The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1901-01-19
OIL FOR COUNTRY ROADS
Experiments With Device for Sc
curing DuStleSS Highways,
Department of Agriculture Has
Given the System, a Trial Near This
City-MateriaI Is the Residuum
of Crude observation-disclosures Wa
ter Sprinkler Used satisfactorily.

Cyclists and others will be interested
to know that the Agricultural Depart
ment, in cooperation with the officials
OF the District OF Columbia and a dust
less road company, has developed a
scheme for the prevention of dust upon
country roads by a very simple expedient
which, so far. has proved complete sue
cess. This plan consists in sprinkling
the roads with oil which is said to be
as potent in the matter of dust as in
that of the proverbial troubled waters.
Queens Chapel Read, in the District,
was selected. for the purpose of testing
this new method. On account Of its being
so near Washington that the results
could be carefully noted from time to
time This road is a typical countryfare
Of the ordinary width Four thousand
six hundred and fifty feet have been
rounded up, treated with oil, and rolled
The width Of the sprinkled portion va
ried from nine 10 twelve feet The oil
used was that which is left Of crude pc
troleum after such volatile substances as
napAtha. kerosene. benzine. and gaso-
line have been extracted It was re-
siduum oil of 26 gravity, weighing 7.4s
pounds per gallon.
The material Of which Queens Chapel
Road is composed being a sandy clay and
loan, and being quite loose in some
places, It took more oil than would be
required 10 treat an ordinary clay or
loan road free from sand and in good
condition.
The amount Of oil used was a little over
5.Gee gallons, and it was distributed from
an ordinary, perforated gas-pipe spTink-
ling wagon This wagon had been used
IN sprfnkIjng the roads with water and the
holes were not enlarged for the expert
ment- thus necessitaJiRg the sprinkling
Of certain portions three or four times
while the loOseT ara mere dusty sections
we're sprinkled as many as six or seven
times The ordinary sprinkling wagon was
found quite satisfactory. the OIL running
fast enough to BE gradually taken up by
the surface and not so fast that it would
flow into the side bitches. as would have
been the case had the required amount
been applied all at once
Judging from The results accomplished
on this road the oil plan is said 10 be a
remarkable success as q dust settler L
is believed that where roads have so much
traffic and dust as TO require the use Of the
spTinkling cart in dry weather. the resi-
due oil. or r0adbed oil as II IS called by
tfe dealers. could be used very effectively
and economically. The feet that il set
ties the dust ard kills weeds was first rec
cgnized and utilized by the West Jerse-
and Seashore Railroad. It is nov being
applied annually on about thirty Of the
leading railroads throughout the country.
and its use IS being gradually extended 20
the ordinary country roads. It Is claimed
by some that the application OF crude oil
viii make surface iTDFervious to water
and eonseq Iently free from frost and mud
Should this be satisfactorily proved 10 be
the case. oil viii supersede gravel and
stone in the Improvement Of country
roads. Il VIII take some time further
however. to settle this muci-eisputed
question.
Another recent departure in road
making is a system by which Yitiied
brick tramways. or trackways can be
made at comp arativeIy low cost. on
account Of the small number of bricks
employed
Longitudinal bricks are placed in such
a way as to allow the vehicles 10 turn
OF and on the tracks at any point with
out sliding and forming ruts along the
track short section of this read has
been built on the grounds Of the De-
the abundance OF coed brick clay
throughout the country this experiment
viii naturally De looked upon with much
interest. especially by the coed roads
agitatoTs, who advocate the use OF COR
Wet labor in the preparation OF bricks
for road Improvement.