Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1908-12-09
ROADS OF MoLAssEs.
One of Several New Materials the
Government Is Trying.

One of Several New Materials the
Government is Trying.
Experiments are now being con
Quoted by the Office of public roads of
the United States department of agri-
culture in an effort to build dust
proof road by combining blast fur
mace Stag with asphalt or tar, says
the New York Sun.
This endeavor is of the utmost eco
nomic Importance, because if the
hoped-for success is attained I'M
slightly mountains of Stag will soon
disappear from the vicinity of scores
of cities and ready market will have
been established for vast quantities
of this 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 objects, the utilization of
by-products in road building and the
development of dustless roads. Elk
periments already conducted indicate
that crushed rock combined with tar
or asphalt preparations bid fair to
solve in a measure the dustless-road
problem. Exhaustive laboratory tests
have indicated that Stag in combina-
tion with preparations OF tar Or as
phalt may be made to serve as SUBJ
stitute for crushed rock.
One of these experimental stretches
of road is now in course of construc-
ton at Chicago, under the supervision
of Chief Engineer Vernon M. Pierce OF
the federal bureau, and one at Birm-
ingham, Ala, under the direction OF
B. F. Heidel, first assistant engineer.
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
irving months of winter. Ii 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
an ever failing market will have been
created for blast furnace waste.
Besides this activity in Stag expert
ments the public road office is also
busy at Newton, Mass, with a speclal
asphalt preparation never before
tried which the director and his lieu
tenants hope may prove efficacious
as a dust-binding surface material.
The office is also preparing at the
same place to lay stretch OF what
might be called candy road. No
body except a scientist would go SO
far afield in research as to adopt mo-
lasses 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 leveling half-mile stretcn
of road near Newton and in lew
DAYS will be in active supervision Oh
the laying of the first molasses road
of history. This molasses is the al
most useless by-product of the great
cane sugar refineries of the south anu
the beet-sugar refneries OF the west
and southwest. 1t is sickishly sweet,
nearly as black and as thick as tar
and almost as powerful as binder
Having always been waste produc'
il can be bought at lower price tnan
coal tar and in greater quantities.
When the quantity. and the STICKY
of this material were
called to the attention OF Director
page a number of months ago, ne
conceived the idea that it might AID
in solving the always difficult problem
of dusty roads. He sent for a sup
ply for laboratory experiments and
detailed Mr.. Hubbard to conduct
them. The molasses was BLENDED
with oils and lime water. was mixed
with rock dust, with earth and Win
water. 1t behaved so well, and held
out such promises for ideal roads
that the practical test of a real road
was recently decided upon.
Another scientist. also from the Of
fee of public roads, is engaged at In
Kas., in trying to devise
a method of constructing oiled roads
analogous to the methods which have
produced the famous oiled roads OF
southern California He is mixing
heavy oils possessing pronounced as