The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1909-03-02

naturalist, made prolonged lnvestl-
cation and finally reported to the
farmers that in his judgment the best
restorative measure possible would be
to import a great number Of cats and
set them free in Stafordshire.
Naturally the unbelieving scoffed
at the proposed antidote, for they
deemed the suggestion ridiculous.
They asked a reason for so extraordl-
nary prescription.
"The peculiar flavor Of the Stat
fordshire cheese comes from hybrid
clover which formerly grew here in
great abundance" said Sr John. "The
bumblebee the ne means Of cross
fertilizing that clover. The field
mice have increased very rapidly in
numbers of late and they are Destroy
ing the nests of the bumblebees. If
you can destroy the mice, the bees
can work on that clover and Stafford
shire cheese will soon be as good as
ever. Get cats, therefore.
II don't vouch for the story,' con-
tinued Dr.. Cushman, "but I endorse
it for its power of illustrating the de-
licate equilibrium which, under our
complex civilization, exists between
the public health and public utilities
Nobody will deny that the 2,lo0,OOO
miles of public roads Of America con-
stitute the national dust factory and
furnish fully 90 per cent. Of the dust
we inhale. The delicate breathing
apparatus of the human body was
never meant to harbor such sub
stances as every passing breeze blows
from the thoroughfares, and the per-
centage Of people dying from disease
carried by dust is higher than is gen.
orally believed.
"When the public will concede that
to be a fact the director Of public
roads and the State and county road
builders and overseers will get a
greater degree of popular support
than they now receive. Tell the or
dinary citizen or the busy farmer
that the bad, dust-heavy roads are
not merely disagreeable but danger
Gus to health as we'll, and he !smlleS
sarcastically and shifts the conversa-
tion.
1.-THE American becomes a skeptlc
when you confront him with a propo-
sition which, to him, is akin to the
eats Of Stafordshire.' If he doesn't
understand what you are talking
about, he assumes that you don't I'M
derstand it yourself. He finds dusty
roads a menace only when it is
brought home to him that they cost
him money. That was demonstrated to
the orange growers of California a
few years ago, when dust-covered
fruit no longer commanded so hagh a
price as when free from dust. The
result was an aroused interest in road
Improvement and in dust suppression.
Appeals on the score of cleanliness
and good health never stirred the
Californians, but a slump in the price
Of oranges brought about wonderful
era of activity. The outcome was
gratifying, and California soon had
dustless oiled roads. In that State
the oils possess a higher asphaltum
base than the oils of any other section
of the world, and when they are
spread on the roads the volatile por-
tion of the oil evaporates and the
asphaltum remains as binder.
1.-THE almost immediate success OF
this plan attracted the attention OF
highway engineers throughout the
world. In France and some of our
Eastern States it was at once assum-
ed that oiling was the best road
treatment and'that the longed-for So
luton of the dust nuisance problem
had been found. This has not been
proved to be the case, because IN
many localities the only oil available
possesses a petroleum rather than an
base.
''It has been found that when the
volatile portion evapcrates the OH
left behind becomes greasy and sim
liar in consistency to vasehne. Such
quality Of oils do not adhere and
bind the road, but it is picked up and
scattered by passing traffic, and the
man who gets even reasonable quail
ity of it on his clothes becomes a con-
sistent enemy to road oiling, but If,
even as the doctors say, dust means
dirt. dirt means disease and disease