PROCEEDINGS OF THE COTTESWOLD CLUB 289 



superior, but apparently expensive stone, and that they will 

 recognise that true economy is not to be secured by the 

 use of the local material because it is easy of access, 

 however cheap it may appear to be. 



The "crushing tests" referred to above are of course 

 requisite in the case of material used in building construc- 

 tion, — but road stones have to do more than carry dead 

 weight. Abrasion and its attendant dust and mud, in 

 conjunction with rains and frosts, quickly break up a 

 road made of unsuitable material. 



The cleanliness of Dhu Stone, its capacity of maintain- 

 ing the formation of its surf^ice, if originally well put 

 down, and the non-necessity of frequent repairs are so 

 well understood that I will not longer dwell upon them, 

 but leave others to make their own independent observa- 

 tions upon the subject. There is, however, one thing I 

 should like, with your permission, to accentuate, in the 

 interests of all road authorities, and that is the vile and 

 pernicious system, once only too common and not yet 

 quite dead, of throwing clay, loam, road siftings, and tufts 

 of earth on to the newly spread metalling. I am well 

 aware that the experienced gentlemen who now direct 

 the construction and maintenance of roads will not 

 knowingly permit this to be done, but nevertheless it is 

 done in out of the way places, and done (as I suppose) 

 through ignorance, or at least in the belief that it is a 

 meritorious practice. The object, I presume, is to make 

 the metalling set, and to render traction easier than it 

 would be over the unset and irregular stones. It is true 

 that for a time this system accomplishes its object, but 

 in the meanwhile, and especially after rains, the stones 

 find themselves on a soft bed, each piece carrying a plastic 

 socket for the next stone to turn upon, and causing a 

 movement under each passing load. Rains cause the mud 

 to rise to the surface, more movement ensues, and 

 ultimately that very great characteristic of the stone, its 



