244 ON THE PAVEMENT OF HOADS AND STABLES. 
there exists any horseman , in the habit of riding or driving up 
and down London streets, who will not confess that wood pave- 
ment presents a surface a great deal more slippery than either 
granite or Macadamization, and that, for such reason, it is justly 
accounted “ dangerous indeed, it is this property of slipperi- 
ness that appears to constitute, in the eyes of horse-people, the 
whole and sole objection to it. Were that removed, wood pave- 
ment, one would think, must be regarded by them rather as a 
boon than otherwise. There must, necessarily, be less concussion 
upon wood than upon stone pavement ; and, consequently, less 
wear and tear of feet and legs, and certainly less wear of horse- 
shoes. Can any thing be done by way of remedy for, or counter- 
active against, this slipperiness — either to the pavement itself or 
to the shoe of the horse ? The notches or grooves which have 
been cut upon the surfaces of the wooden blocks appear to have 
had some, but insufficient, effect. They speedily get filled up 
with mud or dirt ; and this, in wet weather, so far from dimi- 
nishing, appears to increase the slipperiness. Some wood pave- 
ments are more slippery than others, depending upon the form 
and size of the blocks, their separate or united condition when 
laid down, their arrangement, &c. One of the firmest and least 
slippery of them that l have seen is that constituted of hexagonal 
blocks. Were the pavements kept swept clean, free from any 
coating of mud — which, after all, seems to be the slipping ma- 
terial or medium — there cannot be a doubt but that the evil 
would be greatly lessened; indeed, this has been tried and found 
well to answer, particularly when the sweeping has been fol- 
lowed by a sprinkling of fine gravel or coal-ashes; but the ex- 
pense attending this procedure requiring diurnal repetition, ap- 
pears to have operated as an insuperable objection to it. 
We are not yet, however, left without hope of something 
being invented which will enable horses to go upon wood with- 
out slipping. I see by the public papers that there is a pa- 
tent taken out, called “ Perring’s Patent,” for a plan of paving 
with wood, which, besides other advantages, possesses the super- 
eminent one of completely obviating all slipperiness and conse- 
quent danger; the mode of effecting this desirable object being 
by the introduction of interstitial pieces of wood between the 
blocks of two inches less depth than the blocks themselves, and 
thereby “ giving the horse a fulcrum at every third step, and 
complete security in his movements*.” It would be great pre- 
sumption in me to offer an opinion on a pavement I have never 
seen; but, from the description given of it in the papers, I can- 
See The Morning Post for Friday, April 14th. 
