OCR Text |
Show ORGANIC MATTER IN SANDS Material Unsuitable for Concrete to Be Investigated by Bureau of Public Roads. (Prepared by the United States Department of Agriculture.) Sands unsuitable for concrete on account of the presence of loam or other organic matter are to be Investigated Inves-tigated by the bureau of public roads of the United States Department of Agriculture and methods of trentment devised to make them safe for use. Until recent years It often happened that concrete made of good cement and well-graded and apparently good sand, would disintegrate and become worthless. In such cases the poor quality has been attributed to all the different tilings which go to make a poor concrete. A few years ago laboratory workers work-ers discovered the effect of organic matter in sand and devised a simple test to determine its presence in harmful harm-ful quantities. The bureau now hopes to find methods of treatment so that such sands can be used. Samples of sand from all parts of the country are desired and anyone Is Invited to send In a sample In which the presence of organic matter Is suspected, addressed to the Bureau of Public Roads, Washington, Wash-ington, D. C. |