118 Report of the State Geologist. 



nent addition to the property of the State. And it is hoped that 

 it may prove an object lesson, productive of direct benefit to 

 the neighboring population, by calling attention to their own 

 resources. 



Two points are of capital importance here. First, the road is 

 a perfect success. Five years of constant use, in the main ave- 

 nue of a population of 2,500, has not injured it ; the work is 

 sound, and the material is jperfeotly adapted to its purjyose. It 

 forms an unbroken, probably water-tight arch. It is not slip- 

 pery. It produces a moderate amount of dust, which is the case 

 with all limestone. The impurities of the rock appear to be of a 

 similar nature to those found in hydraulic limestone, and proba- 

 bly aid in establishing compactness by consolidation of stone 

 with stone. 



Second, the material can be had in almost unlimited quantity, 

 with but a light covering of dirt, on high ground, centrally situ- 

 ated, and with a railroad running over a mile of it. It is of 

 small value as a building stone. The rock forms an outcrop at 

 the Thompson Johnson farm, where, as we have seen, it is nearly 

 11 feet thick. Thence to Hayt's Corners it forms a shoulder of 

 land, known to neighbors as concealing limestone ; in places it 

 has so little covering of earth that its crumbling has completely 

 filled the soil with bits of stone. No close estimates have been 

 made of the amount of soil to be removed ; it doubtless varies. 

 There is enough material just in this spot to pave the roads of 

 the county. 



Something may properly be said in this place in regard to the 

 manner of using road material. The Telford is a perfect road ; 

 but its cost may deter others from imitating the details of its 

 construction. Before entering upon that matter be it permitted 

 to say that exceedingly good results may be had from very simple 

 methods. The rock must be broken to a nearly uniform size. 

 The bed must be properly leveled. A sufficient thickness of 

 material must be used, and as of absolute importance, good drain- 

 age must be insisted upon. 



No reasonable man can claim or predict anything in favor of 

 roads in which these points are neglected. 



A rock crusher will be required. It is now needed, irrespective 

 of theory of road building ; for who can have seen the heaps of 



