FOR THE TOURISM

Should we rubberize the roads of France?

The Work asks for rubber roads? But it can be done; this even happens. Trials took place in Ceylon where rubber cultivation is practiced on a large scale. At a time when enormous speeds are being achieved and the expansion of heavy goods vehicle transport is mutilating our roads, the question of rubberization of roads is very topical.
Thirty years ago, on the one hand the appearance of the bicycle and the automobile, on the other hand the development of the electrical industry resulted in a tremendous consumption of rubber.
Around 1900, production was significantly lower than consumption and “gum” was worth 36 francs per kilogram. In spite of clear-cutting the rubber tree stands providing the “natural” rubber of Brazil and Senegal, in order to extract maximum yield more quickly, we could not ward off the crisis. What was inevitable happened. Wise English and Dutch planted rubber trees in Ceylon and Java; we planted some ourselves in Guyana and Indochina. Currently, there is overproduction.
The harvest annually exceeds consumption by a quarter. This resulted in a significant drop in the selling prices of gum.
We therefore looked for new outlets and we found two which are important and which relate, one, to the rubberization of roads and, the other, to the manufacture of paper.
To rubberize the road, we use all the rubber waste which is previously heated until liquefaction. The road surface is first swept with the greatest care, then the very fluid rubber paste is spread over the surface to be covered, using brooms. This operation completed, we cover everything with gravel and we pass the steam roller which pushes the small stones into the mass. Following this series of operations, the road is coated with a very resistant coating, very adherent to the concrete, giving neither dust nor mud, and having, in addition, the property of being elastic. This is the ideal route. Rubberizing the road costs twice as much as tarmac, but lasts twice as long. The other outlet, I said, is paper manufacturing. We incorporate a certain proportion of latex into ordinary paper pulp and we obtain a glossy paper, easy to paste and retains the “charge” of the colors well. Rubberized roads, latex paper, this is the latest cry of progress.