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Show OILED ROADS TO SUCCESS. Much Interest has been felt In different parts of the United States In the use of oil for treating the surfaces of highways, ra order to lay the dust and to offer a hard, impervious, waterproof surface. In California such treatment of roads has met with a high degree of success. J3imi-. lar experiments. - however. In the East proved complete failures; the Eastern, oil failed to bind on the surface of the road. When it was found that the main difference differ-ence between the California natural oils and the Eastern lay in the fact that the California oils contained an asphalt base,, while the Eastern oils contained a petroleum petrol-eum or vaseline base, the United States Agricultural department Immediately sug--' gested that the failure of previous Eastern East-ern experiments was directly due to' the feet, and road builders throughout 'the. ccuntrv were urged to make experiments with mixtures of crude oils with crude nsphaltum. Last summer the Commissioners Commis-sioners of the District of Columbia consented con-sented to make such an experiment. A street in Washington was selected for the purpose and a number of mixtures of Southern crude oil and asphaltum were spread In adjacent sections. At first the experiment was looked upon ns a failure, but tho road has been steadily stead-ily improving, and at present there Is every promise of tho experiment proving a sncees. If It proves true that mixtures of Eastern crude oil and asphaltum make as aood roads as California oils do a great advance, will be made toward the betterment better-ment of rural highways. |