New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1866-08-23

uirsle walk 70 ire. hut thcohundlnce of tar IN s
comro iton Ieuict decidedly 'goctoheble IN warm or
v5t weather. She walk IN the PARK Dehln1 Eongrtss
min. NJ Carrto A. paved with shady stone that washes
away ,eIy srrar 10 this, replacing the ogecuon oil the
tar y on Oi dust Those h0@elof arc put lo,1Pa''s
or AZ to best only adapted for tho dr., OF PARK or
smo SoOts where the travel Is Anything Od' 'De u O0'
WOODEN PAyBN8sTS
To avoid noise and dust however. and sun seonie .e
sire qua r0a durability the road-makers have whih tns
Last century TUNED their attention 10 payenents Oh Wo9u
Several syems have been tried, aud one Is now
aeknoyle ICED by who have seen IL 70 De te oco
n,vemeu, ever vet OIL red the public or these IN
PLANK RoADsCoRDURoT
Probably the earliest Of wood for oadways was that
tnown "a the plank road" which for common country
travel Is much superior tonone at oh. we baye seen
even in some cities Rochester, N w. end Detroit but
there only ia retired places and from epec SS sd1
bly, constructed from the remains OF " pahk ROAD
is the corduroy roadthe nearest Hadcs douDcss tha. II
ia possible TO got in Everybody In America
knows what it Is though few before the war; han seen IL
with their owneyes: street OF felled trees stripped Oh
their branches but rejoicing in all their natye
OF the sensations of the unhappy wretch whose way lies
over such road let mediate 10 silence III seems
be an Institution peculiar to tho United States IN regions
Of IMP is often reduced by
long travel and little care, to condition very nearly re-
sembng the "corduroy," and indeed, where much used
generally objected to because OF its constant need OF
repair.
OCTAGONAL BLoOKs.
The next step in odpavng was an unlucky one, ana
when it proved to DO 30 it raised popular pfgg-
dice against any Of that material, to which
VIC are doubtless indebted today for tho horrd noise
which makes our thoroughares 80 unbearable II was
knoyp a. bS "~ooden pavement thus assuming az he
merit which future systems might add 10 is badness Tho
blocks were ocagona in shape about six inches in dame
ter and OF about the hknessss our Belgian blocks
but being placed directly the surface soil OF the street.
their only protection against giving way being Small tn
angular chips rsmmed into tho spaces loft by the octa
CONS they could claim no merit superior to that OF stone
and soon fell into uneyenncss aud consequent decay
hardly necessary remark that tho ocagons blocks OF
this system are laid with the grain up differing from the
plank road, in which tho planks are simply iaid as lot
1oo sordng tho greatest surface but the least resist
snce. This pavement tried in this city quite exten-
sively being tested the most severely in NasSaust Do
tween Cedar and Pine some ~ 23years ago. AS TINS
was long before the Belgian pavement had been tired IN
this country he Of blocks IN the construction OF inc
wooden pavement considerable advance upon am
thing preceding but as only very little attention was pald
either TO the arch or the substraum it OF course Jailed
Tho system however was at first very popular auo used
in many OF our principal ciiios.
CONSERVATISM.
Next came mongrel system OF alternate ranks OF woyo
and mealed roadway; combination wsch answered tne
purposo better as tho stone helped the wood 10 keep Its
place though the whole still poorly lad Ihis mas
been tried 80 far as have learned, only IN England
aud has met with but lttlo favor.
THE NICHOLSON PAVEMENT.
In 1913 Mr. Samuel Nicholson Of Boston introduced
new method of wooden roadways. Observing that that
material possessed advantages for quetnees OF aRel tha
other could Afford, ana mat
advanced had been founded upon tho bad laying OF the
material he adopted entirely new plan throughout
accurately grading the surface SOIL no next placed
flooring of inch boards upon ribs carefully adjusted 10 THIS
grede the ribs running at right angles and the flooring
engthwise with the street These boards he dipped IN
boiling tar and covered them with layer OF hne tarred
gravel Above this laid tho pavement, consisting OF
blocks of Pine wood eight inches wide by twelve long ana
three inches in thickness These no placed with Ae gram
uppermos covering them likewise with coating OF TAR
and placing them 10 ranks rows about four inches
apart from curb 10 curb Tho space thus lett Detweon
the rows was filled for half ito hight by strips OF wood
above which fine gravel aud tar was poured In ana vel
ramu,cd making the whole pavement thus solid mass
foom curb curb and from end OF the street 20 the
other Another Of tarred gravel Is finally applied to
the surface after which 1t Is smoothed oYef with Sahl
and tue street IS ready for use.
