Marietta daily leader. (Marietta, Ohio) 1895-1906, 1899-10-13
readily.

with the wind, and thereby cause more
dust to be released from the surface,as
result of which action the road Is
eaten down, becomes rutty and worn
out" With this character of road es-
pecially before the ruts get into it,, the
oil is lasting boon. Roads which
have ruts should be repaired before
being treated, and on sandy stretches
tie sand should be removed or over
come, even though it might be neces-
sary to spread upon The surface a lay
er of clay and roll 1t down before APP
plying the oil
A good piece of oiled road is eXem-
plified in the Pasadena main turnpike.
AS displayed upon this road, the oil
converts The fine clay into sort of
asphaltum. This is soft and gummy
without being sticky, and gives an
elastic surface over which the wheels
pass without cutting, grinding, or
wearing the soil. The elasticity of
this cushion renders vehicles passing
over 1t almost nOlseless. and has rid
persons residing on the sides af great
nuisance which they heretofore endur-
ed in the racket of the wagons rumb-
ling along the pike. Further than
this, horses travel better upon 1t, for
not only do the wheels move with less
exertion from the animal, but the sur
! face is easier upon their hoofs and
| less wearing on the shoes. Besides all
this the color of the road is dark and
restful to the eyes, and 1t does not re-
fleet that glare which formerly was its
characteristic whenever the sun shone
upon it, as the many swollen eyes of
persons driving over it have ofttimes
abundantly testified.
One hundred barrels of oil per mile,
spread over an area IS feet in width,
will put road in condition along the
the extent Of the oiled surface and give
an excellent roadway, adequate for or
binary traffic. The oil is put on in
three applications; the first at the rate
of 60 barrels per mile, and the two
subsequent treatments at a rate of 20
barrels per mile each. Great care
must be taken in delivering the oil, II
should be hot when discharged, and
poured upon a hot surface, so that the
work of the oil sprinkling is confined
to the heat of the day. The oil cannot
be poured on indiscriminately, but
must be drilled into the dust as wheat
is drilled into land prepared to receive
If it is not so applied the oil will
not saturate evenly the dust area, bat
will lie in splotches, run together, and
so make a very imperfect success,
either as a job of sprinkling or an Oil
ed surface.
In order to meet the requirements, a
machine has been devised which, while
it does by no means limit the field for
inventions of . this sort, nevertheless
supplies a want in this direction. A
| big tank, mounted on four wheels,
drags q sort of tender-boX supported
by two wheels into which is run from
the tank supplies of oil This box has
a furnace beneath it which heats the
oil, and attached to it is a drag, look
ing something like a hay rake. A
number of curver rods or fingers go
out from the bottom, and these are
drawn through the dust and along the
road They mark little burrows in the
dust and into these burrows, through a
series of pipes, is discharged the oil. A
second finger-or sort of thumb ar
rangement-fxed further back, turns
the dust over the oiled furrow, and the
surface is then left to absorb a pro-
cess which requires about an hour to
effect. A roller is then drawn over the
oned width, and the first treatment is
completed.
Contracts for the three treatments
are taken at from $2O5 to 1910 per mile
according to the price of oil and the
character of the surface to be worked.
But even at this rate the cost is not
over six cents per running foot Of the
lS-foot width, and of this sum, under
.-e general regulations, the county
pays one-third and the property Cwn-
ers on the road on each side pay each
one-third Under this arrangement
=. would cost an owner 81 to put in
condition me road in front of TO- feet
of land, and this is about what it now
costs him to have the road sprinkled
with water throughout the dry season.
One saturation will keep the road in
repair during years succeeding tue
first three treatments, and this appli-
cation requires burt 20 barrels to the
mile. It's cost to the adjacent owners
of land is but 40 cents per 100 feet of
road, and there is maintained a most
excellent driveway.
The idea Of oiling reads is said TO
have originated in the oil regions OF
Pennsylvania, and to have been due to
lAe accidental saturation of a piece OF
roadway with the fluid. If this is true,
it is in California that the idea has re-
ceived its most extensive application
Cal. Cor Post
The Elk's Picnic.
The Marietta Elks had a fine day
Thursdav for their nicnic at BuclSeye