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PARKS
AND
PARK ENGINEERING
By
WILLIAM T. LYLE
Professor of Municipal Engineering at Lafayette College
Associate Member, American Society of Civil Engineers
Member, Society for the Promotion of Engineering Education
FIRST EDITION
FIRST THOUSAND
NEW YORK
JOHN WILEY & SONS, INC.
LONDON: CHAPMAN & HALL, LIMITED
1916
T
Copyright, 1916
BY
WILLIAM T. LYLE
THE SCIENTIFIC PRESS
ROBERT DRUMMOND AND COMPANY
BROOKLYN. N. Y.
PKEFACE
IN an age of many books every author must make his
apology for a new volume. The output of engineer-
ing treatises and text-books is so great that for a time at
least, in certain branches, further additions should be made
only for very good and exceptional reasons. The author
of this little book believes that by reason of the dearth of
information on the specialized subject treated, a sufficient
reason exists for the publication of his manuscript, which
for several years in abbreviated form he has used in his
classes at Lafayette College.
The magnitude of the park movement in America is
only beginning to be appreciated by the average well-
informed person. Our larger cities already have their
parks, most of them but recently acquired, and it will not
be long before all of our American cities will have them also
—not merely a few small city squares, but extensive mod-
ern parks, reservations and playgrounds, connected by
parkways and boulevards.
This book is prepared principally for the benefit of the
young and inexperienced engineer of construction. The
author hopes that it may be found useful to members of
newly formed park associations and commissions; and that
its earlier articles may be of help to public-spirited men
who may be considering the ways and means of securing
for their own communities the great benefits which flow
from an ample and well-coordinated park system. It also
iii
337867
iv PREFACE
may contain valuable suggestions to engineers and others
who, though not trained in the art, may be engaged in the
work of development of private estates.
While the master mind in the conception and design of
our largest and best park systems is the landscape architect,
it must be understood that the execution of his general
plans is peculiarly the function of the engineer, as is also
the design of the engineering features. The art of the park
engineer, though a specialty, is, however, not a narrow
specialty. He must be proficient in matters pertaining to
the acquisition of lands, and be well versed in a great
variety of engineering operations, such as earth excavation,
masonry, water-works and sewerage construction, road
building and lighting, and occasionally the construction of
steel and reinforced concrete bridges. He must also be a
good expert witness.
Wherever possible the author acknowledges the kind-
ness of those who have aided him with advice and informa-
tion and of those who have furnished him with illustrations
for his work.
He is under special obligation to Mr. John C. Olmsted,
Landscape Architect, of Brookline, Mass., and to Mr.
Howard J. Cole, of New York, formerly Engineer in Chief
of the Essex County Park Commission.
WILLIAM T. LYLE.
March, 1916.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER I
DESIRABILITY AND ACQUISITION OF PARKS
PAQB
The Social and Economic Need and the Economic Advantage 1
The Classification of Parks 6
Actual Results in Park Development in a Few Typical and Impor-
tant Cases 7
Future Probabilities in Park Development 13
The Way to Obtain Parks 14
The Organization for Work 14
CHAPTER II
LANDS AND SURVEYS
General Requirements in the Selection of Park Lands 21
The Acquisition of Property 23
Topographical and Hydrographical Surveys 25
CHAPTER III
DESIGN
The Architectural Treatment:
Requirements 36
The Engineering Design :
Underdrainage and Sewers 39
Grading 51
Piling and Bulkheads 53
Masonry Walls and Steps 57
Water Pipes and Fixtures 61
Paths and Drives 62
Lighting 72
vi CONTENTS
CHAPTER IV
LABOR AND CONTRACTS
PAGE
Day Labor versus Contract Work 74
Two Kinds of Contracts 75
Advertisement 76
Contractor's Examination of Plans 77
Contractor's Calculations 79
Sureties 79
Making out the Bid 81
Submitting the Proposals 82
Rejection of Bids 82
Awarding the Contract 82
Execution of the Contract 85
Payments and Extras 85
Penalty Clauses 86
/•
CHAPTER V
CONSTRUCTION
Beginning of Operations 90
Underdrainage and Sewers 90
Grading . . 94
Pile Driving 107
Masonry Walls and Steps 108
Water Pipes Ill
Paths and Drives 112
Lighting 126
ILLUSTRATIONS
The Walnut Lane Bridge over the Wissahickon Frontispiece
PAGE
Fig. 1. Swamp Land May be Utilized in Park Development 3
Fig. 2. A Typical Park System 11
Fig. 3. Submerged Land along the North River Later Filled in
and now a Part of Riverside Park 15
Fig. 4. The Same Reclaimed 19
Fig. 5. Gridiron System of Survey for Parks 26
Fig. 6. Survey Notes 28
Fig. 7. Topsoil Stripping, Piling and Grading 29
Fig. 8. Modified Gridiron System of Survey for Parkways 31
Fig. 9. Gauging the Discharge of a Stream 33
Fig. 10. Topsoil Pile 37
Fig. 11. Machine for Stripping Topsoil and Grading 37
Fig. 12. Method of Providing Underdrainage for Damp or Swampy
Soil 40
Fig. 13. The New Bay Ridge Parkway. Surface Water Carried
in Paved Gutters 41
Fig. 14. Park Walk along Steep Terrace. Paved Gutters 45
Fig. 15. Method of Collecting Surface Water from Grass Gutters. . . 47
Fig. 16. Park Walk. Drainage in Grass Gutters 49
Fig. 17. Method of Collecting Surface Water from Paved Gutters . . 52
Fig. 18. Timber Bulkhead Forming Artificial Shore of Lake 55
Fig. 19. Drainage of Retaining Walls 55
Fig. 20. Sod Steps 59
Fig. 21. Lawn Hydrant 63
Fig. 22. Water Crane. 63
Fig. 23. Design of Paths 66
Fig. 24. Correct Entrance 68
Fig. 25. Incorrect Entrance 68
Fig. 26. Rooter Plow 83
Fig. 27. Wheel Scraper 83
Fig. 28. Pulsometer 83
Fig. 29. Pile Driver— Land Machine 87
Fig. 30. Method of Giving Line and Grade for Sewers 91
vii
viii ILLUSTRATIONS
Fig. 31. Steam Shovel Making the First Cut 91
Fig. 32. The Same Work Farther Advanced 95
Fig. 33. Dredging at Weequahic Park, Essex Co., N. J 101
Fig. 34. Dredging at Lake Nokomis, Minneapolis 105
Fig. 35. Muck Excavation at Westside Park, Newark, N. J 109
Fig. 36. Muck Excavation at Westside Park, Newark, N. J 113
Fig. 37. Pressure Distributor for Sprinkling Roads 121
Fig. 38. Pavement Repairs at Boston 121
PARKS AND PARK ENGINEERING
CHAPTER I
THE DESIRABILITY AND ACQUISITION OF PARKS
THE Social Need of Parks. In view of the rapid growth
and the increasing densities of population of our
American cities, the need of parks, breathing spaces, play-
grounds and parkways is becoming more and more impera-
tive. Compact urban development has created a need
which should be met by the municipal governments
responsible for the condition. Our cities are recognizing
the necessity and moral obligation of providing places for
rest, recreation and wholesome open-air amusements.
Excepting in a few of our larger cities, such as New
York, Brooklyn, Philadelphia, Boston and Chicago, the
movement is less than twenty-five years old, and even in
these places great advances along new and better lines
have been made in the last two decades. With new con-
ditions new needs are born, and though our parks have
supplied fairly well an urgent need, many of them in the
near future will have to be remodeled in order that they
may be increasingly useful, not only for an increasing
population, but also to each individual in the community
in need of the health advantages which it is possible for
them to offer.
2 THE DESIRABILITY AND ACQUISITION OF PARKS
The Economic Need. The policy of delay in the pur-
chase of park lands, if it may be called a policy, is certain
to be an expensive one. As an example of this may be
cited the fact that for three parks covering less than ten
acres in the congested portion of the East Side, New York
recently paid more than it paid for Central Park, which has
an area of 840 acres. As another example, Hudson County,
New Jersey, has paid for its parks an average of over $3000
per acre, and for some property acquired by condemnation
proceedings as high as $23,000 per acre; whereas Essex
County, adjacent, has purchased 3000 acres of mountain
land at a cost of only $500 per acre. Compelling the
present generation to bear the entire burden of purchase is
not advocated, but by incurring a bonded indebtedness,
the coming generation will bear its share of an expense
which, if not incurred now, will increase to such an
extent as to render, in many cases, the purchase almost
impossible.
The judicious selection and purchase of park lands and
reservations is a far-sighted policy, which like the laying
out of wide streets, is sure to be financially profitable in the
long run.
It is a well-known fact to the expert that some of the
most undesirable lands from the standpoint of the builder
and real estate broker are the very best from the standpoint
of the landscape architect. Swampy lands, foul water
courses and steep slopes possess great possibilities for park
development. A double service is thus rendered — pri-
marily, the construction of parks — secondarily and in-
cidentally, the elimination of municipal nuisances which are
frequently of a very dangerous character. The foul and
unsightly channel and its surrounding lands are trans-
formed by the construction of sewers and the proper engi-
THE ECONOMIC ADVANTAGE
neering operations and subsequent planting into the most
attractive of parks, the channel itself providing what is an
especially pleasing and refreshing feature, a beautiful water
course.
The accompanying illustration shows a piece of swamp
land, almost worthless, which is now a part of the
Weequahic Reservation of the Essex County (N. J.) Park
Commission. The swamp has been dredged and the water
level has been raised. It is now a very picturesque lake,
surrounded by attractively planted uplands.
There are in almost every county spots of natural beauty
which it is the duty of the present generation to preserve.
The national government recognizes this principle in its
great reservations, among which are the Yellowstone,
Yosemite and Mount Rainier National Parks. One of the
most unpardonable losses in this connection was the cutting
of the " Sherwood Forest " at Philadelphia, a tract of
forty acres of virgin timber actually within the city limits.
This land, which afforded natural advantages of very un-
usual merit for park purposes, passed into the hands of real
estate operators and now is part of the two-story dwelling-
house district of West Philadelphia.
The Economic Advantage. The laying out of parks
increases the desirability of a town as a place of residence.
Municipal boards of trade are realizing this principle in
increasing measure. Park development enhances the value
of neighboring real estate. New parkways and boule-
vards afford very desirable frontages, the very best to be
had for residential purposes. Much might be written on
the subject of real estate appreciation due to park develop-
ment; suffice it to mention here only a few illustrative cases.
Real estate operators testify that the increased valuation
in the vicinity of a properly regulated park will very soon
6 THE DESIRABILITY AND ACQUISITION OF PARKS
pay for the original investment. The assessed valuation
in 1856 of the three wards adjoining Central Park, New
York, was $20,500,000. In 1873 it had risen to $236,100,000.
The natural increase as obtained by averaging the gain
in the other wards was found to be $53,000,000, making
the earning capacity of the park for the three adjoin-
ing wards, $183,000,000. In three years the valuation of
the wards surrounding Prospect Park in Brooklyn rose
$7,000,000, which was twice the cost of the land acquired
for the park. The wisdom of the " Back Bay " improve-
ment at Boston was certified in an increased valuation of
surrounding property from 1877 to 1885 of $12,000,000 with
a corresponding increase of revenue of $153,000. During
this time new buildings were erected to the value of
$10,000,000, giving a revenue of $128,000, making the total
increased revenue, $281,000. In the city of Newark, prop-
erty in the neighborhood of Branch Brook Park has
increased in value to a marked extent, and to the Branch
Brook development can be largely traced the great popu-
larity of the Forest Hill residential section.
THE CLASSIFICATION OF PARKS
A convenient classification may be made thus:
1. National Parks; 2. State Parks; 3. County Parks;
4. City Parks; and 5. Parkways and Boulevards. The
first two classes will not be treated in this discussion, since
their character is principally that of great reservations of
land of especial scenic and natural beauty. County Parks
are usually more or less developed. They are suburban or
rural in character and are usually of large area. City Parks
include the old-fashioned city square and the modern city
park whose development may be formal, informal, or both.
When the governing board is a county park commission,
THE CLASSIFICATION OF PARKS
city parks are classed as county parks. The Parkway and
Boulevard are connecting arteries which join the parks of a
system. The Boulevard is the more formal of the two and
often is nothing more than a beautified avenue, while a
Parkway is much broader, often about 400 feet wide, and
may be laid out in a semi-informal manner.
Another classification used in some cities is, 1. City
Parks; and 2. Outer Parks. The City Parks are
those inside, and the Outer Parks those outside the
city limits. The second division of this classification
includes the reservation lands and the connecting park-
ways.
The accompanying map of the Essex County system,
Fig. 2, page 11, shows a modern and scientific park develop-
ment. But few of the original parkways as planned by
Olmsted Brothers, the landscape architects, have been laid
out, though some of these may come later.
ACTUAL RESULTS
The results of the last twenty-five years of this great
movement have been especially remarkable, though a
few of our older cities had parks prior to 1890. It is out-
side the scope of this book to make a full statement of park
accomplishments in America, which are now very extensive,
almost all of our larger cities having caught the spirit of
the movement. In order, however, to give some idea of
its development and magnitude, a few typical and impor-
tant cases will be cited.
NEW YORK. The greatest pioneer work in America,
though not the earliest, was the construction of Central
Park. The land was purchased in 1856. The total acre-
age at present is 840 and the price paid for the land was
$6,300,000. The total amount spent in bringing the park
8 THE DESIRABILITY AND ACQUISITION OF PARKS
to its present condition is over $30,000,000. The park
system now covers several thousand acres and includes
Prospect Park in Brooklyn, one of our oldest parks, the
Brooklyn Forest and Bronx Park with its Botanical and
Zoological Gardens.
PHILADELPHIA. The original plan in Philadelphia con-
sisted of five small squares to which Independence Square
was afterward added.
Fairmount Park dates back to 1812, when it con-
tamed five acres. It was enlarged in 1855 to forty-one
acres and in 1867 to its present proportions, mainly in
the interests of the public water supply drawn from the
Schuylkill River. The Park Commissioners were able to
prevent the contamination of the river as far as their
jurisdiction extended and to exercise a wholesome influence
upon the Councils in the matter of proper sewer construc-
tion to intercept the flow from the river. A very interesting
report made by a Special Committee of the Commissioners
oi Fairmount Park upon the Preservation of the Purity of
the Water Supply, submitted October 11, 1867, and sent to
the author through the courtesy of Mr. Carleton E. Davis,
Chief of the Bureau of Water, and Mr. Thomas S. Martin,
Secretary, contains full information in regard to this matter.
In this connection it may be added that park lands may be
located so as to combine the park needs with those of the
water department. Several American cities have seen this
advantage. Surface water supplies as impounded from
small streams can be very satisfactorily guarded by the
acquisition of the catchment area by the park department.
This is one of the very best examples of municipal economy
that can be mentioned.
The area of the Philadelphia parks is now over 5000
acres, 1000 acres of which is in Wissahickon Park, a beauti-
ACTUAL RESULTS
ful ravine development, one of the best features of the
Philadelphia system.
The development of the water fronts of the Schuylkill
and Delaware Rivers is under contemplation as part of the
general city plan.
The author here takes occasion to acknowledge the
assistance of Mr. Andrew W. Crawford, Recording Secre-
tary of the City Parks Association, who has furnished
information as to the parks of Philadelphia and other Ameri-
can cities.
