PARK AND CEMETERY. 
74 
roads constantly travelled by motor 
cars. 
For laying the dust in parks and 
cemeteries, Standard Emulsifying 
Road Oil is recommended. This oil 
is prepared so that it can be mixed 
with water, and a mixture of from 10 
per cent to 20 per cent of emulsifying 
oil with water will give very good re- 
sults, the roads being sprinkled about 
once every two weeks. After two or 
three applications in this way, the in- 
tervening time can be extended ac- 
cording to the general condition of the 
road. 
The nature of the road surface has 
also been found to play an important 
part in the success of an oiled road, 
but in general it has been demon- 
strated that to secure the best results 
the surface should be carefully swept 
of all fine, loose material, and after 
the application of the oil should be 
covered with coarse sand, screenings 
or gravel. 
This method is well suited to ma- 
cadam and gravel roads, and the oil 
when applied in a careful manner 
more than justifies the slight expen- 
diture. for it is a means of prolong- 
ing the life of a road upon which 
much care has been spent in con- 
struction and many thousands of dol- 
lars invested in labor and materials. 
Exhaustive experiments have prov- 
en that the greater portion of the 
oil should penetrate the road. Where 
this is effected and a light covering 
or dressing applied to absorb that 
portion of the oil which did not pen- 
etrate, the best results are generally 
obtained. 
The quantity of oil to be used de- 
pends upon the nature of the road 
and its ease of penetration. How- 
ever, it is advisable not to use less 
than one-fourth of a gallon or more 
than one-half a gallon per square yard 
of surface. Practical tests suggest 
that a macadam road, swept clean of 
all loose material and covered with 
a light top dressing after being oiled, 
will give best results with one-half 
gallon of oil per square yard. A 
gravel road will probably not re- 
quire over one-third of a gallon of oil 
per square yard. A dirt road requires 
an oil lighter in body, and in some 
cases, good results can be obtained 
with one-fourth of a gallon per square 
yard. 
No methods could be simpler than 
for properly applying this oil. The 
road should first be put in good con- 
dition so the oil will not pool in low 
places. It should also be dry so that 
the oil can penetrate. The sprinkling 
should l)e done only in warm weath- 
er. If the sprinkler does not distrib- 
ute evenly, stiff brooms should be 
used. 
It is best to treat one side of the 
road at a time, closing the oiled half 
from four to six hours so that the oil 
may properly penetrate, after which 
a light cover of screenings, gravel or 
coarse sand should be spread. This 
absorbs the oil which does not pene- 
trate the road bed and at the same 
time forms a compact, dry surface 
which will materially add life to the 
road and prevent tracking oil into 
houses. It is recommended that the 
part of the road oiled should be 
closed to traffic at least twenty-four 
hours, since the oil, being asphaltic, 
is liable to adhere to the tires of ve- 
hicles, resulting in bare spots and dis- 
turbing the surface before the oil has 
had time to set. 
Standard Road Oil was very suc- 
cessfully used last year on the race 
courses for the Briarcliff race, the 
Vanderbilt cup races, and the Savan- 
nah automobile races. The Standard 
Oil Company will furnish free a book 
full of interest to all who are con- 
cerned in the construction and main- 
tenance of good roads. 
WHAT IS NEEDED IN AMERICAN CITY PLANNING 
(Abstract of Address by John Nolen, Landscape Architect, Cam- 
bridge, Mass., at the Washington Conference on City Planning.) 
What is needed in the planning and 
rebuilding of American cities? A crit- 
ical observer, especially one having 
the achievements of the European and 
South American cities in mind, is 
tempted to answer: Everything. For 
with few exceptions, our cities are 
lacking in almost all of those essen- 
tials of convenience, comfort, orderli- 
ness and appropriate beauty that 
characterize the cities of other na- 
tions. But above all, vagueness and 
indefiniteness must be avoided. We 
must be specific. Therefore I shall 
confine my remarks to three points. 
We need (1) to make recreation more 
democratic; (2) to develop the indi- 
viduality of our cities; (3) to stop 
waste. First, then, we need to make 
improvements which are for the ben- 
efit and enjoyment of everybody, for 
the common good. In this respect 
how striking the contrast is between 
Europe and America! The poorest 
working man in Europe has some ad- 
vantages and opportunities which 
here the wealthiest cannot command. 
Forty years ago Germany planned to 
provide in all its cities and for all the 
people in them, facilities for whole- 
some physical exercise, large and con- 
venient opportunity to enjoy the 
beauty and wonder of the nature 
world, and a more intimate knowledge 
of noble kinds of human life and beau- 
tiful products of human work. Fine 
city streets, orderly railroad ap- 
proaches and surroundings, truly 
beautiful public buildings, open green 
squares and plazas, refreshing water- 
fronts, ennobling statuary, convenient 
and ample playgrounds, numerous 
parks, parkways and boulevards, art 
museums, theatres, opera houses and 
concert halls — all these in Europe are 
free, or so nearly free that they are 
easily available for all the people. 
These are not only worthy pleasures 
in themselves, to relieve from the 
grind and fatigue of yesterday’s and 
today’s toil, but they make a definite 
and indispensable contribution toward 
tomorrow’s efficiency. In political 
rights we have democracy enough: 
judging by results, perhaps more than 
we have fitness for. But should we 
not work for a wider democracy of 
recreation, for more opportunity to 
enjoy those forms of beauty and 
pleasure which feed and refresh the 
soul as bread does the body? 
Secondly, we need to consider more 
attentively the opportunity to improve 
our cities by the development of their 
individuality, their personality. Mr. 
James Bryce has pointed out that the 
one most serious drawback to Ameri- 
can life is its uniformity and that this 
criticism applies especially to cities. 
With but five or six exceptions, he 
says, American cities differ from one 
another only that some are built more 
with brick than with wood, and others 
more with wood than with brick; 
their monotony haunts one like a 
nightmare. This criticism becomes 
clearer and more pointed if we recall 
the cities and towns of England and, 
more especially, of Italy, and contrast 
them with our own. What is the 
explanatiA? It is partly the lack of 
an historic past and of memorials and 
old buildings resulting from that past. 
But most of it is due to factors more 
largely in our control. For -example, 
it is in our failure to echo more 
( Continued on page VIII ) 
