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THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



foundation that can be procured, as the matted 

 surface, being closely interwoven with fibrous roots, 

 presents a floor of all others the best qualified to 

 resist the pressure of the materials. The general 

 custom excavates a trough in which to place the 

 road on the soft underground, being akin to the 

 universal method of raising a mound in which to 

 plant a hedge, whereas both designs require only 

 the simple process of being placed on the surface 

 of the ground — the materials of the road on the 

 grassy turf, and the thorn quicksets on a sloping 

 turf, with the end touching the ground, on which 

 the rootlets will spread and search for food after 

 issuing from the lower end of the set. 



When a road has to be made over soft grounds — 

 clays and wet earths — turf, of the most matted sort 

 to be found, must be carried to be placed in the 

 foundation, closely and firmly joined as in the 

 original position, and presenting a level surface to 

 receive the hard materials. When the turf cannot 

 be procured, the bottom must be laid with dry, 

 coarse earths, gravels, broken stones or chalks, or 

 any dry, coarse materials. The bottom must be 

 dry, or made dry by longitudinal drains — one on 

 each side of the crown of the road, with a cross 

 drain in each hollow that may occur; such drains 

 to be filled to the top with the materials of the road. 

 The bottoming of the road must also be thoroughly 

 dry, and in depth of about two feet, as the nature 

 of the underground may be seen to require. Com- 

 paratively dry substrata will require about one 

 foot of dry materials ; wet grounds of all kinds 

 will require about two feet ; while some shal- 

 low earths will afford, on being removed, a dry, 

 hard bed for the road without any intervening 

 materials. These situations are not the most com- 

 mon, so that the previous directions will generally 

 apply, with the repetition of the essential conditions 

 that the bottom of the road be dry, both in the 

 natural deposit and in the articles that are used as 

 a foundation, and that upon this provision the 

 entire safety and value of the road depend. 



The bed of the road is formed in the width of 

 twelve feet, and the depth of one foot, between the 

 sloping sides of six feet in width, and level in the 

 bottom, of dry, coarse materials — rough, but not 

 large — and concreted to form a resistance. On 

 this foundation is laid a stratum of hard stones, 

 broken in size not larger than a hen's egg, sloping 

 from the crown of the road over the grassy sides 

 with as much declivity as enables the water to flow 

 to the side-ditches. Where roads fall longitudi- 

 nally, the water will escape in that direction ; but 

 when level or nearly flat situations prevail, it is 

 requisite that the roads are convex, to throw off the 

 water sideways ; and the declivity may be slight, 

 and not impose much trouble in forming and 



maintaining the position. All hard materials of 

 roads must be broken into a small size— the smaller 

 the better — as there are afforded the greater num- 

 ber of angular points, which enter into combina- 

 tion, and proceed to form a solid mass of re-united 

 junctions, which resist pressure, but yield to weight 

 so far as to remove the severe jolting that is 

 experienced from a passage over original and 

 unreduced masses of rock. The best materials are 

 got from quarries, as the edges are angular, and, on 

 being broken into small pieces, the points are 

 increased, and are soon united into a road. On 

 the other hand, boulder stones and gravels, field 

 stones, and water-worn stones from the beds of 

 rivers, are rounded, and, on being broken into 

 pieces, preserve the roundness at least on one side, 

 and are consequently less inclined to enter into 

 combination when placed together as the materials 

 of a road ; still the articles must be used, as, in 

 many places, none other are to be found. The 

 best materials are aff'orded by the schistoze rocks 

 of mica and clay slate, and some variations of the 

 primitive rocks, as limestones and the hardest 

 sands ; the decomposing trap aftbrd a most excel- 

 lent road metal, and all these and similar rocks are 

 pointed and angular, yielding that first qualification 

 as material for roads. Yv'^ater gravels are not 

 eligible, as the rounded pebbles do not coalesce 

 into a firm compactness, but remain loose, and roll 

 about on the surface of the road, and require to be 

 broken, although formed originally in the me- 

 dium size of bruised stones. Earthy gravels that 

 are dug from pits and quarries are sometimes found 

 in size to be fitted into a compact bed, owing to the 

 cementing matters of the earthy mixtures; but 

 much oftener the screen separates the small 

 portions for the walks of the garden, and the large 

 parts are broken as boulder stones into road metal. 

 Very small gravels are occasionally found, or rather 

 the comminuted debris of rocks, which make very 

 good roads, and which experience soon perceives. 

 When gravels require separation into large and 

 small parts, the labour is equal to that of quarried 

 stones ; but these last not being got, the next best 

 must be used. 



When the body of the road has been formed 

 with a stratum of broken stones a foot in depth, 

 compactly placed and neatly finished, it is advan- 

 tageous to spread over the surface a quantity of 

 coarse earth, gritty sand, screenings of gravel, or 

 dry clayey earth, which fills the interstices, and 

 serves as a cement to bind together the loose por- 

 tions of the broken rock. Very much benefit is 

 derived from this application ; the rains dissolve 

 the matters, which spread into the crevices, and 

 place the stones in a bed of compost. And after 

 rains, or during rains, at least, during wet weatherj 



