Giganiic American Trees. 755 



not mclude saddle-horses. When we consider the enormous amount 

 of money invested throughout the country, and estimate the saving in 

 horseflesh, harness, and vehicles, which would result from good roads, 

 independently of the saving in the maintenance of the roads them- 

 selves, we shall come to the conclusion that the suhject is one of vital 

 importance to the community at large. 



The subject of road-rolling has been alluded to in a former paper. . 

 Doubtless a considerable saving in the expenses of road-maintenance 

 may be effected by rolling well the surface of a new road before throw- 

 ing it open to ordinary traffic. By the passage of narrow wheels over 

 a bed of loose stone, the broken stone is forced irregularly into the 

 subsoil, unless the road is well paved ; and it will probably be necessary 

 to lay on 9 or 10 inches of metal in order to obtain a permanent 

 coating of 6 inches. By using a heavy roller of 3 or 4 feet wide, 

 which carries the whole mass down together, the same thickness of 

 coating may be obtained by laying on 8 inches. 



In the " Keport on the Economy of Koad Maintenance and Horse-r 

 draft through Steam Road-rolling," by F. A. Paget, C.E., which was 

 printed by order of the Metropolitan Board of Works, it is stated that 

 the French, " after nearly ten years' experience in Paris, consider that 

 they save 50 per cent, in maintenance, over and above the expenses of 

 rolling." 



GIGANTIC AMERICAN TREES. 



At the Great International Exhibition, held at Philadelphia, in 1876, 

 there were exhibited some extraordinarily large sections of various species 

 of trees, from California and Oregon, amongst which, besides the Soquoia 

 (jigantea, or Wclli/if/fonia, with the dimensions of which we are already 

 familiar, there were several notable examples of gigantic growth. Two 

 sections of the Oregon Yellow Pine (Abies gra7idis) were exhibited, 

 which were cut from a tree 321 feet in height and 15 feet 9 inches in 

 diameter at the butt. The first section was taken at the height of 130 feefc 

 from the ground, and measured 6 feet 10| inches in diameter, exclusive 

 of the bark. The second section, taken at 200 feet up, measured 5 feet 

 10 inches in diameter of solid timber. A fine section from the same State of 

 Alies Menzicsii, taken at the height of 98 feet from the ground, was G feet 

 10 inches in diameter, and the tree from which it had been cut was stated 

 to have been 318 feet in height and 16 feet in diameter at the butt. A 

 magnificent section was also exhibited of the Oregon Red Cedar {Tliuja 

 (ligantm), which measured 22 feet in diameter, and was taken from tfie 

 base of a tree said to have reached the gigantic height of 325 feet, 



