on Fifth Avenue, New York, between Thirty-fourth and Thirtysixth streets, in strips ten feet wide, adjacent to the curb. The grade on these two blocks being somewhat steeper than the remainder of the avenue, it was deemed best to provide a better foothold for horses in slippery weather than the ordinary asphalt. The blocks are 2 × 43 × 9 inches and were set flatwise. This pavement was laid in the fall of 1897, and in the spring of 1900 was in very good condition. It cost $5.25 per square yard, exclusive of foundation, under a fifteen year guarantee.

Although very desirable for driveways and bridges, cork blocks can never be very generally used on account of their excessive

cost.

CHAPTER IX.

BRICK PAVEMENTS.

BRICK pavements have been used in Holland since the thirteenth century. In the seventeenth century the roads from the Hague to the Scheveningen were paved with brick. These brick were 73 inches long, 2 inches wide, and 4 inches deep. Holland, having no natural material of its own suitable for pavements, was fortunate in being able to make bricks out of the silt and deposits. of the river, which have been very successful in pavements. Some stone has been used in the larger cities, most of it having been brought from Sweden. Amsterdam and Rotterdam at the present time use brick quite extensively, the former city having now about 181,500 square yards. The life of the brick pavement there is said. to be on an average of from ten to twenty years. In Amsterdam it is generally used on one side for ten years, when the bricks are turned, after which they will last about four years, making a total life of fourteen years. The foundation is usually a bed of sand from 8 to 12 inches deep.

It is said that Japan has had brick pavements for more than one hundred years, and one authority gives the dimensions of the brick as 7 inches long, 4 inches deep, and 14 inches thick. Inquiry made of the authorities in Yokohama elicited the following reply:

"I have to say that the brick pavements in use in Osaka since very ancient times are composed of broken roofing-tiles set on end, usually obtained from débris of houses after conflagration. Heavy traffic quickly destroys these pavements."

England has never used brick to any great extent in pavements; but in Staffordshire so-called blue brick, described in detail in a previous chapter, are said to have been in use for about fifty years.

In the United States the first brick pavement was laid in

Charleston, W. Va., in 1870. This was a small portion of the principal street in the city, laid by a private citizen at his own expense, without any encouragement from the city and despite the ridicule of the spectators. The city paid no portion of the expense. The pavement was so good, however, that in 1873 the experiment was continued on a larger scale, the city paying the cost. This latter pavement, although laid twenty-seven years ago, is said to be still good and to have received very little repairs. This brick was a hard-burned building-brick, and samples taken up after having been down twenty years showed a wear of to inch. Its specific gravity was 2.48.

In Bloomington, Ill., in 1875 half a block of brick pavement was laid. The brick were of local manufacture. So successful was this experiment that in 1877 the city made a contract for paving half a block of Centre Street. This street was relaid in 1894, and when taken up the brick were found to be worn about threequarters of an inch. This pavement consisted of two courses of brick, the bottom course being laid flat and the top course on edge upon it.

Wheeling, W. Va., adopted brick for paving purposes in 1883. These brick were laid on tarred boards on a sand base, with a cushion of about 1 inch of sand between the boards and the brick. Brick in Wheeling have entirely superseded cobblestone, which was the only paving material previous to 1883. About 18 miles. have now been laid.

Steubenville, Ohio, laid its first brick pavement in 1884. A letter from the official in charge of streets in 1899 says: "The pavement is still in good condition, has required no repairs, and from present indications will last ten years longer without repairs. These brick were laid on a foundation of 2 inches of sand and 6 inches of gravel, the joints being filled with sand."

Galesburg, Ill., where, at the present time, so many first-class paving-brick are being manufactured, also first began their use in 1884.

Brick pavement were first used in Zanesville, O., in 1885. The City Engineer in 1899 says: " By reason of relaying the street-railway tracks, this pavement was torn up and relaid three years ago. New bricks were used, as many were broken, and the wedge-shaped

bricks used in 1885 were no longer obtainable or desirable. A small part of this portion of the street is still in position and serviceable, showing good wearing qualities."

Peoria, Ill., first constructed brick pavement in 1885. This consisted of two courses of brick, laid on a gravel foundation, with a layer of sand between the two courses. The material was simply hard, specially selected local building-brick. In 1899 the City Engineer said: "The street at present is in very bad condition, and should have been repaved before now. No money has been spent for repairs except for openings for service connections."

Of the larger cities of the country, Philadelphia was the first to adopt brick, laying its first pavements of that material in 1887. So popular, however, did it become there that its use continually increased, until at the present time it has a greater mileage of brick pavement than any other city in the country, and in fact in the world.

New York City, south of the Harlem River, has but one block of brick pavement. This was laid in 1891 on a cement-concrete base, the joints being filled with paving-cement. The work was done (as is usual under such circumstances) as an experiment. The brick with which it was laid were called pyrogranite and were made in New Jersey under a special patent. It was claimed by the patentee that by treating any clay with this process a good pavingbrick could be made. These brick were 8 inches long, 5 inches deep, and 2 inches thick. Although having been in use nearly nine years, subjected to the heavy traffic of a street-car street, with an elevated structure also in the centre, the pavement is now in good condition and has received almost no repairs. This being a patented article, and having been so successful, it will be interesting to compare an analysis of this brick with that of the Metropolitan block of Canton, O., which is conceded to be one of the very best paving-bricks.

The success of these early brick pavements is somewhat surprising. It is especially so when the quality of the brick used at that time is considered, as well as the method of laying. The brick-manufacturers then had very little idea of the possibilities of a vitrified brick. With too many people a brick simply meant a brick. Then also, with the best intentions, no one was able to select the best material. The best of the brick used at that time would not be considered as a paving material, even, at present It is not strange, either, that brick were not taken up more rapidly as a paving material. Engineers as a class are proverbially conservative. They never do anything without a precedent unless obliged to. It was hard for them to believe that any artificial product could equal even the productions of nature, but some people did have faith in burned clay, and by their persistent efforts have succeeded in establishing brick in the front ranks of paving materials. In fact, a great many actually believe that it is the best. material for street pavements under almost all conditions, and the most radical advocates offer to guarantee a brick pavement to withstand the traffic equally as well as granite. That it is bound to be the principal paving material in the Central West, where natural stone can only be obtained at a great expense, and where clays and shales are especially adapted for brick-making, is sure.

To make a good pavement bricks should be hard, tough, strong, homogeneous, impervious to water, and dense.

Hardness.

A paving-brick must be hard in order to withstand the action. of the traffic and impact of the horses' shoes. It is the one thing which is naturally looked for by the inspectors on the street, and it is sometimes extremely difficult to draw the line between a hard and a soft brick, between one that should and one that should not be used. The color can sometimes be taken as a guide, and in fact almost always if one is acquainted with the particular make of brick; but it will be impossible to pass judgment upon one make of brick by any standard that has been arrived at from an examination of brick made from entirely different clay. In fact, when a new brick is presented for use, a careful study must be made of its characteristics, so that one may be able to detect the difference