TO MAKE A CANDLESTICK WITH STRAIGHT SIDES the molds should be made in sections, the divisions occurring where the corners come. This results in the object coming from the mold with the mold lines where they can be easily removed.

THE MOLD FOR A CIRCULAR CANDLESTICK or round base can be made in three divisions similar to the making of a mold for a round vase. The mold lines occurring on the surface can be obliterated as soon as the object is removed from the mold.

A MOLD FOR A CANDLESTICK DIFFERS FROM A VASE MOLD in that it is made upside down. As a candlestick is made solid instead of hollow like a vase, the mold is filled from the bottom, the open part to hold the candle being a projecting section into the space of the mold into which the cement is poured.

TO MAKE THE MOLD SECTIONS the small section to reproduce the hole for the candlestick is first made. The original model, made either from clay or modeling wax, is placed upright and a strip of oiled cardboard or metal fastened around the top and plaster poured into the candlestick hole and up above the top to the level of the cardboard or metal which should extend at least an inch above the top of the candlestick.

AFTER THE MOLD FOR THE TOP IS MADE each side should have a key space bored into it and then the mold is placed back into the model, the exposed portions of the plaster are oiled and the side section (round or straight section) is next made, leaving the bottom open. The completed parts of the mold are assembled and dried before using them for the cement cast.

TO POUR THE CANDLESTICK CAST, assemble the molds after they have been immersed in water and oiled and after tying them firmly together turn them upside down and pour the cement into the opening. If a color is to be used, the color should be poured in and the mold rotated until the color covers the inner surface. Surplus color should be mixed and kept to use later in completing the bottom. After the lining has set, a mixture of sand and coarse cement should be poured into it and permitted to settle. Jarring or tapping the mold will help the cement to settle. If it settles, more cement should be poured in. After it has settled, the color surplus similar to the surface lining is poured on to finish the bottom.

WHEN THE MOLD IS OPENED the sides are opened first and the small mold section forming the candlestick hole is carefully twisted out. If when making this part of the mold, a T shape wire has been inserted it will strengthen the mold.

TO MAKE THE BOOK SUPPORT, a model should first be designed and modeled in clay or modeling wax. This design must be considered from its practicability and the structural design therefore must be carefully planned. The base on the book support should be heavy enough to overbalance the upright portion so as to prevent the book support from falling over. The upright portion may be of any simple shape and enriched in any of the methods previously described for the decorating of tiles.

A WOODEN BASE OR BACK FOR THE MODEL may be used on which to place the modeling wax. A thin layer of the modeling wax may be placed over the entire surface, and variations to the shape also can be made with the modeling wax. A panel of plaster or a tile design can be incorporated into the model instead of modeling. This method has been often used and found to give good results.

GESSO OR RELIEFO MODELED PANELS CAN BE USED for book support designs by attaching them to the surface of the model. If the gesso or reliefo is first shellaced it will be found to be an excellent material with which to produce modeled designs for color cement handicraft.

AFTER THE MODEL IS COMPLETED the first part of the mold to be made should be the portion with the design. The triangular shape of the design and base portion should be placed in position and supported so that a single pouring of plaster will produce a mold of the design and the upper surface of the base. Different shaped bases or irregular shaped bases will require individual consideration when planning the molds. The main thing to consider is that the parts of the molds must be made so that the cast will release easily from the molds.

THE SIDES OF THE BOOK SUPPORT are next made, casting the sides while the first piece cast is kept in close position over the model and drilling keys in the sides to produce locking holds in the mold sections. The top of the model is also cast, the bottom being the only portion not made, as the book support like the candle is cast upside down.

PRECEDING THE POURING OF CEMENT the mold sections are soaked in water, taken out and oiled, assembled and put closely together, and tied firmly in position. The colored cement slip is then poured in, the mold is rotated and the concrete or cement filler is poured in and permitted to settle. The bottom or last layer is then poured on in the same color as that used for the lining.

TO INSURE QUICK ASSEMBLY OF MOLD PARTS when working, the molds should be marked with corresponding numbers so that the correct parts can be put together rapidly.

