The department maintains an extensive laboratory for the testing of road materials and has a municipal plant for the manufacture of wood block with a capacity of 200,000 blocks per day. The best appearing streets in Paris are those of asphalt, which is the compressed natural rock asphalt generally used in Europe. Wood, while extensively employed, has not up to the present time given entire satisfaction. The fault appears to be due to insufficient treatment and poor maintenance. The wood paved streets show many holes, depressions, and

evidences of decay. This is particularly noticeable in such important centers as the Place Vendome, Place de la Concorde, Rue de la Paix, Rue de Rivoli, Avenue de l'Opéra, and other central regions. The only wood pavements observed to be in very good condition were those which had been recently laid. Many very fine asphalt streets were seen, which appear to be carefully maintained. Paris contains a majority of streets paved with stone. These generally consist of large granite blocks having wide joints filled with sand or gravel, usually without concrete foundation. They are dusty in dry and muddy in wet weather. Some closer-cut cement-grouted stone pavements exist in street railroad track construction. The wood block is ordinarily laid as in England, directly on a smooth concrete surface; but the joints are wider and are both cement-grouted in some cases or filled with tar in others, and then sanded. Heavy granite curbs are the usual rule, but the gutter inlets instead of being horizontal gratings have vertical openings like those in New York. In the car-track areas all types of pavement have been employed and often poorly maintained.

On some of the wide boulevards where the footways are of extreme width, they are divided into two sections with a double line of curb. The macadam streets are in fair condition but dusty in dry weather. Trees are very generally found along the principal streets and are usually protected about the roots by gratings or other barriers. They do not appear to be in as good condition in summer weather as those of London. There is not so much attempt to maintain turf in the parkways and such as there is is in poor condition.

Very careful attention is given to the watering and cleaning of the streets. There is no attempt to use large quantities of water or to flush the surface with heavy streams, but constant attention is given to them by men with light lines of hose, and the gutters in particular are kept continually flushed. Due to the careful and continuous flushing and sweeping, there is little or no mud on the smooth pavements in wet weather.

In the Paris organization, which has been outlined above, there can be seen no opening for lack of cooperation or for friction between various authorities, such as too frequently exists in American cities. There is definite responsibility for each step in the work down to that of the lowest employe, and any shortcom. ings can not be attributed to lack of system, but to a failure or inability to change promptly from types of street construction that were suitable twenty years ago to those required now by increased weight and speed of traffic. A summary of the condition of Paris streets gives the impression of there being too great an extent of stone and macadam, inadequate specifications and insufficient expenditure on maintenance on the wood pavements, and a good condition in asphalt. More than in any other city seen, Paris resembles New York in the great amount of rebuilding and street excavation work going on. In addition to many tunnel shafts for the new underground railways, many miles of tramway lines are now in process of reconstruction. A great extent of subsurface pipes and wires is in process of installation. This, together with the erection of many new buildings having deep foundations and requiring the obstruction of part of the width of the adjacent streets, conveyed an impression of general upheaval in the streets.

With the exception of London, Paris is the only great city visited whose traffic in any degree either equalled or exceeded that of New York in quantity