IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF ROADS AND WAYS AND IN THE MATERIALS EMPLOYED THEREIN, WHICH MATERIALS ARE ALSO APPLICABLE TO OTHER PURPOSES FOR WHICH ASPHALTE IS GENERALLY EMPLOYED
Year: 1870

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Henry Johnson, of 47, Lincoln's Inn
Fields, in the County of Middlesex, Gentleman, for the Invention
of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF ROADS AND WAYS AND IN THE
MATERIALS EMPLOYED THEREIN, WHICH MATERIALS ARE ALSO APPLICABLE TO
OTHER PURPOSES FOR WHICH ASPHALTE IS GENERALLY EMPLOYED." A com-
munication from abroad by Leopold Wiart, of Paris, in the Empire
of France, Civil Engineer.
Sealed the 10th September 1870, and dated the 16th March 1870.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Henry Johnson
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 16th March 1870.
I, JOHN HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County
of Middlesex, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF ROADS AND WAYS AND
IN THE MATERIALS EMPLOYED THEREIN, WHICH MATERIALS ARE ALSO APPLICABLE TO.
OTHER PURPOSES FOR WHICH ASPHALTE IS GENERALLY EMPLOYED," a communi-

page_text: cation from abroad by Leopold Wiart, of Paris, in the Empire of France,
Civil Engineer, to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to the construction of roads and ways and to
the materials employed therein, and consists essentially in the use of
wood, disintegrated into coarse fragments or filaments, either alone or
mixed with the other materials bercin-after mentioned, in the con-
struction of ordinary roads, footpaths, railways, terraces, and other
similar places.
In carrying out this Invention it is proposed to employ dye wood,
deprived of its coloring matter, or ordinary timber which is unsuitable
for carpentring purposes, or any other description of wood, by preference
in a green state, and to subject it to the action of a disintegrating
machine, in such a manner that the teeth will act at right angles to the
axis of the timber, by which means fragments or filaments of greater or
less length, according to the kind of wood employed will be obtained.
If the timber has been dessicated it should be immersed in water for a
sufficient period before being operated upon in the machine.
In applying the disintegrated wood to the construction of roads the
ground should be levelled to the requisite profile, and a trench or
depression of, say, from 3 to 4 inches in depth formed at the required
place, which is then filled with the fragments or filaments of wood to a
height slightly exceeding that of the intended level, in order to allow
for subsidence. The road may then be thrown open for traffic without
further preparation, or if it be required to obtain at once a firm and
level road a roller may be passed over it.
In the construction of railways it is proposed to apply underneath the
sleepers or other supports a layer or cushion of the wooden fragments
or filaments of, say, from three to four inches in depth. In the case of
relaying a line the old sleepers may be utilized by disintegration for
this purpose.
It is preferred to subject the fragments or filaments to a
preserving process, which their reduced state will facilitate.
It is also proposed to employ the disintegrated wood, when dried and
mixed with resin obtained from gas tar in a heated state, in the con-
struction of footpaths, public drives, and other works in which asphalte
is ordinarily employed. For footpaths and othe similar purposes the
ground is first prepared in the ordinary manner and a layer of at least
2 inches in depth of the heated mixture is applied thereon, after
which sand is sprinkled over it. If the trafic is very great, the surface

page_text: may be covered with a layer of ordinary asphalte. In lieu of using
resin in the formation of this mixture natural asphalte may be employed,
and the material may then be applied to the construction of roads.
The proportions of the resin or asphalte employed will vary according to
the degree of porossity and state of dessication of the wood. In general
it will be sufficient to employ a sufficient quantity of asphalte to cause
the fragments to perfectly cohere after the laying. By lessening the
proportion of the resin, so that the wood may be simply coated therewith,
its preservation in damp places will be ensured whilst the elasticity of
the fibres will be retained, which renders this mixture particularly
applicable for railways.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said John Henry Johnson in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 16th September 1870.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of Mid-
dlesex, Gentleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Sixteenth day of March, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy, in the thirty-
third year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said John Henry Johnson, Her special license
that I, the said John Henry Johnson, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as I, the said John Henry Johnson, my
executors, administrators, or assigns, should at any time agree with,
and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during
the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use,
exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IM-
PROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF ROADS AND WAYS, AND IN THE MATERIALS
EMPLOYED THEREIN, WHICH MATERIALS ARE ALSO APPLICABLE TO OTHER PURPOSES
FOR WHICH ASPHALTE IS GENERALLY EMPLOYED," a communication from abroad
by Leopold Wiart, of Paris, in the Empire of France, Civil Engineer,
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said John Henry

