise the long lines of a building, such as those 
 of the string-courses or cornices, which are intended to be 
 straight, are apt to be uneven, and the faces of blocks are 
 often in winding. 
 
 Twisted and warped blocks are sometimes set right by 
 chiselling, but this should be avoided, for if the vitrified 
 skin on the surface be removed, the material will not be 
 able to withstand the attacks of the atmosphere, etc. Terra 
 cotta is made in several colors, depending chiefly upon the 
 amount of heat it has gone through. White, pale grey, 
 pale yellow, or straw color, indicate a want of firing. Rich 
 yellow, pink, and bug varieties are generally well burnt. 
 
 A green hue is a sign of absorption of moisture, and of 
 bad material. A glazed surface can be given to terra cotta 
 if required. Inferior terra cotta is sometimes made by 
 overlaying a coarsely prepared common body with a thin 
 coating of a finer and more expensive clay. Unless these 
 bodies have been most carefully tested and assimilated in 
 
216 
 
 their contraction and expansion, they are sure in course 
 of time to destroy one another; that is, the inequality in 
 their shrinkage will cause hair cracks in the fine outer 
 skin, which will inevitably retain moisture, and cause the 
 surface layer to fall off in scales after winter frosts. An- 
 other very reprehensible custom is that of coating over the 
 clay, just before it goes into the kiln, with a thin wash of 
 some ochreish paint, mixed with finely ground clay, which 
 produces a sort of artificial bloom, very pretty looking for 
 the first year or two after the work is executed, but sure 
 to wear off before long. 
 
 Testing cement. — Rough testing of cement, as to enable a 
 workman to get a crude and imperfect idea of its value, is 
 easy, says the Popular Scientific Monthly. Enough of the pure 
 cement should be taken to make a ball an inch in diameter, 
 and mixed with just sufficient water to make it mould read- 
 ily and be rolled into a ball. Then it should be exposed to 
 the air and left for two hours. At the end of that time it 
 should be set; then it should be put into water and left. It 
 should grow gradually harder, and show no signs of crack- 
 ing or crumbling, even when left for ten days. Any cement 
 that does not endure this test is not of sufficiently good 
 quality to make satisfactory structures; any cement that 
 stands this properly will be generally satisfactory if prop • 
 erly used. In determining how to construct a building, a 
 series of tests is often required that shall show tensile, 
 breaking, twisting and crushing strength, and also adhe- 
 sion of the materials used for the mortar. No one of these 
 can be dispensed with, since material that will endure one 
 satisfactorily will often fail utterly in another, and hence 
 prove worthless for the use desired; but for general pur- 
 poses the test of cement which is the most valuable is that 
 which determines its tensile strength. 
 
 Proportions of chimney flues. — The old rule concerning 
 chimneys was to the effect that the flue should be tapered 
 to the top on the theory that, as the hot gases pass upward 
 they become cooled, and in the process of cooling, become 
 contracted. Also, that it was important to reduce the size 
 of the flue in proportion to the reduction in volume of the 
 
217 
 
 gases, as otherwise cold air from the top would descend and 
 till the vacancy caused by the contraction of the gases and 
 in this way the draft would be checked. Reasonable as this 
 theory seems practice has shown that cylindrical boiler or 
 furnace flues are, at least, as good as the tapered ones, and 
 within a few years practice engineers and architects of ex- 
 perience in such matters have shown a disposition to make 
 them slightly larger at the top than at the bottom, the in- 
 crease of diameter being, perhaps, £ inch to 10 or 12 feet. 
 Not long since a Swiss engineer made experiments to see 
 whether the facts bear out the old rule or support the mod- 
 ern practice. To make the test he built a chimney over a 
 furnace grate, the stack having two flues. One flue tapered 
 upward and the other downward, and the flues opened side 
 by side over the grate, with openings of the same size. On 
 lighting a fire on the grate with unlimited access of air 
 under it, the smoke was seen to issue nearly equally from 
 the top of both the flues, but with an unmistakeable prepond- 
 erance in favor of the flue which enlarged toward the top. 
 On partially shutting off the access of air to the fire, the 
 difference became much more marked; the current in the 
 flue tapering upward diminished, and finally stopped alto- 
 gether, the smoke finding its way entirely through the flue 
 with the wider top. 
 