TO FINISH THE BOOK SUPPORT it is removed from the mold, trimmed as needed, placed in water to harden for several days, taken out and permitted to dry slowly and then brushed well and waxed. A thin coating of shellac may precede the wax. Two sets of molds for book supports will enable two book supports to be made at one time and in this way the color of both can be made to match each other.

PRACTICAL USE FOR COLOR CEMENT inside the home is one of the greatest possibilities with color cement as a handicraft. It enables the home builder, the art student, or the busy housewife who has some idea of decoration, to plan and execute durable tiles or panels for the floor, walls or fireplaces, and to execute them with but little space and equipment.

TO MAKE TILES FOR THE FLOOR, the tiles should be made in flat surfaces and without relief parts that will project so as to become worn from being walked upon. For floor surfaces pressed tiles are better than poured tiles. Manufacturers of common cement tiles for architectural purposes produce them in presses with several tons pressure. The craftsman can secure very good pressed effects by using backing cement that has very little moisture in it and tapping it in well, using a block of wood and a mallet. The retaining sides of the mold should be of wood or of some durable material that will withstand the pressure, and hold together firmly.

POURED TILES FOR FLOOR USE made from a strong mixture of sand and cement and with a small proportion of color will be found to be durable. One or two coatings of shellac and a covering of floor wax will further increase the durability of the wearing surface.

PLAIN TILES FOR FLOOR USE can be used with decorated tile and various interesting patterns can be made (a few of which are shown) by interspersing the tile in different arrangements. A glazed tile can be made and used as a variation in combination with mat finish or dull finish tiles. Several small tiles may be used to fill a space and produce patterns in contrast to larger tiles. It will be found that with a little design arrangement many interesting floor arrangements can be made with tiles.

WHERE A LARGE NUMBER OF TILES ARE TO BE MADE several molds in plaster-of-Paris should be made and a large quantity of color mixed at once, and the first color placed in each tile consecutively and then the next color, until all the colors have been placed in the six, eight, ten or whatever number of molds is being made at the same operation. After the color has set, the backing mixture of concrete is made and poured into all the tiles.

A TEMPLET PATTERN MOLD for floor tiles is made by cutting templets from either cardboard or linoleum with slightly tapering sides and gluing these into position to produce the design. The templets should duplicate the portions of a design and the design should be the first step in the problem to be solved.

THE DESIGN FOR TEMPLET PATTERNS should be simple in form and division. Geometric patterns and straight line forms are the best for use. Good divisions of squares and rectangles and these divisions changed slightly to floral or leaf shapes should be as far as any elaboration should go.

AFTER THE TEMPLET PATTERN IS CUT it is assembled and glued into position on another card or glass surface and given two coats of shellac. It is then placed within the retaining bars and a cast is made in plaster. This cast in plaster is afterwards shellaced and becomes the mold for casting the cement tile.

TO CAST THE CEMENT TILE the colors selected from parts of the design are first mixed and placed into the mold. After the colors have been all placed and permitted to harden, they are backed with a mixture of neat cement and color which is next backed up with a concrete mixture and then permitted to dry for three days. After being hardened in water for several days after its removal from the mold, it is then ready to be cemented in position for floor use.

THE BACK FINISH OF WALL TILES should have countersunk spaces to permit a good grip or hold of the mortar that will be used to hold the tile in position. These grip holds can be made by cutting four small rectangular sections of cardboard and pressing them closely together into the back of the tile after the last layer of cement has been poured. After the cement has dried thoroughly and the tile is ready to be removed from its mold, these cards can be easily removed.

TO USE WALL TILES they should always be immersed in water before the mortar is applied. This prevents the moisture being absorbed out of the mortar by a dry tile and assures better sticking of the tile to a perpendicular surface.

TO MAKE GOOD MORTAR, building lime is placed in a mixing box or bucket and water poured over it. Next day it can be taken and mixed with sand until a rich, thick plaster results. To this add one-quarter or one-eighth part of Portland cement to make it strong.

