The Republican journal., 1908-09-24
FURNACE STAG AND .CANDY''' ROADS
Office OF Public Roads Of the U. S. Depart
ment of Agriculture Makes Unique De-
parture in Highway Construction.

Office OF Public Roads OF the U. >. Depart
ment of Agriculture Makes Unique De-
parture in Highway Construction.
WASHINGTON, D. c., Sept. 21st.
Uniquely interesting are a number of
the experiments now being conducted
by the office of public roads of the
United States Department of Agricul-
ture; one being the effort to build a
dust-proof road by combining the here
tofore little used blast furnace Stag,
with asphalt or tar.
This endeavor is of the utmost eco
nOmic Importance, because if the hoped
for success is attained, unsightly noun
tains of Stag will soon disappear from
the vicinity of scores of cities, and a
ready market will have beer establish
ed for vast quantities of this m material.
For several years the scientists in the
office of public roads, as we'll as in many
of the more progressive States, have
been working to achieve two great OBJ
jects, viz, the utilization OF by products
in road building and the development
of dustless roads. Experiments al
ready conducted indicate that crushed
rock combined with tar or asphalt prep
arations bid fair to solve in a measure
the dustless road problem. Exhaustive
laboratory tests have indicated that
Stag in combination with preparations
of tar or asphalt may be made to serve
us substitute for crushed rock. Sec
tionS of experimental road are now be-
ing constructed which will subject the
| materials to actual service test. If the
results are as satisfactory as the pre-
ind nnfn hn cl
asphalt or Stag tar roads will realize the
hope of the scientists for both the
utilization of by-products and the at
tainment of dustless road. One of
these experimental stretches of road is
now in course of construction at Chi
cago, under the supervision Of Chief
Engineer Vernon M. Peirce, of the
Federal Bureau, and one at Birming-
ham. Alabama, under the direction of
Mr.. b, f. Heidel, First Assistant Engi-
neer.
The road at Chicago will be of Stag
and asphalt; that at Birmingham of
Stag and tar The greatest skill and
care will be used in putting down these
short stretches and they will then be
carefully observed during the trying
months of winter. If in the spring it
has been established that this class of
road remains firm, does not rut, sheds
water and makes but little dust, vast
step forward will have been taken in
road building, and neyer-failing mar
ket will have been created for blast
furnace waste.
Besides this activity in Stag expert
ments, the Public Roads Office is also
busy at Newton, Massachusetts, with Ii
special asphalt preparation, never be-
fore tried, which the Director and his
| lieutenants hope may prove efficacious
as dust binding surface material.
More unique than this, however, the
| Office is preparing at the same place to
lay stretch of what facetious writers
are almost certain to label Candy
Road" In all flights of fancy it is proba-
BILE that nobody except a scientist would
go so far a6eld in research as to adopt
molasses as a road building material, but
that is exactly what has been done here,
! and Assistant Chemist Provost Hubbard
of Director Pages scientific corps is
Ieveling half mile stretch of road near
Newton, and in few days will be in
active supervision of the laying of the
first molasses road of history. This
mOlasSes is the almost useless by
product of the great cane sugar retin-
cries of the South, and the beet sugar
refineries of the West and Southwest.
1t is sickishly sweet, nearly ~as black
and as thick as tar, and almost as pow
erful as binder. Having always been
waste product, it can be bought at a
lower price than coal tar and in greater
quantities.
When the quantity and the sticky
consistency of this material was called
to the attention of Director Page, a
number of months ago, he conceived
the idea that it might aid in solving
the always difficult problem of dusty
roads. He sent for supply for labora-
tory experiments and detailed MI. Hub
bard to conduct them. The molasses
was blended with oils and limewater;
was mixed with rock dust, with earth
and with sand and tried out under heat
and held out such promises for ideal
road was recently decided upon.
Stag as the useless by-product of the
blast furnaces and "molasses" as the
useless by product Of the sugar refner-
les may in a few years revolutionize
country road building; create Il demand
for more extended roads in the States
where those products are most easily to
be had, and add millions to the wealth
of the country by putting cash value
on hitherto waste material.
While experts are laboring with these
unique material experiments in East,
South and Middle West, another scien-
fist, also from the Office of public roads,
is engaged at Independence, Kansas, in
trying to devise a method of construct
ing oiled roads analogous to the
methods which have produced the IA
nous oiled roads of Southern Califor-
mia. He is mixing heavy oils, possess
sing pronounced asphaltic bases with
natural soil and sand and compacting
the preparation so formed with lamp
ing roller. One stretch of this peculiar
class of highway will be under con-
struction within "a few days. The oiled
roads of California have saved millions
of dollars to the farmers and fruit
growers of that fertile State in the last
few years by suppressing the dust that
formerly arose in binding clouds with
the passing of every vehicle. Those
dust clouds, floating to adjacent fields
and orchards deprecated the price of
farm produce and lowered the values of
real estate to startling degree. The
sprinkling of oil was tried and the dust
was held in check Then some of the
roads were plowed and the oil mixed
with the earth and the mass firmly
rolled to a properly crowned surface.