406 
Roads and Higlncays : their History, Sfc. 
Conclusion. 
In conclusion, it may be stated, "That," — to use the language 
of the Report of the Select Committee of the House of Commons, 
in 1819, — "the most improved system is demonstrated to be 
the most economical; that even the first effectual repair of a bad 
road may be accomplished with little, if any, increase of expen- 
diture, and that its future preservation in good order will, under 
judicious management, be attended with considerable saving to 
the public." 
That in the construction of roads care should be taken to 
provide (1) thorough drainage : (2 j a firm and unyielding, 
foundation ; and (3) a hard and compact surface capable of 
bearing the traffic which passes over it without yielding. 
That the object in making and maintaining a road should be 
to diminish the traction to the lowest possible point, and that a 
horizontal road, without ascents and descents, is most conducive 
to this end ; but as, at a gradient of 1 in 40 a horse may trot 
dow^n hill with a light vehicle in safety, therefore this may be 
considered as sufficiently level — more especially as ascending 
and descending a slight incline gives a certain amount of relief 
to the horses, and a descent in a road is favourable to wear by 
more rapidly voiding the water and preventing each vehicle 
taking the same track. That the transverse section of a road 
should be as flat as is consistent with drainage ; that if the road 
be too convex it increases the wear, by compelling every vehicle 
to run in one track on the centre, and also by the disintegration 
of the road by the lateral thrust of the wheels. That the section 
should not be the segment of a circle, but that the centre should 
be laid at less inclination than the two sides. 
That the materials used for repairing roads should be hard, 
tough, non-absorbent of water, and their chemical composition 
such as not easily to be acted upon by the weather ; that the 
pieces should be angular, and broken in evenly sized fragments 
of such form as to pass through the same gauge. 
That the practice of allowing the traffic to wear down the 
new material to an even surface — while injurious to both horses 
and vehicles — also damages the new material by wearipg off the 
sharp edges, and thus rounding the stones, and preventing them 
ultimately from compactly uniting together. 
That rolling with heavy rollers should be resorted to wherever 
practicable, and great care taken in consolidating the coating of 
fresh material. 
That it is more economical to procure the best material from 
a distance, than to use that to l)o found in the neighbourhood 
if of inferior quality. 