TO APPLY TILES TO AN UPRIGHT SURFACE, spray the brick or rock surface with water. This can be done with a whisk broom or a large brush. A cloth immersed into water and dabbed onto the surface will serve very well. The tile which has been placed in a bucket of water to absorb moisture is then covered with mortar on the reverse side. The surface of the wall or fire mantel to receive the tile is also covered with a layer of mortar and the tile is pressed into the mortar, causing the two layers (the one on the tile and the one on the wall) to adhere to each other.

TO CONNECT TILES ONTO AN OLD CEMENT SURFACE the following method should be used: Clean the old cement surface well with a brush and water, removing the dirt and dust. Sprinkle a thin layer of neat cement onto this surface while the floor is still moist. Work this neat cement into the surface well, pressing it and working it with a flat trowel. Onto this add a layer of strong mixture cement into which the tiles are pressed.

TO FINISH A TILE FLOOR the spaces between the tiles are filled with cement; a small narrow cement trowel or strip of metal is passed over the strip to smooth the cement in between the tiles. After the first day the tiles and entire surface should be sprinkled with water to insure good hardening of the cement.

THE SPACES BETWEEN THE TILES can vary in width, depending upon the size of the tiles. A half-inch space of cement between six-inch tiles is a good average. A tile surface either upright or flat looks better with a liberal space between the tiles than where too close a connection is attempted. The tiles also look more interesting if the cement in between is left a little lower than the surface of the tile.

A color may be added to the cement used between the tiles, creating a pleasing contrast in color and values. This color may be a thin coating of color cement and need not be used throughout the entire cement section.

TO SECURE A LEVEL TILE FLOOR with the color cement tiles, the under layer of cement into which the tiles are placed should not be a wet mixture of cement but a mixture of cement and sand that is a little more moist than wet sand. The tiles are then pressed onto this layer, more of the moist cement being pressed under the tiles until the tiles are level with each other. To test the level surface a straight edged board is placed straight edge downward along the surface. If it rocks on any part of the surface, that part should be pressed downward or lowered by the removal of some of the cement. If parts are too low, they will show a light opening underneath the leveling edge and should be built up.

After the tiles are all level, the spaces between are filled with a soft mixture of cement and finished smooth.

TILES FOR INSERTS IN WALL PANELS can be made in the same way as described in the chapter on Tiles, excepting that they may be made thinner to conform with the thickness of the wood or other surface to which they will be added.

Where the wood or wall surface is grayed or toned with a paint wash or tint, the tint can be carried over the tile insert which will help the unity of the tile with the wall.

COLOR CEMENT TILES FOR FURNITURE INSERTS can be made in colors to harmonize with the wood background. The surface finish given the wood, whether wax or gray tone, can be also applied to the tile. The tiles may be applied to boxes, chairbacks, flower stands so that they become the bright spot of color motif to a design produced by the pattern of the wood, or a carved or relief enrichment on the surface.

UNIT TILES FOR WALL SURFACES can be made and planned so that various arrangements can be made by using the same motifs or elements. These elements can be combined into a group that may be inserted into an over mantel or into a wall or corridor space. Unit tiles admit of arranging a vertical or a horizontal border or of combining both borders each produced with the same motifs.

COLOR TILE BORDERS for plain cement floors will make an otherwise plain floor a thing of beauty. A series of tiles for the border can be made and special tiles for the corner arranged. The whole series can then be set at the same time that the center plain gray or tinted portion of cement is spread.

CEMENT FLOOR ABRASION CAN BE AVOIDED by dampening the cement as it hardens and spraying water onto it regularly once or twice a day after the first day for a period of five to seven days.

Abrasion or powdering of cement floors indoors often occurs because of prematurely drying when constructed. Where walks out-of-doors are benefited by the dew or moisture at night, inside floors do not receive this moisture and often dry too rapidly.

