Carriage Pavement of the Metropolis, 387 



Although Macadamizing is undoubtedly a great improve- 

 ment on our roads, it can never come in competition with this 

 mode of paving for streets, or great thoroughfares, which has 

 all the advantages of strength, cheapness, beauty, durability, 

 and cleanliness, — June 25th, 1829. 



Since making the above observations, I have noticed that 

 this method has been partly adopted in different streets in 

 towns ; that is, so far as dressing the stones and grouting the 

 joints, a considerable step towards improvement ; but this of 

 itself is not sufficient, for if a stone rests on earth, gravel, or 

 broken stone, for the bed, it is liable to be disturbed by the 

 shock of a heavy carriage passing, in which case the grouting 

 in the joint will crack, and admit the wet to the foundation, 

 causing all the mischief I have already described. Another 

 very bad practice 1 have observed, is that of ramming the 

 stones, to bring the pavement to a level, some days after it 

 has been grouted, and in reality destroying the benefits to be 

 derived from it, as good mortar or grouting should set and get 

 hard, in a very short time after it is first applied, and the 

 ramming cracks the joints again : besides, all the foundations I 

 have seen are porous, and although being for the most part of 

 broken stones, they will not work or churn up, as the gravel 

 does, (which accounts for the mud we wonder to see in the 

 streets that are so often swept), still, they allow the water to 

 pass through them to the real foundation below, causing the 

 pavement to sink into inequalities, as may be now seen in 

 Fleet-street, which was done at a great expense about two 

 years ago. 



By bedding the stone in mortar, properly placed in the 

 situation it is to remain, then grouting the joint, and allowing 

 it to set hard, without afterwards ramming or disturbing it, 

 the pavement will remain immoveable and water tight, until 

 fairly worn out, and save all the expense of an artificial 

 foundation of Macadamized stones, or other matter. Now, 

 when we consider the labour of digging out, and carting away, 

 eighteen inches or two feet deep of earth, and replacing it with 



