Dear Ned,
   it's not the least out of place. In fact, I'm surprised that
you're surprised. Adobe, rammed earth and other earth construction
methods are known the world over. In New York, there are 11 true
adobe homes that were built in the 1800's. Still standing. The
biggest obstacle is getting insurance for them or when they are sold,
banks and lenders don't know how to deal with an adobe home and don't
like to come up with a loan. Shame. Perhaps you should get in touch
with the Getty Conservation Institute which has sponsored Adobe I and
II Conferences. The collections of papers presented at these
conferences are very good. My philosophy is that if there is a
building material at hand which a builder is familiar with, it will
be used. No matter what the climate. From what I learned at the Adobe
I Conference is that Adobe, pise, rammed earth, cob, etc, is
everywhere and under every conceivable condition. The key word in
this type of construction is NOT sand/clay/silt ratio, but
maintenance. I've seen examples of the worst manufactured adobe
bricks and have spoken with adobe manufacturers of today who have
seen nice examples of adobe construction but with inferior
manufactured bricks. The key, I repeat, is maintenance. The best
manufactured adobe, etc, construction will decay. Preservation is all
a matter of maintenance. For your viewing pleasure, I refer you to
the movie "The Man Who Would Be King' with Sean Connery. The Casbah
in which this movie takes place was one which was decaying, but was
repaired for the movie. Once the filming of the movie was over, it
fell back into decay.
 
Joanne Reiter