74 



to daily repairs. It is stated that by the use of the 

 cylinder the road is presented at once in a good traveling 

 condition ; the wear of the materials is less than by the 

 old method of gradually consolidating them by the 

 travel ; the cost of repairs during the first years is dimin- 

 ished ; it gives to the road-covering a more uniform 

 thickness, and admits of its being thinner than in the 

 usual method. 



" 31aterials and Bepairs. — The material for broken- 

 stone roads should be hard and durable. For the bottom 

 layer a soft stone, or a mixture of hard and soft may be 

 used, but on the surface none but the hardest stone will 

 withstand the action of the wheels. The stone should 

 be carefully broken into fragments of as nearly as cubi- 

 cal a form as possible, and be cleansed from dirt and all 

 very small fragments. The broken stone should be 

 kept in depots at convenient points along the line of the 

 road for repairs, 



"Too great attention cannot be bestowed upon keep- 

 ing the road surface free from an accumulation of mud 

 and even of dust. It should be constantly cleaned by 

 scraping and sweeping. The repairs should be daily 

 made by adding fresh material upon all points where 

 hollows or ruts commence to form. It is recommended 

 by some that, when fresh material is added, the surface 

 on which it is spread should be broken with a pick to> 

 the depth of half an inch to an inch, and the fresh mate- 

 terial be well settled by ramming, a small quantity 

 of clean sand being addled to make the stone pack better. 

 When not daily repain )d by persons whose sole business 