To remedy the abrasion, or powdering of cement floors, wash the floor thoroughly with clean water removing all dirt and particles with a stiff scrub brush. After the surface has dried, apply a solution of one part water-glass (sodium silicate) of 40 degrees Baumé and three to five parts water, the water depending upon the absorbing quality of the cement. This mixture is applied with a large brush and should be mixed well and used within an hour. When this has dried mop the surface with clean water and repeat the wash of water-glass three times, letting the floor dry after each operation.

The silicate penetrates the pores, comes in contact with the other alkalies in the concrete, forming an insoluble and very hard material, preventing dusting and makes a better wearing floor.

COLOR CEMENT TILES ARE SURFACE FINISHED generally after they are dry. As the tiles or pottery dry a lime or white powder dries on the surface and the colors appear to become dull. To bring out the colors and remove this powder, a soft cloth or soft brush is used to brush or dust off the tile surface thoroughly.

AN OIL RUB can be given to the surface of the tile with raw linseed oil on a soft cloth, and a brisk rubbing of the cloth will give a soft dull polish. This should be done only on the cast and dull finish tiles and not on the slip-painted or glazed surfaces.

A THIN SHELLAC COATING may be given a color cement tile or pottery as a preliminary to a wax polish or a gasoline wash. White cement tiles or pottery are very porous and a thin coating of clear white shellac will prevent over absorption of surface coloring if the shellac is permitted to dry thoroughly. Shellac should be applied after the surface is thoroughly dried to prevent a sticky surface.

THE GASOLINE WASH is made by mixing white oil paint (flake white or zinc white) with black paint (ivory black or lamp black) until a gray tone is secured. This mixture should be made in a cup or bowl so that gasoline can then be added until the paint is almost as thin as water. To this mixture green or blue paint or other color should be added until the right hue is secured. This is then brushed onto the tile surface and brushed well into the crevices and countersunk sections as it is important that the low sections be well filled. After the wash has dried thoroughly, a soft cloth is used to rub off all the surplus. This will leave the gasoline wash remaining only in the bottom or lower portions giving a pleasing finish. After this has dried a wax rub may be placed over it.

A WAX RUB is produced by taking either wax tan shoe polish or floor wax and rubbing it onto the cement with a soft cloth. The cement should be thoroughly dry before the wax is placed upon the surface. After a few minutes a soft brush or woolen cloth should be used to polish the waxed surface.

A wax rub can be applied over a gasoline wash, but only after the wash has been given time to thoroughly dry. If the gasoline wash is not dry, the wax will remove it in parts and destroy the effect produced by the gasoline wash.

A COLOR CEMENT SURFACE FINISH is made by mixing a thin mixture of color and cement which is then brushed onto the tile. The tile or surface to be finished with cement should not be dry or be permitted to dry after it has been removed from the mold. Previous to the application of the cement color, the tile should be well moistened. After the color has dried for several hours upon the surface, a cloth balled or gathered so as to form a padded surface should be used to remove the color from the high parts.

A SLIP SURFACE FINISH is where the tile or surface has been completed in single or several colors and when hardened sufficiently in water, a thin slip of color cement is placed over the entire surface and permitted to settle into the hollows, leaving the higher portions to appear more clearly through the colored slip. If the surface is a tile, it should then be permitted to harden in shallow water placed in a tray with the tile placed carefully into it so that the water does not reach the color slip portions. If the object is a vase, it may be filled with water to harden the outer surface properly. If the color has been used as a layer on the inside, the bowl or vase should be placed in a pail and water poured into the pail so that the object is surrounded with water. A weight or board can be placed so as to prevent the object from floating if it commences to do so.

COLOR MAY BE SPRAYED by mixing a thin mixture of color and cement and spraying it onto the tile or pottery surface with a fixitive blower such as may be obtained at artists’ supply stores and which is used by artists for spraying a solution of shellac (termed fixitive) onto charcoal or pencil drawings.

The color should be repeatedly stirred to keep it well mixed and if the sprayer becomes clogged, it should be rinsed in water.

Too much color should not be sprayed at a time as it will fail to be absorbed and run on the surface, resulting in streaks.

