Bluefield evening leader. [volume] (Bluefield, W. Va.) 1906-1911, 1907-10-05
IDEAL WOOD
PAVEMENTS MADE
FROM GUM WOOD

Washington, Oct. 5.-The black
and tupelo gum trees, which find
their Ideal home in the Dismal
Swamp and other marshy places of
the South Atlantic and Gulf states.
viii probably play an important part
in solving the street pavement prob
lem which vexes the officers of every
municipality. Experts who have
Experimental with the timber OF
this tree which hitherto has been
considered almost worthless, say
that IL makes an ideal paving block
when properly preserved.
\ representative OF large wood
preserving company OF New York,
which makes a speciality OF the man
ufacture OF street paving blocks, has
just left Washington after a confer
cnce with officers OF the forest SER
vice regarding methods OF wood pre-
servation. His company is now deal
ing almost exclusively I'm black and
tupelo gum and he is highly elated
with the experiments which have
been made.
Wood IS now considered the
strongest kind OF a factor among
the materials from which the ideal
street pavement Of the future will
be manufactured II Is practically
noiseless, and this quality Is very de-
sirablc IN large cities whore there Is
much traffic When properly pre-
served and laid, the best wood pave
ments are said TO resist wear and
tear rs we'll as any other material
now I'm use.
Wood received a bad reputation as
"A paving block in this country when
IL was laid in various cities a num-
Der Of years ago. II failed because
Americans at that time knew pTac-
tically nothing about wood preserva-
ton for paving woods, laying the
wooden blocks just az they were
sawed or course, wear tear and
weather soon made the pavement al
most UNIT for use Foreign nations
first made successful experiments In
the preservation Of wood used for
paving, and now Uncle Sam has also
learned some very important things
about the manufacture OF wooden
paving blocks and in some respects
has gone the European manufactur-
crs one or two points better.
The company. whose representative
has been In Washington comforting
on those matters Of wood preserva-
ton, has just completed three
cylinder treatment plant at Norfolk.
Virginia. where the wood viii be
imprcgnatcd with crcosote and rosin
boy the pressure cylinder methods.
The natural toughncss Of the wood
makes 80 wear well and the chem
icals forced into the nbrO will rem
der 20 immune from decay for many
years.
The turning Of black and tupelo
gum To- account on $50 large a scale.
is matter Of Importance in cOnncc-
ton with the waning timber supply
Lumbermcn have always considered
. it an inferior wood. Except for spo
cial usc uch as mauls. malots
boards for wagon and cast bcds and
for other purposes where "a wood is
wanted which viii not split black
gum has been rejected by farmers
and lumbormcn 10 grows over a
tolerabiy wide region and is sbuud-
. ant ON The low marshy lands near
the coast Of The Southern states. n
find Cos IDEAL home 600 the Dismal
Swamp. whore other woods especial
ly cypress once grew ln great album
dance
Severe tests have shown that black
and 'uDelo gum when given "a proper
. prescrvauve treatment is am excel
lent material for street paving The
blocks arc cut fo stand on end about
three inches thick four inches wide
and about eight inches high The
wood no' worry hard but its touch.
ness gives st superior wearing quail.
ties