CHICAGO. The movement here dates back to 1869.
One of the features of the park system is the incorporation
of extensive recreation parks and playgrounds which have
been secured in the past fifteen years.
Preliminary plans according to Mr. Walter Wright,
Secretary, Special Park Commission, are now being pre-
pared for the construction of a great outer parkway system
which will give Chicago a continuous belt of parks and
parkways around the entire city. This work has been
authorized by the State Legislature subject to the approval
of the voters of Chicago, which approval was received at
an election in November, 1914.
BOSTON. This is a city of many suburbs, each separate
in its local interests and government. These different
municipalities have jealously guarded their local autonomy,
but have wisely united to provide the general necessities,
such as water, sewerage and parks. These necessities
have been secured through the help of the State Govern-
ment, which has created metropolitan commissioners with
authority to provide them. Each municipality now has
its local water supply fed from the metropolitan main
lines; its local sewerage system, discharging into the metro-
politan trunk sewers; and its local parks, secured either
10 THE DESIRABILITY AND ACQUISITION OF PARKS
before or after the appointment of the Metropolitan Park
Commission, which provide for local needs not met by the
Metropolitan Parks. Boston has parks covering a total
area of 500 acres; Cambridge has developed a frontage
on the Charles River; and Lynn has acquired large tracts
for park and water-supply purposes.
The Metropolitan Park Commission consisting of five
unsalaried commissioners was created in 1892. Up to
the present time it has purchased 10,250 acres of land, of
which the largest tracts are the Blue Hills Reservation,
twelve miles from the State House and easily reached by
electric cars; and the Middlesex Fells Reservation, five
miles from the State House. The metropolitan parks
with their connecting parkways and seashore and river-
bank reservations form a model system.
ESSEX COUNTY. With the exception of Military Park,
a tract of but a few acres in the city of Newark and a few
other small squares, Essex County had no parks up to the
year 1895.
At a dinner in the city of Orange in January, 1894, a
plan was suggested for obtaining parks and a meeting was
soon after arranged and held in the rooms of the Board of
Trade in Newark. Park committees from Newark and
Orange were present and the plan previously suggested was
approved. A committee was appointed to prepare a bill
for the State Legislature which was promptly drafted and
approved and then presented to the Senate at Trenton.
It was passed and signed by the Governor early in May of
the same year.
The bill authorized the presiding county judge to appoint
a Commission of five persons to consider the advisability
of laying out a system of parks and provided an appro-
priation of $10,000 to cover the salaries of assistants and
ESSEX
1915
C/0/7/Y f? flABO/N '.
QAWLLI/<S & MDDFR
ALOVZO &tve&t y&ZSSSS?
JMflfYWLDS
ZIKOS.
Courtesy Interstate Map Co., of Newark, N. J., engravers and publishers.
FIG. 2. — A Typical Park System. 11
THE FUTURE PROBABILITIES 13
traveling expenses of the members of the Commission.
The first Commission completed its work in 1895, after
having reported favorably to the plan for parks, and sug-
gested a practical plan.
A new bill was passed by the Legislature in 1895 for the
creation of a second Commission to be appointed as before.
This bill carried an appropriation of $2,500,000 of county
funds and a referendum clause. At a special election the
bill soon became operative. The necessary moneys were
obtained by county bond issue by the Board of Freeholders
and turned over to the Commission. Subsequent issues of
bonds were authorized, the outstanding indebtedness now
amounting to $6,000,000.
There are now five principal parks in the system with
a total area of 3200 acres, most of which is mountain
reservation.
THE FUTURE PROBABILITIES
The park movement is thus observed to be of recent
origin. The United States in many respects has passed
out from the period of mushroom growth into one of com-
parative stability. There are many evidences of this.
Flimsy bridges are being replaced by permanent masonry
structures; wooden buildings by those made of fire-proof
materials; cheap city pavements by those of a permanent
character; railroads are being straightened, and elevated
or depressed where they pass through large cities; railroad
property line fences are being replaced by hedges after the
English custom; and far-sighted business corporations are
making provision not merely for the present, but for several
decades to come. The policy of municipal wisdom calls
for the immediate setting apart of park lands to be paid
for by money raised on bond issues. This policy in many
14 THE DESIRABILITY AND ACQUISITION OF PARKS
cases will be followed. In some respects it is along the
movement on foot for the conservation of our national
resources.
THE WAY TO OBTAIN PARKS
The methods adopted have already been stated. A brief
summary will be given.
1. Preliminary Agitation. Public sentiment frequently
crystallizes in the appointment of a park committee or in
a resolution passed by a board of trade.
2. The Creation of a Commission. If the work involves
several municipalities, as it usually does, a bill for the crea-
tion of a park commission with delegated powers can be
introduced into the State Legislature.
3. How the Necessary Funds are Provided. These are
usually obtained from the sale of bonds, whose issue is
authorized by the State Government, the indebtedness
being incurred by the county or district benefited.
THE ORGANIZATION FOR WORK
The working organization is made up about as follows:
1. A Counsel and perhaps assistants to give legal ad-
vice, to attend to claims and to examine contracts and
agreements.
2. A Landscape Architect to make selection of lands for
parks, parkways, reservations and playgrounds. It is the
function of the landscape architect to prepare all grading
and planting plans and to outline for the Architect (see 5)
the general features of buildings, gateways, walls, steps
and bridges.
3. A Purchasing Department to obtain options on prop-
erties likely to be acquired and to arrange for the pur-
THE ORGANIZATION FOR WORK 17
chase of properties already embodied in the scheme of the
landscape architect.
4. An Engineering Department consisting of a chief
engineer, assistant engineers, instrumentmen, chainmen,
rodmen, inspectors and a chief gardener and his assistants.
The police department as long as the engineering depart-
ment is in existence is a part of it. When the work of land
purchase and heavy construction is completed, it passes
over to the Superintendent's Department (see 6). The
work of the engineering department can be divided
thus:
a. Property surveys of lands to be acquired with the
accompanying searches in the office of the recorder of deeds,
and the preparation of property descriptions to be incor-
porated in deeds of conveyance prepared by the counsel
or his assistants.
b. Topographical surveys prepared for the use of the
landscape architect in the preparation of his plans.
c. Designs of sewer, drainage, water-supply and lighting
systems, together with the design of all the essential engi-
neering features of walls and bridges.
d. The preparation, letting and supervision of all
contracts for construction work. This includes the direc-
tion in detail of all construction operations.
e. Planting and gardening operations.
/. The maintenance of the work until it can be turned
over to a Superintendent's Department, which need not be
organized until the work is well under way or even com-
pleted.
g. The policing of all acquired areas. The police force
consists of a chief and mounted and unmounted patrolmen
with sometimes a few plain-clothes men.
5. An Architect, who prepares detail designs of various
18 THE DESIRABILITY AND ACQUISITION OF PARKS
structures, such as buildings, gateways, steps and the
architectural features of bridges.
6. A Superintendent's Department, whose function it is
to take over the work done by the Engineering Depart-
ment and carry it to completion. This work consists of
gardening and planting operations, construction work
(generally by day labor), and the ultimate maintenance
of the entire system. The police department eventually
is transferred to this department.
7. A Clerical Force to transact the work of the Secretary
and Treasurer of the Commission, to issue permits for use
of playgrounds, and to keep open office.
8. A Title Guarantee Department. It is customary to
employ a title guarantee company to pass on all property
transactions.
All of these departments may report directly to the
commission, though there is some variation in this matter.
CHAPTER II
LANDS AND SURVEYS
GENERAL REQUIREMENTS IN THE SELECTION OF PARK LANDS
IS is specifically a question of landscape architecture.
It is also a matter of common sense. Many great
mistakes, though not chargeable to the profession of the
landscape architect, have been made in the selection of
park lands. The following are the leading requirements:
1. Parks must be accessible. City parks should be
so placed that all of the population can reach at least one
park on foot. The larger county parks should be easily
reached by carriage, automobile and trolley car. The
fare on these car lines should be reasonable. Excessive
charges should not be permitted.
2. It seems to be the modern idea that a park system
should be a connected system, the various parks being
joined by parkways or boulevards. This is regarded as a
very essential matter.
3. A park should be located with regard to the other
requirements of the territory in which it is placed. Central
Park in New York City, although an asset of inestimable
value, is so placed that it cuts off two of the main arteries
of travel running north and south on Manhattan Island.
4. Parks should be planned with a distinct view of the
requirements of the population to be benefited. The
problem must be worked out for each individual case. The
needs of the entire population must be considered with
21
22 LANDS AND SURVEYS
regard to wealth, culture, nationality, age, sex, density of
population, etc. Drives, parkways and boulevards will
principally benefit the wealthy. A fine landscape, beauti-
ful architecture and opportunities for nature study meet the
cultural requirements. The inherited traits of people of
different national extraction should be regarded. The
matter of age must also be carefully considered; while
the older person will generally expect opportunities for
quiet and rest, children and young people will need play-
grounds and athletic fields. It may here be said that the
playground movement has recently assumed enormous
proportions as one of the best opportunities for civic im-
provement. The child should have his swing, sand box
and wading pool; the young woman her tennis court, and
the young man his baseball field and out-of-door gymna-
sium. Where the population is dense, the park would seem
to be the only solution of the pressing problem of rest,
recreation and amusement.
5. It is a fact well known to experts that lands which
are poor from the point of view of the real estate operator
are often the best for park development. Low and swampy
lands which are usually festering spots in cities are among
this class. A very good illustration of what is meant by
this paragraph is found at Philadelphia, where portions of
the Tacony, Pennypack and Cobbs Creek valleys are now
on the city plan to be used for park purposes. These
valleys are narrow and deep. If laid out in city blocks,
the grade of the cross streets would be about that of the
sides of the valleys. An enormous amount of filling would
thus be required, the cost of which would have to be
borne by the city. The cost of this filling alone would be
more than the purchase price of the tracts for park pur-
poses.
LAND SURVEY AND PURCHASE 23
THE ACQUISITION OF PROPERTY
The Survey. Before lands are taken over for park
purposes, a survey is usually made by the engineering
department. This is an easy matter when the boundaries
are well defined by street lines, fences, stone monuments,
hedges, stone walls or a sufficient number of blazed trees.
It frequently happens, however, especially in rural reserva-
tions, that the landmarks, usually blazed trees, are par-
tially or entirely gone. In such cases the determination of
the boundaries becomes a difficult or impossible matter, and
especially, as frequently happens, if the recorded deeds
contain inaccurate or grossly incorrect descriptions. In
all such cases the matter has to be adjusted between buyer
and seller, and, if no agreement can be reached, the ques-
tion is passed upon by a condemnation commission, to
be described later on. In purchasing a large reservation,
it is the usual practice for the engineering department to
prepare a large map of the tract, locating the boundaries
and the principal topographical features, such as brooks,
buildings, etc. The surveys of the individual lots and,
when surveys cannot be obtained, mapped deed descrip-
tions are plotted on drawing paper or cardboard. These
plots are then cut out and fitted together on the large map.
Overlaps and underlaps are frequent in cheap rural lands
and occasionally a triangular piece of land will have to be
purchased twice.
Options. The policy of obtaining options on property
likely to be acquired is a good one. Property owners can
frequently be approached when they are in a favorable mood
and advantageous agreements for the sale obtained subject
to a definite time limit of purchase. These options may be
obtained by members of the engineering force or by the
purchasing agents.
24 LANDS AND SURVEYS
Direct Purchase. Property to be_taken over for park
purposes on which no option has been obtained can almost
always be purchased at a fair market price, it being to the
advantage usually of the owners to sell, since, if they refuse,
the matter can be taken before a condemnation commission
and a forced sale brought about. The cost of litigation is
sometimes great and the part borne by the owner fre-
quently a total loss. Purchases are made through the
purchasing agents.
Condemnations. The resort to this method of pur-
chase is somewhat rare, since, as before stated, it is almost
always to the advantage of the owner to sell. Condemna-
tion proceedings for park lands are carried on about as
follows. The method given is for the State of New Jersey:
1. A notice to one of the justices of the Supreme Court
that agreement cannot be reached for the purchase of the
property, together with an application to said justice for
the appointment of a condemnation commission of three
men to examine the land and make a just appraisement.
This notice is endorsed by the justice, who assigns a time
and place for the appointment of the commissioners.
2. A notice from the park commission to the owner
and parties interested of the previous application for the
appointment of condemnation commissioners, together
with a copy containing the affidavit of the person who
served the notice on the owner and parties interested,
which copy is kept on file in the office of the Commission.
3. A notice from the Supreme Court justice to the park
commission of the appointment of a condemnation com-
mission together with directions in regard to the notifica-
tion of all parties concerned in the property sought to be
acquired. This document also includes the oaths, before
a person duly authorized to administer them, of the
THE TOPOGRAPHICAL SURVEY 25
condemnation commissioners faithfully to appraise the
lands.
4. A notice from the park commission through its
counsel to the parties concerned in the transfer of the
property, of the appointment of the condemnation com-
mission and of the time and place of meeting to view and
examine ^the lands and rights therein in order to make an
equitable appraisement. This document contains the oath
of the notice server.
5. A report of the condemnation commissioners as to the
value in a gross sum, of all the interests, estates, or shares
in said lands, whether in possession, remainder, reversion
or expectancy.
6. The certificate of the title guarantee company as to
the soundness of the title.
7. The deed.
THE TOPOGRAPHICAL SURVEY
Before preparing the designs, full information must be
obtained of all topographical features. The method of
making the survey will depend entirely on the character of
the land to be surveyed and also on the probable mode of
treatment. If the tract is to be entirely regraded it will
be well to make a very accurate survey, which can also be
used later on in determining the amount of excavation.
Thus one survey may be made to answer two purposes and
much time and money be saved. The method of making
the survey is a matter of judgment and no hard and fast
rules can be laid down. The subject will be briefly treated
under three headings: Parks, Reservations and Parkways.
For Parks. The survey for city parks, and frequently
for reservations also, is made by the gridiron method.
The first thing to be done is to locate and properly
26
LANDS AND SURVEYS
monument a suitable base-line. This base-line may be
placed on one side of the tract if it has a long straight side.
Hubs 3 inches square are driven every hundred feet and
line and distance are marked by a tack or small nail.
It is very desirable to locate this base-line where there
is to be no cut or fill. Otherwise it will be disturbed and
Hubs on
this line
Q>
no cut
or Ml
en
I
1
o
1
°*+57.0
Hubs on ;
1
o
C
-
Hu
bs on this
line
CMironSv^ofSwwitePvks *
FIG.
will have to be relocated. The importance of this remark
cannot be too strongly emphasized. An auxiliary line of
hubs is laid off at right angles from the first one. The
lines at right angles to the first line of hubs may be desig-
nated by letters, thus — A, B, C, etc. The lines at right
angles to the second line of hubs may be designated by
numbers — 0, 1, 2, 3, etc. Thus the corner of any square in
THE TOPOGRAPHICAL SURVEY 27
the checkerboard layout can be indicated ; as, C-4, which is
a corner 400 feet from the main base-line and 200 feet from
the auxiliary base-line. Also any point whatever on the
tract can be designated, as, C +49. 3— 4+51.6. If the
tract is a square one, it will frequently be well to have
monumented cross-section lines on the four sides. If
of irregular shape, well-monumented lines may be located
at various distances apart, such as 1000 feet, where they are
not apt to be disturbed or covered up by excavation or
embankment.
