356 



ROADS. 



Roads and 



Highway?. 



Gravel 

 roads. 



Distribu- 

 tion of 

 road-metal 



passed over it with advantage ; but attention should be 

 paid to working the whole surface equally, and rak- 

 ing the displaced stones into the tracks, to prevent 

 these from becoming deep ruts. For this purpose, 

 wooden tresses are now generally set across the me- 

 talled part of the road ; and, by shifting these, the 

 carriages are made to pass alternately over the whole 

 surface, and obliged to take up new tracks, until the 

 whole becomes smooth and compact. Such treatment, 

 in the first instance, effectually prevents it from get- 

 ting into disorder ; and to this simple operation we are 

 very much indebted for the improved smoothness of 

 our roads. With regard to the theory often advanced, 

 by which the bottom or hand-laid stones are said to 

 work their way from the bottom to the surface, and 

 to be thus supplanted by the top metal; we cannot 

 help thinking that much of this appears to be fancy; 

 and that this has been generally owing to the more 

 careless manner in which new roads were formerly 

 constructed, and also to the little care which was 

 afterwards paid to them. It is, in fact, quite no- 

 torious, that, till within a short period, there was, 

 throughout the kingdom, a very general want of sys- 

 tematic attention, both in the making and uphold- 

 ing of public roads. The metal was neither uniformly 

 broken nor judiciously applied; nor was the fair and 

 regular working of the road duly attended to. Our 

 new roads, consequently, got into ruts soon after they 

 were opened to the public, by the displacement of the 

 broken stones before they became bonded or connected 

 with one another ; and it generally happened, that the 

 appearance of the bottom metal was the first intimation 

 of the top- metal having been worn out, and the road in 

 a state of total disrepair. 



The chaussee, or paved road, is so universal on the 

 continent, and the proper gravel road so common to 

 the southern districts of England, that foreigners, from 

 the smoothness of the British roads, give the general 

 appellation of gravel roads, even to those that are made 

 with small broken stones. The use of small gravel from 

 the sea beach upon public roads, can hardly be consider- 

 ed suitable, as they seldom bind or form a compact road 

 like broken metal which has a number of rough sides 

 and angular points to connect it. Gravel answers very 

 well upon the side compartments, between the metal- 

 bed and lateral drains, and also for foot-paths ; but 

 should not be used for the central parts, unless it be 

 laid nine or ten inches in depth, and of a size which 

 will barely pass through a ring of about one inch in 

 diameter. If it be of a larger size it should be re- 

 duced by the hammer, and then it makes a most ex- 

 cellent road. In mountainous districts, a peculiar 

 description of road-metal is sometimes found, which 

 is technically termed mountain-gravel. It occurs along 

 with minute portions of earthy or clayey particles, 

 which have the property of binding the whole toge- 

 ther, and makes an excellent smooth road for light car. 

 riages. 



In the selection of road metal, we should always give 

 a preference to the several varieties of greenstone. 

 The best kinds of these are less friable than granite, 

 when broken into small pieces. There is, however, no 

 rule without exceptions, and it is often necessary, for 

 want of better materials, to use sandstone, common 

 limestone, and chalk, even in districts where there is 

 a great deal of traffic ; in some instances where coal is 

 abundant, sandstone is reduced to a vitreous mass in 



kilns erected by the rfcad side ; but all such road metal Heads and 

 is now used very sparingly in the formation of modern Highways. 

 roads, and confined chiefly to the bridle-tracks. The S ""T~ < "'' 

 distribution of road-metal may be considered as partial 

 and irregular. Throughout Scotland, and even as far 

 south as the approaching sources of the rivers Tees and 

 Kibble, good road-metal is generally to be met with, con- 

 taining the numerous varieties of granite, greenstone, 

 basalt, porphyry, and limestone. South of this bound- 

 ary, as far as the Trent and the Dee, in Cheshire, the 

 formation is chiefly coal, sandstone, and the softer va- 

 rieties of limestone. Jn the southern counties chalk 

 and gravel soils chiefly occur, affording flint and 

 gravel, both of which, under proper management, 

 make excellent roads. In North and South Wales, 

 we have all the varieties of road-metal which are com* 

 mon to Scotland. In Ireland they have excellent road 

 materials, as granite and limestone are pretty generally 

 distributed. 



Notwithstanding the improved state of our roads, Difficulty 

 and that every pains is taken to obtain the best road- of preserv- 

 metal, yet it is impossible to preserve a smooth surface ing smooth 

 with broken metal, excepting at a great expence. It roads - 

 is quite astonishing in how short a period our best 

 roads get into disrepair. Where there is much traffic, 

 it requires constant unwearied attention to keep them 

 in good order ; and the waste of materials is almost in- 

 credible. Of this every one may satisfy himself, even 

 from the quantity of clayey stuff which is occasionally 

 raked off the roads in wet weather, or blown away in 

 the state of dust in dry weather. Indeed, we hesitate 

 not to express our fears that broken metal will be found 

 unsuitable for the thoroughfares of great towns. We 

 have observed where this has been tried, in some 

 few instances, in England and South Wales, that 

 the inhabitants complain of having " all the dust of 

 summer, and all the dirt of winter." 



From the difficulty and expence of keeping causeway- Causeways, 

 ed streets in a tolerably good state of repair, together 

 with the jolting and jarring noise which attends them, 

 the public has long been in quest of a smooth and du- 

 rable city-road. Even cast-iron plates, in the form of 

 causeway, have been tried. The small metal system is 

 also in the act of being tried on several of the streets of 

 London ; but as yet experience does not enable us to say 

 with what effect. In London, Dublin, Edinburgh, and 

 other large towns, the streets are paved generally with 

 granite or greenstone. This description of paving is 

 properly of two kinds, the one termed ruble causeway, 

 in which the stones receive a very partial chipping or 

 hammer-dressing from the pavier. The other, termed 

 aisler causeway, is more carefully dressed. The stones 

 are also of a larger size, varying from five to seven 

 inches in thickness, from eight to twelve inches in length, 

 and about a foot in depth. The late introduction of this 

 description of causeway, was considered at the time to 

 be the perfection of this kind of road. But notwithstand- 

 ing many precautions to the contrary, all dressed cause- 

 way stones are formed with the lower end, or that 

 which is set on the ground, somewhat smaller than the 

 upper surface. The consequence is, that they too often 

 only touch at or near the top, and when a pressure 

 comes upon one end of a stone so laid, it is apt to sink, 

 while the other end is proportionally raised, and in this 

 manner the causeway becomes dislocated, and gets into 

 numerous hollows. This operation is still more rapid 

 in the ruble causeway, which consists chiefly of small 



