Comparing with the measurement at the end of the year 1887 the paved surface at the end of the year 1888 showed an increase of 55,618 square metres, or 1.81 per cent.

At the end of 1888 the different kinds of pavement in use were in the

Of the unpaved surface of 1,964,302 square metres, which are partly macadamized, partly only covered with ballast, 1,608,559 square metres, or 82 per cent., belong to roadways, squares, etc., and 345,743 square metres, or 18 per cent., to walks and riding paths.

Besides the paved surface enumerated there are still of streets, lanes, and squares within the territory of Vienna,

Including the above figures the total surface of streets, squares, etc., of Vienna at the end of the year 1888 consequently was: Paved, 3,246,687 square metres, and 2,176,251 square metres unpaved. This total service comprises 1,008 streets, lanes, and squares.

The granite cubes employed for paving the Vienna streets, as a rule, have a length of side of 18.4 centimetres. For the diagonal paving of the roadways there are besides required stones of 13.2 and 23.7 centimetres. Finally, there are also smaller cubes of but 15.8 centimetres side; these, however, are used only in small quantities.

The paving is generally carried out diagonally, and only for streets with a very steep gradient parallel rows are employed.

For the paving of the sidewalks mostly granite plates of 31.6 centimetres and 47.4 centimetres squares are employed.

The greatest part of the granite for paving the streets of Vienna is taken from the quarries at Mauthausen, in Upper Austria. For paving those streets, however, which have an exceptionally great traffic, the hard granite of Wilshofen, in Bavaria, as well as that from Schärding and Dornach, in Upper Austria, are employed.

The clinker pavement, formerly employed by way of experiment on the roadways, has been removed again on account of its inferior durability.

For the asphalt pavement (of natural asphalt) the roadways are covered with pressed asphalt, while on the sidewalks the asphalt is poured over a layer of sand.

By way of experiment the so-called metallic pavement has been tried upon a larger surface. For this purpose a bed of concrete of 10 centimetres is employed, upon which is spread the "metallic" composition 6 centimetres thick for the roadway.

The metallic pavement (furnished by the firm C. Schlimp & R. Scheftel) is a kind of concrete, and consists of broken blast-furnace slag, cinders, and Portland cement; to the water required for mixing this. concrete carbouate of soda, carbonate of ammonia, or crude potash is added.

The metallic pavement, the same as asphalt and wood pavement, is noiseless.

B. MAINTENANCE OF CITY STREETS.

As most worthy of interest, the facts furnished by the city of Vienna regarding the maintenance of streets will here be given.

The work of maintenance of the Vienna streets as a rule consists in their being repaved, which is doue by tearing up the pavement to be repaired and by freshly paving those parts of the street, making use, however, of part of the old material.

The following dates will show the extent of repaving in Vienna:

The ballast used for the maintenance of the respective streets and squares was as follows, in cubic metres, per year:

Leaving out the sand, the actual ballast used was 34,972 cubic metres in the average and 32,362 in 1888.

Supposing this total amount of ballast equally divided upon the surface of unpaved roadways, squares, etc., the annual consumption of ballast per square metre of street surface amounts to 0.02 cubic metre.

C. COSTS OF CONSTRUCTION AND MAINTENANCE OF CITY STREETS.

The following were the average costs, per square meter, for new pav ing in the year 1888:

With Vilshofen granite stones..

With Mauthausen granite stones
With old granite stones

With common stones
With asphalt

With wood

Florins.

7.70

7.02

1.06

2.81

6.08

7.44

For the repaving of a surface of 38,755 square metres of roadway and of 7,100 square metres of sidewalks 41,563 florins 78 kreutzers were expended in the year 1888, which is equivalent to an average of 0.91 florin. per square metre.

The total expenditure of the city of Vienna for building and maintaining the streets amounted to the following:

The cleaning and sprinkling of the streets in the year 1888 cost for the first district (the central part of the city) 375,928 florius, and for the entire territory of Vienna 908,008 florins.

