MICHIGAN ROADS AND FORESTS 



OBJECT LESSON ROADS. 



Government instruction in the method of 

 road-building was continued last year through 

 the medium of object-lesson roads, built at 

 ocal expense, under the supervision of an en- 

 gineer of the office of public roads. More 

 :han one million square yards of road, equiv- 

 alent to about 14 miles of road 15 feet wide, 

 were completed during the year. Viewed as a 

 construction record alone this would consti- 

 tute an excellent showing, but when it is con- 

 sidered that this mileage was made up of 55 

 object-lesson roads, each constituting a mina- 

 ture school of road-building, comprising ten 

 listinct types of construction, it must be evi- 

 lent that this feature of the deparment's work 

 s a powerful factor in the promotion of the 

 mblic roads. 



An inspection last year of 22 object-lesson 



oads, aggregating about 22 miles, showed that 



heir effect upon the different localities had 



esulted in the building of 730 miles of addi- 



icnal roads according to the same methods, 



mil had brought about the expenditure, 



n-ugh bond issues, of $1,500,000. 



Advisory work relating to road problems 



iccessitated about 20 assignments for the de- 



lartment's consulting engineers and experts. 



This was an increase of about 70 per cent 



>ver the amount of like work performed dur- 



ig the preceding fiscal year. From Secretary 



Vilson's Report. 



WESTERN MICHIGAN PROGRESS. 



That Western Michigan is truly developing is 

 ouched for by the figures that tell the "Better 

 toads" story for the territory. During the last 

 ear, 1909, for which the figures have been com- 

 liled, nearly a million dollars were raised for 

 ighway improvements in the 20 counties mak- 

 ug up the territory. The exact amount was 

 822,4(JL'.2i, which is the total of the sums raised 

 or road repair, $261,620.33, highway improved 

 396,300.10, and county road tax $164,541.78. It 

 i a significant fact that ten of the counties have 

 dopted the county system of highway of im- 

 rovement and are building their roads with an 

 lea of serving the people as a whole. 



JILL TO INCREASE APPROPRIATION. 



Senator John Leidlein will introduce in the 

 igan legislature a bill appropriating $750,000 

 or 1911 and $1,000,000 in 1912 for good roads in 

 igan. The appropriation two years ago was 

 360,000. Senator Leidlein declares, however, 

 iat the $2,000,000 issue for good roads in Wayne 

 >uiity and heavy expenditures proposed in other 

 aunties makes it certain already that the $1,000 

 er mile bonus paid by the state will multiply 

 to a million dollars or more in two years to 

 jme. 



A 58 STORY BUILDING. 



The Woolworth building to be erected by 

 rank W. Woolworth, the 5 and 10 cent store 

 ian, on the block in Broadway, New York, op- 

 site the Post Office is to be the tallest in the 

 orld. Originally the building was to be forty- 

 e stories high, but since Air. Woolworth suc- 

 in buying the Vorick Building at the 

 Tthwest corner of Broadway and Barclay 

 reel, which gave him control of the block up 

 Park place, it is said that he has decided to 

 crease the height of the building to fifty-eight 

 Jjories. To questions about the project Mr. 

 "oolworth said that if he improved his Broad- 

 property it would be with a building that 

 uld be the tallest in the world It is said 

 at it was with this object in view that he ac- 

 ired the Barclay street end of the block. Mr. 

 .. uolwurth now owns 151 feet on Broadway, 

 fig feet on Borclay street and 197 feet on Park 

 ace. On the Park place property the founda- 

 for the building as originally planned is 

 der construction. 



The reports have it that the building decided 

 *Ki by Mr. Woolworth will be fifty feet higher 

 ,an the top of the Metropolitan tower and about 

 feet above the Singer tower. It will mcos- 

 e 750 feet from the curb to the top cupolas. 



Observatory Road, Cincinnati, Ohio, constructed with Tarvia X 



Preserving Macadam 



A dusty macadam road indicates that 

 the road is wasting away because it is 

 incapableof withstanding modern traffic. 

 It indicates that material which has 

 been carted laboriously and put upon the 

 roadway at great expense, is being 

 rapidly distributed over the landscape, 

 necessitating expensive renewal in the 

 near future. 



It further means that macadam as or- 

 dinarily constructed was never designed 

 to withstand heavy automobile traffic. 

 To attempt to maintain it under such 

 traffic is only to waste money. 



The Tarvia Process of road preserva- 

 tion and dust prevention is now widely 

 known. It has been successfully used 

 upon millions of yards of roadways, and 

 is recognized as a decided step forward 

 in the science of road building. 



Tarvia is a coal tar preparation ap- 

 plied as a binder to the road. It makes 



the road surface slightly plastic so that 

 it yields instead of pulverizing under the 

 thrust of automobile wheels. The mat- 

 erial that is put into a tarviated road 

 stays there. Automobiles create pract- 

 ically no dust, and water torrents and 

 frost do no damage. 



A road built with Tarvia binder costs 

 a little more than ordinary macadam 

 but it lasts so much longer that the re- 

 duction in maintenance charges pays for 

 the treatment. 



Tarvia is made in three grades :- 



Tarvia X, for road construction. 



Tarvia A, for use in surfacing old 

 roads and keeping them dustless. 



Tarvia B, for dust suppression on old 

 roads. 



Booklet showing photographs of roads 

 all over the country which have been 

 treated with Tarvia, mailed on applica- 

 tion to nearest office. 



BARRETT MANUFACTURING CO. 



New York Chicago Philadelphia Boston St. Louis Cleveland Cincinnati 

 Minneapolis Pittsburg Kansas City New Orleans Seattle London. Eng. 



The main building will be thirty stories high 

 and the tower which will be built either over 

 the middle of the Broadway frontage or at the 

 Park place corner will be twenty-eight stories 

 higher. The building, it is said, will cost $7,- 

 500,000. The site has cost $4,500,000. 



POPULATION IN WESTERN MICHI- 

 GAN. 



Western Michigan is nearly as large as the 

 two states of Delaware and Maryland; but its 

 population is but a trifle over one-third that 

 of the eastern states. This comparison gives 

 an idea as to the possibilities for development 

 in th.s region. 



The number of inhabitants per square mile 

 in Delaware is 94 3 arid in Maryland 120.5. In 

 Western Michigan, taken as a whole, the num- 

 ber is 48.6. The density of the population for 

 the nine North Atlantic states is 129.8. 



In only one of the Western Michigan coun- 



ties, Kent, is the density above that for the 

 northeastern states. This county averages 

 181.1 per square mil.e, and is followed by Ot- 

 tawa with 80.7 and Muskegon with 77.7, all 

 other counties falling below 50 per square 

 mile, until the most sparsely settled section 

 is reached in Lake county, with only 7.8 per 

 square mile. 



A HURON COUNTY OPINION. 



"A good country road is always to be desired 

 and is a source of comfort and convenience to 

 every traveler. Good roads attract population, 

 as well as good schools and churches. Good 

 roads improve the value of the property, so that 

 it is said a farm lying five miles from market, 

 connected by a bad road, is of less calue than an 

 equally good farm lying ten miles away from 

 market connected by a good road." Sebewaing 

 Blade. 



