PARK AND CEMETERY. 
147 
CONSTRUCTION and MATERIAL for CEMETERY ROADS 
Address before the Buffalo Convention of the Asso- 
ciation of Cemetery Superintendents , by M. P. Brazill. 
The subject of laying out and con- 
structing roads has been discussed by 
scientific men and by men of little or no 
scientific education for centuries; the re- 
sult is that a great deal of repetition 
has been indulged in. This is going on 
at the present day, as is evidenced in our 
organization as well as elsewhere. Sev- 
eral papers have been written by our 
members and read at our conventions. 
All of these papers have been of a prac- 
tical character, written by some of our 
most experienced members. 
There is a delicacy of entering into 
this subject as well as other subjects 
previously discussed because of this 
necessary repetition. Yet repetition is 
going on in the discussion of all sub- 
jects, while some new lights and im- 
provements also are being introduced as 
is natural in a progressive age and a 
progressive people like ours. The sub- 
ject of road making and good roads is 
kept constantly before the public, as it 
is one of the great needs towards the 
development of our almost unlimited 
resources. 
It is not my intention to go into the 
construction of cemetery roads in detail, 
nor is it my intention to instruct or sug- 
gest any plan or method to our older 
members. The few remarks I intend to 
make will apply to our younger and new 
members who may not have much ex- 
perience in the construction of roads. 
The expediency of utilizing whatever 
material is nearest at hand, most con- 
venient and cheapest, is the aim of this 
paper. 
The construction of roads is controlled 
almost entirely by location and other 
circumstances, especially by the ma- 
terial at hand and the means to procure 
it. 
There are various kinds of material 
and modes of construction recommended 
by engineers and others having charge 
of road making. I might mention a few, 
such as granite blocks, trap rock, vitri- 
fied brick, wood blocks chemically 
treated with oil and asphalt; these are 
mostly used in the city streets and aven- 
ues, on foundations of concrete; but 
these are not necessary in the construc- 
tion of cemetery roads, as the latter have 
only a small fraction of the traffic that 
city streets are subject to, and must be 
prepared for heavy raffic. Much lighter 
material for the construction of cemetery 
roads will meet the requirements very 
well, such as broken stone, gravel, slag, 
cinders and refuse from mines and re- 
fining mills. Two conditions in the con- 
struction of cemetery roads must be kept 
well in view; a good foundation, and a 
binding smooth surfacing. 
The foundation of a roadway is as 
necessary to it as the wide footing 
course or the concrete foundation is to a 
wall. If omitted from the construction, 
almost any traffic, especially heavy 
traffic, will break through, causing un- 
sighly ruts in the early spring, when the 
frost is getting out of the ground. 
Next is a smooth, hard surfacing to 
make a good finish. Where sand and 
gravel are easily obtainable they make a 
good top dressing, when well rolled. 
Fine macadam from limestone, trap rock 
or granite, especially the last two men- 
tioned; or refuse from mines or refining 1 
mills make a fine durable surface when 
well rolled. Gravel or sand is very 
difficult to pack on account of its round, 
hard, smooth surface. To pack this sur- 
face material together, tar and oil, with 
a large percentage of asphalt has been 
used with success. I find oil with as- 
phalt an excellent substance for form- 
ing the surface of roads either old or 
new. The oil penetrates the surface for 
a few inches, making a compact mass, 
and after a few applications it forms a 
crust-like asphalt; besides it is a most 
effective weed killer. 1 have never seen 
weeds appear on a road after oil has 
been used. I do not think that oil will 
be used very extensively in our ceme- 
teries, as it is subject to some objec- 
tions. For the first week or two it is 
disagreeable to pedestrians, and even to 
carriages, on account of its odor, and it 
sticks to the wheels occasionally. To 
obviate this, small piles of sand are 
placed along the roads, to cover the oil 
after it is applied; this is considered 
effective and after a short time the dis- 
agreeable features disappear. But the 
great majority of our cemeteries will not 
need it as the traffic is not sufficient to 
require this kind of treatment. In the 
much traveled roads of cemeteries hav- 
ing heavy traffic for funerals, etc., this 
treatment might be recommended. It is 
used to a great extent in all our park 
roads and boulevards in St. Louis, and 
with very great success. We have used 
it at Calvary Cemetery and have every 
reason to be pleased with the result. It 
prevents dust, makes a fine smooth sur- 
face and banishes weeds. 
As all of our cemeteries are not 
equally blessed with a replete treasury, 
it may be well to suggest some eco- 
nomic plan for using cheap and con- 
venient material in the construction of 
roads for the smaller and less favored 
cemeteries. Those with ample funds 
and heavy traffic can be depended on to 
take care of themselves and indulge in 
any of the more modern styles of con- 
struction. 
Cinders with slag and other refuse 
from rolling mills and factories, are used 
to advantage in localities where they can 
be obtained. Cinders are very un- 
friendly to vegetation, and thus decrease 
the propagation of weeds, which is 
quite a consideration on roads not much 
traveled. The refuse from mines and 
refining mills is also used to good ad- 
vantage as it makes a good surface pack- 
ing for all cemetery roads. 
Along the seacoast we find shells and 
sand used in construction ; they are usually 
called shell-roads. 
The discussion on surface binding ma- 
terial is very general, and commercial 
firms having something to sell are 
deeply interested in these results, and 
leave no opportunity pass to call our 
attention to their superior material for 
road surfacing and weed killing. As I 
have had very little experience in some 
of these much advertised materials, I 
will leave the subject to others who 
have had such experience. 
As I said before, I think oil with a 
good percentage of asphalt, one of the 
best and cheapest of surface binders. It 
can be applied to an old or a new road 
equally for its better improvement. 
Road construction has been treated at 
some length and very professionally by 
Mr. Howard Evarts Weed in his book, 
“Modern Park Cemeteries,” and pub- 
lished by R. J. Haight. I would recom- 
mend it to our members as a useful text- 
book. 
Mr. Troup, of Buffalo, has treated the 
subject of road construction at consid- 
erable length in a paper written for our 
Boston Convention in 1890. He gives 
the English plan as recommended by 
the English engineers, Macadam and 
Telford. Mr. Telford’s plan is most 
generally used in this country, and bears 
the name of Telford Roads. 
I prepared a paper for the Baltimore 
Convention in 1892 on “Location, Con- 
struction and Drainage of Roads in 
Cemeteries.” These two papers were 
published in our book “Modern Ceme- 
teries,” with two others by Mr. Simonds 
and Mr. Lovering. I would recommend 
the study of these papers to our young 
members as they contain many useful 
hints. Matthew P. Brazill. 
Supt. Calvary Cemetery, St. Louis. 
