Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1908-03-26
OYSTER SHELLS
MAKE fine ROADS
They Have Seen Extensively
Used in New Jersey. but
Are Now Too Costly.
,erom the New YORK. sim

fiChA
,rhc use OF eyster shells fea' road MAX
Ing p,rposes Is rot u~ucon'r"' along
the se.co,s near the ~i-fs;e'' osSAe'
beds. bat liz MeW York. "hefe i"Is
OF the shells ore was.cd rSss$ s"a.'
treir ya,ac in ouj!Ging ROADS Is little
IN certain cainlsas OF New Jersey
ovater shell goods lsMse been use' inf
t.3irty years ~ aloS.. they nav E'Ncn
s,tislaction al. tlut tic.c. hui me cost
Of the siieif; mas hee'i lnc.a.tan'E ~
n RAPIDLY that tIr cnigtI snihorliics nave
hceu coynri i,e1 to rake y STUDY oi
oyster s!.clt roaa Du,idii@ IN order l."
ret the best results from The sA1hliest
Quantity OF shells.
Accordingly 81 has Been found llia'
by making Aa rsuch OF II rihs" as IN"
road will stand and then scattering u
few shells Ovcr the TOP. travel Oyer ii"
road finally breaks down the sNeilS
and leaves &. suacots level i"l'i tAdi Is
scarcely e~xccI!ed 10y taacadain. III '"il-
n,ructine "a shell, road there is scarcely
cor n. d,pth of lrovc than eight inches
or n width OF more than eight f'ci
OF loose shells. During the breaking
down period The o is carelui': o.
tended To preVen. fass, ~ the slclls
are raked in proper snape.
Once i'm t.r0l condition.. shefl r"ftds
,ore undoubtedly uioye satisfactory 10
ltraycl over fec horse. man OF antonio
milo Than Tie majority cl roads. Tisy
orc almost Hoisciess ana seem 20 pos
sess a resii!e,cy ~umequasled by AMY orr
cr material tFiat can ne coiMie''~u ~
IA rural dist ret.
fleets the durability OF nyster shells l."
any extent. 1t l. Their power OF &c
u,entation ts.at gives thsfA tncir 'hi~t
value as read material, notMithstnld
ing that the shells themselves airs soft
and will not gland Iiucil wear.
some little study has been given 10
tho construction of shell roads IN salem
county. New Jersey. The tlrst sAeii
road under the PROVISIONS Of the state
cid act was laid in 1895 ia The town
s,,ip OF Warrington. on n portion OF
the, Kings highway laid out from .-aiein
10 burlington III lGS2.
the shells were laid OF 81 heaVy clay
loan soil that had been covered with
e;Lndy gravel SO many times that II was
practically % sandy bottom wien il was
decided to improve it. This Shell road
Gas since worn spiendidly and has re-
CURED very little repair, in contrast to
another shell road laid on a clay loani
bottom, which was completely Worn out
In a. short time.
New Jersey road builders say that al
though the smells have been used for
tnirtY years their pecu!iarities as IL
roadriaking material have not been in
diligently studied. Tt has been deter
inined. however, that oyster shells are
NJ sOOu ttS IltIlGSSOilc.
The present cost Of oyster shells is al
tlost prohibitive for roadmaking. They
Cost & cents u bushel. which makes the
cost on the state roads, where the
shells are usually laid Il foot deep.
practically q cents a uar foot for
material On board u boat at the near
est wharf. This makes the cost prac-
tically the same as six-inch macadam.
which gives more years of wear than
the shell roads.
There is little difference in the force
required to move a load over Il shell
road and one of macadam. and for
light travel the shell road is much
superior when comfort to man and
wear and tear on horseflesh is consid-
cred Automobiles do not injure Il shell
road as much as one OF macadam. be.
caisc the finer texture of the oyster
she'll surface makes it less affected by
the suction of the rubber tire. The dust
question rs about as serious on one
road as on the other.
In pa~ts OF New Jersey where shell
roads have been in existence longest Il
will take man years to convince thu
people hat there Is any material tina
cxcels oyster shells for making roads
although on account of the presen'
cost of The shells the question of tn,
extensive building OF shell roads is still
open to discussion.