page_text: Johnson, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing
under my hand and seal, should particularly describe and ascertain the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be
performed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office
within six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the
said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said John Henry Johnson, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement, that is to say :-
The said Invention consists in the application of wood disintegrated
into coarse filaments to the construction of ordinary roads, railways, foot-
paths, bridle paths, terraces, and other like places. The disintegrated
wood which it is proposed to employ may be produced by means of a
rotatory conical dise provided with alternate cutters or knives and
tearing points which is rotated at a high velocity, say, 150 to 200
revolutions per minute, so as to tear and cut off splinters from the
piece of wood, which may be rough wood unsuitable for carpentering
purposes. Exhausted dye woods may also be employed when it has
been cut by a rotatory cutter of the kind above referred to. In sub-
mitting this wood to the action of the disintegrating machine the
following precautions are taken :-The wood preferred should be in its
green state, or if it has been dried a portion of its humidity is restored
to immersing it in water for a sufficient length of time. The wood
is so presented to the teeth of the machine that they will act per-
pendicularly or at right angles to the axis of the timber. By this means
irregular fragments of greater or less length will be obtained according
to the description of wood employed. The disintegrated wood under
this form, when it is rammed down slightly, is remarkable for its incom-
pressibility and power of cohesion, which renders it suitable for the
various purposes herein-after specified.
In order to apply the disintegrated wood to the construction of the
rolling surface of roads the ground is levelled to the profile adopted, and
a trench or depression is formed at the place which it is desired to cover
with wood. This trench is then filled with the disintegrated wood in
the form of irregular fragments of as great a length as possible to a
height slightly exceeding that of the intended level when finished, in
order to allow for the subsidence which may take place during the first

page_text: few days. The road may then without further preparation be thrown
open to traffic, but if it be required to obtain at once a firm and smooth
road a compressing roller may be passed over it, after having first
applied water over the wood by means of a perforated tube and hose.
It is possible that ruts may occur in the road for some little time, but
these may be repaired with facility by simply adding some of the wood
and then wetting the same as above described. The thickness of the
layer of wood will vary of course with the amount and nature of the
traffic the road has to bear.
This material may also be applied on account of its remarkable
elasticity to the construction of railways. The work is carried out in the
following manner :- -When the railway is constructed there is placed
beneath the sleepers, girders, or supports on which the rails are to rest
a layer of from two inches to four inches in depth of the disintegrated
wood, and the road is completed in the ordinary manner. In this case
it will be desirable to subject the wood to the action of some good
preserving process, which operation is greatly facilitated by the disin-
tegration of the material to be preserved. If the railway be already
constructed it will be desirable to take the opportunity of the repairing
of the line to introduce under the new sleepers a layer of the disintegrated
wood, which may be obtained by the disintegrating or tearing up into
fragments of the old sleepers.
By drying the disintegrated wood and mixing it in a heated state with
dry pitch, obtained from gas tar, a material or compound is obtained
which is particularly suitable for the construction of footways, public or
private carriage drives, and any description of works in which asphalte
is ordinarily employed.
When making footways for promenades and the like the disintegrated
fragments may be shorter than those employed for ordinary roads over
which a rolling traffic has to pass.
In the case of footways, public drives, or other like places the ground
is prepared in a similar manner to that when asphalte is employed, and
a layer of about two inches in depth of the heated mixture of disin-
tegrated wood, and pitch is spread thereon, after which sand is sprinkled
over it.
If the surfaces are to be subjected to much traffic the wood
fragments may, in order to prevent too rapid wear, be mixed with
natural asphalte or bitumen instead of pitch from gas tar. The pro-
portions of the wood and of the pitch or asphalte in the mixture may

page_text: be varied according to the porosity and more or less desiccated state of the
wood. As a general rule it will be sufficient to employ such a quantity
of asphalte as to cause the pieces of wood to be completely consolidated
after the laying. If the proportion of pitch is reduced so that the wood
is as it were simply painted the wood will be preserved in damp places,
whilst the elasticity of the fibres will be constantly maintained. This
mixture is preferable for railways.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of the
said Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or
carried into effect, I would observe in conclusion that what I consider 1
to be novel and original, and therefore claim as the Invention secured
to me by the hercin-before in part recited Letters Patent is,-
First. The employment of wood disintegrated into. fragments of as
great a length as possible in the construction of rides and bridle paths,
carriage drives, riding schools, and training grounds, streets, and roads 1
of all kinds, substantially as herein-before described.
Second. The employment of disintegrated wood of shorter length
than the preceding in the construction of footpaths of all kinds for
promenades, parks, and gardens, substantially as herein-before described.
Third. The employment of disintegrated wood, mixed or not with
pitch or with antiseptic material, or both, as a cushion for supporting
the sleepers of railways, substantially as herein-before described.
Fourth. The employment of this disintegrated wood mixed with
pitch obtained from gas tar or otherwise, or with natural asphalte or
bitumen in the construction of roads, footways of streets, public drives, 2
and any description of works in which asphalto is ordinarily employed,
substantially as herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Henry Johnson, have to
this my Specification set my hand and seal, this Fifteenth day
of September One thousand cight hundred and seventy.
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