688 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



labor. The total mileage is giveu as 8n,98(> miles ; and the total expenditure on 

 road.s and bridges during 1911 as $4,127,899. 



Practice of the Massachusetts Highway Commission in the construction 

 and maintenance of state highways {Engin. and Contract., 38 {1912), No. 8, 

 pp. 20S, 209). — This is an abstract of a paper read by A. W. Dean before the 

 Boston Society of Civil Engineers in which he describes the methods of con- 

 struction and maintenance of the state highways of Massachusetts, more 

 especially of bituminous and bituminous macadam roads. 



An investigation of the road making properties of Missouri stone and 

 gravel, W. S. Williams and R. "W. Roberts ( Univ. Mo. Engin. Expt. 8ta. Bui., 

 2 (1911), No. 3, pp. 70, figs. 10). — Descriptions of the abrasion, cementation, im- 

 pact, hardness, toughness, and absorption tests as applied to Missouri stone 

 and gravel are followed by the results of investigations in each county and 

 tabula ted. data giving the results of tests on the materials. 



Limestone is the most abundant road material in the State, but only about 

 38 per cent of it will stand all the tests. It has good cementing qualities, how- 

 ever, and can be used as a base for macadam. The best road materials found 

 are the granites, rhyolite, and porphyry, which have good cementing qualities 

 and may be used for wearing surfaces. The gravel in the State is chiefly 

 chert and flint and is classed as poor road material. 



The road building materials of Coshocton County, Ohio, F. H. End (Ohio 

 State Univ. Bui., 16 (1912), No. 37, pp. 29, pis. 10, flg. i).— This bulletin dis- 

 cusses the road materials of this county, presents simple effective methods for 

 using them for road improvement at a reasonable first cost, and gives the 

 results of standard tests on these materials of which the largest part is lime- 

 stone, gravel, and sandstone. The conclusions are that although this county 

 does not have an abundance of permanent road material, by carefully selecting 

 the best available material and following approved methods of construction 

 under the direction of a competent engineer, good roads may be secured at 

 reasonable first cost and farm values may bo increased. 



Methods of testing road making materials in European countries (Engin. 

 and Contract., 38 (IV 12), No. 11, pp. 293-298. fig. i).— This is an abstract of a 

 report by A. Mesuager to the International Association for Testing Materials, 

 containing a list of the road building materials used and an outline of the 

 methods employed in testing them in Germany, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, 

 Budapest, Norway, and the Netherlands. 



Road maintenance problems, J. G. Powell (Surveyor, J,2 (1912), No. 1075, 

 pp. 271, 272). — An extract from the annual report of the county engineer of 

 Wiltshire, England, stating that the chief difficulties encountered in road 

 maintenance are the heavy traffic and consequent wear and tear on the roads 

 during periods of alternate frost and thaw, the existence of soft, yielding sub- 

 soil for road beds, the high growth of hedges and trees, and the wear produced 

 by the increased number of mechanically propelled vehicles. It is further 

 stilted that roads to bear motor vehicle traffic must have new unyielding sub- 

 bases as well as resurfacing, and that flint for surfacing is cheaper and more 

 sati.^factory than limestone in this locality. 



Reinforced concrete design, O. Faber and P. G. Bowie (London, 1912, pp. 

 XIX+332, figs. 160). — This book presents the fundamental principles under- 

 lying the practical design of reinforced concrete, which are to be used In con- 

 nection with practical work and in experiments in determining the proper de- 

 sign to suit any local conditions. It deals with several important new con- 

 siderations among which are the ratio of live to dead load as .-ifEecting the bend- 

 ing moment of beams, and the relative stifiCness of beams and columns. 



