By following the instructions in Appendices C.3 and C.4, you can convert limestone into quicklime, and quicklime into slaked lime—which reacts with carbon dioxide in the air to harden on its own. Add some clay (or sand and water) to your slaked lime, and you’ve just invented mortar: an easily spreadable paste that dries like stone. Replace some of that sand and water with straw or horsehair to increase its tensile strength and you’ve invented plaster: a substance durable enough to be used for exterior coverings that is also waterproof once it’s cured. This makes plaster a great way to build
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