THE PHILIPPINE 



Journal of Science 



A. Chemical and Geological Sciences 

 AND THE Industries 



Vol. XI SEPTEMBER, 1916 No. 5 



PHILIPPINE PAVING-BRICK MATERIALS: A PRELIMINARY 



REPORT 1 



By J. C. Witt 



{From the Laboratory of General, Inorganic, and Physical Chemistry, 



Bureau of Science, Manila, P. I.) 



ONE PLATE AND 1 TEXT FIGURE 



INTRODUCTION 



One of the needs of the Phihppine Islands is a cheap and 

 satisfactory paving material for streets and roads. There, are 

 a number of imported products which give good service, but 

 the cost of transportation prohibited their extensive use even 

 before the present increases in freight rates. Imported paving 

 brick has always been out of the question for this reason, 

 but asphalt has been used from time to time. However, at 

 present, high freight rates prohibit the further importation of 

 this substance, and the supply on hand in Manila is being used 

 only on repair work. As a result, the city must now depend 

 almost entirely on macadam, which is the only class of paving 

 that can at present be made on an economic basis from Philippine 

 raw materials. Macadam is satisfactory for some purposes, 

 but is, of course, not well adapted to heavy traffic. Paving of 

 concrete alone or of concrete mixed or surfaced with bituminous 

 substance, is used in some cities in the United States with various 

 degrees of success, but unfortunately cement is another material 

 which is not available for streets to any great extent. There is 

 one mill in the Philippine Islands manufacturing cement from 

 local raw materials, but the present output is not adequate to 

 supply the cement for building purposes alone. 



The area of each kind of paving in use in Manila (December 



* Received for publication June 2, 1916. 

 143249 203 



