72 RAILWAY CONSTRUCTION. 



carefully watched for a long time for any indication of further 

 movement. 



When the bulk of the material has been taken out of an 

 earth or clay cutting, the work of trimming the slopes should 

 be put in hand, so that any surplus left on the wings, or sides, 

 may be removed, and carried away before stopping the earth- 

 waggons. The angle of slope having been decided, a battering 

 rule of light wooden boards is made to correspond to the slope, 

 and in form similar to that shown in Fig. G4. A plumb-bob is 

 suspended from a fixed point, A; the lower end, B, is then 

 held against a peg or mark which indicates the correct level and 

 width of the cutting at the place, and the upper end, C, is raised 

 or lowered until the plumb-bob string coincides with the vertical 

 line marked on the rule from A to D, and the plumb-bob rests 

 steadily in the space cut for it at D. With this' battering rule a 

 length of seven or eight feet, according to the size of the rule, is 

 first trimmed to the correct slope, and by continuing the applica- 

 tion of the rule up the side, a correct slope line is obtained from 

 bottom to top of slope at that place. By repeating the process 

 at convenient distances along the cutting, a series of correct 

 slope lines are obtained, and the intermediate space can readily 

 be trimmed to correspond. 



The same form of battering rule and method of working is 

 applicable for trimming the slopes of the embankments. 



When the slopes of the cuttings and embankments have been 

 trimmed, vegetable soil, which has been laid aside, or reserved as 

 previously described, should then be spread evenly over the 

 slopes to the uniform thickness of not less than four inches, 

 and the whole sown with good grass seeds to form a strong 

 sward. 



The trimming, soiling, and sowing of the slopes not only 

 gives a more finished appearance to the earthworks, but the, 

 strong grass, when once well grown, binds the surface together. 

 and helps to resist the injurious effects of heavy rains and 

 melting snow. 



There are many places abroad where a neat finish to the 

 earthworks is considered quite a secondary matter, or where it 

 would be difficult to obtain suitable soil to spread on the slopes. 

 The earthworks are hurried forward to allow the iron highway 

 to be laid down as quickly as possible, the slopes of the cuttings 

 and embankments are only roughly trimmed, and nature is left 



