Excerpt from Fugitive Facts: A Dictionary of Rare and Curious Information; A Treasury of Facts, Legends, Sayings and Their Explanation, Obtained in Large Parte From Sources Not Generally Accessible, and Covering More Than One Thousand Topics of General Interest and Frequent Inquiry Adobe Houses are dwellings peculiar to Central and South America, Mexico and Texas, made of unburnt brick. They are usually one story high, and their durability is much greater than would be expected, as there are a number now in existence which have been standing for considerably more than a century. The composition of the bricks is loamy earth, containing about two thirds fine sand and one-third clayey dust. This is mixed with water and pressed into the required size in molds, and then taken from the molds and placed on edge on the ground and left to harden in the sun. The adobes are laid with mortar, the same as an ordinary brick, and at the completion Of every two feet of the structure an interval of two weeks is allowed for drying, and a similar space of time between the completion Of the walls and the putting on of the roof.

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