The total surface of the streets, lanes, and squares kept by the city of Vienna amounting to 5,075,596 square metres, the cleaning and sprinkling of one square metre per year costs 17.9 kreutzer.

D.-PUBLIC PARKS AND GARDENS OF VIENNA.

The following table shows the number, extent, and cost of maintenance of the public parks and gardens of Vienna:

These public gardens (in 1888) amounted to 0.7 per cent., and if the woods are included to 16.7 per cent. of the entire precinct of Vienna, which is 5,540 hectares.

CONCLUSION.

Public streets and roads are universally acknowledged as the prime means of culture, and it is a fact proved by history that the grade of civilization of a nation may in a great measure be judged by the state of its public roads. There is no doubt that the land value is in every country considerably improved by well kept and frequented public roads. It is, however, impossible to express in figures or fix the extent of improvement in value of land intersected by public roads, as this is most everywhere depending on local conditions and circumstances.

The streets of Trieste, except a few macadamized ones, are paved with sandstone obtained from the neighboring mountains (Karst). This sandstone costs the corporation 2.70 florins per square metre ($1.13 per square yard). The average price of macadamizing stone is 1.45 florins per cubic metre, or 61 cents per cubic yard.

The expense of laying the sandstone, not including its cost, sand, or cartage, is 1 florin per square metre (42 cents a square yard). The labor for macadamized streets costs 80 kreutzers a square metre, or 34 cents a square yard, except the gutter flagging, which costs in addition, 3.25 florins per linear metre, ($1.37 per linear yard).

The maintaining of macadamized roads costs very little. Their average depth is 6 to 10 inches, and the nature of the soil is such that it requires little preparation for a foundation. The maintaining of the paved streets is according to the traffic; the average price, including labor and material, is 50 cents a square yard.

In laying new pavements the old one is placed underneath with a layer of sand intervening, the entire cost of which is 5 florins per square metre ($2.10 per square yard). New streets without this under pavement cost 4 florins per square metre, or $1.78 per square yard, including stone, sand, cartage, etc.

Formerly the streets were laid concave inclining to the middle, along which under the surface canals or sewers extended, with gratings at intervals for surface drainage. It was found, however, from experience

that this plan was not durable for heavy traffic. Accordingly, when new pavements are now found necessary the convex method is adopted. The water from the gutter is conducted by branches to the middle canals or sewers. These latter are also receptacles for overflow pipes from the fecal vaults of the various houses, there being no other sewerage system in the city. The contents are finally emptied along the river or quays of the town.

The streets in general are intended for heavy traffic. The sidewalks are of the same stone, the flags being about 1 to 4 inches thick and 2 to 4 feet square. Their construction and maintenance are borne by the property owners, as well as the stone pillars which line and separate them from the street.

The Trieste sandstone is resisting and desirable material for street paving; the pieces are from 2 to 5 feet long, 1 to 13 feet wide, and 6 to 10 inches thick.

The roads outside the city are macadamize d of the same average depth, and have a stone foundation with open drains ou either side. JAMES F. HARTIGAN,

Consul.

UNITED STATES CONSULATE,

Trieste, January 30, 1891.

BELGIUM.

PROVINCE OF ANTWERP.

REPORT BY CONSUL STEUART.

I have the honor to offer the following report upon the manner of constructing and maintaining the roads and streets in this province and city of Antwerp, and as the said roads and streets are well made and well kept, it would be gratifying if a consideration of the careful manner in which the work is contracted for, executed, and kept in repair should prove of service to those intereste 1 in bringing about an improvement in the manner and expense of doing these things in our own country.

The thoroughfares in the Kingdom of Belgium are: The routes running from one part of the Kingdom to another controlled and managed by the state authorities; the provincial chaussées, or roads, between two points within a province, constructed and controlled by the provin cial authorities; these are paved in the center, a dirt road on each side, and are bordered with trees; the streets constructed and controlled by the municipal authorities.

The provincial council of the province of Antwerp is composed of some sixty members elected from different parts of the province. They