Lawrence democrat. (Lawrenceburg, Tenn.) 1884-1925, 1896-02-21
FARM AND GARDEN.
ASPHALT PAYMENTS.
New York Lady Describes How They
Are Put nowr.

New York Lady Describes How They
Are Put Down.
Did you ever watch men laying an
asphalt pavement? This morning u
crowd of men are finishing such pave
ment in front of my window. First
there appeared, about two weeks ago,
some men with picks; and in little
while all the paving stones were loose,
and soon they were picked up and carted
away.
Next carts appeared having coarse
gravel and dirt which were spread over
the street. This was left for few days.
This morning crowd of men appeared
with shoyels, brooms and curious-looll.
ing tools. A big pan on wheels was put
at the corner. Uuder this pan was fiat
piece of iron in which were holes; fire
was made on this, and the pan was filled
with soft, tar-like substance of about
the consistency of coal dust. A little
further away pot filled with liquid
tar was placed over another
fire and was soon boiling. This
tar the men poured from a
pail at the point where the surface met
the curbstone; they were followed by
others who had tools like fat hammer
head in an iron handle, and they pound
ed the tar until 1t was hard, looking like
a black seam. Now the coal-dust sub
stance was taken from the pan and put
| in carts, from which it was dumped
smoking hot on to the coarse, clnder-
like bed of the street. How hard and
fast the men worked in this smoking
stuff, spreading 1t with shovels and
smoothing it with rakesl Other men
with red-hot iron smoothers, which
they pressed on with all their might,
followed the rakes. The space treated
at one time was the width of the street
and about Is feet in length.
When the surface was smooth, two
men appeared, pushing heavy iron
roller. When it reached the edge of the
asphalt, man washed it off with wet
cloth and it was pulled back. This
smoothed the surface, but the men
with the fiat hammer heads and the
smoothers also worked all the time at
it. Now came the most interesting
part. An engine on big rollers APP
peared, on which sat a man. AT his side
was wheel just like the wheel of a
yacht, and it was used for the same pur-
pose-to guide the engine. The man
moved the engine in any direction by
moving this wheel. AS you can imagine
the road was soon smooth and hard
When the engine had passed over the
soft asphalt a few times n man ap-
peared with n wheelbarrow in which
was dust eXceedinly fine and light
brown in color. This he threw over the
road, and it was tossed with light
brush over the surface; then the engine
with its heavy rollers passed over il
and it was rolled into the asphalt
Tar was poured at the edge again, ant
the engine passed over it right against
the curb. When the Is feet of road bee
was finished, man with rake broke
its edge in curves, and the engine passed
: over this broken edge until there was {
slanted surface to the unfinished 15neX'
: to be done. The reason for this wa.
that the joining might not show. Be
sides, if n straight edge was left be
=, tween every Is feet, it would be ;
rack, and the rain would settle in i
D and destroy the road bed; by this meth
cd the joining was not unlike piece o
dovetailing in carpentry, and the roat
was perfectly smooth and unbroken.
The men examined every inch of tn,
1 surface after it looked finished, ant
every uneven place or married place wa
s scraped with knife, and the men will
i the fiat hammer heads and the smooth
ers, both heated very hot, passed owe
the place where the defect had beef
until it reached the standard of smooth
ness and equality. A bevel like carpen
: ter's bevel and long, thin board, wer
passed over the whole 81 feet to de
termine It's equality. 1t took two hour
to finish each Is feet of road, and abou
> Is men were working. They worle,
like soldiers. Each man had his work as
J signed him, and did itas though he wer
part of a machine. When his part wa
finished he stood out of the way of tn
other workers. The horse that dragge,
II the cart in which the asphalt was carte
II hot knew perfectly well what he was +
. do. He backed and turned without
{ word being said to him. He had adrivel
& but apparently he did not need hin
J Asphalt is mined, and there are severe
: states in this country in which it i
: found. The mines in this country hav
l. not been worked much until the las
| few years, most of the asphalt we use
= being imported from Trinidad. TIL
l. industry in this country is now bein
a developed, as there is greater deman
u for the product-M Willis, in N.
IL Outlook.