Edward John Hallock

“ At other times the quantity sinks to five per cent, or less, while nodules of limestone entirely free from it are also found. The value of the rock depends on the percentage of bitumen, and on other circumstances. If the stone is to be used for making mastic, the higher the percentage the more valuable it is; but, if used directly for paving, a uniform distribution, not exceeding eight or ten per cent, is desirable.
Asphalt-stone, to which Malo limits the name of asphaltum, varies in color from gray to brownish-black, according to the richness in bitumen ”

“ Of asphalt sidewalks, etc., Paris has three million square metres, equivalent to four hundred miles of walks, seventeen feet wide. New York city can boast of only a few small and isolated strips of asphaltic street pavement, her past experience with the "poultice pavement" having induced the authorities to prohibit the laying of similar pavements. In front of the Brevoort House, and the Hotel Brunswick, samples of compressed pavement may be seen, while the American mastic, or Trinidad, has recently been laid in Fifteenth Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. ”

“ The powdered mineral from which the bitumen has been extracted should be white and soft. If it has a gray color, and feels harsh or sticky, it is of poor quality. Too much dependence can not be placed on chemical analyses, for much depends on the physical properties as well.
The larger portion of the asphalt-stone used in Europe comes from Val de Travers, which produces about 25,000 tons a year; Limmer is not much inferior in its yield, which amounts to about 21,500 tons; Seyssel furnishes 13,000 tons, and Lobsann about 9,000 tons. ”

“ Asphalt possesses another valuable property, that of absorbing vibrations, and is hence useful for foundations of machinery running at high speeds. A block of bituminous concrete weighing forty-five tons formed the foundation of the Carr's disintegrator which made fourteen hundred revolutions per minute at the Paris Exhibition. ”

“ Bitumen is likewise found in Cuba, and is brought into commerce under the name of chapopote, or Mexican asphalt.
In Europe asphalt occurs chiefly in limestone, which forms, when crushed and packed, an excellent pavement. The principal points at which it is found are the following: Val de Travers, in the Swiss Canton of Neufchâtel, fourteen miles from Neufchâtel, and sixteen or seventeen miles by rail from the French borders; Seyssel, on the Rhône, in the French department of the Ain, about thirty-three miles from Geneva ”

“ Asphalt has been used as flooring in stables, although there has been some complaint that it is cut by the stamping of the animals. It would seem to be an excellent material for the purpose, as it is unacted upon by urine, and, being without cracks, prevents the liquids from passing through and saturating the earth beneath. ”

“ Here, amid the most luxuriant vegetation, is a lake three miles in circumference, on the surface of which lies a crust of asphaltum of such tenacity that in the rainy season a person can walk across it ”

“ Asphalt floors have found more extensive use in breweries and sugar-refineries, for which they seem perfectly adapted. It is frequently applied to cellar-bottoms in city houses, some careful citizens having covered their cement floors with asphalt mastic. ”

“ It now forms a brittle mass, which sells for twenty-five dollars per ton. It is too hard for mixing with the pulverized asphalt-rock, or for street pavements. At Val de Travers and Seyssel the residues from the distillation of bituminous shale, known as "shalegrease," are used to soften it, while in other places similar residues of paraffine manufacture or petroleum refining are added to the natural bitumen to form what is known as "prepared bitumen," or mineral tar. ”