state, in the following proportions, viz. of the cheese, or curd, four pounds; the lime twelve pounds; the sand eighty-four pounds; the water ten pounds. If the sand is not thoroughly dried, or the lime has got damp from the air, the quantity of water must be less than the above proportion; and, on the contrary, when the lime is used as soon as slaked, it may require more; so that the proper stiffness of the mortar, under those circumstances, will regulate the making of the composition.
As the goodness of this mortar depends on the preservation of the natural properties of the cheese, or curd, made use of, all those parts the least tainted or rotten must be rejected; and as the cheese, like the curd produced from skim-milk, is divested of its buttery and oily particles, and on that account possesses a powerful cohesive quality, which makes it better for this work than that made of milk in its rich and pure state; it is at all times to be bought of the wholesale cheese-mongers at a lower price than any other; and being more convenient than the curd, as that will require frequent making, is to be preferred to it, as well as to every other sort of cheese; for less of it is sufficient, only four pounds being allowed to the net hundred weight of all the solid ingredients; more than which might make the mortar too lively to keep in its place without bagging, but less should not be used; as that, on the other hand, would endanger its drying loose and gritty within its surface, hinder it from adhering properly to the walls, and thus reduce it to the level of common mortar. Many tedious and trivial rules are stated by the patentee, relative to the manner of applying this cement, and its preservation in boxes for ready use. Those who wish to acquire additional information concerning this subject, may find the specification of the patent, at full length, in the third volume of the "Repertory of Arts and Manufactures."
In July, 1796, Mr. H. Walker, of Thurmaston, Leicestershire, procured a patent for his invention of a method, by which houses and other buildings, of any description or dimensions, might be erected in one entire mass or body, at a much easier expence, especially in the articles of timber, lime, and workmanship, and which would be equally as durable in themselves, and less liable to accidents by fire, than buildings erected upon the common construction. His process is as follows:
1. The patentee takes an argillaceous earth or natural clay, which he purifies by the usual well-known methods, and compounds it with sand, or broken or pounded pottery or brick, coal-ashes, charcoal, or, in short, with any other of those substances which are adapted to form a good, firm, and durable brick, when properly baked; and he varies the composition according to the nature of the component parts themselves, and the purposes which they are intended to answer; but, for common constructions, he uses the same proportions as brick-makers in general. He then proceeds to mix, knead, and incorporate the said materials, till they are brought to the requisite firmness and tenacity for building; which is nearly such, that the parts of any lump or mass of the same may be readily incorporated with, or joined to, any other similar mass, by moderate blows with a wooden mallet,
