186 



FARMERS' REGISTER— BONE DUST AS MANURE. 



When the bed is duly, prepared and dry, the 

 etonc (or as we call it the metal) is to be laid on, 

 not all at once, but m layers of three inches thick, 

 afler the first three inches are laid on, it is to be 

 subjected to the tralBc, or if the road is not open 

 to traffic, then to be rolled with the iron roller; 

 when there is shower}^ weather: or it must be 

 wetted by water thrown ujion it — for you will find 

 that no stone will consolidate when perfectly dry. 



When the first coat of metal has in some de- 

 gree settled and become consolidated, a second 

 coat of three inches thick, is to be laid on and 

 rolled as before, unless you have traffic — in which 

 case great care must be taken to rake the road 

 constantly with the iron rakes, filling the tracks 

 made by every carriage so as not to be seen by 

 that succeeding, until the road is quite consolidated, 

 after which it will take no damage, nor fiiU into 

 ruts from any shape or size of wheel, or weight of 

 carriage. 



Much has been said and written upon the 

 strength of roads — my experience leads me to the 

 conclusion, that six inches thickness of well broken, 

 well laid stone, is quite sufficient, provided the bed 

 be 7nade and kept dry, I have of late years made 

 no new road thicker; but have, on the second year, 

 given it an addition of three inches, loosing a little 

 the hard surface of the road, about an inch deep, 

 to allow the new and old metals to join and unite 

 in a compact body — going upon the principle that 

 the natural soil is the real carrier, both of the road 

 and the carriages, and that if it could be kept dry by 

 any other means, the artificial road Avould be alto- 

 gether unnecessary, and as six inches of metal is 

 0,s effectual a proof, or covering, as a larger quan- 

 tity, there is no use in being at the expense of 

 more. 



Materials for metal. — The graflations of quality 

 jn this country, of stone for roads, are considered 

 to be — -first, granite, — second, good flint, -^f/tirfZ, 

 hard lime stone. 



In America, Avhere the summers are dry, and 

 hot, I should prefer hard lime stone to flint— be- 

 cause the latter is very apt to become loose in very 

 dry weather; but whatever materials be used, it 

 (should be broken very small; in recommending 

 .six ounces as the proper size, I Avent as far as the 

 then old prejudices would admit; but experience 

 has convinced me, that half the size is more use- 

 ful and more profitable to the country. When the 

 stone is well broken and properly applied, there is 

 no occasion for the covering of gravel or slate — 

 and I object to it as prev^enting the consolidation 

 of the stone by keeping the pieces apart, whereas 

 they should unite by their own angles. The slope 

 of a road should be as little as possible, to throw 

 off the surface water; and I have found an inch 

 in a yard, from the centre to the side, to be suffi- 

 cient; if the surface be smooth and solid, no water 

 can stand on such a slope — and the more you can 

 allow carriages to stand upright, the easier they 

 will run. 



The reason of recommending the laying on of 

 ihe stone at diflerent times, and in layers, is, that if 

 the whole quantity be laid on at once, the under- 

 part never consolidates properly, but continues 

 loose, and is apt to be shaken by heavy carriages, 

 and thereby to loosen the upper part, so as to make 

 the road receive rain water. 



Having resided fourteen years in America, I 

 am aware of the severity of the frost, and of the | 



heavy and sudden summer shoAvers. These cir- 

 cumstances make it more necessarj' to be very at- 

 tentive to keeping diy the bed of your roads, as 

 fi"ost will assuredly reach them eveiy winter; 

 whereas, the frosts of this cliniate are not so vio- 

 lent, and do not reach the bottom of our roads, 

 perhaj's on an average of seven years. 



On hilly ground, great care should be taken to 

 keep the side water ways clear and open, other- 

 wise rain water will get in under the road, and 

 seek its way between the metal and the bed down 

 the slope, lor a great distance. 



In a country Uke America, where many new 

 roads must necessarily be made, it is of the great- 

 est consequence to fblloAv the most economical 

 course, in order to make the funds appropriated to 

 roads, produce the greatest sum of good to the 

 public. 



The old system of digging trenches, and filling 

 them again with stone, is to be avoided as a very 

 useless waste of the funds, it being evident that 

 the expense of this mischievous process is greater 

 than making the same length of road on good 

 principles. 



JOHN LOUDON MACADAM. 



BONE-DUST FOR CULTIVATION OF GRAIN. 



The exportation of bones from Germany to 

 England constitutes a singular epoch in the annals 

 of commerce. Myriads of tons have been already 

 exported without glutting the market, or causing a 

 cessation of the demand. In the vicinity of the 

 North Sea, mills have been erected to pulverize 

 them. This bone-powder, or bone-dust, waelong 

 ago exclusively applied to the purposes of hot- 

 houses by German horticulturists; but the English, 

 emboldened by their riches, have extended its use 

 to general objects of agriculture, and fertilize, by 

 these expensive means, their cold, humid, and 

 poorest land; and have thus brought the uplands of 

 Nottinghamshire, the western parts of Holderness, 

 &c., into the highest state of cultivation, both in 

 point of extent and intenseness of fertility. There 

 is, consequentl}'-, a proverb, "that one ton of Ger- 

 man bone-dust saves the importationof ten tons of 

 German corn." As Malta formerly covered her 

 naked rocks with foreign soil, so does England 

 now fertilize her clay and sandy heaths with Ger- 

 man bones. Near the sea-coast even the church- 

 yards are robbed of their venerable relics, which is 

 only ironically excused by rendering the German 

 bone trade pojiular. An agriculturist, being ren- 

 dered attentive by this vast exportation, instituted 

 privately some comparative experiments, the re- 

 sults of Avhich prove that bone-dust acts in the cul» 

 tivation of grain, as compared to the best stable 

 manure, — 1. In respect to the quality of corn aa 

 7 to 5; — 2. In resjiect to quantity as 5 to 4; — 3. In 

 respect to durability of the energy of soils as 3 to 2, 

 It produces several collateral advantages; — 1, It 

 destroys weeds; — 2. It diminishes the necessity 

 of suffering the land to lie fallow; — 3, This con- 

 centrated manure, or substitute for manure, is more 

 easy of conveyance, less laborious to spread, and 

 can with facility be ap])lied to the steepest vine- 

 yards or other inaccessible lands, either in moun- 

 tainous countries or in wet meadow land; — 4. It 

 renders agriculture practicable without cattle- 

 breeding, gi'azing, &c. — ReperUrry of Inventions, 



