FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY 
iL>i 
ing, to result in the proper finishd thick¬ 
ness in the center and at the sides. It 
is then carefully surfaced. If shell is 
used, it breaks down under treatment, 
and ultimately cements into a firm mass. 
In using clay, the last feature of the 
work is a thorough sanding, which im¬ 
proves the surface and prevents rapid 
washing. Some shell road has been 
built, but the good road of the county 
is the clay road; and the clays here found 
and used are exceptionally well adapted 
for such purposes. They are really 
what are scientifically known as “sand- 
rocks,” containing seventy-five per cent, 
of white sand, resembling sugar, inti¬ 
mately mixed with the clay. They vary 
in color from white to dark red, and 
stand exposure to various seasons, both 
wet and dry, better than anything simi¬ 
lar with which the writer is acquainted. 
Their use has really transformed the 
county roads and they have rendered a 
great service to the community. The 
roads in Orange are ten feet wide, filled 
in six inches at the sides, and eight to 
ten inches in the center when finished. 
DIFFERENT MATERIALS USED. 
Shell road costs $1,000 to $1,100; clay 
road, about $700 per mile. In going' 
through flatwoods sections the roads are 
finished and surfaced with the heavy top 
soil; shallow ditches are dug; the ma¬ 
terial is thrown into the center and sub¬ 
sequently dressed into shape; this costs 
about $200 per mile. In some places 
where improved roads are not to be built 
immediately a simple grubbing out of 
palmetto roots in flatwoods sections is 
a great help, as the suface is usually hard 
enough to afford quick travel. Such 
grubbing can be done for about $50 per 
mile. The dominant idea in Orange 
is to get a road through in good shape 
and add any further improvements later 
on. 
In Volusia improved roads have been 
built to some extent. Shell and pine- 
straw are used. The finished road is 
eight or ten feet wide with side depths 
of six to eight inches and a center depth 
of eight to ten inches. Shell road costs 
about $600 per mile and pine-straw, 
where used, about $40 per mile. Pine- 
straw is an excellent material for light 
travel; it lasts about a year on a moder¬ 
ately frequented road and then is run 
down in such a way as to afford an elas¬ 
tic basis for new straw, better than one 
could make purposely. Roads finished 
with it should be carefully “scalped” 
over new ground, since grass tussocks 
underneath do not crush much, and re- 
maining hard make the road uneven and 
uncomfortable. Pine-straw is a great 
improvement where nothing more sub¬ 
stantial is immediately available. Its 
principal weaknes is its combustible na¬ 
ture, and roads finished with it must be 
carefully guarded. 
MATTERS OF DETAIL. 
In making good roads in Florida, as 
elsewhere, it is best to make them as 
nearly level as practicable, to follow 
around hills if it can be done, rather 
than build on steep grades, which adds 
so much to the draught. It is advised 
that, as a grade of one foot in thirty- 
five is the steepest down which a 
horse can safely be driven rapidly, this 
rate should be kept in view, and not 
more than doubled in the degree of the 
slope. That is to say, one foot in thirty- 
five is about 151 feet per mile; a slope 
