ROA 



ROC 



as possessing the quality to resist 

 weights. Experience lias tiiuiiiit that 

 there can he no real security af^ainst 

 a road givin<; way, taking ttie year 

 through, unless I'-i inciics at least of 

 good consolidated materials form the 

 body of a road, and tiiis upon a found- 

 ation rendered sound and diy by ef- 

 fectual drainage. 



" Hort of Materials. — Not the hard- 

 est, but the toughest stones, are the 

 best: the tirst will break, the latter 

 bend. The trappean and basaltic 

 rocks are therefore preferred ; then 

 whinstone, dark-coloured granite, and 

 limestones. 



" Preparation and size of Materials. 

 — The stone to be employed is fiist 

 freed from dirt, and then broken so 

 small as to pass through tlie inch 

 meshes of a wire sieve. Some al- 

 low the stones to retain the size of 

 two inches, but none larger. The 

 tougher the nature of the material, 

 the smaller the size should be. 



" Quanliiii of Materials to be laid on 

 at a Time. — \Mien a thick coat is laid 

 on, the destruction of the material is 

 very great before it becomes settled 

 or incorporated with the road. The 

 stones will not allow each other to 

 lie quiet, but are continually elbowing 

 one another, and driving their neigh- 

 bours to the left and right, above and 

 below. This wears otf their angular 

 points, produces mud and dirt, and 

 reduces the stones to an angular 

 form, and prevents their uniting and ! 

 becoming lirm. If there be substance 

 enough already on the road, it will i 

 never be right to put on more than a i 

 stone's thickness at a time. A cubic 

 yard, nicely prepared and broken, to 

 a rod superticial, will be quite enough 

 for a coat, and will be found to last 

 as long as double the quantity put on 

 unprepared and in thick layers. There 

 is no grinding to pieces when thus 

 applied ; the angles are preserved, 

 and the materials are out of sight 

 and incorporated in a very little time. 

 Each stone becomes fixed directly, 

 and keeps its place, thereby escaping 

 the wear and fretting which occur 

 when tliey are applied in a thick slra- 

 tum. On new roads, the covering . 

 664 



should be applied in thin coats. As 

 soon as one is imbedded, apply anoth- 

 er, until the desired powerisobiamcd. 

 "To say nothing of the saving in 

 a course of years by the durability 

 of a road formed under the new sys- 

 tem, and which has been found in 

 I some cases, even where the traffic is 

 j considerable, by the side of a large 

 town, to last for seven years without 

 an additional stone being applied ; to 

 say nothing of the saving to the public 

 in wear and tear of horses, carts, and 

 : tackle ; to say noiliing of the comlbrt 

 of travelling a smooth road, and also to 

 say nothing of employment found for 

 the poor, yet a road can be maintain- 

 ed good and perfect for halfthe sum un- 

 der the new system, which under the 

 old is expended without improvement. 

 " Spreading. — Cause the load to be 

 shot down a short distance from the 

 place upon which you wish the ma- 

 terials to be finally spread, and direct 

 the spreader to cast every shovelful 

 from him equally all over the sur- 

 face, and in such a manner as he 

 would do if he were sowing wheat 

 broad cast. The road will then be 

 not thicker in one place than anoth- 

 er, and a section will be produced per- 

 fect and true. 



" Scraping. — If it is desirable to 

 keep a road dry at the foundation, it 

 must be equally so at the surface." 



ROARING. A disease in horses 

 called broken wind. It is the result 

 of injury to the cells of the lungs, 

 brought on by too violent exercise, 

 especially after meals. 



ROC H AM BOLE. Allium scorodo- 

 prasum. " Spanish garlic. It has bulbs 

 or cloves growing in a cluster, form- 

 ing a kind of compound root. The 

 stem bears many bulbs at its sum- 

 mit, which, as well as those of the 

 root, are often preferred in cooking 

 to garlic, being of much milder fla- 

 vour. It is best propagated by the 

 rout bulbs, those of the stem being 

 slower in production. The planta- 

 tion may be made either in March or 

 the early part of April, as well as 

 throughout the autumn. They may 

 be inserted either in drills or by the 

 dibble, in rows six inches apart each 



