New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1871-01-06

Considerable attention has been attracted
during the present week b. the laying o: =
new species OF stree: pascn.en: AZ the head
Of Poyiras street.
This pavement consists o: viIcani,ed
a-phaltum, combined with a certain pro.
portion of flint rock o: hard gravel. /,
the vulcanzation o: the ssphaituin certain
...oportions Of ,our Of sulphur and fin:
SAM. are used. and al! the ingredients ar.
heated separately. prev:eu. to eombina-
.on. They are then uroportiona.e!y mixed.
~ the action Of . powerful machine. pro
PEELED by steam power. and tn: substance
thus produced forms the pavement. !. :,
laid down while no: and soft. and in - few
hours coOi> and becomes very hard.
This now pawn. :, manufactured y: >
process known -, DR.. l.. = Fiber, improve
,ncns Of kidw.lrs paten:. lts appearance
!. much like tina: Of other i,itu.ninous paw
i,r. which has several time. been attempted
without success. But it is claimed by the
owner. of the patent. that IL j. alt"gethc:
free from the defects that haze stood IL t.ie
yay Of other attempt. to s:se bltuinlnou,
substances for paving purposes. 70: IN
stance. by the process Of INFLAMMATION the
a,pha]tum becomes SO lard that i. will no:
soften ia a hea: OF two hundred degree,
Fahrenheit; while it vii! not crack ia the
| hardest frost.
Although thi, ?a:cn: pavcmen. is 4 r.
| cen, invention, it is said By the ratentees to
| have been tried in the cite, OF Washington
| and Philadelphia in = sufficient degree 70
test it thoroughly. 1t il stated. also. that
| this pa VI ment ia. been laid down in par:
of Belmont avenue. running through Fair
noun: Park. in the latter city. and ha,
been highly commended by the Park Com
missioners and the engineer. Of the works
| The present attempt to introduce th!s new
pavement in the streets of New Orleans il
/! in the hands Of Messrs. +. J. Hitchcock 4
4! Co., who have made an arrangement with
| the city administration to pave that part OF
Poydra. street extending from Delta to
Front streets. The price agreed upon Is
| four dollars for each square yard OF surface;
| III. pavement 10 be laid in courses. each
| fonr inches thick. making depth OF eight
| inches. The payment on the part OF the
eitv is conditioned upon the acceptance OF
the work by the Department of Improve
ments, after thorough test. That part OF
| poydras street has been purposeiE chosen
by the Department of improvements, IL
order to give the pavement the fullest posi-
Die trial, as tho particular spot selected IL
more Travelled over by heavily laden We
| hcles than any other thorou:htsre IN Inc
city.
should thi. pavement prove t. DE VIVA
tn. patcntees claim for it, 1t will have al
| the smoothneSs and absence OF friction ina
ch,racterizes railroad. AM one riding IL
or street cars will notice tue persistence
with which the drivers OF heavily laden We
hicles will travel along the smooth track o.
the railroad. frequently impeding the pro
er.,s of the cars. Should this pavemen
prcye success, and come into general use
our heretofore uneven streets Will becoln'
all railroad tracks, resulting in no sm'l
economy in the wear of drausht animals
The a,phaltum. which forms a componen
mart of the material used for lhls pa yemen
il to he found in India, on tho shores OF IN
Dead Sea, and in some parts cl t'afope
But the largest supply in the world Is Il
the Island of Trinidad, where there Is
lake three miles in circumference covers'
with this substance The thickness Is onl.
partially known, but it is conjectured tina
the lake contains at least one thousan
millions of tons. The flint stone used Is a
present procured on the Mississippi oahA
| in the neighborhood Of Natche1' 2 wher
there is deposit some three miles long an
extending some twenty miles inward
Hence. should this pavement be generail
adopted, there will be no scarcity Oh m'
tcrialS.
The steam machinery fer the making
this pavement is erected on lot at the co
ner of Delta and Lafayette streets an"
worthy Of a visit.
None are 40 fond of secrets as those WI
do not mean to keep them; such person
1 e. i n