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.