A NATIONAL SYSTEM.
This systom OF paving seems TO have been nrst intro
ducch in Boston but It's more thorough and complete
trial has been made in Chicago whore it has been 10
on Lake and South Clarts ever since 1890 Win very
little apparent The amount of travel on those
srects cannot fall for short OF that upon our Ouy
tboroughfars a. 10 make any considerable difference III
thir fitness in testing tho Nicholson pavement Az All
eyepts OF the system has been so great there
az 20 commend It largo number of tho chief cities OF
tho country It introduced into ~. Louis IN 1917,
and being down IN most OF the streets OF that
city The old Pavement of ST. Louis consisted of narrow
obions blocks Of limestone which sunk into tbs
soft clay Of that region with fearful rapidy and loft such
ruts ana pitfalls read OF in London two centuries
ago The Nicholson paysmeDt is now in considerable uso
IN the following ciues; Chicago, St Louis, Boston,
Toledo Detroit san Francisco. Sacramento, Milwaukee
Madison, Fond du Lac La Crosse, Green Bay Wis ;
Fort Wayne lad and Portland, Oregon. The Common
Council Of this city have at last discovered H. and, IS has
been already stated The TRIBUNE authorized the lay
ing OF block of Il a, an experiment. Mr. jonathan
Taylor Of Milwaukee, who has given his attention en-
rcy 10 this business for years has the contract TO
lay Il upon Nassaust between Pine and Waists, at an
expense OF $1,000 or per yard: The process can DO
obso e thyra by tho curious, the workmen will proba
bly, DO occupied with il for several days 10 come
OBJECTIONS ANSWERED.
We cannot but consider the introduction Of tho Nicho
..ss sL.-SV fbf an
era in our condition Tho objections 70 a. have been
mainly reted By the long trial 10 Chicago and St Louis
and remains only to sec whether the travel IN our streets
much greater and the disturbance OF pavement so
much more frequent to render IT unavailable with any
improvement at present possible, Tor No mOtrOpols
There seem 10 be but two important objections 70 the sys
tenn The first u.s. that wood cannot stand tho steady wear
and incident 10 great thoroughiare lhls an
swelel By the fact, discovered in use that the hbers
become slightly opened the surface by the blows from
the feet Of the horses and the sand ground In by
cad pounded down by the wheels contributes To the pros
cryaiion OF the material The surface being well COM
pacted does not afford sufficient place for water 70 collect
s the foundation boards prevent the depression OF the
blocks and carefully crownsd grade throws he saer 70
the cutters The objection 20 the material used lpne
which nd urgently pressed by tho iookers-on at
Mr. Taylors work has been rcfuted by trial Hemlock
has been used bu, with less success than tue soft pine
and in Chicago trial of oak was made upon two street.
blocks resulting IT'S entire condemnation IN about TWO
years The oak chips of at the exposed edges OF the block
while the pine above stated opens It's hbes and receives
the gravel into its composition IS the opinion OF many
mont that it could be LAID upon Broadway itself aud
last io twenty years without reaying bold assertion,
certainly but one very positively asserted and sustained
so far as possible by results elsewhere.
Tho second objection is serious for Our
streets are very often torn account OF bursting or
choked water and gas pipes, and 1t IS objected that
Ncholsops pavement, being laid in such continu-
Gus manner cannot Do raised without closing
whole block or destroying the preseryatye char
acter of the pavement. To meet this difficulty, the
plan has been tired Ia some cities, OF laying the surface
blocks in sections Of feet square, leaving the board
flooring solid This the pavement, while it does
not of course prevent the tearing up OF whole street
OF the latter As generally laid, however tho pavement
must be entirely removed a considerable distance;