 W alls. — Walls of permanent structures are almost exclu- 
 ively composed of either stone or brick, or both; and are 
 included in one general term masonry. The interior of the 
 wall is called filling, and when mortar in a thinnish condi- 
 tion is poured into, so as to fill up the interstices of the 
 stones, the operation is called grouting. The term course 
 is applied to each horizontal layer of stone or brick; if all 
 the stones in a layer are of equal thickness, it is termed reg- 
 ular coursing. Footings are the lower projecting courses, 
 resting on the foundations, usually not less than double the 
 width of the walls about in buildings, but for other walls, 
 the width depends upon the nature of the foundation as 
 well as the intended weight to be sustained. The stones for 
 footings should be chosen as can be conveniently obtained 
 and square stones are not so good as those which are rectan- 
 
218 
 
 gular in shape. It is not essential that the courses should 
 be of the same thickness; but it is essential, in order to pre- 
 vent unequal settlement, that all stones of the same course 
 should be of the same thickness. Rock foundations need 
 no extra width of wall. String courses or belting are upper 
 courses projecting slightly beyond the face of the wall. 
 Coping is the top courses, usually got out in considerable 
 lengths in comparison with stones in the rest of the work. 
 
 The beds of a stone or brick in a wall are the surfaces 
 on which they rest; the build is the upper bed on which 
 the stone above is placed; the interstices between the stones 
 are called joints. Stretchers are stones or bricks which 
 have their length disposed lengthwise in the wall; headers 
 have their length crosswise; quoins are the corners of a 
 wall; bond is the lapping of the stones or brick on each 
 other in the construction so as to tie the separate pieces 
 together. The most common bond of brick in this country 
 is to lay a certain number of stretching courses, and then a 
 heading course. Walls are composed of stones laid either 
 with or without mortar. The latter is called dry masonry, 
 rough wall is dry work with rough stones; if laid in mortar, 
 it is called rubble work, but frequently this term is made 
 to include all rough work. Cut stone is called ashlar ; if 
 only cut on beds and joints, it is called rock or quarry- 
 faced ashlar. Before forming or filling up the embank- 
 ment behind walls, it is a good precaution against future 
 accidents to allow the mortar of the work to be firmly set, 
 and a great point will be gained if the immediate back of 
 the wall for some depth is filled up with loose material, such 
 as broken bricks, stones, old mortar, sand, etc. Where 
 there is likely to be much moisture in the soil, it will be 
 advisable to set the work of the wall on hydraulic mortar; 
 and the whole area of the cellar should be covered with 
 concrete or asphalt, and if the former is used Portland 
 cement is the best to mix with it. Great care is necessary 
 in depositing and ramming the soil near the wall; the more 
 completely the soil can be made to slip, or have a ten- 
 dency to slip, from the wall the better. 
 
 Thickness of Walls. — Retaining walls are such as sustain 
 
219 
 
 a lateral pressure from an embankment or head of water. 
 The width of a retaining wall depends upon the height 
 of the embankment which it may have to sustain, and 
 the kind of earth of which it is composed (the steeper the 
 natural slope at which the earth would stand, the less the 
 thrust against the wall), and the comparative weight of the 
 earth and the masonry. To find the breadth of a wall laid 
 in mortar, multiply the whole height of the embankment 
 above the footings by x 2 o 8 0 V; for dry walls make the thick- 
 ness one-fourth more. Most retaining walls have an in- 
 clination or batter to the face, sometimes also the same in 
 the back, but offsets are more common. The usual batter 
 is from 1 to 3 inches horizontal for each foot vertical. To 
 determine the thickness of a wall having a batter, deter- 
 mine the width by the rule above, and make this width at 
 one-ninth of the height above the base. In most large 
 cities there are building acts in force to which all construc- 
 tions within their limits must conform. Walls built of 
 rubble should be somewhat thicker than those of brick; on 
 an average, at least, one-quarter thicker, but depending on 
 the character of the stone. Tile common form of cut-work 
 is to make the face ashlar, and back-up with rubble or 
 brick. When brick footings are used for walls they should 
 be carefully constructed of whole bricks, the hardest and 
 best burnt being selected. The bottom courses should be 
 double, and no back joints be allowed beyond the face of 
 upper work, except in double courses, the projections being 
 kept very slight (2 or 4 inches), or fracture of the footings 
 and consequent settlement of the wall will probably occur. 
 Mortar should be sparingly used; and sometimes footings 
 are laid dry. 
 
 Unequal settlement in walls . — From the earliest times of 
 construction there has invariably been this difficulty to be 
 overcome in the employment of separate and distinct ma- 
 terials, viz., the different manner in which they may be- 
 have under similar circumstances. It is often assumed that 
 they will act together, or that, even if their action is not 
 identical, it will be so insignificant in diversity of influence 
 
220 
 
 that there will be no necessity for taking any precaution to 
 guard against unforeseen contingencies. 
 
