Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1889-03-04

without being brittle. The as.
phaltum pavement is clean. and fit for
traffic in a few hours after being
laid, while new OF repaired stone road
ways must be covered for months with
heavy layers of sand. to be drifted by the
breeze in dry weather and added to the
mud in rainy spells. Repairs can be
made TO the asphaltum pavement in dry
of a cold winter. while with stone pave
ments the defects must be endured until
spring. The kind of pavement here al
luded to is made of the mineral asphalt
tum, porous limestone found In the
Val de Trovers, Switzerland, and known
as the Seyssel or Neufchatsl asphaltic
rock. 1t is very different thing from
the alphalt concrete which is made by
mixing bitumen with sand, cinders, coarse
gravel or broken stones. A great many
kinds of patent concretes psvements have
been used in the United States, and as
most of them were worthless, the reputa.
ton of the genuine asphalt pavement has
suffered in consequence.
A few years ago DR.. Homer O. Hitch
cock. member of the state board of health,
of Michigan. published a pamphlet con-
corning the relation of wooden pave
meuts and wooden sidewalks to the pub
lie health and in the preparation Of which
the author addressed circular to the
large towns and cities of the state in
which he asked seven questions. They
were these:
/. In your city or village Is wood,
either with or without asphaltum, used
for paving OF the streetss To this
twelve answered "yes."]
2. Has more or less sickness been no.
ticed among people living on streets so
paved than among those living on streets
otherwise. or not at all psvedP Twelve
answered not
What classes Of disease have more
prevailed along streets so payedf No
answers
4. Do the streets in your city or vii.
lage generally have wood sidewalksS
Fifty answered "yes."l
B. Have there been cases of sickness
fairly attributable to the decaying wood
sidewalks as their causas Fifty ans
swered no ="
g. In your city or village are any
streets made, filled or covered with re
fuse lumber or sa wdustf Ten answered
yves "
7. Have cases of sickness been noticed
been noticed fairly to be attributed to
such decaying woods Ten answered
mo-" two answered yes"
In the conclusion of his report. DR..
Hitchcock says:
From all these replies tt will be seen
that no we'll authenticated facts have
been observed respecting the casual re.
lation Of decaying wood in the surface Of
the ground. and any of the zyroaic
diseases. / have no doubt tut that cases
of such diseases have occurred in the
practice of many physicians Of long ex-
perience and observations. justly and
naturally attributable to decaying wood
in damp. unventilsted cellars. The inn
preston is very general. too. that the
same process of decay of wood. or other
vegetable material in the open air gives
origin to the same noxious gases, and
may cause the same similar diseases
The very obvious reason that We do not
readily trace cases of sickness which
causes disease is that the gases from de-
composition are not confined and con-
centrated, but are either at once alb.
sorbed by the utmost efficient dis
infectant. the earth. or are diffused in
the air. Sidewalks should be kept in
good repair. and as soon as decay has
fairly begun they should be renewed.