Plain Concrete for Farm Use

U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
FARMERS' BULLETIN No. 1279
PLAIN CONCRETE for FARM USE
THE successful and economical use of concrete involves the selection of suitable materials, the correct proportioning of mixtures in the development of qualities to meet specific requirements, the proper placing and the care of the green concrete.
A concrete of great strength is uneconomical if a weaker mixture will serve and a cheap or weak concrete is costly if it does not fulfill all requirements. The cost of concrete depends not only upon the price of the materials and labor but also upon the judicious use of the two. Lack of foresight in locating the mixing plant, in the design of forms, and in planning the successive operations may cause unnecessary expense, while neglect of any one of the precautions which should be observed is likely to result in unsatisfactory work.
The bulletin discusses the requirements of good concrete and describes the making and placing of plain concrete according to the best practice.
Washington, D. C. Issued October, 1922

Agricultural Engineer, Division of Agricultural Engineering, Bureau of Public Roads .
PORTLAND CEMENT concrete is the mass formed by mixing Portland cement, sand, gravel (or particles of other suitable materials), and water.
The quality of concrete may be made to conform to certain requirements which vary with the purpose of the structure in which the material is to be used; economy, strength, water-tightness, fire resistance, or resistance to wear and shock may be the chief requisite. The character of the constituent materials, the proportions in which they are used, the consistency, the method of mixing, and the placing and curing of the concrete are important factors in securing the desired qualities of the finished product.
Total failure or a product which does not give the service expected is often the result of the nonobservance of practices recognized as necessary in the preparation and use of concrete. This bulletin is intended to assist the inexperienced in making and using concrete suitable for general farm construction and is confined to a discussion of the rudiments of plain (not reinforced) concrete work.