Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1907-05-08
A Substitute for Asnhalt.

the way of comic opera. Now the
Nottingham county surveyor invents
a pavement with all the virtues of
Iasphalt. but more durable and far
leheaper. Moreover, he is sufficiently
free from comic opera atmosphere tc
get his process patented.
This surveyor is really the man in
charge of the roads of Nottingham
county. Now, the roads of England
have been wonderfully good ever
since De Quincy used to indulge in
'the Joy Of motion" on top a mail
coach.
Generations of horse-loving people
have found the roads getting better
and better-till inventive man came
along with the motor car and the
traction engine Then the roads
were fround troublesome.
Motor cars-called autos by plain
folks-not only cause dust, but
loosen the macadam by suction
while heavy engines and motor
wagons crush and destroy the sur
face smoothness of the roads. The
result has been TO heavily increase
the expense of road maintenance and
to exercise the ingenuity of county
surveyors in deyising means OF sup.
pressing dust and constructing roads
suited to prevent traffic conditions
This Nottingham county surveyor
studied these defects, and made some
experiments. United States Consul
Mahin, of Nottingham. has been
looking over the results. From him
tn einformation comes TO the depart
ment of commerce and labor that the
problems of dust and durability have
been solved, and incidentally new
paving introduced TO mankind. Ten
years ago the surveyor tried tar
washing, process now much talked
about for roads. but found II only
a temporary palliative.
The tar was chiefly absorbed by
the joints OF the paving and only
partially adhered TO the material
After a few months dust resulted
which he considered worse than ordi-
nary soil dust. He next tried tarrlng
Stag, granite and limestone by the
roadside, but the heating of the ma
terial TO q point necessary 10 make
the tar adhere made II brittle and
not suitable for heavs traffc, and
the process was besides very slow
and a public nuisance. He then re-
moved his apparatus 10 an iron
foundry and tried hot Stag taken
from the furnace. the first attempt
of the kind. The experiment work
ed 10 charm. and with the mixture
OF toughening adjunct water
proof road material was created.
He has patented the process. Not
only Is the former work of heating
dispensed with. but the material is
not brittle. and being uniformly hot
TO the center IL sucks In the tar.
The preparation used under the
surveyors patent IL termed tarmac
II is applied TO a road without any
digging or grading beyond mere
leyeling Two layers are used, the
lower 2h and the upper IA inches
thick. Steam rolling reduces the
thickness 10 inches A 5-mllo Sec |
tion OF road between Nottingham and /
Radcliff was used 20 test the prepa
ration. IL lies near the Trent river
and canal is below the level OF /
both and has a gravel bed Conse-
quently. water could seep through .
upon Il. II was VIGOROUSLY bad
road. dusty in dry weather and al
most impossible muddy In wet; a,
the same time, one OF the most i'm
portant and most used roads in the
county. II therefore offered a SUI
preme test OF the efficiency OF road
paving material
This stretch OF road Is now one Of h
the finest in England II is smooth
as asphalt, mudless In wet weather; !,
In dry weather dustless with ordi-
nary trafiic and nearly so with the
swift passage of automobiles A dry :
road absolutely dustless when tra-
yeTsed by automobiles Is an utter
.mpossibility. The tarmac road Pc
mperyious. Surface water flows 90 /,
the sides. and no dust is possible
except what Is dropped or blown NJ
On it
Consul Mahin does not assert that }
this tarmac road Il any better than ,
asphalt for general purposes. lie a
ioes declare that II Is not slippery
Ike asphalt when wet, and Is said 10 1
.ost much less 10 lay--barely a
sixth as much, according 20 local ex- {
'erienoe. The road was made IN I
Ia.