Asphalt, One of Oldest Known Waterproofing Materials

When the Pioneer Paper Company of I.os Angeles,. San Francisco, Portland and Seattle declares in its advertising itr"i ;'pio""er Rosfings and Shingles always give perfe.ct satisfaction," officials of the concern are wllllng to De called upon to prove it.

A case in point is the slate-surfaced shingle which the Pioneer Papei Company manufactures.

The slate-surfaced shingle, which covers a great many houses, is a composition oJ felt impregnated rvith asphalt' It is then sandedwith crushed slate.

The most important thing about any roofing is rvhether or not it will kCep out the rain and the snow and excesslve heat. In that cohnectio4, scientific and chemical research has established that asp.hatt is the most perfect wateroroofing substance that man has ever been able to hnd or [;;;i;; rit. ".*t consideration is cost. Inasmuch as the ."oof u'oi asphalt seems' 'in this day and age, to b9 ine-xnairitiUte, iti resultant cost is sufficiently lorv so th.at.the .o.f oi ih" fitti.tt.d product in. which it is used is Iow ;;;Uil to-ttt"t ttt" binefils' attained far over-shadow all other considetations.

This company cfiose asphalt in the -manufacture of its ,f"i.-*rt".Ja,.ititrgt. beceuse in asphalt it fohn-d the sub;l;;;;-;;;t imperiious to the elements, thereby providiil ;; nearly pirfect a shingle '.ftom all angles as can be p"i iogittt.i. 'E*pe1t. increased its usefulless by. sand-itre iii"itn crushel''slate which eftectually defies dirt a:d a-u-.i ""a adds greatly to its attractive aPPearance, . By manufacturing the shingles in vartous colors, they nave given the opportunity of surfacing a roof- to a-degred of Seauty limited only by the artistic sense of the designer.

Here are some of the facts which prove the usefulness of asphalt and show it as the perfect preservative.

The first known discovery of asphalt in, a condition to be used commerciallv #as in the Dead Sea; 2500 years or more before Christ.' The historian Diodorus tells of it. Primitive man, living on the shores of the Dead Sea found that the surface of fhis historically known body of water gave forth a resinous,'dark-brown, semi-liquid substance i=hat could be used in'various ways' It was sticky and would hold things together. Water failed to penetrate it. It was solid enough so that'it could be gathered up.

Probably the finders,,gf.asphalt didn't know what it was and cared'less, It wasrlufficiqnt for them"that asphalt was a verV handy thins tci have. I-ater, the fact that the Dead Sea was ref6rred to as a'sphaltites because of the composition which came from it, indicates that a name had been given the substahce:,andlthe ,news of its usefulness and 'Jpread to the far corners of the then known world.

Although not discgvered until a few thousand. yea-rs before Chriit, agphalt in: one form or another, obviously has existed since titne began.

It is of organic ori{in, being nothing-more nor less than bituminous shale containing vegetable remains in the process of transformation. It has been found in various ipots throughout the world, a great portion of it being found in California in'the fsrm of rock, known generally as asphalt rock, which is impregnated with limestone.

REDWOOD and FIR

WE CARRY A I.ARGE WHOI.ESAII, ST(rcK AT q.IR OATSI.AND DI!'TRIB[,'NTG ianUS WHICH ENABIIS US TO Gt. Y(ru PROMPT lllADufc tr YARD AND SIIED ITEMS IN BOTH REDWOOD AND FIR

B-"inS organic, it is natural to suppose that asphalt in its bituminous form has been in tlie process of-natural manufacture for unknown ag'es.

It's real story, however, begins with the beginning of its use alongside the Dead Sea-

The men who found that it could be made useful, put it to work immediately.

Historians areauthority for the statement that thev used it first as a coating for goat and animal skins becausl it afforded protection from the weather and the elem,ents.

- Ttt.y used it as a covering for skins out of which they fashioned boats as soon as they learned that it kept out the water.

Then a commercial mind conceived the idea of finding a market for it.

In a comparatively short time asphalt was being shipped into allof the ceuntries in the Mediterranean basin. - -

As early as 20o0 B. C., the Sumarians were using it as a form of cement. They fastened ornaments to pieces of pottery, sculpture and paintings, using asphalt to hold the two together.

The Egyptians used it to mummify theirdead. After wrapping the bodies thoroughly with cloth, a heavy coating of asphalt was put around the cloth. Archaeologists have seen visible evidence of the wisdom of their choice of preservative in the condition of ancient relics that have been unearthed in the birthplace of the world's civilization.

, As far as is known, asphalt was used for the first time for paving in Babylon. -

It was used as'mortar when th,e Tower of Babel was built, to hold the bricks in place, history shows.

Items of historical fact such as these definitely prove that asphalt was n-ot only recognized but used as the perfect preservative 5000 years a$o.

What more lasting and convincing demonstration of its effectiveness could be asked than 5000 years of tests ?

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That's why, today, asphalt has been turned and moulded to suitthe needs of modern industrial, and commercial uses. .It is being used now for more than 350 purposes.

!a-vrJrg_, of .course, continues to be its greatist-commer- cial field but it is becoming highly importa-nt in other ways.

For hundreds of years ttre suppty -in the Dead Sea rias the principal sgurqe of asphalt. -Witft the discovery of the renowned pitch lake of Trinidad, the deposits intlie Dead Sea were far over-shadowed in relative importance.

Scientists and engineers found in Trinidid a surface deposit abqut 100 acres in extent, extending to an unknown depth. To this day it has not been deteimined how deep the deposit is. They do know that after 1,000,000 tons oi the material had been removed, there was not even a noticeable dent in the surface. As fast as it was removed. it filled up again and the surface never seemed to recede. The action is the same as one would experience by pushins a ball bat into a vat of warm tar. As ^the bat is'plshed ln, the tar recedes and provides a chasm. But as soon as the bat.is removed, the tar moves back and fillsin the chasm agaln.

Trinidad's pitch lake rvas a world wonder. Not so many years ago, its importance paled somewhat with the discovery of another and greater natural deposit in South America. Apparently, the South Americin deposit exceeds that of the Trinidad deposit two or three times, the calculation being based upon surface af,ea*

When one considers that these are but a few of hundreds of natural d;posits thatdotthe surfaqe of the globe, it seems that the supply will withstand all the demaids that are made upon it and without a doubt, scientific research will develop other uses for a material that promises to last forever at a low cost.

It is not so much the fact that asphalt can be so useful

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