New-York tribune., 1907-08-18
FRENCH ROAD TARRING
Success Secured After Fariety Of
perlHeRts.
Paris. August q.

Paris. August 6.
The Observation-Disclosures of Highways FOUND
rself face TO face with problem some ten
wears ago. when thousands Of motor cars began
10 strip the rnacadanized roads Of their surface
lavers exposing the we'll balls-sted beds to the
.xhausting suction Of pneumatic tires. The
Minister Of Public Works appointed technical
commission 10 report on the many methods pro-
posed for suppressng dust and for the protec-
.ion Of the road surface from its new enemy. the
,oofor car. Meanwhile a national antitrust
league was formed and its membership rapidly
Increased 10 twenty thousand. including Baron
de Z,,ylen. president of the Automobile Club of
France: NJ fallif. president OF the Touring
Club and the Marquis de Dion. president of
the SvndicaI Chamber OF Automobilism The
CITY of Paris was foremost in the solving of the
new road problem. and after testing no less thah
ss.tv-four methods allotted certain parts of the
roadway for simultaneous experiments with hall
"a dozen systems selected by the municipal en-
gfneers The city gas works supplied all the
coal tar that was neeled. for it was found that
All the best methods were based upon combina-
tions Of tar
Among the coal tar and coal oil COM
binarions tested may he mentioned the ""S-
rrurite odocreo rapidite. pulVeranto apui-
.yite pulvivore. injectoline, poussierlte ana
s.irurnine In the presen1 season the treat
snents employed for obviating dust ana foI
the surface protection against the suction ol
,he rnel,n1atic tires in Paris and throughout the
nepartnent of the Seine are the application oi
cold tar for certain roads and hot tar for others
There is no longer any doubt about the eflcacy
uf tar in protecting the road surface ana pre-
wanting dust. The absorption of tar varies &C
coraing TO the nature of the road from one hl,o-
~rarnne two hundred grammes TO one klio-
.-rarnrloe five hundred grammes to the SQUARE
,netre The cold tarring process Is erected py
sinking 10 per cent Of raw oil Win ~ per CeH'
AZ coal tar and this fluid is poured upon lhe
4yurface of the road by means OF TWO WheeIeu
~-r,-;,Rrlire~ carts made for the purpose The
results are satisfactory in dry weather put thiS
coating is likely to become slipper! III w"
,-easher The average cost OF thls neuIou IN
The Department of the Seine. and IN that OF lhe
Seine-et-Oise is four cents square me'ie (
19efore apulvins the cold tar the roaos 1flOSl "e
well swept and brushed and the operation .,s LnuS,
sake plaoe when the surface Is lIee I'm
,r.-,-e The CITY of Paris has made a con-
So x,i+s, the Iassailly company Tor appis siiis
81 TAR ,o the roads at cost OF 10 ceh'l4I
% r;t,la over three cents square metre Oi %
.xnense of sweeping and caring Ior 'iA ~
a.sing borne by the munictpahly- 500
rr;,a ,oaI tar is heated TO a temperature oL A
.s-aa. ,en,icrase (212 degrees Fahrenheip III
cars called s-chauffes-goudrons ps mean. -.
steam and is then poured lhr"ush plpe'
.t,a ..,ar distributing" cart, or NolluIe-soC
,,.,,sa % cornposed Of iron cash mounted upon
-. o~,ar sns nrovided with a regulating force
-, ,,,b;c, r,resses the hot tar with suIlicieIl
-,ozrer through the sprlnkiing hoieS So NO
-ro-onehlv saturates the surface OF the foau ~
, 5e-5b of foarr centimetres. penetrating lii'o
o, - ,,f4sae a,et,yeen the macadam stones ana
-,oasinr a sort of waterproof crust OF celneHt-
THE tar when heated 20 the bolis poii'
-,na-lv sc fluid as water. and the appIcaLoh -
-onseo1,entlv cheap and rapid The drylhs
r f- ooco,,nlisI1ed by sprinkling the hos
surface with fine sand The whole opera't"H
lasts from twenty-fogr TO forty-elsht houIs
during which time the road Is fenced OF 10 pre-
eE,,--y RS
,,uea r,,- the city of Paris fitted with an IN
-ansous sweeping and cleaning apparatus which
in few moments prepares the surface Oh ~ lIle
roas for the proper application OF the not laI.
A process consisting Of a mixture OF drying OH
with the tar is used in certain streets III Faii9
-,j,era rl1a traffic Is great. and which enables
4se road to he opened for traffic within six hours
after annlicafion OF the hot tar. NJ Rlmlnl, the
inventor of this particular compound OIL coal Tar 7
and drying oil tsiccatlVeD retains Ihe secfe' "L
the composition
The paris method of hot tar is being en-
Moved on macadamized roads throughout
France the present season The writer made
1notor trip a few days ago from Paris 10 Dieppe,
and thence 20 Trouville Pont L'Eveque, Rouen.
Vernon and back TO Paris. and found that as a
rule the roads near the fashionable resorts large
towns, chateaus and country houses were in
c-Tsted with tar. The result of the process Is
pronounced By the authorities and by the in
habftants to he satisfactory. The chauffeurs,
however complain that when passing over
freshly rarred roads the mixture Sp1dltefS anu
DESTROYS the varnish Of the automobiles. The
Inspector General OF Highways at the Prefect-
ure Of the Seine. NJ Moreaux. to whom the
writer is Indebted for the technical Information
concerning the French road tarring process,
states that not only is the method efficacious
against dust but also preserves the roads from
wear, and especially from the terrible suction of
she pneumatic tires Of motor travelling at
high speed The roads do not require to be re-
ynacadenlized as often formerly the case,
Gnd they require less sweeping and repair. NJ.
Moreaux estimates that the tar coating the
roads effects economy OF 20 per cent in the
cost Of keeping the highways in good condition.
He also says that the tarring process greatly
sSirninishes the quantity of mud in wet weather.
The American system Of covering the high
ways with crude petroleum Is not practicable in
France, owing TO :he cost Of the material,
which amounts In Paris TO over $40 a ton The
petroleum has, nevertheless. been experimental
with in The Department Of the Seine, and the
opiuicn of the engineers is that, apart from the
great expense, the result is not as satisfactory
us the method of hot tar now adopted in France
c. l. B.