Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1907-10-09
IDEAL WOOD PAvEsIENTs.
Government Announces the Discov.
cry of New Use for, Gum Wood

Washington, ID. c., October -
Special: 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, will probably play an impor-
tant part In solving 8 tile street pave
ment problem which yaxes the off,
GERS of every municipality Experts
who have experimental with the tim
per OF this tree, which hitherto has
been considered almost worthless, say
that 1t makes an ideal paving block
when properly preserved.
A representative OF large wood
preserving company of New York,
which makes a specially of the man
ufacture Of street paving blocks, has
Just left Washington, after a confer
ence with officers of the Forest Ser
vice, regarding methods OF wood pre-
seryation. His company is now deal
Ing almost exclusively in black and
tupelo gum, and he Is highly elated
with the experiments which have been
made.
Wood is now considered thestrong-
est kind of factor among the ma
terfals from which the ideal street
pavement OF the future will be man
ufacturod. 1t is practically noiseless,
ssAA ESAAo aooiASy 10 NSly .u6SlIdUl6 III
large cities where there is much traf-
fic. When properly preserved and
laid, the best wood payements are
said to resist wear and tear as we'll
as any other material now in use.
Wood received bad reputation
as a paving block In this country
when It was laid in various cities q
number or years ago. 1t failed be-
cause Americans at that time knew
practically nothing about wood pre-
servation for paving purposes, laying
the wooden blocks just as they were
sawed. OF course the wear, tear and
weather soon made the pavement
almost unfit for use Foreign nations
hrsJ made success,u, experiments in
the preservation of wood used for
paving, and now Uncle Ssln has also
learned some very important things
about the manufacture of wooden
paving blocks, and in some respects
has gone the European manufactur-
ers one or two points better.
The company whose representative
has been in Washington comforting
on these matters of wood prcserva-
| tion has just completed three-cyl-
| inder treatment plant at Norfolk Va,
where the wood will be impregnated
with creosote and rosin by the pres
sure cylinder methods. The natural
toughness of the wood makes 1t wear
well, and the chemicals forced into
the fibre will render 1t immune from
| decay for many years.
The turning of black and tupelo
| gum<to account, on so large scale,
Is matter of Importance in connec-
tton with the waning timber supply.
ILumbermen have always considered
1t an inferior wood. Except for spe-
cial uses, such as mauls, mallets,
boards for wagon and cast beds. and
for other purposes where a wood Is
wanted which will not split, black
gum has been rejected by farmers
and lumbermen. 1t grows over q
tolerably wide region, and Is abun-
dant on the low, marshy lands near
the coast of the Southern States. 1t
finds its ideal homo in the Dismal
Swamps, where other woods. espe-
cially cypress, once grew in great
abundance.
Severe tests have shown that the
black and tupelo gum, when given a
proper preservative treatment, are
excellent materials for street paving.
The blocks are cut to stand on end,
about three inches thick, four inches
wide and about eight inches high.
The wood Is not very hard, but Its
toughness gives 1t superior wearing
qualities.