41 



wth January^ w 



Mr. Thomas Workman, J.P., President, in the Chair. 



THE VIAGRAPH, A NEW INSTRUMENT FOR 

 TESTING ROAD SURFACES. 



By J. Bkown. 



{Abstract.) 



It is almost needless to refer to the importance to all classes 

 of the public highways, or to the necessity of good roads for the 

 purposes of that commerce which is the mainstay of our empire 

 and of our power as a nation, and which depends for its 

 existence on the interchange of commodities. In England the 

 nted of good roads has been long recognised. In Ireland there 

 is still much room for improvement. Those who have become 

 acquainted with the highways in both countries, either by 

 cycling or driving over them, tell us there is a vast difference, 

 that the worst road in England, for instance, is better than the 

 best in Ireland, and so on ; and they endeavour to convey 

 some idea from their observations of the comparative qualities. 

 Till now, however, no means existed of making an accurate 

 comparison, of telling how much and in what way English or 

 foreign roads were better than ours. It was in the hope of 

 providing such means, and thereby attempting to convince our 

 local authorities of the great need of improvement, that the 

 viagraph has been designed. 



The viagraph consists practically of a straight edge applied 

 continuously to to the road surface along which it may be 

 drawn, and conveying an apparatus for (ist) recording on paper 