In addition to the permanent cross-section lines, all
other cross-section lines are also staked out by stakes
about 1| or 2 inches square. These stakes are allowed
to project from the ground 6 or 8 inches and are marked
with lumberman's chalk. The letter designation is marked
on one face and the number designation on a face at right
angles to it. The markings are so placed that if a person
walked from the beginning of a cross-section line the dis-
tances out would be visible on the face of the stake directly
in front of him.
After the cross-section lines are all staked out, the level
parties begin their operations, which consist in obtaining
the elevation of the ground at every stake to the nearest
tenth of a foot. All changes in grade should also be de-
termined. All topographical features must be located,
such as streets, buildings, water courses and trees; also
all sewers, water pipes, gas pipes and wire conduits. In
locating the trees, each tree should be tagged with a copper
tag | inch by 1 inch with a number stamped upon it. The
diameter, kind and spread of each tree should also be
determined. This information is very important to the
landscape architect. If the trees are very close together,
as they frequently are in the woods, instead of attempting
28
LANDS AND SURVEYS
to plot each tree in the note-book, a table may be prepared
with the following columns.
FIG. 6.
Kind.
Diameter.
Spread.
Co-ordinates.
Letter.
Number.
The notes are kept in a cross-section book about 6f
by 8| inches, ruled in blue lines, ten to the inch. In work
of this kind it is especially important that the date should
be entered on each page.
A map is then prepared on a suitable scale, depending
on the amount of detail to be plotted. The following
scales are used; 1"=30', 1"=40', 1" =50' and 1" = 100'.
This map is traced and the tracing forwarded to the land-
scape architect.
For Large Reservations. The previous method should
be used if possible. Since, however, no grading is usually
contemplated except for wood roads, etc., and since it is
often impossible to run straight lines, the method of survey
by random lines, as nearly straight as possible, is adopted.
Side shots are taken by angle and stadia. This method is
not recommended when trees and other details must be
located.
For Parkways. The method here to be followed is
that of carefully running a transit line through the middle
of the ribbon-like area, placing stakes every hundred feet.
THE TOPOGRAPHICAL SURVEY
31
All angles should be " doubled " and checked by the needle,
and all distances should be checked by stadia. Side
shots are obtained by angles and stadia distances. This
method of survey is not as accurate as the gridiron method,
but the latter in its simplest form is not adapted to park-
V
V
7 + 00 1
0 + 00
IB
•f
Modified Gridiron System of Survey for Parkways*
FlG. 8.
way work. A modified girdiron system, however, may
be used when the base-line instead of being one straight
line is the broken line of traverse.
General Remark. In making topographical surveys
it is sometimes advantageous to sketch in field. Work of
this kind is usually much more accurate, especially when
32 LANDS AND SURVEYS
the map must be drawn in minute detail. It is advanta-
geous where there are terraces, trees, etc. Mistakes in
plotting are thus avoided, since the features are within
sight of the draftsman. A plane table is a useful instru-
ment for this kind of work; but it can be done with a
transit with vertical circle, the draftsman using a light
table 2 feet square mounted on a light tripod.
THE HYDROGRAPHICAL SURVEY
Ponds and Lakes. The topography of the beds of ponds
and lakes is obtained by the gridiron method of survey.
The depths may be had in shallow ponds by use of a rod
lowered from a boat, the readings being referred in measure-
ment to the water level. When the depths are more than
6 feet, a sounding line is employed. A good sounding
line can be made of sash-cord with a colored string tied at
each foot-mark. Different colors are used to good advan-
tage, the number of feet being thus readily determined.
A sinker will be required to hold the lower end of the line
to the bottom. Alignment of the sounding rod or rope
may be had by means of rods on the shore or else by transit.
The distance is obtained by stadia or else by alignment
rods on a line at right angles to the other.
Brooks and Creeks. The flow of streams is determined
by use of a weir unless the flow is large. In the latter case,
which is not common, a current meter or rod float must be
employed. Fig. 9 shows clearly the customary method of
making weir measurements.
Depths over the crest are measured either by a car-
penter's square or a footrule. For measuring depths
the hook-gauge is never necessary except when litigation
is probable. Measurements of flow may be made twice a
day, or oftener when the water is rising or falling rapidly.
Loaned by J. & W. Jolly. Inc.. Holyoice. Mass.
FIG. 9. -Gauging the Discharge of a Stream, 33
THE HYDROGRAPHICAL SURVEY 35
In determining the discharge of a stream by means
of a weir great importance should be attached to the matter
of keeping the weir crest free from floating objects, which
by backing up the stream may invalidate the readings
even after the brush is removed. Weir frames are often
washed out by freshets. To prevent this the frame should
be firmly set in a trench excavated for the purpose with
riprap on the down-stream side to prevent scour. Should
the weir be found leaky or should leaks be apprehended, a
little clay placed on the bed of the stream against the
upper face will be found very satisfactory.
Full hydrographical information is required by the land-
scape architect in his preparation of plans for lakes and
water courses, and by the engineer in connection with
excavation and dredging operations and the design of
outlet sewers.
CHAPTER III
DESIGN
THE ARCHITECTURAL TREATMENT
THIS portion of the design is the function of the Land-
scape Architect. It is embodied in the following
drawings :
1. A general grading plan usually drawn and traced on
the scale of the topographical survey. By superimposing
one tracing on the other, a composite print can be made
showing the cut or fill at every point.
2. Cross-sections of drives, paths, terraces, etc.
3. Various plans and suggestions as to masonry work,
bridges, etc.
4. Planting plans.
The Requirements. This book is not the place for a
discussion of the principles of landscape architecture. The
work is done by experts in this line of work. A few of the
general principles are here suggested.
First of all, the plan must be a suitable one. An English
garden would be inappropriate in a mountain park and the
informal treatment would be inappropriate for a city square.
Second, the general principle of harmony must be
observed. For instance, a cut-stone arch would be out of
place in a natural ravine with wooded slopes.
Third, the design should be suggestive. For example,
the idea of steepness can be brought out by planting trees
on the crest of the slope.
Beautiful views should be preserved wherever possible
36
Courtesy Alonzo Church, Secretary, Essex County ]Park Commission.
FIG. 10.— Topsoil Pile.
Courtesy Austin- Western Road Machinery Co.
FIG. 11. — Machine for Stripping Topsoil and Grading. 37
UNDERDRAINAGE 39
and should not be shut off by trees. Vistas are designed
by a careful inspection of the topography and timber
growth. Free access should be had to all parts of the
park. This does not mean that access is to be obtained
necessarily by the construction of straight drives and
paths. Straight lines should not be used except in formal
architecture, where they may be entirely appropriate.
Many unsightly objects outside the park boundaries can
be hidden from the inside by the construction of border
mounds with suitable planting. These mounds are very
effective and are extensively used.
THE ENGINEERING DESIGN
UNDERDRAINAGE
Wherever soils are swampy or wet, underdrainage is
necessary. This can be accomplished in two different ways:
First, by the laying of agricultural tile. Tile is made
in two patterns — horseshoe and cylindrical.
Horseshoe tile may be laid on a line of 1-inch boards or
else on the bottom of the trench if it is carefully graded.
The tile are frequently 2 feet in length. No coupling is
used, but a piece of cheese-cloth may be employed to good
advantage in wrapping the joints to prevent the entrance of
earth.
Cylindrical tile come in 2-foot lengths and are provided
with 4-inch collars or rings to be used at the joints. The
sizes commonly used are 2-inch, 3-inch, and 4-inch. The
tile are porous and should be straight, hard and of uniform
cross-section. In draining lands they are laid in parallel
ditches joining the main at 45 degrees. Y-connections
can be purchased for the purpose. The distance apart
of the trenches, their depth and the size of the tile are
matters which experience only can satisfactorily decide.
40
DESIGN
The determining conditions are, the kind of soil, slope of
the land and elevation of the water-table. The thorough-
ness of drainage is another feature. Waring's rule is
frequently used in the design.
The mains are of porous tile up to 4 inches in diameter
and above that of vitrified sewer pipe. If the line dis-
charges into an open channel, the detail at the outlet is
Vitrified Sewer
Method of Providing Underdrainage for Damp or Swampy
Soil. Surface Water should be Removed by Inlets and
Catch Basins along Upper Sides of Paths and. Drives.
FIG. 12.
very important. To prevent injury and dislocation to the
line, the use of a 12-foot length of cast-iron pipe is recom-
mended. This pipe does not have to be perfect. A piece
of " seconds " can be used to good advantage.
Tile drains become clogged in a few years, especially
when in the neighborhood of willows and other trees which
absorb much water. But the drainage process still con-
tinues in some measure, due to increased porosity of the
SEWERS 43
soil by the dissolving out of soluble matters after the
laying of the tile. Furthermore, the land will never be-
come as wet as it originally was on account of the fact that
the surface water is rapidly disposed of by the surface-water
drainage system.
Secondly, land can be subdrained by the construction of
stone or brush ditches. The principle of action is the same
as in the case of the tile ditches. Stone or poles are placed
in the bottom of the trench to provide open space for the
passage of the water. To prevent clogging up with earth,
the stone or poles are covered with branches or straw, on
which the backfilling is deposited.
General Remarks. Trenches for underdrainage are
usually spaced 50 feet apart. The depth varies from 1|
feet to 4 or 5 feet. The slopes should not be less than
say 0.25 of a foot in 100 feet except for the mains.
SEWERS
Park sewers are of three kinds: 1. Storm- water Sewers;
2. Sanitary Sewers; and 3. Combined Sewers. The methods
of design and construction are in some respects different
from those of municipal sewers.
Sewers are usually laid along straight lines as in mu-
nicipal work, but the great expense of manholes can be
saved in whole or in part. Park sewers seldom lie under
pavements. If they become stopped, the trench can be
reopened and the obstruction removed. It will be cheaper
to do this occasionally (although it hardly ever becomes
necessary) than to go to the great expense of placing man-
holes at every change of line and grade.
Park sewers are of brick or vitrified pipe. Sewers larger
than 36 inches in diameter are built of brick. When the
soil is treacherous, steel or spiral-riveted pipe may some-
44 DESIGN
times be used to advantage where dislocations might other-
wise occur.
1. Storm= water Sewers. The peculiar features of park
storm-water sewers are the methods of collecting the water,
the methods of discharging it and the calculation of size.
Methods of Collection. In order to collect storm water,
inlets and catch-basins must be constructed.
The inlet is merely an Opening for the admission of
water. It consists of an iron grating set in concrete over
a 6-inch elbow from which the water is carried by a 6-inch
chute into a catch-basin or directly into the sewer.
The catch-basin is usually built of brick, of circular
horizontal section and surmounted by a grating to provide
for the entrance of rain water and the exclusion of sticks
and leaves. It is constructed about 6 or 7 feet deep,
4 feet inside diameter, corbeled in at the top to a diameter
of 2 feet. The cast-iron grating is rectangular for paved
gutters and circular for grass gutters. Its height is about
8 inches. It is cast in two pieces — the lower part provided
with a flange to rest upon — and a grating to hold back
obstructions. A catch-basin is provided with a concrete
foundation about 6 inches thick. The invert of the outlet
pipe, which is 6 inches in diameter, is about 3 or 4 feet from
the bottom. No outlet trap is provided, the purpose of
the catch-basin being merely to catch mud and gravel and
prevent its entrance into the sewer.
Instead of placing two catch-basins on opposite sides of
a path or drive, it is often well to dispense with one and
build an inlet instead. The inlet discharges into the
catch-basin and the catch-basin into the sewer. Should
the inlet or its chute become stopped, it may be cleaned out
by use of a garden hose.
Catch-basins and inlets can be placed in paved gutters,
METHODS OF DISCHARGE
47
or off to one side of the path or drive in grass gutters, which
will be discussed under the heading of Grading. The dis-
tance apart is a function of the amount of water to be
carried. Past experience has clearly demonstrated that
catch-basins and inlets are frequently placed too far apart
and almost never too close together. A spacing often used
is 125 feet.
If a sewer carries water from a row of catch-basins along
a drive, the sewer should not be placed under the drive, but
rather under grass or shrubbery, where it can easily be
reached in case of trouble.
Cement Sidewalk
Cinder Foundation
Concrete
Inlet
Method of Collecting Surface
Water from Qraas Gutters.
FlG. 15.
Catch
basin
-Sewer
Methods of Discharge. If storm-water sewers discharge
into other park sewers, it is not necessary to construct a
manhole, as is done in city practice, providing that due
care is observed in making the connection.
If a storm-water sewer discharges into an open body of
water, the discharge may take place below the surface
of the water. This means that the outlet must be of special
design. Cast-iron pipe held in place at the end by slope
paving is sometimes used. Or in other cases the sewer may
pass out through a shore wall which holds it in position.
The turbidity of the first wash is often a source of
trouble by reason of the fact that the pond or lake is rendered
turbid. The first washings may be side-tracked into an
48 DESIGN
outlet sewer through a pipe too small to carry the storm-
water flow.
Sometimes where there are springs or another adequate
source of supply for the lake or pond, the entire volume of
storm-water is passed off into the outlet sewer direct.
Calculation of Size. The usual methods of calculation
are employed. The coefficient of imperviousness, however,
will be low, due to the character of the surfaces, which are
mostly grass}'.
An outlet sewer from a lake need not be of sufficient
capacity to carry the entire flow of the storm if this flow is
admitted to the lake. The body of water may be used as
a reservoir whose elevation will rise slightly at time of a
storm and the surplus water will run off through the small
outlet sewer after the storm is over.
2. Sanitary Sewers. These are used to carry the flow
from toilet rooms which are located in shelters and pavilions.
Such sewers are small. They should never discharge into
park lakes and water courses. Sanitary sewers are gen-
erally laid much deeper than storm-water sewers. It is
very important that the grade be flat in order that the
depth of flow may be as great as possible. The minimum
velocity should be 1.5 feet per second. In order to lay
the sewers on flat grades it may be necessary to build a
few drop manholes at places where the sewers join. The
size of sanitary sewers is 6 inches except for the mains.
Owing to the impossibility in many cases of obtaining a
proper depth of flow, say one-quarter of the diameter,
flush tanks will have to be used to keep the sewer free from
incrustation.
3. Combined Sewers. These are but seldom used in
park engineering. Occasionally however, where a sanitary
sewer is available, storm-water sewers will be connected
r
£
GRADING 51
to it, thus making a combined sewer. This means an
enlargement of size. Difficulty is often experienced in
maintaining in dry weather a proper depth of flow without
flushing. The flow from these sewers should not be dis-
charged into lakes and water courses unless there is a pro-
vision for removing the dry-weather flow to another outlet.
GRADING
The grading plan is prepared after a careful examination
of the topographical map and a personal examination of
the site. This is the function of the landscape architect.
Some of the features in the design directly affect the drain-
age and other plans and will thus be explained.
Grass Gutters. Instead of allowing the sides of drives
and paths to act as channels or gutters for the collection and
removal of water, it is customary in modern practice to
provide grass gutters wherever possible. These consist
of depressions 4 to 6 inches deep and 6 to 12 feet wide on
the sides of drives and paths, running parallel with them.