 Unequal settlement generally proceeds when employing 
 two different descriptions of material in the same struc- 
 ture, such as stone and brick, or by using two or more 
 varieties of work. If a wall, a pier, the abutment of a 
 bridge, or a house, be built entirely of brick, there can 
 no unequal settlement take place, unless the foundation 
 yield, which would cause cracks in the best structure ever 
 erected. But if a structure be erected partly of brick and 
 partly of stone, then, if the two materials be very unequally 
 distributed and badly bonded together, there is considerable 
 likelihood that there will be a settlement originating in the 
 vicinity of their union, and spreading gradually over the 
 entire building. The absolute difference of settlement be- 
 tween the two materials depends upon the much greater 
 number of joints that there are in the brickwork compared 
 with the stone work, especially in the backing up of the 
 latter with brick. Another fruitful source of the collapse 
 of piers and abutments in which two classes of work are 
 used is the want of bond between the facework and the 
 hearting or filling. It is manifest that if the bond be in- 
 sufficient, the facework is nothing more than a mere 
 veneering, and the least inequality of settlement would 
 cause the face to sheer clear off from the rest of the struc- 
 ture. Manifestly, too great care cannot be adopted in the 
 bonding in of rubble or brick work in the backing with 
 coursed ashlar-work in the face. If the stones in the face 
 be all stretchers and no headers, then there is no union be- 
 tween the face and the interior, and the structure as a 
 whole is defective, unsound and unreliable. To the use of 
 bad mortar, large joints and inferior workmanship, may be 
 attributed the downfall of many a building. The proper 
 use of iron is to employ it and make it available where 
 other means for effecting the desired object cannot be ob- 
 tained, but not to use it to the prejudice of more substan- 
 tial materials simply because there is a difficulty in getting 
 them put together so as to constitute sound and durable 
 work. 
 
221 
 
 Beton. — How walls are constructed with it. Specifically 
 the French word for concrete; a concrete the invention of 
 M. Coignet, composed usually of sand 5, lime 1, hydraulic 
 cement .25. The materials are mixed with a shovel, ground 
 violently in a tampering- mill, water being added sparingly 
 from time to time. The pug-mill has a vertical cylinder 
 and a shaft armed with knives spirally arranged, beneath 
 which is a cycloidal presser which drives the plastic below 
 out of holes in the bottom of the mill. This is carefully 
 and persistently rammed in molds, a stratum at a time till 
 the mould is full. The top of each stratum is deeply 
 scratched to bind its successor thereto. The molds are 
 coffers in situ , or ordinary molds, according to circum- 
 stances. 
 
 The reduction by ramming is very great, about 1, 7 to 1. 
 The resistance to crushing is 5,000 pounds to the square 
 inch; ten times that of a common mortar made of the 
 same materials and proportions. Sewers made on this 
 plan may have the centering removed in 8 hours, and in 4 
 and 5 days may be used. 
 
 Arches with a pitch of 1 in 10, have proportions: Sand 
 
 5, lime 1, hydraulic cement 5. In Paris, arches, floors, 
 foundations, barracks, and churches are made of this ma- 
 terial. 
 
 A dwelling of five stories in Paris is constructed of a sin- 
 gle mass of beton ; a staircase of the same material runs in 
 helicoidal form from the basement to the highest floor. 
 English recipe for making Beton: 
 
 Puzzolana 12, quicklime 9, sand 6, stone spalls 9, iron 
 scales 3, molded or mixed in a box. 
 
 M. Coignet erected a test arch at St. Denis, near Paris, 
 whose dimentions are as follows: Span, 196 feet; rise of 
 
 arch, 19 feet; cross section at the crown, 4 ft. x 3.25; cross 
 section at the springing, 6.5 x 6.5; specific gravity of the 
 material 2,200; weight of arch 260 tons. 
 
 The arch was constructed in six days being formed in 
 thin concentric layers. After it had reached what was 
 deemed a sufficient size, it was allowed to remain for 5 or 
 6 weeks, at the end of which time all extraneous supports 
 
222 
 
 were removed. This was several years ago, and it yet 
 stands uninjured, and promises to remain an enduring 
 monument of the skill of its constructor. The mason who 
 often has to handle concrete may judge from the forego- 
 ing to what perfection this material may be used, in the 
 construction of buildings, when the best materials are used 
 in its composition. 
 
