The Pensacola journal., 1907-05-11
EXPERIMENTS
IN ROAD MAKING
New Matrial That Is Being
Used at Lake Butler En-
tirely Satisfactory.

The following communication ap-
peared in a recent issue of The Jack
sonyille Metropolis:
To the Editor of The Metropolis:
1 would be pleased to have space
in your valuable columns to discuss
the advantages of a new road mate
rial that the people of our town are
using extensively and satisfactorily,
and which, / believe is the solution
of the state road question.
The material of which | speak is
the refuse from our turpentine retort,
and is spread over every street in the
town 80 -----
In the manufacture of turpentine,
the company uses only fat wood.
which is ground up into fine particles
in an immense hog, the spirits being
distilled by a steam process from this
masticated wood These chips are
the road material of which L speak,
and in the process of distillation they
retain the original rosin and tar, max
ing them absolutely free of disease
germs, even when left lying for years
in the extremely damp places. They
have this redeeming feature over sap
pine or cypress sawdust.
Just a year ago our toIn council
became interested in this material for
road building and as consequence
ordered the principal streets of the
town covered with it. In the course
of two months the chips settled down,
consolidated with the sand and form
ed a roadbed that is far superior to
clay, or even brick.
In dry weather the chips lay close
to the ground and not a particle of
dust is noticed. On the other hand,
in wet weather, the roadbed is as dry
as a parlor floor.
Z 1 believe that this material is the
best, icheapest and most satisfactory
matchmaking material that has yet
said before, the solution of the road
question. This material, so l am told
by a leading Eetort promoter, can be
placed to the railroad ready for ship
ment for the insignificant sum of so
cents per ton. One ton will spread
four inch surface over fifteen-fOot
road for a distance of 200 yards. All
that is necessary before the introduc-
ton of the chips, is a stumped and
graded roadbed. The chips need no
rolling. as they quickly settle down.
consolidating with the sand, which
forms an even, somewhat yielding and
hard road. .'
For wagons carrying heavy loads,
this is the road, as the wheels do not
sink an eighth of an inch, as is the
case with clay. It has the advantage
over clay of being dry in wet weather,
and non-dusty in dry weather.
The color of this new material is a
dark brown, making it very favorable
to the eyes.
For Automobiles.
For automobiles, it is the road, as it
presents a fine surface and the chips
will not puncture the most delicate
tires.
believe that good road from
Jacksonville to Gainesville via Bald
win, Starke, Lake Butler and Worth
ington, a distance of less than seven
ty-five miles, could be built for less
than $500 per mile, which would in
clude stumping, grading and covering
with these chips to depth of four
inches.
Such a road would meet with the
hearty approval of the towns along
the line and | feel sure that they
would contribute literally toward the
construction of same and with the
help of the state and counties the
cost would be so distributed so that
the expense would hardly be noticed.
Those who are interested in the
movement of building a good road
across the state of Florida, are in
vited to Lake Butler, where they can
drive over the best strentch of road
in the state built from this material,
and which has been in constant use
for a year without a penny spent on
repairs.
AVERY G. POWELL.