(See Fig. 15, on page 47.) In vertical cross-section the
traces of these gutters should be curves which are con-
tinuous with the lines cut from the adjacent slope. These
gutters possess marked advantages. They intercept storm-
water and prevent it from washing away the surfaces of
drives and paths. Since the flow of water through them is
gentle by reason of obstruction by blades of grass, there is
practically no erosion and very little solid matter is deposited
in the catch-basins. In fact in designing the drainage
system some engineers dispense with basins altogether and
merely use inlets. On the lower sides of driveways and
paths, the gutters of course are unnecessary. There are
times, however, when by reason of the steepness of the
slope and its close proximity to the drive or path, grass
52
DESIGN
gutters cannot be used. In such cases it will be necessary
to pave the gutter so that it may carry the run-off from the
slope and drive or path.
• — —L\
J
6 Sewer
1 [ J
Method of collecting surface water
from paved gutters which are neces-
sitated by reason of steep side slopes.
Inlets not satisfactory on account, of
large amounts of grit.
FlG. 17.
Figure 13, on page 41, furnished by Mr. Cabot Ward,
Park Commissioner of the Boroughs of Manhattan and
Richmond, New York, illustrates the proper treatment for
drives when the side slopes are steep. Paved gutters here
carry the surface water.
Absolutely level fields cannot be drained. Slight
depressions or slopes should be provided so that surface
water may be promptly removed. If the work is carefully
staked out, these slopes and depressions need be but slight.
Lakes and ponds should not drop off abruptly at the
shore line. It is safe and proper to provide a shelf at the
shore line extending out 8 to 10 feet with a drop of 1^
feet. Lakes and ponds should be at least 8 feet deep if
possible. If shallower, there are apt to be objectionable
growths of water plants. (See Fig. 18, on page 55.)
PILE FOUNDATIONS 53
PILING AND BULKHEADS
Pile Foundations. These are often necessary in quick-
sands and muck to support bridges, overflows, etc. Two
kinds of piles are used, timber and concrete. Timber
piles will answer the purpose if not too expensive and if
they are driven below the water table. The soil surround-
iny them may, however, afterwards become dry due to the
construction not far away of deep brick sewers. If the
piles dry out they are sure to rot. Wooden piles are
driven by the familiar " land machine/7 with hammer
weighing from 1500 to 2000 pounds, or else by the steam
hammer. The latter is not so satisfactory in peaty soils,
due to the presence of snags, which can often be shoved
aside by the vigorous blows of the drop-hammer machine.
Wooden piles are sometimes jetted into place by the
hydraulic process which, it is almost needless to say, can
be used only in sandy soils free from stones. Instead of
sawing off and capping driven piles, it is better to make a
foundation of concrete. This is much cheaper and is also
stronger, since the concrete surrounds the piles and holds
them rigidly in position.
Concrete piles are also used and may be of the type that
are driven or jetted into position or else of the type that
are cast in a hole prepared by the driving of a metal form.
Concrete piles have the advantage of durability, and when
reinforced a marked advantage as columnar piles. They
are thus especially adapted to semi-fluid peaty soils.
The safe load to be borne by a pile is a difficult matter
to determine. Arbitrary rules have been employed and
when used by experienced engineers give results on the
safe side. Considerable literature has recently been pub-
lished on the subject of piles and pile driving, for which
54 DESIGN
see Transactions of the American Society of Civil Engi-
neers, Vols. XLVIII, p. 180; LIV, Part F, p. 3; LXV,p.467;
LXX, p. 412.
Bulkheads. In constructing artificial lakes, it some-
times happens that a part of the shore lies in an unstable
soil which cannot be excavated without flowing. To
construct a firm and stable shore the following method has
been used:
A single row of piles close together with every fifth one
omitted is driven along the shore line. Then batter piles
are driven in the gaps at as great an angle with the vertical
as possible. Unfortunately with a drop-hammer machine
this angle cannot be made greater than about 20 degrees.
The piles are then all sawed off at about 1^ or 2 feet below
the proposed water surface and a wale is framed into them
in such a way that the thrust of the batter pile due to lateral
movement of the soil is transmitted to the wale and then
against the vertical piles. (See Fig. 18, page 55.)
In performing this work of cutting off the piles and
placing the wale in position, a trench must be excavated in
order to provide room for the workmen. In order to draw
the work together jack-screws are used and a bolt with
suitable washers through each pile holds it close to the
wale. The wale consists of an 8-inch by 10-inch timber.
The piles are notched to receive it, since the bolts must not
be required to take up much of the thrust. The material
on the water side of the piles can then be removed by
cable-way or otherwise to the full depth of the lake.
Good upland subsoil is then dumped in over the piles to
reinforce them and provide a firm shore. This soil of course
will sink down into the soft material below and more will
have to be added until no further settlement takes place.
It is wise to fill in considerably above the proposed grade
Timber Bulkhead and Subsoil Filling to Form
Artificial Shore of Lake Excavated in Poor Soil.
FIG. 18,
Street
Pauement
This pipe discharges
into city sewer at
conuer.ient intervals
Method of Removing
Ground and Surface Water
Collecting behind
Retaining Wall.
FIG. 19.
55
MASONRY WALLS AND STEPS 57
in order to ensure stable equilibrium and then, after say
a month, remove the surplus material. As the good soil
sinks into the soft material in which the lake is being con-
structed an upheaval of course takes place, which necessi-
tates further excavation.
In order to provide a solid bottom for the lake, 1-inch
boards are laid loosely on scantling and covered with 6
inches of good subsoil.
MASONRY WALLS AND STEPS
Retaining Walls. It is essential that masonry walls,
whether of stone or concrete, be kept dry. In order to
secure this, proper provision must be made both for the
collection and for the disposal of water.
If a retaining wall is backed by a grassy slope, a grass
gutter should be provided to intercept surface water before
it reaches the wall. Catch-basins or inlets are placed in
this gutter at proper intervals, usually about 125 feet, and
the water entering them is carried off through a storm-
water sewer. (See Fig. 19, page 55.)
Ground water must also be taken care of. To do this
it is well to place broken stone behind the wall to act as a
reservoir and passageway for the water, which can be
drawn off through the wall by means of " weep holes "
spaced from 15 to 50 feet apart. A square hole in the wall
about 4 inches by 4 inches in cross-section answers the pur-
pose. Or a 3- or 4-inch iron pipe of the kind commonly
called " seconds " may be used instead. The first method
is frequently followed in stone retaining walls and the
second in those made of concrete. The weep hole may
discharge directly upon the surface, or the water may be
carried off below the surface. The first method will suffice
if no path or walk is adjacent, since the quantity of water
58 DESIGN
discharged is slight. But if there is a walk near the wall,
it is better to follow the second course. The flow from the
weep holes may be carried below the walk in pipes and
discharged into a street gutter through holes in a concrete
curb, or the pipes may discharge into a line of agricultural
tile or vitrified pipe.
Perfectly straight and continuous walls running parallel
to a street are sometimes extremely monotonous. Variety
can easily be secured by the use of pilasters or buttresses.
The customary rules for thickness cannot be followed
in designing low stone walls, say 3 or 4 feet high above
the foundation, unless the stone have true horizontal
beds and extend entirely through the wall. Since this is
seldom the case, the wall should have a thickness on top
of the foundation of at least one-third of the height. The
thickness under the coping should not be less than 15 inches.
The foundation offset should never be visible, but
should be covered with a few inches of soil.
Dry walls are frequently advantageous by reason of
their cheapness. Stone uncovered by the grading opera-
tions, if of the flat variety, such as shale rock, is excellently
adapted for the purpose.
Steps. These may be of stone, usually granite, or of
concrete. They should be designed with broad treads
and low risers. The treads are about 14 inches wide and
risers about 6 inches high. The exposed corners should be
slightly chamfered.
If a flight of steps is placed in a curved walk, the steps
should run truly normal to the curve, the walls at the sides
being either continuous with the path lines or else tangent
to these lines. Stone steps should be so designed that they
rest for several inches one upon another, and all vertical
joints should be broken.
Grass
2x4 scantling-
TRANSVERSE SECTION
-Tread
Tread
FRONT VIEW
FIG. 20.— Sod Steps.
"Q-round Level
59
WATER PIPES AND FIXTURES 61
Cement steps should be finished rough with crushed
quartz or coarse sharp sand.
A very attractive flight of sod steps was shown to the
author by Mr. G. A. Parker, Superintendent of Parks, at
Hartford, Conn. To prevent the breaking down of the
edges, a scantling was placed at the face of the tread and
supported as shown in the illustration, Fig. 20, page 59.
The grading above a flight of steps should be of such a
character that no water will reach the steps. This end is
best attained by use of grass gutters.
WATER PIPES AND FIXTURES
All pipes above 3 inches should be of cast iron. The
smaller sizes, Ij-inch, 2-inch and 3-inch, are of galvanized
wrought iron. Most of the pipes in a park system are
of the smaller sizes. Much expense can be saved by
laying the pipes in shallow ditches, say 3 feet deep. This
can be done only when no water is needed in the winter
time. If pipes are laid in shallow trenches it is imperative
that they be laid to grade, and that all low points be pro-
vided with blow-offs into an adjacent sewer. If no sewer
is low enough, part of the system will have to be laid at a
depth of at least 5 feet in places whose climate is like that
of New York City.
Water pipes supplying buildings must always be laid
at a sufficient depth to prevent freezing in the winter time.
Dead ends should be avoided as much as possible. The
usual gridiron system should be followed.
The hydrants used, with the exception of a few fire
hydrants required, are of the lawn pattern. The ordinary
lawn hydrant does not project above the ground. It is
provided with hose connection and is opened by a short
key about 3 inches in length. Occasionally water cranes
62 DESIGN
are used for filling water wagons. These should be simple
and of neat appearance. The hydrant shown in the figure
is provided with a valve key for shutting off the water
below ground and emptying the riser. If hydrants are set
in swampy ground, special provision should be made to
take care of the drip. This can best be removed by
making a sewer connection. (See Figs. 21 and 22.)
The water supplied to parks is frequently metered.
For small consumption, a water meter of the disc, rotary
or reciprocating variety is used, but for large consump-
tion a Venturi meter of the self-recording type is needed.
This meter requires the erection of a small house to contain
it. Water meters should never be set in wet manholes.
If the manhole is below the water table, the soil should be
drained or else a drain pipe should extend to the bottom of
the manhole. If the soil is usually dry but occasionally
wet, the pit can be kept dry by building it of a ring of
brickwork 1| bricks thick and thoroughly filling the joints
with impervious mortar.
Drinking fountains are placed where needed. The
water from galvanized pipes has an unpleasant taste when
the pipes are new, but the disagreeable taste gradually
disappears.
PATHS
Paths are surfaced with cement, with gravel and occa-
sionally with asphalt or brick. Before considering in detail
these different kinds of walks, a few remarks will be made
in regard to (1) the provision for drainage, (2) the shape
in plan, (3) wings, and (4) entrances.
(1) Provision for Drainage. Except in dry, gravelly
soils it is customary to lay cinder or broken stone founda-
tions to provide drainage and prevent heaving from frost.
All walks should be on an incline. At low points provision
FIG. 22.
Courtesy Ludlow Valve Mfg. Co.
FIG. 21.
Water Crane and Lawn Hydrant.
63
PATHS 65
should be made for the removal of the water which has
collected. This can be done by providing a chute of agri-
cultural tile to the nearest catch-basin or sewer. Drain-
age for street sidewalks can be had by running a short pipe
to the gutter.
If a path is close to a steep terrace, it may be necessary
to carry surface water in a gutter in the path itself. (Fig.
14, page 45.) In the case of gravel walks or of cement,
asphalt or brick walks with gravel wings, the gutter may
be made of small stone blocks. Inlets and catch-basins
will have their gratings in the gutters. These gratings
should be slightly depressed or else the water will pass
them without entering. If the slope is steep the gratings
should be placed level or sometimes at a slight inclination
against the grade. If the walk is nearly level it may not
be necessary to pave the entire gutter. It is often enough
to place the blocks every foot or two, which is sufficient to
prevent the washing away of the gravel.
(2) Shape in Plan. Park walks may be either straight
or curved, depending on the nature of the design. In
the formal garden the straight walk is proper, but in the
informal design straight lines should be avoided. Curves
should not be laid out arbitrarily. A curve should always
have its reason. This is afforded by a natural obstacle or
by the topography. If natural obstacles do not exist, they
can be introduced in the design.
(3) Wings. In order to increase the effective width of
a park walk, wings of gravel 4 feet wide on each side are
often used. These wings may have the full cinder foun-
dation as in the cement, asphalt or brick pavement. In
economical construction the cinder foundation is omitted.
(See Fig. 15, on page 47.) When the paths are not crowded,
all of the walking will be on the middle part, the wings
66
DESIGN
Center Line to which
Path should be Tangent
The topography does
not call for the aboue
reversed curue-nor are
there natural obstacles
to warrant it. The walk '
does not leave the street
line in the right direction,
Location of Path
governed bu
Topography
and natural
obstacles
The Path is Tangent
to this Center Line
This drawing shows path
properly placed. Observe
position of parti catch
basin. Water should
never be allowed to cross
a path or drive.
FIG. 23.
PATHS 67
being of convenience in passing and when the walks are
crowded. The depth of the gravel is 4 inches. The
gravel should be of such a character that it will readily
bind. It should be of suitable color and its surface should
be continuous with that of the middle portion of the walk.
Crushed stone will not answer for this purpose.
(4) Entrances. Where a park walk joins an exterior
walk on the center line of a street, the street center line
produced should coincide with a tangent to the center
line of the walk at the point of entrance. If so designed
the entrance will look correct to a person driving down the
street toward it and will afford equal ease of access to the
park in both directions. (See Fig. 23 on page 66.)
Corner entrances should be so laid out that they may
be equally easy of access from both street cross-walks.
This is illustrated in Figs. 24 and 25, on page 68, the first
showing the correct design and the second the incorrect.
Cement Paths. Interior walks are crowned in the
middle. The crown is of two kinds, straight and curved.
The first consists of two planes intersecting on the center
line of the path; the second of a continuous curved surface
with high point in the center as before. The first method
is to be preferred, as there is less likelihood of puddles
after a shower. (See Fig. 15 on page 47.) Crowns are
usually made too high. A crown of f of an inch in a walk
8 feet wide is ample if it is actually secured. The impor-
tance of careful staking out cannot be over-emphasized. A
little extra outlay for more grade stakes will more than pay
for itself. It is in this connection that a criticism can be
made in regard to the construction of our rural highways.
In the effort to provide thorough drainage most extravagant
crowns are adopted — crowns which frequently endanger
traffic. By the employment of a small surveying corps
DESIGN
Incorrect Section a-b
Incorrect Section a-b {]
Correct Section a-b
FlG. 24.
FIG. 25.
GRAVEL PATHS
in the construction of these roads, the crown could be
greatly reduced and equally good drainage secured.
Exterior walks, that is, sidewalks along streets, have no
crown, but are raised on the inside to provide drainage
toward the gutter. A slope of 1J inches for an 8-foot side-
walk is sufficient.
The foundation of a cement walk consists of 8 inches of
cinders. On this is placed 3 inches of concrete and on top
of this 1 inch of rich mortar. The foundation is sometimes
omitted in the South and may be occasionally omitted in
the North if the walk rests on a bed of dry gravel. (See
Fig. 19, page 55.)
