Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1900-01-19
0ILING R0ADWAYS.
PRODUCES EXCELLENT RESULTS IN
CALIFORNIA.
Roads Made as smooth, Hard and
Clean as Macadam at an Expense
Of From $500 10 $500 Per Miie-Rut-
srd Road. should lie Repaired

I
County and road supervisors in
southern California are unanimous in
the belief that the problem of excel
lently ma cada mized roads at small cost
has at last been solved, and that sUlu.
tlon of il has been attained through
application to them of crude oil. There
are now nearly hundred miles of road
In the several counties of the southern
part of the state which have been
treated in This manner. aud so pro
nounced in every instance and particu.
Lar has been the success of the trial
that there is no doubt that nearly "A
thousand miles will he put under con
tIact for the treatment during the com
ing year II has been found that to
place roads in condition through the
use of oil is cheaper than maintaining
them in half condition during Il single
season hy sprinkling with water And
when road has once been put into
condition with oil ii requires but slight
additional expenditure to keep it so.
On all the main highways in Los IN.
gcleS county oil coating is now applied
Many of them have but patches of Il,
half mile or n mile in extent. the oil
being used upon them to test the affect
Il will have upon earthS of different
character and upon roads of varying
qualities. II has been found that where
the road had IN even, hard foundation,
smooth and clear OF rutS. and about
two Inches Of dust on the surface. the
oil is a complete success and gives a
snrfaCc aS polished. clean and clear rs
an asphalt street Where the soil is
claycy. though the surface is rutty. it
will maintain the hard character Of the
ground. allay all dust and prevent fur
thcr decay by resisting the formation
of mud the oily and lmp"rviouS ground
holding the water in the rutG until it
dries ont and preserving the earth be-
Meath from becoming saturated with IT,.
On a road of deep. loose sand, how
ever, th" oil appears to show little
benefit, though opinion is vet divided
as 10 whether or not repeated applica.
tionS OF II upon surfaces of this CharaC-
ter would not ultimately 50 pack the
sand as To make il n hard. tight body.
Those who claim it would not point
10 the fact that the wheels cut into the
oiled sand rs before. while those who
think Il would pack believe the sand
when applied to streets in tine city
wouh come to be- much the same as
bituminouS lime rock. which is nothing
more than sand thoroughly saturated
with hitumon. This substance when
applied to hard surfaces packs readily.
1t is n fact. however. that the sand
road does not prcdominate in Califor-
MIA and that the most common high
way has a hard foundation composed
Of clay, with dust covering worn
from the surface which will blow
away with the wind. and thereby
cause more dust to be released from
the surface. as q result of which aC-
ton the road Is eaten down and be-
comes rutty and wornOut. With this
character of road especially before the
ruts get into il. the oil is a lasting
boon. Roads which have ruts should
be repaired before being treated and
on sandy stretches the sand should he
removed or overcome, even though it
might be necessary TO spread upon the
surface a layer Of clay and roll 1t
down before applying the oil.
One hundred barrels of oil per mile
spread over an area Is feet in width
will put road in condition along 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 4 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 hot surface. so that the
work of the oil sprinkling is confined
to the heat of the day. The oil cannot
be poured on lndiscriminately but
is drilled into land prepared to receive
it. If 1t Is not so applied. the oil will
not saturatc evenly the dust area but
will lie in splotches, run together and
so make very imperfect success
either as a Job of sprnllling or as an
oiled surface.
In order to meet the requirements a
machine has been devised which. while
1t does not by any means limit the field
for inventions of this sort, nevertheless
supplies n. want in this direction. A
big tank. mounted on four wheels
drags n sort of tender box supported
by two wheels into which is run from
the tank a supply Of oil. This box has
furnace beneath 1t which heats the
oil. and attached to It is drag, look
Ing something like Il hayrakc. 4 num-
Der Of curved rods or fingers go out
from the bottom, and these are drawn
through the dust and along the road
They mark little furrows in the dust
and into these furrows, through a Sc,
rics Of pipes, is discharged the oil. A
second finger or sort Of thumb arrange
ment. fixed farther back, turns the
dust over the oiled furrow and the
surface is then left to absorb, process
which requires about an hour to effect
A roller is then drawn over the oiled
width. and the first trca tmcnt is COM
pleted.
Contracts for the three treatments
are taken at from S2OJ to S27O 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 g cents per running foot of
the IS foot width. and Of this sum. IN
der the general regulations, the county
pays oue-third. and the property own
ers on the road on each side pay each
one.third. Under this arrangement it
would cost an owner 81 to put in con-
dltion the road In front of 100 feet Of
land