SPATTERED COLOR FOR SURFACES is secured by dipping a short-haired bristle brush (the bristles are best when they are about one inch long) into color cement and causing the color to spatter onto the surface by rubbing a knife edge or straight edge of a stick along the brush. This will cause the bristles to release suddenly, throwing pigment in the opposite direction onto the object. A trial should first be made on paper surface before the actual surface is used to avoid too much color, such as would come from an overcharged brush or too vigorous rubbing. The surface of the object should be moist or dampened well previous to the spattering.

SPRINKLED DRY COLOR can be applied to surfaces. This will give a pleasing effect in certain places where an antique or scattering of dry color will enter into the nature of the design. The dry pigment can be sprinkled onto the surface only where the surface has been covered with a layer of other color that is still moist. This is necessary in order that the dry color will absorb sufficient moisture from the other color to amalgamate with the first color.

TEXTURE SURFACES are produced by working on the surfaces while they are still moist or soft enough to admit the use of a tool or edge to press or model the surface. Even when a surface might have become quite hard it may be tooled or chipped and a cement wash or gasoline wash used to give the tooled parts a unifying color.

REPEATED SURFACE COLORING may be done where the first coloring is not satisfactory. It will be found that a more pleasing effect is often produced by the second surface coloring being placed over the first. Care should be taken that so much rubbing does not occur that it wears parts of the tile or pottery surface that are soft.

SURFACE FINISHES PERMIT OF EXPERIMENTING and the craftsworker in color cement must test out different combinations in order to achieve the most desirable quality to respond to personal choice. A brilliant color wash will often bring out the pattern in pleasing contrast, and at other times it may be over absorbed and produce a mottled undesirable quality. The condition of the molds and the amount of sand in the mixture all influence the surface of the object and in turn influence the result of the surface finishes.

COLOR AS OUTER ARCHITECTURAL DECORATION was much used on the buildings of Egypt and Assyria. The winged sphere in gold and amber against a background of dark blue was commonly used on the outer walls of Egyptian buildings and the processions of warriors and ancient kings decorated the walls of the Assyrian cities.

THE GRECIANS USED COLOR ALSO and the beautiful Parthenon was decorated with color and the restored model in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York shows their use of color architecturally. The great Acropolis was resplendent in bas-reliefs on the outer walls in color, gold and silver.

THE ROMANS USED COLOR OUT OF DOORS on their buildings and the Etruscans built in terra cotta coloring the outer walls with gorgeous decorations. They recognized that architecture could be dignified and noble with proper use of color decorations to enrich the building as a whole.

MURAL DECORATIONS IN THE OPEN were used by the Egyptians, examples of which remain in our museums today, and so permanent were their colors that the color schemes are apparent even at this day thousands of years after their artists applied them.

Pompeians with their house-tops massed against their blue skies were prompted to use orange-red largely in their decorations which were lavishly applied in their gardens and other surroundings.

THE CHINESE USED COLORS SIMILAR TO THE POMPEIANS and their decorations give brilliant notes to their buildings creating pleasing effects. The Chinese medium has been one largely of lacquer which has been used over their gold and painted color, producing transparent qualities making it difficult to know where the actual surface begins.

COLOR ON OUTSIDE BUILDING SURFACES exists on many of the Italian cathedrals and enriched color facades were used on many houses during the Gothic period of which there remains examples at Heldesheim and Nurenberg and other cities.

COLOR IN AMERICAN ARCHITECTURE IS POSSIBLE with the use of color cement and with careful analysis of the colors used and methods of hardening, the patient worker can accomplish much toward realizing this much sought possibility.

THE FIRST STEP TOWARD SUCCESSFUL USE OF COLOR CEMENT in the open is to realize that color used at all times must be protected from drying too rapidly. If it does so, it will disintegrate and chalk away gradually. The drying of color cement should be retarded as much as possible and kept moist as long as the hardening process has not completed. It is impossible, of course, to apply water to the face of a working surface without destroying the glaze of the color, or the surface setting layer once the surface commences to dry. Water applied at this time will cause the surface to float in sections and ruin the entire surface. Therefore the best way is to arrange for the water to be absorbed from the back and this can be done easily where the panel or mural decoration is a separate section to be applied to the building surface afterwards.