The surface should be divided into blocks to provide
for cracks. For an 8-foot walk, there should be a longi-
tudinal marking down the middle and transverse mark-
ings about 4 feet apart. It is not wise to allow a smooth-
troweled finish, as then the walk is apt to be slippery.
A rough finish is better; but the roller finish is not to be
recommended. Little advantage is gained by the undula-
tions in the surface thus made.
ravel Paths. The crown should be a little higher
than for cement walks, say 50 per cent. more.
The foundation should consist of 6 inches of cinders and
the gravel should be 4 inches deep.
The selection of the gravel is a very important matter.
Crushed stone is not to be recommended, but rather a
hard rounded gravel with cementitious properties similar
to the famous Roa Hook gravel found on the Hudson River.
The gravel should of course be screened and should consist
of round flat stones, not spheres. Gravel of this character
is much easier to walk upon than gravel composed of
spherical stones. Gravel is an excellent material for path
construction. It is cheaper than cement, brick and asphalt
70 DESIGN
and affords a very good footing; furthermore its appear-
ance is less artificial. The Roa Hook gravel in particular
is of a color which harmonizes well with the natural features
of the park.
Asphalt Paths. This form of pavement is but seldom
used. The crown should be as specified for the cement
pavement. The foundation is of concrete 3 inches thick.
On this is placed a binder course f of an inch in thickness
and on this the surface coat also } of an inch thick. The
amount of paraffin-petroleum residuum used as a flux in
the surface coat should be a minimum in order that the
pavement may be as hard as possible.
Brick Paths. These also are rarely used. The brick
may be laid on a concrete foundation with a sand cushion
between or may be laid on a bed of cinders leveled off with a
layer of sand. The herring-bone bond is preferred.
DRIVES
The crown of park drives should be very low, so that the
full width of the drive may be effective. For a drive 40
feet wide the crown should be about 9 inches. Instead of
having a curved profile in cross-section, intersecting planes
are recommended as for paths. This permits of driving
on the extreme sides of the road.
Wherever possible, surface water should be carried in
grass gutters and not in gutters constructed in the drive
itself.
The effective width of park drives is frequently increased
by the construction of wings on both sides. These are made
thinner than the middle portion of the drive.
Park drives are usually constructed on curves rather
than on straight lines, although parkway and boulevard
drives are sometimes straight. (See Fig. 13, page 41.)
THE MACADAM PAVEMENT 71
The Macadam Pavement. The telford pavement has
been but seldom used, since the driving in parks has been
light and the heavier telford foundation has been found
unnecessary. It may be employed in the future owing to
the increased weight of vehicles. The park macadam
pavement has been constructed much lighter than the
municipal pavement. Its thickness is 6 or 7 inches.
Heavier pavements are now coming into use. The
ordinary water-bound macadam pavement often answers
very well. Its cost is low and it affords a good foothold
for horses. Where automobile traffic is heavy it will
be necessary to treat the surface by the usual methods
with crude petroleum, asphalt road oil or other preparation
described at length in modern treatises on pavements.
Bituminous concretes are giving excellent results for park
pavements. Calcium chloride has met with some success
in the East as a dust palliative.
Heavier pavements will be used in the future. The
macadam pavement as heretofore constructed serves very
well for carriage driving, but must now be treated with crude
petroleum, tarvia, asphalt road oil or other similar prep-
aration if heavy traffic is anticipated.
The Brick Pavement. This pavement possesses marked
advantages in durability, but has the drawback of being
noisy under horses' hoofs and steel tires. It has been used
at Indianapolis for the construction of an automobile
speedway. It is a more expensive form of pavement than
the macadam, but is permanent. The maintenance charges
for this style of pavement are very low.
Curb. Brick drives are always lined with curb and
macadam pavements are occasionally. For brick pave-
ments the curb may be either raised or flush with the
surface. In the case of macadam pavements it is always
72 DESIGN
raised. If the curb is raised the water must be carried
in gutters. Curb used in park work is most generally of
the curved variety and is very handsome when carefully laid,
but extremely ugly when not. It is almost needless to say
that curved curb is very expensive. Blue stone is a good
material to use. Curved curb can be made of concrete
with gutter of the same material. There is no good reason
why curved concrete curb should not present an excellent
appearance. This means that the engineer in charge of
the work shall be a man of good judgment in laying out
curves. Stakes should be set not farther than 50 feet
apart. The adjustment of the scantling which are used as
forms for casting the curb can be done by the eye. Con-
siderable readjustment of the scantling back and forth
may be necessary to secure the best results.
LIGHTING
Various systems are used and all have their merits.
They are, 1. Electric Light; 2. Gas; 3. Acetylene; and 4.
Gasoline. The lighting system should be as inconspicuous
as possible and all standards and lights should be in keep-
ing with the surroundings.
1. Electric Light. This method of lighting is the most
common. All wires must be out of view. They are car-
ried underground in lead conduits. The lights may be
of the enclosed arc or the incandescent type — the former
are usually preferred. Various kinds of ornamental iron
posts are used, the wires being carried up inside the post.
Either direct or alternating current may be employed,
whichever is available. If the park is at some distance
from the supply, the alternating current will be found to
be cheaper.
It is usual to provide distribution stations where the
LIGHTING 73
current enters the park, so that in case of accident, the
entire park will not be thrown into darkness.
Arc and incandescent lights may be connected either in
multiple or series. It is possible to use both kinds of lights
on the same circuit.
The multiple system of wiring is generally preferred,
especially when the number of lights is large, inasmuch as
it is safer than the series system. The voltage commonly
employed for multiple wiring is 110, though it may be 220
and even 550, as in the case of a park illuminated by a
trolley current. Willow Grove Park near Philadelphia is
an example. To determine the voltage required for an arc
light circuit in series, the rule is to multiply the voltage of
each light, which is about 80, by the number of lights.
Series wiring is frequently employed in small city squares.
2. Gas. The plain jet does not give sufficient illumina-
tion. Lights with mantles give a bright and satisfactory
light. Gas can be used to advantage in districts where
the price is low, as in the natural-gas belt. Gas mains
should never be laid near trees and shrubbery. Leakage
of gas exerts a very harmful effect on vegetable life.
3. Acetylene. This gives a brilliant and satisfactory
interior light, but is seldom used in park lighting by reason
of the expense. The acetylene gas is piped in wrought-iron
pipes.
4. Gasoline. Gasoline lighting is cheap and satisfactory
in several respects. The great drawback lies in time con-
sumed in igniting the lamps. Each lamp is provided with
a mantle, and a torch must be used to vaporize the gasoline.
CHAPTER IV
LABOR AND CONTRACTS
DAY LABOR VERSUS CONTRACT WORK
THIS is a broad question. A few general remarks,
however, can be made in this connection which may
be of service.
Park work involving the use of elaborate machinery can
be done cheaper by contract. This applies to such opera-
tions as steam-shovel work, pile driving, bridge construc-
tion and the erection of large buildings.
Grading work and masonry construction can generally
be done cheaper by contract, as can sewer construction and
the laying of water pipe.
The smoothing of the topsoil and its preparation for
planting should be done by day labor if a well-organized
superintendent's force can be gotten together. All garden-
ing operations can be done much more satisfactorily by
day labor.
Occasionally, however, some of the heavier engineering
operations may be executed by day labor under good organ-
ization. Grading, path and drive construction, and even
light masonry work have been done in this way.
It is a well-known fact among contractors that they can
get much more work out of men than can municipal and
park departments. The reason is obvious. The contract-
ing firm is better organized — usually with one man at the
head who gains or loses financially on each contract. A
laborer who is inefficient is immediately discharged.
74
TWO KINDS OF CONTRACTS 75
By the other method, the work could be carried on
satisfactorily if the foreman were free to discharge an
inefficient workman. But this often is not the case, and
the foremen themselves are frequently employed on the
recommendation of some official or prominent citizen.
Nevertheless the day labor method is coming more
and more into vogue and appears to be giving good results
when politics can be eliminated, as is often the case. The
claim is made that the work can be done cheaper by day
labor than by contract, since by the former method there
is no profit to be included. Furthermore the park superin-
tendent, by offering permanent employment in one locality,
is able to attract to his force a class of steady labor to whom
the contractor's inducements do not so strongly appeal.
TWO KINDS OF CONTRACTS
Park contracts are let either by the lump-sum or by
the unit system.
1. The Lump-sum System. By this method but one
price is stated in the bid; namely, the cost for the entire
work. This system is inelastic, but is used when the work
in exact nature and amount is fully known before the con-
tract is let. If the work is not fully known beforehand
there will surely be claims for extras on the part of the con-
tractor.
2. The Unit System. This is the method usually
employed in engineering. The work to be done is divided
into different parts, such as earth excavation, sewers, cast
iron, macadam pavements, etc. Approximate figures rep-
resenting the amount of work to be done under each item
are stated beforehand and each bidder submits his bid on
the price per cubic yard of earth excavation, the price per
lineal foot of sewers, the price per pound of cast iron, the
76 LABOR AND CONTRACTS
price per square yard of macadam pavement laid complete,
etc., basing his total estimate on the above approximate
estimate as given by the engineer. This system is elastic.
The amounts of work under each heading can be increased
or decreased, although not indefinitely. The increase or
decrease permitted is usually not more than 20 per cent.
If a contractor has bid low on earth excavation and high
on sewers, he naturally would object to the amount of
earth excavation being greatly increased or the lineal feet
of sewers greatly reduced. Under the unit system it is not
necessary to prepare complete plans of the work before it
is begun.
METHOD OF PROCEDURE
In contemplating the execution of a piece of engineer-
ing work, three questions must be decided by the board
or commission having power. These are, first, What will
be the cost? second, Is it advisable to do it? and third,
Shall it be done by day labor or by contract?
In determining the first question the engineer is con-
sulted and asked for a report on the cost. This report
may be made immediately in some cases, but in others
considerable time may be required for its preparation.
After knowing the cost, the advisability of doing the
work is discussed and a decision arrived at.
The question as to whether the work shall be done by
day labor or by contract is usually referred to the engineer.
THE ADVERTISEMENT
An advertisement of the work is inserted in the local
papers and sometimes in one or two of the leading technical
journals. Unless the contract is to be let by the lump sum,
the amounts of all the items are stated. The advertisement
THE CONTRACTOR'S EXAMINATION OF THE PLANS 77
also states the time and place for receiving bids and the
amount of the proposal bond.
THE CONTRACTOR'S EXAMINATION OF THE PLANS
If the contract is a lump-sum contract the plans must
be complete and perfect in every detail. If a unit-system
contract, it is not necessary that the plans be entirely com-
plete.
These plans are usually blue-printed and prints are
sometimes furnished to prospective bidders either free or
for a deposit which is returned when the prints are returned.
Sometimes no prints are furnished for distribution and
prospective bidders are required to examine the plans in
the office of the board or commission. Then again blue-
prints are made on a reduced scale and are furnished
free in booklet form to all responsible applicants. This
method is up to date, convenient and cheap. Should
any parts of the prints be too small to be perfectly in-
telligible, the full-size drawings can be examined at the
office. The scales on all drawings which are to be
reduced by photography must be graphical scales so that
they may be reduced in the same ratio as any line on the
drawing.
It is advisable to furnish prospective bidders with full
information in regard to the work. This will reduce the
amounts of the bids. It is the universal practice of bidders
to raise their bids where the element of uncertainty enters
in. For this reason in sewer work it is advisable in many
cases to make complete borings and prepare profiles, so that
bidders may know just what they are likely to encounter.
There may be a distinct understanding in the contract,
however, that the party of the first part will not hold itself
responsible for errors in said profiles nor become liable for
78 LABOR AND CONTRACTS
errors. Similarly, in other work, as much information
should be furnished as possible.
Prospective bidders should be advised to make a per-
sonal examination of the site of the work and they should be
notified that they themselves are held responsible for the
accuracy of the information furnished by the party of the
first part. It should be said, however, in this connection,
that courts of law may not support the party of the first
part in its effort to relieve itself of responsibility, especially
where gross blunders have been made.
Each prospective bidder is given a proposal blank and
a set of specifications. The proposal blank is a form in
which each bidder inserts his prices and fills out an agree-
ment, stating that if he is awarded the contract he will
accept it. The proposal also contains the bond to secure
the agreement.
The specifications, so called, are the specifications proper
for all of the different kinds of work to be done under the
contract; and also include a blank form similar to that in
the proposal to be filled in by the successful bidder, to-
gether with a contract bond to secure the agreement. As
soon as the contract is duly executed, the proposal bonds
all become void.
The various articles in the specifications stating how the
work is to be done should of course be suited to the par-
ticular undertaking in question. The " paste-pot and
scissors method " used by some engineers is not above
criticism. Then, too, there are engineers who have a way
of writing what may seem to be unnecessarily strict speci-
fications to protect themselves against contractors on the
lookout for loopholes in the agreement. Contractors soon
learn the personality of an engineer and in preparing their
bids take it into consideration.
THE SURETIES 79
THE CONTRACTOR'S CALCULATIONS
These are made after all the necessary information has
been gathered in. Many contractors employ an engineer
to make their computations and to fill in and submit the
bid. Careful bookkeeping of costs and good system on the
part of a contractor and his engineer yield good financial
returns. Many contractors who do not take the trouble
to accumulate cost data think that they know what the
expense to them for various kinds of work will be, whereas
they do not. This is especially so in such matters as earth
excavation. Lack of system in preparing cost data on this
one item alone has led to failures and ruin. The cost of re-
moving a cubic yard of earth is a function of many
component items, such as superintendence, plowing, picking,
shoveling, carting, spreading, blacksmithing, etc. The cost
of each of these items for various classes of material should
be accurately known.
THE SURETIES
There are four ways of securing a proposal or contract,
and in addition there is another form of insurance called
Contractor's Liability Insurance, all of which will be
discussed.
1. By the Bidder's Reputation. This may be said to
be no surety at all in the strict sense. In small places and
for unimportant work sometimes no bond is required.
Should a bidder refuse to accept a contract awarded him,
his reputation in that community is practically ruined and
his hopes of securing more work of that or some other kind
are practically destroyed.
2. By Certified Check. For work of no great magnitude,
this method is often followed. Each bidder submits with
80 LABOR AND CONTEACTS
his bid a certified check in the required amount. These
certified checks are returned to all except the successful
bidder and his check is returned when the contract is exe-
cuted, the contract being secured by a contract bond,
described under headings 3 and 4.
3. The Personal Bond. Proposals and contracts may
both be bonded in this way, though this kind of bond is not
now in frequent use. The proposal may be thus bonded
and the contract bonded by a surety company (see 4).
The amount of bond is stated in the advertisement and may
be equal to or less than the total cost of work. Thus, if
the amount of the work is $100,000, each bondsman, there
often being two, makes affidavit that he is worth $50,000
above all his debts and liabilities of every nature.
Personal bonds for the contract may be executed by the
same men who acted as bondsmen in the proposal or they
may be executed by others. When a bondsman signs a
proposal bond he is liable also for the contract should it
be awarded to the bidder for whom he acted as bondsman.
This obligation, however, is practically never taken ad-
vantage of, nor abused.
4. The Surety Company Bond. The obtaining of a
surety company bond is purely a matter of business and
thus is much more satisfactory than the individual bond,
where obligation is always incurred and where reciprocal
favors are usually asked if no charge is made for the bond.
A surety company before acting as bondsman for a contrac-
tor makes searching investigation of his financial standing.
