Cob: Horse Manure

[Matthew HALL(SED)]

Dear Bill,

wbates at mn.rr.com writes:
>*SMILES* X2  ,,,, Then there are the people in Africa, that use pure
>cow manure to cover a wattle work frame. Now this isn't COB,
>unless of course the cows eat corn....    :-)
>
>*sniff* did I step in it???   bill
>
You are correct...wattle & daub is not cob. However, cob is merely a colloquial term for a form of
monolithic earth wall building that developed in the Devonshire region of england. There are
numerous historic buildings made from cob, some of which have original cob walls that are over 500
years old. Analysis of these walls shows that the 4 ingredients are earth (ie sub-soil), water,
straw and manure. The traditional way to tember the earth prior to building was to have a small
team of bullocks trample over the earth which had been layed in an enclosed yard or similar. The
cobber sprinkled the required amount of water over the mix whilst the bullocks trampled it in and
mixed the cob. Each bullock transmitting its own weight in concentrated point loads through its
relatively small, hooved feet. If any manure found its way into the mix all the better, it aids
cohesion and increases durability. Too much however can have a deleterious effect due to the high
concentration of organic matter contained in the faeces
. I'm sure if you dig deep you will find theses on faeces :)
Regards
Matthew