WHERE THE MURAL IS TO BE APPLIED TO THE WALL the surface must be first roughened, next thoroughly dampened with water, then a layer of wet neat cement placed upon it. The bed of cement or sand and cement is next applied and the subject then applied onto this surface all at one sitting. This is necessary to avoid any part drying, as it will be impossible to dampen the surface for postponed work.

BETTER RESULT ON WALL DECORATION is possible where the color cement can be applied before the wall mass has dried out. If the forms or board walls can be removed before the cement has thoroughly set, whatever color cement or cement underlayers necessary to the color surfacing are placed upon it, will stand greater chances of remaining as a permanent part of the whole structure.

TO PROCEED WITH A MURAL PANEL a pan of metal two inches larger each way than the panel dimensions should be made from galvanized sheet metal. This is to hold the mural cement slab onto which the subject is to be painted.

THE CEMENT SLAB IS MADE by surrounding an oiled surface (wood or glass) with wooden retaining walls similar to those used in making tiles. These walls should be oiled and otherwise made proof against leakage of water as it is necessary that all water in the cement be retained to perfect the hardening. The mixture of sand and cement (one part cement and two parts sand or gravel) is next poured into this space and permitted to set for several hours. Over this surface a thin layer of neat cement may be spread or dry neat cement sprinkled through a sieve and worked into the moist surface with the flat side of a palette or other knife.

THE COLOR IS THEN APPLIED by mixing up the colors to be used into a paste form and these can be applied with a brush or with a palette knife shaping and forming the subject as if painting in ordinary colors.

If the color sinks in too rapidly and becomes lost, the under surface is too wet and the painting should be delayed for several hours or until the color applied lays upon the surface properly.

THE CEMENT SLAB IS TRANSFERRED TO THE METAL TRAY as soon as it is removable from its surface. In fact, a good way is to move the wood or glass under support with the cement slab upon it and place the whole combination into the tray. If the sides are well set the retaining walls can be removed, and as soon as the whole layer is set enough so as not to be dissolved by water, water is poured in the tray until it comes half-way up the side of the cement slab. This will prevent the whole slab drying prematurely as the water will supply all that is needed. If the water becomes absorbed more should be poured in. After it has remained in the tray for a week, it may be withdrawn and permitted to dry gradually. Wet cloths around it will prevent too rapid drying.

WHEN WORKING UPON THE SURFACE, the surface should be completed as the space is covered, avoiding returning to work upon any part after it has commenced to set. If the surface has formed a shell or thin layer and reworking breaks this shell, the color in that section will not harden properly. It requires direct, confident handling of the subject, and reworking of the surface such as the painter in oils is accustomed to is not possible with color cement.

A WHITE CEMENT SURFACE can be formed over a cement layer and when this is nearly dry thin washes of color cement may be used onto the surface similar to working with water color. The white cement will absorb the color easily and parts of the design may be worked in opaque or solid colors.

A DARK WORKING BACKGROUND may be used by mixing a layer of dark blue, brown or green. A layer of black can also be used. Brilliant colors can be brushed or dripped into this so that they sink and become a part of the dark surface without being in relief. A slight shaking of the surface or the tray will produce this amalgamation of colors.

WATER SHOULD NOT REACH THE COLOR SURFACE until after it is entirely dry. To avoid water splashing onto the surface from the tray it is the best policy not to pour water into the tray before the painting is completed and only when the tray is to be left undisturbed.

TO CONNECT THE COLOR CEMENT MURAL with the building wall, the space to receive it should be well moistened and covered with neat cement which is well worked into the surface. The back of the cement mural is similarly treated and the two cement surfaces are pressed together and held in position by a brace or support until thoroughly dried. The space or border edge around the panel should be filled in with cement at the same time.

MAGNESITE CEMENT WORK is a mixture medium producing a hard marble-like quality and does not contain any Portland cement, but is given in this book in order to complete the possible plastic mediums for the worker wishing to mold objects with permanent durable mediums.