If this is satisfactory the bond will be executed, for which
a percentage payment is required. Surety companies do
not necessarily make their investigation before the exe-
cution of every bond, but use their discretion in the
matter. When an applicant has once thoroughly satisfied
MAKING OUT THE BID 81
a surety company of his financial standing and ability as
a contractor he has little or no trouble in getting bonds
whenever he wants them unless the conditions are peculiar
as to the amount or other attendant circumstances. Some
contractors never use individual bonds and others only use
them on proposals.
5. Contractor's Liability Insurance and Compensation.
Insurance protects a contractor from suits for damages
arising from personal injury or death to a workman or to
an outsider. It thus protects a contractor from financial
failure and thereby protects the bondsman as well. A
surety company may require a contractor to obtain liability
insurance before it will act as bondsman. There are
companies who make this type of insurance a specialty.
The rates charged are proportional to the risk run and the
magnitude of the work. They are higher for instance
in heavy sewer work than they are in ordinary excavation.
Several of our eastern states now have " Workmen's
Compensation Laws," which provide for a compensation
to be paid to an injured workman or to his family in case
of death. Such a law has recently gone into effect (Jan. 1 ,
1916) in the state of Pennsylvania. Whatever payment a
contractor may be required to make to purchase insurance
against payments of compensation will have to be included
as one of the overhead charges and will increase the cost
of the work accordingly.
MAKING OUT THE BID
This is done by the contractor or his engineer. All
blank spaces in the proposal are filled in, the bonds duly
executed and the bid enclosed in a sealed envelope.
82 LABOR AND CONTRACTS
SUBMITTING THE PROPOSALS
These are submitted to the board or commission, pref-
erably publicly, at the time and place assigned. If the
bids are thus submitted, the clerk of the board reads them
aloud. If the bids are by the unit system, some minutes
(or perhaps longer) will be required for the engineer to
determine the order of the bidders. To do this he mul-
tiplies the price bid for each item by the number of units
of work as determined by the advertisement and then
sums up the products.
REJECTION OF BIDS
The party of the first part reserves the right to reject
any or all bids. The contract is awarded to the low
bidder providing he is able to " qualify/' unless his bid is
seriously in excess of the amount of the preliminary esti-
mate of cost. If, however, the low bidder is not accept-
able either financially, personally, or in the matter of
experience, the next low bidder may be awarded the
contract providing his bid is satisfactory in amount. The
rejection of the low bid is apt to give rise to adverse
criticism.
AWARDING THE CONTRACT
The contract is often awarded on the same day on
which the bids are received. Sometimes, however, in
order that various matters may be considered, such as the
responsibility of the low bidder and the cost of the work,
the awarding of the contract is postponed.
I
THE PAYMENTS 85
EXECUTION OF THE CONTRACT
The bidder to whom the contract is awarded is required
to execute the agreement within a specified time. To do
this he must affix his signature to the contract form in which
all of the prices have been entered by the clerk of the board.
The agreement is secured by individual bonds or a surety
company bond, which constitutes a part of the contract.
As mentioned before, a surety company usually requires
a contractor to take out liability insurance before it exe-
cutes the contract bond. After the contract is signed and
the bond duly executed all of the proposals together with
the accompanying bonds become at once void.
STARTING THE WORK
Active operations must be begun within a specified
number of days, which is frequently ten.
THE PAYMENTS
Monthly Estimates. At the end of each month it is
customary in many contracts to make a payment, but not
in the whole amount of the work done. Sometimes 10
per cent is retained and sometimes 25. It is not nec-
essary for the engineer to make an accurate determination
of the quantities, although, if to be on the safe side he
underestimates the work, the contractor may be dissat-
isfied, especially if his payroll and other obligations are
heavy.
The Final Estimate. When the work is satisfactorily
completed a final estimate is prepared which is as exact as
it is possible for the engineer to make. The final payment
is equal to the total value of the work less the sum of the
previous payments.
86 LABOR AND CONTRACTS
EXTRAS
These, as are well known, give rise to dissatisfaction and
dispute. A contract should be so framed that the approved
bill for extras will be as small as possible. Considerable
care and foresight are required on the part of the engineer
in order to provide in the contract for contingencies which
would otherwise be overlooked. The adjudication of the
bill for extras is difficult and disagreeable.
PENALTY CLAUSES
If the work does not progress at the proper rate, it is
the duty of the engineer to give notice to that effect.
The " penalty clause " in most contracts imposes a
certain charge per day for non-completion of the work on
contract time. Provision is made in the specifications that
the penalty be deducted from the moneys due the contractor
on the final estimate. These clauses are apt to be very
faulty from the legal point of view, notwithstanding the
fact that, although written by the engineer, they are
passed on by the counsel (see page 14). Contractors, as
a rule, who know the law in such matters better than
engineers, pay but little attention to these " penalty
clauses," knowing that they are nearly void. In order
to overcome the legal difficulty involved in a penalty, the
clause sometimes states that the charge made for non-
completion of the work is not to be construed as a penalty
but as liquidated damages. This clause will also not be
upheld in court unless it can be shown that the damages
claimed are those actually sustained. Courts of law in
general are opposed to hard-and-fast agreements made in
advance to cover damages which may be sustained for
non-completion of the work on time. If, however, these
FIG. 29.
87
PENALTY CLAUSES 89
agreements are made so elastic as to adapt themselves
to the individual case they will be upheld. This end may
be attained by itemizing the damages as so much per day
for engineering services, inspectors, clerks, office expenses,
etc. An agreement made with the full understanding of
both parties to the contract, stating that, in view of the
difficulty of estimating in advance the exact amount of
damages involved for non-completion of work on contract
time, a certain sum per day is agreed upon as the actual
liquidated damages as nearly as they can be estimated,
will sometimes be upheld.
CHAPTER V
CONSTRUCTION
BEGINNING OF OPERATIONS
THE time for starting the work is stated in the specifica-
tions. The time allowed is often " not later than ten
days after the awarding of the contract." The necessary
machinery must be brought on the ground at once, and
stables, shanties and offices provided. If there are any
suitable buildings on the land, they may, with the en-
gineer's permission, be used as stables and offices. In
order that these buildings may be available until the
completion of the work, it is desirable that their location
be such that but little work shall remain to be done after
their removal. In parks remote from town, the contractor
is permitted to erect shanties for the men. Their needs
are supplied by the company's store which, though neces-
sary, needs regulation in its methods in order that the
interests of the men may be protected.
UNDERDRAINAGE
Before any other operations can be accomplished on
swampy lands, the ground must be drained in order to
lower the water-table. The laying of tile drains should
be begun at the outlets, although in order to hasten the
work operations may be begun at several parts of the
system. Where lines of tile are laid without an outlet,
water will always collect at the starting-points and this
90
FIG. 31.
91
SEWERS
must be pumped out before the work can be joined. The
ditching is done by pick and shovel. The shovels may be
either short-handled or long-handled. The former are
generally better, as the men are more familiar with their
use. Grade is given by stakes driven on the side of the
trench on which the cut from the top of the stake is marked
in feet and inches. These stakes are driven every 50 feet
except for main ditches, when they should be 25 feet apart.
The minimum grade for mains is 1 inch per 100 feet and for
laterals 3 inches. The trenches are hollowed out on the
bottoms for the collars so that the weight on the tile may
not be borne at the ends. Tile drains should be laid
below frost and out of reach of rootlets, particularly of
willows. Professor Mapes, who is quoted by Colonel
Waring, specifies that drains must be 3 feet deep when 20
feet apart, 4 feet deep when 40 feet apart, and 5 feet deep
when 80 feet apart.
In backfilling no stones should be placed closer than 6
inches to the tile and the subsoil should be thrown in
first. Some engineers require that in excavating the trench
the topsoil be placed on one side and the subsoil on the
other. The backfilling is tamped in 9-inch layers to secure
the best results.
SEWERS
Line and grade are best given by placing 2-inch by
10-inch planks transversely in the ground every 50 feet.
These planks do not have to be set at any exact elevation,
but they should be firmly embedded and should be of suffi-
cient length so that when the trench is excavated they
will remain immovable. The center line can be located
by driving a tack on top of the plank. After the excavation
work is partially finished a 1-inch by 2-inch strip is nailed
94 CONSTRUCTION
vertically on the plank with one edge exactly on the center
line of the trench. This strip must be plumb. Then by
the use of a wye-level, a mark is made on the side of strip
and a nail driven a whole number of feet above the invert
elevation. This is also done at the next 50 feet and a
string stretched between the nails. The string may thus
be stretched for some considerable distance at the given
number of feet above the invert grade line. Errors in
level work are easily detected. If by reason of an abrupt
change in cut the line strikes the board, or too high or too
low above or below it, the string may be lowered or raised
a foot or two. The usual methods of pipe-laying and in-
spection should be followed and will not be discussed in
this connection. (See Fig. 30, page 91.)
Wet trenches can be kept free from water by use of a
hand-pump or the pulsometer (see Fig. 28, page 83). In
park work a hoisting engine is generally available and
connection may be made between the pulsometer and the
boiler of the hoisting engine, a low fire being kept up
over night by the night watchman. In the morning the
trench will be in a suitable condition for work.
The backfilling should be tamped in layers. If the
main line trench is filled in before the laterals are laid, a
plank is placed in a vertical position against each wye
connection and sufficiently long to project above the
ground.
GRADING
Staking Out the Work. Grade stakes are set at the in-
tersections of the cross-section lines and at every change
of slope. The stakes are marked on the side with the proper
cut or fill measured from the top of stake or they are so
driven that their tops are to grade, in which case the tops
TOPSOIL STRIPPING 97
are marked with red water-proof crayon. Stakes set to
grade are better than cut or fill stakes and should be used
wherever possible even though a slight hole may be required.
Laths may be driven alongside to indicate their positions.
Cut and fill stakes should be marked in feet and inches and
not in feet and tenths. For heavy fills long poles are
sometimes used with their tops at the finished grade, thus
doing away with the labor of setting more stakes after the
first have been covered up. Where the cut is considerable,
the first cut stakes set will not remain during the excavation
operations unless left on little hillocks, and to do this is
expensive. Therefore after the first cut stakes have been
plowed up or otherwise removed, other stakes in the same
position will be necessary.
Topsoil Stripping. The first thing to be done is to
strip the entire tract of its topsoil, which may be from 6
inches to a foot in depth. The soil is piled in large mounds
with spiral drives up the sides in positions where there is
to be little cut or fill. It would appear to the layman
cheaper to excavate a certain part of the tract to the
proper subgrade and then to cover it with topsoil stripped
from an adjacent tract. This, however, may not be the
case, and to systematize the work and avoid confusion, the
entire site is stripped at the beginning of operations. In
large operations the topsoil is piled; in small ones the top-
soil may be spread direct, thus saving the cost of double
handling of the material. (Figs. 7, page 29, and 10, page
37.)
Excavation by Pick and Shovel. The soil is broken
up by picks and shoveled into dump carts, skid wagons or
dump wagons by the use of round-pointed, short-handled
shovels. From the engineer's point of view this method is
the most satisfactory, because the subgrade can be dressed
CONSTRUCTION
more accurately and because the grade stakes can all be
preserved until the finished grade is reached. Carts are
used for short hauls and wagons for long hauls.
Excavation by Plow and Shovel. By this method the
soil is broken up by the pick- or rooter-plow, whose point
is much heavier and longer than that on an ordinary
agricultural plow. (See Fig. 26, page 83.) Carts or
wagons are used as in the preceding case. It is of course
much cheaper to plow the soil than to loosen it by hand
providing that the work is of such a character that the
plow is available.
Excavation by Grading Machine. The Austin Excavat-
ing Grader is a machine well adapted to topsoil stripping
over broad areas. This machine is driven by 12 horses,
8 in front and 4 behind, or by a traction engine. It con-
sists of a heavy plow which throws up the soil on a revolving
belt which carries it up and then drops it in a dump wagon
driven alongside. At least two drivers are required and
sometimes four at the beginning of operations in order
to properly manage the horses. One man is needed to
operate the plow. (See Fig. 11, page 37.)
By Steam Shovel. Where the cuts are very heavy and
the work large in amount, it will pay the contractor to use
a steam shovel. He will also need a few light locomotives
and an outfit of dump cars, and probably one or more
centrifugal pumps to keep the pit where the shovel is located
free from water. The filling is done from trestles. The
settlement will thus be much more than by the other
methods where the fill is consolidated by wheels and horses'
hoofs. It is not advisable to attempt road construction
on filling thus made until thorough settlement has taken
place, nor to lay sewer and water pipes, unless tamping
has been resorted to.
DREDGING 99
Fig. 31, page 91, furnished by the Essex County Park
Commission, shows a shovel making the first cut in the
Middle Division of Branch Brook Park. This work was
necessary in order to create an artificial lake.
In park work much water is encountered in the excava-
tion for lakes, which must be removed through sewers- or
else by low-lift centrifugal pumps. Fig. 32, page 95,
shows the same work at Branch Brook Park in a more
advanced condition. This work was particularly difficult
by reason of large volumes of surface and ground water.
By Dredge. Where large bodies of water must be
deepened some form of dredge will be necessary. The
accompanying illustration shows a clam-shell dredge re-
moving earth and vegetable growths at Weequahic Reser-
vation, one of the Essex County Parks. This lake is
adjacent to the Newark Meadows (salt marshes) and
originally was quite shallow. It was increased to a depth
of 8 feet in order to prevent the growth of water plants,
the excavated material being largely used for surface
dressing. (Fig. 33, page 101.)
Fig. 34, page 105, shows a hydraulic dredge at work at
Lake Nokomis, Minneapolis. This dredge is mounted on a
timber hull, 80 feet long. It is electrically operated by
an alternating current of 2300 volts. The main pump has
a 15-inch suction and discharge, the pump revolving at
either 250 or 305 R.P.M. as desired. The two winding
shafts each run at 22 R.P.M. There are five drums used as
follows: one each for the right and left spud, one each for
the right and left swings, and one for raising and lowering
the suction ladder. The ladder and cutter dig to a depth of
28 feet. For a greater depth a plain suction sleeve is used.
The dredge is provided with 1600 feet of pontoons with
pipe and also 4000 feet of shore pipe. The illustration
100 CONSTRUCTION
referred to was furnished by Mr. J. A. Ridgway, Secretary
of the Board of Park Commissioners, and the description
is from the 32d annual report.
By Drag Scraper. For very short hauls, not above
100 feet, the drag scraper can be used to good advantage.
The soil must first be broken by plow or by pick. This
work is very hard on the horses, as they are not allowed
the regular breathing spell which obtains in all other work
with the exception of that done by the excavating grader
and wheel scraper.
By Wheel Scraper. For hauls from 100 to 300 feet the
wheel scraper may be used providing that the ground is
level and the cut is fairly uniform. No other class of work
is as hard on the horses as this, and drivers should be in-
structed to stop them occasionally. A bucking team must
sometimes be hitched on the pole in front of the other
team in order to load the scraper. (See Fig. 27, page 83.)
At Westside Park, Newark, N. J., peculiar methods
were adopted for the excavation of an artificial lake by
reason of the unusual character of the material removed.