 The Kansas City Architect and Builder has recently 
 given some good practical tests for selecting brick for sub- 
 stantial walls : 1 st, the power of resistance under pressure; 
 
 2 d, the appearance of the fracture which should present 
 an even texture, and a fine, brilliant grain, without cavi- 
 ties in the interior, and neither ribbony nor stony; 3rd, the 
 exterior, which should be smooth and regular, the angles 
 and edges sharp and straight. When the size of the bricks 
 is equal throughout the mass it is a proof that the brick 
 earth has been well prepared and the bricks generally well 
 made. A brick when struck should give forth a clear, ring- 
 ing sound. Good bricks are generally of a dark reddish 
 brown color, and sometimes they show vitrified spots on 
 the surface; it is not well, however, to depend too much on 
 this last fact, for it is often only an indication of the 
 amount of heat to which the brick has been subjected, 
 while the clay of which the bricks is made may be impure 
 and ill prepared. 
 
 Bad bricks are generally recognized by their reddish yel- 
 low color, but still more by the dull sound which they emit 
 when struck; their grain being soft they crumble easily 
 and absorb water with avidity. A good brick should not 
 absorb more than about 3 V of its own weight of water. It 
 should appear, and in reality be, dry. All brick that does 
 not take up any water at all is too much burned; the mor- 
 tar adheres to it imperfectly, but it is a good conductor of 
 heat. Such bricks may be used in damp soil and for pave- 
 ments. When a brick left in water either scales or swells 
 it is of bad quality and contains caustic lime. A brick 
 which being made red hot, and then having water poured 
 on it, does not crack, is of extraordinary and rare quality, 
 and those which have borne the effect of moisture and dry- 
 
223 
 
 ness during two or three winters without scaling or crack- 
 ing are excellent. In order to try if bricks will bear the 
 effect of frost, let one be boiled for half an hour in a solu- 
 tion of sulphate of soda, saturated cold, and then suspended 
 by a string over the vessel in which it has been boiled. In 
 24 hours the surface of the brick will be covered with small 
 crystals; the brick is then to be immersed again in the 
 solution until the crystals disappear, and again suspended, 
 repeating this operation for five days, the crystals reform- 
 ing after each immersion. If after this treatment a num- 
 ber of particles of brick are found at the bottom of the 
 vessel containing the solution, the bricks are incapable of 
 supporting the effects of frost. 
 
 The propriety of using mortar beds as thin as possible in 
 walls has been inculated in this book. In Roman and most 
 eastern work the joints in some instances were one, and one 
 and one-half inch thick, and when the mortar has Been 
 good, such buildings, after centuries of wear, have been 
 found sound and good, but we have no such faith in mortar 
 made in modern times. Mr. Rawlinson says: “As a gen- 
 eral rule, buildings whether of marble, limestone, sand- 
 stone, or of brick-work alone, or of brick and terra-cotta 
 combined, which are ornamental in character, must all 
 have thin joints and beds. Thick beds and joints of mor- 
 tar would destroy the harmony of design by deteriorating 
 the appearance of labor bestowed on the rich materials in 
 such buildings.” 
 
 Union of new and old brick . — In attaching any new work 
 to a building, every allowance must be made for the sink- 
 ing of the footings under pressure, and for tlie settlement 
 of masonry into itself. Thus, while it is necessary that a 
 vertical groove, or indent, be made in the old work, to re- 
 ceive a corresponding pier of the new, it is still more essen- 
 tial that a freedom for the downward motion of the latter 
 should be secured; otherwise if it be tightly toothed and 
 bonded into the old work, a fracture will take place. 
 
 To stay -lath walls.— In the construction of brick walls, 
 and especially walls backed up with brick having an ashlar 
 facing, too much caution cannot be exercised by the me- 
 
224 
 
 chanic that they remain perfectly plumb until the building 
 be properly inclosed. In building walls of the above des- 
 cription, a block, or piece of scantling should be laid dry in 
 the pier or wall at a proper distance from the floor joist, so 
 that a stay-lath may be fastened to it and nailed to the stay 
 lath on the floor joists, and a sufficient number of these as 
 the case may require. And to insure against the drawing 
 in of the walls as the construction progresses, none of these 
 stay -laths should be removed until the building is inclosed, 
 and, it becomes necessary to do so for the carpenter to lay 
 his floor. It must be remembered, that no matter how 
 caieful a mechanic may be in the vertical construction of a 
 brick wall, and especially where the joints are struck on 
 the face, or the wall be of ashlar facing, and the backing 
 up be either of brick or rubble, there is a natural tend- 
 ency for such work to draw inward, and the above precau- 
 tion should be resorted to.