PARK AND CEMETERY. 
2 33 
ROAD MAKING. 
At a recent meeting of the Engineers’ Club of Phila- 
delphia, Mr. Benjamin Franklin read a paper on “Some 
Features of Stone Road Construction” which led to a 
spirited discussion between the advocates of the rival 
systems of Telford and Macadam. The following ab- 
stract of the discussion is gathered from the Philadel- 
phia Public Ledger-. 
Mr. Franklin is an advocate of macadam roads, and 
the great point of his paper was that such roads can be 
constructed at a low cost in comparison wi h Telford 
roads, especially in sections where stone is not plentiful. 
He gave examples of macadam roads with only four in- 
ches in depth < f material, which had worn well for six 
years without wearing into ruts, the foundation being 
coarse sand and fine gravel. He deprecated the use of 
clay in any proportion in any part of the structure. 
Sand and gravel would not shift, but clay permits the 
metal, or stony material, to shift its position under the 
pressure of traffic, whether it is used as a binder on the 
surface or in the foundation. Good drainage of the 
foundation and rolling the bed upon which the road is 
to be laid to a uniform consistency are essentials in all 
road building. 
Upon the foundation of sand and gravel Mr. Frank- 
lin would use a layer of trap rock, like Bergen stone, 
broken into three-quarter inch cubes. Upon this he 
puts a surface dressing of stone dust or screenings. Each 
layer is compacted with a heavy iron roller weighing 
from ten to fifteen tons, the layers being meanwhile kept 
wet with a sprinkler. He also has the road well sprin- 
kled for some months after it goes into service. Roads 
of from four to eight inches in depth can thus be built 
throughout a section where the more expensive system 
would not be undertaken. 
Thomas G. Janvier, who is a strong advocate of the 
Telford system of road-making, pointed to the roads in 
Delaware county, Pa., constructed under his specifica- 
tions and supervision as proof of their superiority. He 
believed in a certain proportion of clay as a binder. 
The chief advantage of the Telford, in his opinion, is in 
the foundation, which consists of stones eight or ten in- 
ches long, laid upon a well-rolled bed, in regular rows 
across the road, the ^ame as Belgian blocks are laid, the 
interstices closely chinked with stone chips and the sur- 
face made perfectly even. Upon this is placed a layer 
of three-quarter inch trap rock, covered with a dressing 
of clay, stone screenings and dust. A road so constructed 
in Delaware county, with an eight-inch foundation, four- 
inch layer of trap rock and surface dressed, cost 65 cents 
a square yard; it used to cost from 90 cents to $1.10. 
The other engineers who took part in the discussion 
on one side or the other pointed out that, while first-class 
roads could be made by either method, care in the se- 
lection of the material and in the details of construction 
were really the chief elements in the problem. 
Mr. Schermerhorn, who said he introduced the first 
road roller into this country in 1862, thought the dis- 
putes about the value of the two kinds of roads had 
arisen largely from the fact that what were called Maca- 
dam and Telford roads in this country were very differ- 
ent from the solid construction seen in Scotland, where 
these systems originated. He then described the roads, 
fifteen inches deep, which he had seen there, and in com- 
parison with them the roads which were called Telford 
that were laid in Gentral and Prospect Parks, New York, 
twenty years ago. In the latter place the stones, of all 
sizes, were dumped upon the road bed and clawed over. 
This formed the foundation, very inferior indeed to the 
careful selection of stone by sizes, chinked by granite 
chips, and surfaced with broken flint and trap rock, 
which he had seen in Scotland. Fie believed the great 
advantage of the Telford to lie in the better distribution 
of weight which the large bottom stones afforded. 
Other speakers called attention to the great differ- 
ence existing between stones of the same name in their 
physical characteristics while chemically they were much 
the same. Dr. Leffman showed some lantern slides ill- 
ustrating the construction of the old Roman roads, 
“built to last forever,” which showed that, however 
much the officials of the Empire may have been cor- 
rupted, their public works were a credit to them. 
Much credit was given by the members to wheelmen 
for their agitation of the subject of good roads and for 
the success which has attended their efforts. 
A good remedy for killing out the cut worms in the 
garden is to make up a mixture consisting of a quantity 
of bran or cornmeal moistened with water, to which is 
added a little Paris green and a little molasses or sugar, 
to give a sweetish taste. It is Paris green that kills the 
worms, and this should be very thoroughly mixed with 
the bran, so as to have a uniform mixture. A spoonful 
of this mixture should be placed near the plants just be- 
fore night on the day the plants are set out. The cut 
worms work at night, and will be killed by eating of the 
poisoned mixture. It is much better, however, to place 
the mixture about in various parts of a field a few days 
before planting, as it will then kill off the worms before 
any damage is done. — The Minnesota Horticulturist. 
* * * 
Every lover of art knows of the celebrated works of 
Meissonier, the painter. Now Meissonier not only could 
paint, but he could tell a good story, and he was espe- 
cially fond of relating this little anecdote of his gar- 
dener, whose horticultural erudition was remarkable. A 
smattering of learning is a dangerous thing, and Meis- 
sonier’s gardener had a little knowledge of the Latin 
tongue, which he was fond of using to name his differ- 
ent plants. Meissonier for a long time was skeptical of 
the correctness of his gardener’s Latin, so one day he 
set a trap tor him by giving him the roe of a red herring 
and asking what seed it was. Without hesitating the 
gardener gave it a long Latin name, and promised that 
it would bloom in about three weeks. Meissonier 
chuckled to himself, and agreed to inspect the blooms 
in three weeks or more. When the time came the 
painter questioned his learned horticulturist about it, 
and that party led him into the hot house to an enor- 
mous flower-pot. There, sure enough, were the blooms 
in the nature of the heads of six red herrings just 
emerging from the dirt in the pot. Meissonier breathed 
a deep sigh, and shook his gardener’s hand, exclaiming: 
“What a wonderful man you ar PP— Harper' s Round 
Table. 