Below a surface crust of topsoil about a foot thick was
encountered a deposit of muck consisting entirely of vege-
table matter, absolutely free from sand and clay. The
excavation reached a depth of 8 or 9 feet, though in some
places the muck extended downward for 35 feet. The
excavated material was used as topsoil and supported
phenomenal growths after a year's decomposition. To
remove it three methods were adopted — first, by means
of derricks; second, by means of tram cars; and third,
by the assistance of a traveling cable way. In Figure 35,
page 109, are shown three derricks with the black muck in
adjacent piles. This of course had afterwards to be dis-
tributed over the finished subgrade. In the background is
MUCK EXCAVATION 103
seen a pile-driver at work on a timber bulkhead to support
the farther shore. This bulkhead was constructed in
accordance with the general description on page 54. In
the foreground is seen part of a shore wall along the nearer
shore. The exceedingly unstable character of the soil
can be seen from a close examination of the houses in the
background, several of which are out of plumb. In Fig.
36, page 113, is observed the second method of excavation,
as mentioned in this paragraph. The pit was kept free
from water by means of a pulsometer as shown.
After the lake excavation was well along, good upland
subsoil was dumped over the timber bulkhead as described
in general on page 54. In sinking to a condition of equilib-
rium a considerable quantity of muck was thereby dis-
placed. This was all removed by means of a cable way
and buckets, since the bottom of the lake had become
exceedingly soft and was incapable of supporting tracks
or run- ways.
The Essex County park lands include a great many
acres of originally poor and wet soils. These have been
developed into lakes and water courses, thereby greatly
enhancing the beauty of the parks. On the other hand,
by means of judicious filling, marshes and areas of shallow
submergence can be transformed into valuable park
property. An example is seen in Figs. 3 and 4 on pages
15 and 19, loaned by Commissioner Cabot Ward of the
Department of Parks of the City of New York. The
filling, as stated by Acting Commissioner Valentine, was
largely deposited under permits issued to excavators and
contractors. At the upper end of Riverside Park Extension
a good deal of the fill was obtained from excavations for
the Catskill Aqueduct.
Mr. G. A. Parker, Superintendent of Parks of Hartford,
104 CONSTRUCTION
Conn., has made a careful study of the time element in
excavation work by shovel, which he has presented in a
paper in the Proceedings of the Connecticut Civil Engi-
neers and Surveyors' Association. His theory as far as
the laborers are concerned is divided into three parts:
First. That a shoveler can do maximum work when he
shovels 5 shovelfuls in 50 seconds. It takes each man about
5 seconds for one shovelful. He will therefore work 25
seconds and rest 25 seconds, and so on throughout the day.
The rest periods will be his absolutely without any inter-
ference on the part of the man in charge of the work.
Experiments were made on 4 shovelfuls in 40 seconds,
6 shovelfuls in 60 seconds, 10 shovelfuls in 100 seconds,
also, the result being that 5 shovelfuls in 50 seconds gave
the greatest amount of work. By this method, after
deducting 5 per cent, for waste time, Mr. Parker claims
that an average laborer can handle 22f cubic yards in a
10-hour day.
Second. That 4 men, 1 working alone and loading
10 yards in a day, 1 working in a gang of 5 and loading
12 yards, 1 working in a gang of 10 and loading 15 yards,
and 1 working in a gang of 30 and loading 22 yards, are
equally tired at the end of the day. It is Mr. Parker's
opinion that laborers on this class of excavation should
work in gangs of 30 men each, subdivided into crews of
15, one crew for every cart.
Third. Each man is required to count his shovelfuls.
In each 50 seconds he must load 5 shovelfuls, no less, no
more. The claim is made that the counting has a beneficial
and stimulating effect.
PILE DRIVING 107
PILE DRIVING
Wooden Piles are generally of spruce, pine or oak.
Hemlock does not possess sufficient elasticity. If they are
to be used as columnar piles it is necessary that they be
absolutely straight; if as bearing piles they should be fairly
straight; and in either case of sound timber. The minimum
diameter of the butts is 12 inches and of the tips 8 inches.
Piles should be sharpened to a point before driving and
sometimes it is necessary to protect the point by an iron
shoe. The butts are cut off square and adzed so that a
wrought-iron band may be slipped on to protect the pile
in driving. Piles should be driven until the movement is
not more than one-half an inch under a 1500-pound ram
falling 15 feet on the last blow.
Piles are used in park engineering in constructing founda-
tions for walls, abutments, spillways, etc. When used in
foundations it is better to cap them with concrete than to
attempt to construct a timber grillage.
The land machine traveling on rollers is the common
type. Fig. 29, page 87, shows a land machine driving verti-
cal piles for the construction of a timber and earth bulkhead.
(See Figs. 35 and 36 on pages 109 and 113.) This machine
is held upright by guy ropes attached to " dead men " or
to posts set in the ground. These posts are sometimes
twisted into the ground where the soil is not very hard.
This method consists in attaching a long cross-piece to the
post by means of a chain. One or two men at each end of
the cross-piece by walking in a circle and pressing downward
thus cause the post to sink into the ground. The ease?
simplicity and effectiveness of this method is astonishing
to those who have never witnessed it before.
Concrete Piles are of two general types — those that are
108 CONSTRUCTION
moulded before driving and those that are moulded after-
ward. Those of the first class must be reinforced. The
Chenoweth and the Cummings and the Hennebique are
pre-moulded piles, and there are also many unpatented
types of the same class. Those of the second class are of
various forms, as the Simplex, the Raymond and the
Pedestal.
Concrete piles are much to be preferred when acting
as columns, resting on a hard substratum. They are more
durable than wooden piles in ground which will subsequently
be dried out through the absorptive action of adjacent
brick sewers and are thus especially suited for use in cer-
tain park lands. They are used to support arch abutments
and masonry retaining walls.
MASONRY WALLS AND STEPS
Retaining Walls. One of the most important of the
practical matters to be attended to is the excavation for
the foundation. It is not necessary that the foundation
should extend down to the bottom of frost. The heaving
effect of frost can be entirely eliminated by digging down
2| feet below the finished grade.
The foundation pit should be excavated true with ample
room on the front side for the construction of a good square
toe. Skimping on the front side of the foundation has
resulted in the failure of many retaining walls.
Walls for shore protection should be founded on good
soil. The use of spud piles is not in general to be recom-
mended. It is better to excavate to a hard foundation.
The reason for this lies in the fact that excavation in front
of a shore wall or sea wall permits fine sands, " liver "
and quick-sands to flow away from under the foundation,
thus endangering its stability.
WATER PIPES 111
The neat lines for retaining walls are obtained by
setting " A-frames " in position by the help of a transit
so that the neat line on top of the footing and the neat
line under the coping can be located by stretching strings
from frame to frame or else from a frame to the finished
wall.
In order to secure a perfectly straight coping, especially
in long walls along city streets, it is suggested that a tran-
sit line be established on top of the wall before the coping
is placed, say 2 inches back from the neat line. This line
can be marked by crow-feet every 25 feet.
Retaining walls at the foot of a slope are separated from
it by a swale gutter. The coping is so designed as to throw
the water falling on it backward into the gutter, where it is
collected by catch-basins or inlets.
The matter of pointing is very important. The joints
should be thoroughly raked to a depth of at least 1| inches
before the pointing mortar is applied. Depressed joints
pressed in with a pointer's tool are much superior in dura-
bility to raised joints. Only the best Portland cement
should be used for this purpose.
WATER PIPES
The practice of laying park water pipes prior to the
completion of the grading work has sometimes been re-
sorted to. It has been claimed that this is advantageous
in lands to be filled and no doubt it is from the contractor's
standpoint, as considerable digging is thereby avoided.
The practice, however, is open to serious objection, as in
some places the pipes are almost if not entirely uncovered
and the driving over them of wheel-scrapers, dump wagons,
etc., frequently seriously damages the pipe. Furthermore
if the filling operations are not completed before winter,
112 CONSTRUCTION
the pipes are apt to freeze and burst, as they are seldom free
from water in low places.
All pipe should be thoroughly tested before the back-
filling takes place. This can be done by admitting city
water into the system and examining the pipes for leaky
joints, pin holes and split seams. If a higher pressure is
desired the pipes can be filled with water and the supply
shut off. Then by attaching a hand pump with pressure
gauge to a small nipple tapped into the pipe the pressure
can be raised as high as desired with the addition of but
very little water. Sometimes where no water supply is
available sections of the system must be filled by means of
the hand pump. This is a very slow process for cast iron
pipe but not very difficult with the smaller wrought iron
sizes. All defective pipe should be removed and no plugging
of holes should be permitted.
Water hammer is very likely to oc.cur when new pipes
are filled with water. To avoid this open up a few lawn
hydrants, especially at the lower parts of the system.
PATHS
The excavation for path foundations should be properly
formed and of full depth over the entire cross-section. The
subgrade is then rolled and filled in with cinders to the proper
depth. These cinders should be of the gas-works quality,
sharp and clean. Ashes will not da. The cinders are then
wetted by means of a sprinkling cart and thoroughly rolled.
On the cinders is placed the pavement proper whether of
gravel, cement, asphalt or brick.
Cement, brick and asphalt pavements are laid between
2-inch by 4-inch scantlings to hold them in position. These
scantlings are held in place by means of stakes. As park
walks are usually curved, the scantlings must be curved to
CO
THE MACADAM PAVEMENT 115
fit the plan. This curving is best done in the field by the
aid of the eye alone. By the exercise of due care in aligning
and leveling the scantlings, high-grade work can be secured.
The practice of using round field stone for gravel path
foundations is not to be commended, as the stone works
up to the surface. Gravel paths should be thoroughly
wetted and rolled before being opened to the public.
Cement paths should not be laid in freezing weather un-
less the work is carefully protected over night by straw.
If the mortar freezes it will have to be removed. The
surface coat, usually 1 inch in thickness, should follow the
3-inch foundation layer of concrete before the latter has
had time to dry out. A heavy rain falling on a freshly
laid cement walk washes out the cement and leaves the
surface in a pitted and porous condition requiring removal.
DRIVES
The Macadam Pavement. The first thing to be done
in the construction work is to excavate to subgrade. The
subgrade should be thoroughly rolled with a 10-ton road
roller. All soft spots which are revealed by the rolling
process should be removed and the holes filled in with good
earth. The subgrade should be parallel to the finished
surface. The foundation is then placed. Four inches of
2^-inch broken stone are sufficient for a macadam and 7
inches of telford foundation for the better class of roads.
The macadam foundation should be carefully spread with
forks and sprinkled with coarse screenings and wetted and
rolled. The telford foundation is prepared by placing
stone at least 7 inches high in such a way that the edges are
upward. These stones must all be placed by hand. All
points projecting higher than 7 inches are napped off with
napping hammers. On top of the foundation is placed
116 CONSTRUCTION
2 or 3 inches of If -inch stone, which is wetted and rolled.
The surfacing consists of an inch of screenings thoroughly
wetted and rolled. Some engineers use a little earth binder
between the courses and even on top of the finished pave-
ment.
The best water-bound broken-stone road soon ravels and
disintegrates if subjected to the destructive action of
rapidly moving automobiles unless special preventive
measures are resorted to. In order to protect roads already
built and construct new roads in a more durable manner,
the following methods are adopted:
1. Sprinkling with Fresh Water. As carried on in the
past this has been very expensive and in municipal practice
has often cost over $500 per mile per annum. Mr. S.
Whinery, M. Am. Soc. C.E., strongly advocates the use of
water under improved conditions which he admits are
necessary to make this method a success. When the
watering is properly done he is of the opinion that the
wear from travel is no greater than when a light oil is
used. By properly watering the pavement he states that
raveling can be prevented. Furthermore there will be no
dust if the pavement is constantly moist. Mr. Whinery
advocates the use of power sprinklers instead of the old-
fashioned water wagons — sprinklers which shall be driven
by power and which shall deliver the water under a con-
stant head regulated by a pump. The author is of the
opinion that Mr. Whinery's method of sprinkling would
be especially successful in parks where opportunities for
carrying on the work under the most favorable conditions
would be possible. Here in the park the sprinkling would
be done by an employe under the supervision of a foreman
or superintendent who would make it his business to see
that the work was carried on efficiently.
THE MACADAM PAVEMENT 117
2. Sprinkling with Salt Water. The results are more
durable than fresh-water sprinkling, since the salts in the
water are hygroscopic in their properties. Should the
pavement become dry, the dust containing salt is thrown
into the air and is extremely irritating to the throat and eyes.
3. Sprinkling with Water and Calcium Chloride. This
salt is strongly hygroscopic and roads treated in this manner
have proved quite satisfactory in England, where the cli-
mate is moist. The mixture to be used is 1 pound to 1 gallon
of water, using ^ of a gallon of the solution for each square
yard. Ten applications per season are usually sufficient.
Calcium-chloride treatment has been adopted by the
Metropolitan Park Commission of Boston and by the
Department of Parks of Hartford, Conn.
Calcium chloride is also applied as a dry powder, the
pavements being first swept by hand. The amount of
chloride used varies from J to 2J pounds per square yard.
4. Sprinkling with an oil emulsion consisting of water,
oil and an alkali. Vegetable oils, crude petroleum and
coal tar have been used in municipal practice. Potash,
soda, ammonia and soap solutions are the mediums em-
ployed to render the oil miscible with the water. The
mixture is sprinkled from an ordinary watering cart, though
a power sprinkler as described on page 119 would give
more satisfactory results. The surface may be left un-
covered or else treated with a thin coat of sand.
5. Treating the Surface with Light Oils and Light Tars.
The oils and tars are distributed preferably by pressure dis-
tributors. Those with hoods have been employed to pro-
tect pedestrians. The palliatives employed are vegetable
oils, paraffin and asphaltic petroleums, tar oils, water-gas
tars, coal-gas tars and various patented compounds.
This treatment is effective in laying the dust for about
118 CONSTRUCTION
6 weeks, though disintegration of the surface may begin in
3 weeks.
Col. Spencer Cosby describes the use of oil in the
Washington parks as follows:
" All ruts and holes in the surface of the road are first
repaired by cleaning out the cavity, filling it with coarse
stone, which is covered with a coating of hot, heavy ?
asphaltic oil, then sprinkling a light coat of screenings over
the oil and finally compacting the mass by ramming.
When all holes have been repaired, the surface of the road
is thoroughly cleaned with rattan brooms, care being
taken to remove all loose materials and caked dirt or dust
so that the stone forming the wearing surface of the road
shall be exposed and clean. When the road is entirely
free from moisture, and during warm, dry weather, if possi-
ble, a light asphaltic oil is spread without being heated
over its surface by means of sprinkling wagons. One-
third to one-half gallon of oil to the square yard usually
forms the first application. To allow it to penetrate into
the surface, the road is closed to traffic for at least 48 hours
after the first application. At the end of this time the
surface of the road is covered with a thin coating of clean,
coarse, sharp sand or broken-stone screenings, free from
dust; it is then rolled and traffic allowed to go over it. A
cubic yard of sand or screenings usually covers from 75 to
125 square yards of road surface. In this climate and under
the conditions of traffic obtaining on our park roads, the
oiling treatment described above keeps the surface in
excellent condition for a year. It is never dusty and is
muddy only when for a few hours after a heavy thaw the
skid chains of automobiles tear up the surface. The sub-
sequent passage of automobiles without chains soon irons
out the roadway. At the end of the year the surface of
THE MACADAM PAVEMENT 119
the road is again thoroughly cleaned, from J to J of a gallon
of oil to the square yard under normal conditions is spread
over it, and the road closed for 48 hours and covered with
sand or screenings as before. This treatment is continued
from year to year.
