161 
R ARK AND CEMETERY. 
AMERICAN CIVIC ASSOCIATION 
warm weather and slimy in wet weather. 
Sand or fine stone screenings have 
been used as a top dressing in the ma- 
jority of the trials with coal tar, al- 
though occasionally the fine material re- 
moved from the road previous to tarr- 
ing has been used. Stone screenings 
are probably the best material to use on 
a macadam road since they furnish a 
dressing of the same material as the 
road itself. 
Water, salt solutions and light oil 
emulsions are of the nature of tempo- 
rary binders and are not to be com- 
pared with the more permanent ones 
such as coal tar and oils having an as- 
phalt base. 
The use of oil has been confined 
largely to the United States and by far 
the greater portion of the work has 
been done in the west, owing to the 
proximity of the oil fields which sup- 
ply oils with an asphalt base. 
Experiments have pretty clearly dem- 
onstrated that tar is not adapted for 
the treatment of gravel or soft earth 
roads owing to the fact that it does 
not amalgamate sufficiently well with 
these materials to bind them together. 
For roads of this class, therefore, oil 
has been more successful than tar. The 
use of tar has been and must be con- 
fined almost entirely to macadam or 
broken stone roads, and for roads of 
this nature it is probably more suit- 
able than oil. 
Oil, as a rule, has greater power of 
penetration than tar, but its value is 
dependent in a large measure to its as- 
phalt base. 
Tar solidifies quite completely as soon 
as it is cold and does not depend ex- 
cept to a small degree on the gradual 
evaporation of its volatile constituents 
for it's hardening. It is comparatively 
free from the objection of being picked 
up and thrown by the wheels of ve- 
hicles, and although it has a decided 
odor which lasts for a short time after 
application, this is not particularly ob- 
jectionable and to most people is much 
less offensive than that of crude oil. 
An objection is sometimes raised to the 
use of tar on account of a fine black 
dust which wears off of the tarred sur- 
face. It is true that such a dust is 
formed, but the amount is insignificant 
in comparison with the dust which 
would have formed if the road had 
been untreated. 
A properly tarred road is similar to 
an asphalt pavement although of a more 
resilient character. The stone is all 
bonded together by the tar into a 
smooth, firm surface which can be 
swept and washed in much the same 
manner as an asphalt pavement. 
The annual convention of the Ameri- 
can Civic Association now being held 
at Cincinnati, November 15 to 18, in 
conjunction with the National Munici- 
pal League, promises to be a great 
meeting for civic uplift. The pro- 
gramme as arranged has ensured the 
presence of distinguished men and wom- 
en in the various fields of activity for 
which the association stands. 
“Conservation” is to be in many re- 
spects the key note of the several ses- 
sions, and prominent among the speak- 
ers on that subject will be Dr. Charles 
W. Eliot, president emeritus of Har- 
vard University. J. Horace McFar- 
land, president of the American Civic 
Association, has given “The Intimate 
Relation of Conservation” as the title 
of his annual address. 
An entire day will be devoted to ses- 
sions on city planning, with leading 
experts present to participate in the dis- 
cussions, including, it is expected, Fred- 
erick L. Olmsted, John Nolen, George 
Park authorities are just beginning 
to appreciate the full value of tar- 
via as an agent for reducing the gen- 
eral road maintenance expenses. 
Although tarvia is primarily for use 
on macadam roads, as has been de- 
scribed in these pages, it is also use- 
ful in the making of sidewalks. The 
Bronx Zoological Park in New York 
City is almost completely paved with 
tarvia walks. The process is the same 
as for roads except that it is done by 
hand with greater exactness and care 
as to the mixing of the stone and the 
tarvia. It is especially available for 
E. Kessler, Harold A. Caparn, Warren- 
H. Manning, Dr. John Quincy Adams, 
and others. The session devoted to- 
nuisances will be an important one with 
reports on the latest successful attempts 
at the abatement of the billboard, smoke,, 
noise and other nuisances. 
Another important session will be that 
devoted to national and state parks and' 
reservations. The development of state 
parks is one of the latest extensions of 
the park idea, and is being given a great 
impetus in several states, notably Wis- 
consin and New York. A special ses- 
sion will be devoted to art and civic im- 
provement. Other sessions wilt provide 
for ample discussion of trees, streets^ 
playgrounds, children’s gardens and 
other departmental activities of the 
American Civic Association. 
The sessions of both associations are 
to be held at the Hotel Sinton, and 
Cincinnati committees spared no prep- 
aration for a completely successful 
meeting in all respects. 
long, wide promenades where pedes- 
trian traffic is not heavy. The cost 
of such walks would be too high if 
they were built of ordinary material, 
and for light traffic the tarvia side- 
walks will be found to answer every 
purpose. 
For cemetery authorities, a tarvia 
road is desirable because it is able 
to withstand the heavy crushing loads- 
incidental to the transportation of 
monuments. Ordinary macadam suf- 
fers from the sheer weight of the big 
trucks but the tarviated roads are said 
to stand up under it very well. 
TARVIA IN PARKS and CEMETERIES 
BUILDING WALKS WITH TARVIA A. 
In Bronx Park, New York. 
