94 PEARLS -A^D. PEARLING 



material of the button factories.. This was sold for $169,- 

 ooo.oo, or at the rate of about $5.50 per ton. 



Another common use for shells is in road making. It 

 is estimated that there are about 3,000 miles of roads in 

 the eastern States that have been surfaced with shells of 

 oysters and clams. The localities which use shells for 

 this purpose are : Connecticut, Long Island, New Jersey, 

 Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, Florida 

 and Louisiana. The shells cost three cents a bushel and 

 to cover a road sixteen feet wide to a depth of fifteen 

 inches in the middle, and eight inches on the sides re- 

 quires about 30,000 bushels of shells per mile, making an 

 expense of $900.00 per mile. In order to keep the road 

 in repair, 2,500 bushels of shells are required annually 

 at a cost of about $75.00. It is the cheapest road material 

 in those sections, but it is not entirely satisfactory as road 

 material on account of the rapid wear and the objection- 

 able lime dust. The shells are also used for railroad bal- 

 last. They are not so durable as rock, but are cheaper 

 in some localities and answer the purpose fairly well. 



Shells are often used for sidewalks, and are well 

 adapted for that purpose. 



In Colonial times shells were used for making lime and 

 most of the brick buildings that were built then were 

 solidified with the shell lime. It was not very satisfac- 

 tory though, on account of its tendency to absorb mois- 

 ture, and its use was discontinued as soon as limestone 

 was discovered. 



Shells are used in large quantities for spreading on 

 private oyster grounds for the purpose of obtaining a 