" Instead of handling the oil in barrels, we have found it
much cheaper to buy it delivered in tank cars, from which
it is unloaded into the sprinkling wagons. A pressure-
tank wagon was used to advantage for the first application
of oil to the road surface, but ordinary sprinkler wagons
with an oil-distributing attachment and a squeegee fixed
behind the (Jistributor were found more economical and
equally efficient in spreading the oil the second year.
To insure coating all parts of the road with an oil layer of
uniform thickness, men with stiff brooms followed the
sprinkler."
6. Surfacing macadam pavements with asphaltic oils,
asphalts, coal-gas tars and water-gas tars by one application
to form a surface which endures for at least one year.
The application of the bituminous material must be
preceded by a thorough cleaning of the macadam road
which is to be treated. Pavements whose surfaces are of
the larger sizes of broken stone offer a good bond for the
bituminous application, which may be made by hand or by
gravity or pressure distributors. A type of American
pressure distributor is shown in Fig. 37, page 121.
Pressure distributors seem to have an advantage over
gravity distributors in that by their use a better bond is
secured between the macadam and the surface applica-
tion. The explanation seems to be found in the washing
away of the dust film coating the macadam surface due to
the high velocity of the bituminous material as discharged
from the nozzles of the distributor.
120 CONSTRUCTION
The amount of tar or asphalt necessary is about i to f
gallon per square yard.
On top of this must be placed a thin layer of sand,
gravel or screenings, from 7 to 35 pounds per square yard.
In England the top dressing has been omitted, but in this
country it is generally specified, since by its use the road
may be much sooner opened to traffic. Though rolling is
not absolutely necessary, it greatly improves the surface.
Fig. 38 shows a type of road roller used in the Boston
parks.
For parks with narrow, winding, and steep drives or
paths a tandem roller is to be preferred. Fig. 16, page 49,
shows a special tandem roller built for this purpose which
combines the short wheel base and narrow tread of the
tandem roller with the high compression given by the three-
wheeled roller.
7. Impregnating Earth Roads with Crude Oils. This
method originated in California, where a high-grade asphaltic
oil is plentiful. The process consists in loosening the soil
for a depth of 6 inches. Heated oil is then applied and
thoroughly kneaded into the soil by means of a " rolling
tamper." The work can be done only in warm dry weather.
Porous soils are better adapted to this treatment than heavy
ones. Three hundred barrels per mile to be applied once
each year are sufficient for a 12-foot roadway.
8. Impregnating New Macadam Pavements with Bitumi-
nous Materials by the Penetration Method. There are several
methods employed, for which see Highway Engineering,
by Blanchard and Drowne, to which work the author is
indebted for much of the information here presented on
pavements. One of the best is as follows:
The upper course is built of crusher run from IJ-inch to
^-inch size. On this without further filling of the voids
Courtesy Austin- Western Road Machinery Co.
FIG. 37. — Pressure Distributor.
Courtesy Buffalo Steam Roller Co.
FIG. 38. — Pavement Repairs at Boston. 121
THE BITUMINOUS CONCRETE PAVEMENT 123
the bituminous material is applied hot. The rolling may
be done either before or after this application. Some-
times if the rolling is done afterwards, the rolls are apt to
pick up the surface. If they are wet or oiled this difficulty
will be avoided. About 1| gallon of bituminous road
material is required for each square yard. This should
be applied in dry weather only, preferably when the weather
is warm, and it must be applied uniformly. The bitumi-
nous materials used are asphalts, heavy asphaltic oils,
refined water-gas and coal tars and various combinations
of these materials.
General Remark. The patrol system of maintenance,
which in municipal and state work has not been found so
successful in America as in Europe, owing to governmental
conditions, especially commends itself for parks where a
well-organized force is always available. Where the
bituminous material exudes to the surface there should
be an application of sand or screenings. Disintegrated
spots should be removed and filled with a mixed bituminous
aggregate, followed by rolling.
9. Bituminous Concrete. The foundation layer should
be 4 to 8 inches in depth of broken stone or telford. At
Lincoln Park, Chicago, the bituminous concrete was laid
as follows by Mr. Arthur S. Lewis. The bituminous
mixture consisted of f-inch limestone, torpedo sand and
building sand to which asphaltic cement to the amount
of 8 per cent, by weight was added. It was applied in a
layer 2| inches deep and rolled with a 10-ton -tandem roller
by which the bituminous layer was compressed about \
inch. After the rolling a squeegee coat of pure asphalt
was applied, using J gallon per square yard applied imme-
diately after the rolling. On the squeegee coat was spread
a thin layer of granite screenings and the rolling was re-
124 CONSTRUCTION
repeated. This pavement for boulevard construction is
reported to be giving excellent satisfaction.
A large number of mixers are on the market for hot
mixing of the materials of both portable and stationary
types.
There are several proprietary bituminous concrete
pavements before the public which while giving good results
will not be discussed in this connection.
The Brick Pavement. This is a type of pavement
well adapted for park entrances and plazas where driving
is heavy. It is practically dustless and very durable.
The foundation of a modern brick pavement consists
of 4 to 6 inches of concrete on which is placed an inch of
sand, clean, moderately coarse and free from loam and
pebbles. The sand is leveled off with a template, which
gives it a true surface. The pavers are required to stand
on the brick already laid.
The sand filler has been abandoned and the joints are
now filled with cement grout, coal tar, asphalt or a patented
filler of bituminous nature.
In order to provide for expansion and contraction a
thin strip of wood is placed between the curb and the
pavement. This strip is afterward removed and the space
filled with a bituminous filler. Similar transverse joints
are placed from 25 to 50 feet apart.
The Concrete Pavement. This type of pavement
might well be employed for entrances or plazas or wherever
the driving is heavy. Its appearance is to be preferred to
that of the brick pavement for park purposes. The author
believes that the concrete pavement will soon come into
favor with park authorities. There are two methods
of construction, the Mixing Method and the Grouting
Method.
CURB 125
The Mixing Method. A two-course pavement is the
more common in municipal practice and will be briefly
described here. On the finished and rolled subgrade is
deposited a layer of 1 to 2f to 5 concrete which should
be 4 inches thick after tamping. The wearing course
may be made of concrete of the proportions one part
cement, one part sand and one part J- to ^-inch granite or
trap chips. The wearing course should be 2 inches thick.
The leveling off of the wearing course is done with a wooden
template resting on scantling set true to line and grade.
Transverse joints for expansion are made every 25 feet.
The Grouting Method. The method used by the Has-
sam Paving Company will be briefly set forth. On the rolled
subgrade is placed a layer of broken stone ranging from
1J to 2| inches and rolled down to a thickness of 4 inches.
This is grouted with a 1 to 3 grout. The surface layer
consists of a 2-inch layer of crushed trap poured with a
1 to 2 grout. On the surface layer is thinly spread a thick
grout consisting of 1 part cement, 1 part sand and 1 part
trap screenings the size of a pea. This is broomed into
the surface with stiff brooms. The Long Island Motor
Parkway pavement was constructed by the Hassam method.
Concrete pavements are apt to be slippery in winter.
To prevent this they have been covered with a bituminous
coat in which is incorporated small trap rock chips.
Curb. Curb may be of bluestone, sandstone, granite
or concrete. In order to preserve the alignment of a stone
curb a concrete foundation is used, the sand foundation
having become practically obsolete. The setting of the
curb should take place before the pavement is constructed.
Straight curb should be carefully aligned. It is the cus-
tom to set a piece of curb every 25 feet by aid of the engi-
neer's measurements and then stretch a mason's line
126 CONSTRUCTION
between, thus determining the line and grade of all
intermediate pieces.
Brick drives must be lined with curb. This is generally
fiush with the surface of the pavement. A hollow vitrified-
block curb and drain has recently been used which is also
flush with the surface of the pavement, which it holds in
place.
LIGHTING
The proper methods of park illumination together with
practical hints which should prove of value to the inexperi-
enced park engineer are presented on pages 72 and 73.
Detailed descriptions of electric, gas, acetylene and gasoline
lighting may be found in works on Illuminating Engineering.
INDEX
Acetylene lighting, 73
Advertisement for bids, 76
Architectural treatment, 36
Bay Ridge Parkway, 41, 70
Bituminous concrete, 123
Bituminous pavements, 117, 118,
119, 120, 123
Blanchard and Drowne, 120
Blue Hills Reservation, 10
Bonds, contract, 79
Boston parks, 6, 9
Branch Brook Park, 6, 99
Brick pavement, 71, 124
Bronx Park, 8
Brooklyn parks, 6, 8
Bulkheads, 54, 55, 103, 109
Cableway, 103
Calcium chloride as a dust palli-
ative, 71, 117
Cambridge parks, 10
Catch basins, 44, 55, 65
Central Park, 2, 6, 7, 21
Chicago parks, 9, 123
City planning, 9
Classification of parks> 6
Cole, H. J., iv
Compensation laws, 81
Concrete pavements, 124," 125
Condemnations, 24
Contract work versus day labor, 74
Contractor's liability, 81
Contracts : ^
awarding of, 82
bids, preparation of, 81
bonds, 79
Contracts:
calculations for, 79
examination of plans, 77
execution of, 85
extras, 86
lump sum, 75
payments, 85
penalty clauses, 86
proposals, 82
specifications, 78
starting the work, 85
sureties for, 79
unit system, 75
Cosby, S., oiling drives at Washing-
ton, 118
Crawford, A. W., Philadelphia
parks, 9
Curb, 71, 125
Davis, C. E., 8
Day labor versus contract work, 74
Drainage :
surface, 15, 41, 45, 49, 51, 55, 57,
65,
under, 39, 55, 62, 90
Dredging, 99, 101, 105
Drives. (See Roads.)
Dry walls, 58
Dust palliatives, 71, 116, 117
Electric lighting, 72
Entrances for parks, 66, 67, 68
Essex County parks, 2, 5, 6, 7, 10,
11, 99, 103
Excavation. (See Grading.)
Fainnount Park, 8
127
128
INDEX
Gas lighting, 73
Gasoline lighting, 73
Grading, 51, 94
cableway, 103
drag scraper, 100
dredge, 99, 101, 105
economy, 104
grading machine, 98
muck excavation, 100, 109, 113
pick and shovel, 97
plow and shovel, 98
rooter plow, 83
staking out, 94
steam shovel, 32, 91, 95, 98
topsoil stripping, 29, 37, 97
view of operations, 109, 113
wheel scraper, 83, 100
Grass gutters, 15, 49, 51, 57, 70
Hudson County parks, 2
Hydrants :
cranes, 61, 63
lawn, 61, 63
Hydrographical survey, 32, 33
Inlets, 44, 65
Labor, 74
Lakes, 52, 99, 100, 105, 109, 113
Landscape architecture, iv, 36
Lands suitable for parks, 2, 3, 15,
19, 21, 103
Lewis, A. S., bituminous con-
crete, 123
Lighting, 72, 126
acetylene, 73
electric, 72
gas, 73
gasoline, 73
Lincoln Park, 123
Long Island Motor Parkway, 125
Lynn parks, 10
Macadam pavement, 71, 115, 120
Mapes, Prof., tile drains, 93
Martin, T. S., 8
Masonry :
steps, 58
walls, 55, 57, 108
Middlesex Fells Reservation, 10
Minneapolis, dredging at, 99, 105
Muck excavation, 100, 109, 113
New York parks, 2, 6, 7, 21, 41
Nokomis, Lake, Minneapolis,
dredging, 99, 105
Office buildings, 90
Oil emulsion, 117
Oils, as dust palliatives, 116, 117,
118
Olmsted Brothers, 7
Olmsted, J. C., iv
Organization for work:
architect, 17
clerical force, 18
counsel, 14
engineering department, 17
landscape architect, 14
purchasing department, 14
superintendent's department, 18
title guarantee department, 18
Park engineer, his function, iv
Park movement, its magnitude, iii
Parker, G. A.:
efficiency in grading operations,
103
sod steps, 59, 61
Parks:
acquisition of property, 23
actual results, 7
classification, 6
earning capacity, 6
economic advantage, 5
future possibilities, 13
lands, selection of, 3, 15, 19, 21,
103
organization for work, 14
social need, 1,21
surveys, 23
the obtaining of, 10, 14
INDEX
129
Paths, 62, 112
asphalt, 70
brick, 70, 112
cement, 67, 112
crowns, 67
foundations, G2, 65, 69, 112
gravel, 69
scantlings, 112
wings, 65
Pavements :
bituminous concrete, 123
bituminous macadam, 120
brick, 71, 124
concrete, 123, 124
dust palliatives, 116
macadam, 71, 115, 120
surfacing with light oils, 117
surfacing with heavy oils, 119
Philadelphia parks, 5, 8, 22
Pile bulkhead, 54, 55, 103, 109
Pile driver, 87
Piles, 53, 55, 107
Playgrounds, 9, 22
Plow, rooter, 83
Ponds, 52
Pressure distributor, 119, 121
Prospect Park, 6, 8
Pulsometer, 83, 94
Purchasing of lands, 23, 24
Retaining walls, 55, 57
River fronts, 10
Riverside Park, 15, 19, 103
Roads, 70, 115
asphaltic oils, surfacing macadam
pavements with, 119.
bituminous concrete, 123
bituminous materials, impreg-
nating new macadam pave-
ments with, 120
brick pavements, 7, 124
calcium chloride, sprinkling with,
117
concrete pavements, 124
crude oils, impregnating earth
roads with, 120
Roads, light oils and light tars,
treating surface with, 117
oil emulsion, sprinkling with, 117
oiling, 119, 121
rolling, 49, 120, 121
salt water, sprinkling with, 117
water, sprinkling with fresh, 116
Roa Hook gravel, 69
Rollers, road, 49, 120, 121
Scrapers :
drag, 100
wheel, 83, 110
Sewers, 43, 93
combined, 48
grade and line for, 91, 94
sanitary, 48
storm water, 44
Shanties for laborers, 90
" Sherwood Forest," Philadelphia,
5
Sod steps, 59, 61
Specifications, 78
Stables, 90
Steam shovel, 32, 91, 95, 98
Steps, 58, 59
Sureties for contracts, 79
Surface drainage, 15, 41, 45, 49, .51,
55, 57, 65
Surveys :
hydrographical, 32
property, 23
topographical, 25
Tars for roads, 117, 118, 119
Telford pavement, 71, 115
Tile, 39, 90
Topographical survey, 25
Topsoil stripping, 29, 37, 97
Turbidity of first wash in storm
sewers, 47
Underdrainage, 39, 55, 62, 90
Valentine, Commissioner, River-
side Park, 103
130
INDEX
Walls, 55, 57, 108
Walnut Lane Bridge, frontispiece
Ward, Cabot, 52, 103
Waring, Col., 40, 93
Washington parks, treatment of
roads in, 118
Water meters, 62
Water pipes, 61, 111
hydrants for, 61, 63
testing, 112
water hammer in, 112
Water supply, its protection, 8
Weequahic Reservation, 5, 99
Weir measurement, 33
Westside Park, Newark, 100
Wheel scraper, 83, 100
Whinery, S., sprinkling with fresh
water, 116
Wissahickon Bridge, frontispiece
Wissahickon Park, 8
WTright, W., 9
14 DAY USE
TO DESK FROM WHICH BORKOWB1
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