MAGNESITE CEMENT IS A SUCCESSFUL INDUSTRIAL MATERIAL and is used by builders in interior trimmings for floor tiles, in making of bath-room surfaces and recently used in coating stairways and hallways, producing a pleasing texture and durable surface. The material is fireproof, cleanly and better than marble.

MAGNESITE IS A FORM OF LIMESTONE and is a carbonate of magnesia which is produced by burning until all gases have been eliminated, leaving only the oxide in the form of a pure white powder. It comes from Europe and is found in Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, Vermont, California, and Washington. It has been used extensively in Europe and when better known will be used more generally in America.

MAGNESITE CEMENT AS AN ENAMEL has been used as a hardening surface on concrete and cement surfaces and also on clay brick. The concrete or cement or brick surfaces should be thoroughly moistened before the magnesite mixture is placed upon it to avoid the moisture from the magnesite being absorbed and improperly drying.

THE MATERIALS FOR PRODUCING MAGNESITE are calcined powdered magnesite, chloride of magnesia, sulphate of magnesia, white sand, white talc and fine sawdust.

The magnesite should be kept in a container, proof against exposure to air and dampness, in order to preserve its full setting qualities.

Chloride of magnesia has the appearance of ice or alum and when exposed has the tendency to dissolve but does not deteriorate. It is the chemical which when united with the magnesite produces the binding or cement qualities.

Sulphate of magnesia or epsom salts is an easily secured material and is used in very small quantities in the formulae for producing magnesite cement and which is given later in this chapter.

The white talc or soapstone used for giving a smooth and polished white background is used as a filler.

White sand and the fine sawdust should be absolutely clean and are mixed with the other ingredients to produce the composite mixture to produce Magnesite Cement.

TO COMBINE THE INGREDIENTS proceed as follows:

FIRST MIXTURE. Two and one-half pounds of powdered magnesite and one pound of white talc are mixed thoroughly with one quart of fine sawdust. To this mineral, dry color similar to that used and described for color cement should be added if a color tone is desired. About one-half as much color should be used as there is magnesite. In other words, one pound of color should be used with two and a half pounds of powdered magnesite. A stone mortar should be used to grind the entire mixture well together.

This first combination is a dry mixture and is then mixed with the second mixture which is liquid.

SECOND MIXTURE. Take five parts by weight of chloride of magnesia solution with a density of 25 tested with a Baumé hydrometer which is a simple glass tube secured at any druggist for registering solutions. To the chloride of magnesia solution add one-half part by weight of sulphate of magnesia which is epsom salts and test with the hydrometer until it records 15.

TO USE THE HYDROMETER, place water in a container and if the hydrometer is placed in it, it will register “0” and when the chloride is placed in it, and dissolves the hydrometer will commence registering the density of the solution. When it records 25 no more chemical should be added. More water should be added to correct the density if needed. The same procedure is followed for registering the 15 for the epsom salts.

Chloride of magnesia will dissolve more rapidly if it is broken up, and distilled water may be used if the usual available water contains lime, iron or other injurious minerals. Some workers use rain water for many purposes.

THE FINAL MIXTURE, or third step in the mixing, is to take the first dry mixture and add enough of the second liquid combination to produce a thick creamy mixture of the two. Strain this after it has been well mixed.

TO PRODUCE TILES OR OTHER OBJECTS, THE MATERIAL is quickly poured into the molds. A brush may be used for brushing the material well into the edges and corners. A gentle jarring of the mold will remove the air bubbles and the molds with the magnesite is permitted to dry for seven to ten hours before the cast is removed from the mold.

FOR VARIOUS COLORS in the same design, the dry mixture can be mixed with color and the liquid, or second mixture, added to it. This can be applied to the mold in the same way as the color was used with cement, and after it has set, can be backed with a general color of magnesite cement or with plain magnesite mixture.

TO FINISH MAGNESITE let it remain drying for two or three days after which it can be washed with slightly warmed water to remove the thin scum on the surface. A thin coating of beeswax or floor wax well polished will finish the article.