The Arkansas banner., 1849-11-06
nm RnanS.

NUHEU EHf11YNEto4e 10EH Itui and aince that 509 miles nf them have heen ihete bait, Ih the Uniisd States. tbe one from Syracuse to CanlfAs Sqnars, New York, led t,e way being Gniatad tm July. Icl6; aud its great success has alfsaag eansed the construction Of or So0 miles tn flis stAie, nnd ihe projection Of twice as nany raars ia t. and in New Jersey, Ohio, Michigan WiacnnsEn, Nc
 ft si.s mos. aemssally approved system. two par allsl rows cf sial sticks of timber scailed tndit- fetemty sieepsrs sriBqrs. stsI are irnbedded ii the road, sr feet apart PinHks, feet fong aud 2 or inches thick, are laid upoa ihese sticks. across ille,n, al right angles to their direction aldo track Of earth, 10 turn ea up0By s carefully rrndea. Deep ditcies are dug each side, to rn- sure perfect drsiaage; and thus is formed Plank Road.
 k.ariao hem oat In laying out plank road, H s Indispensable. ih order to secure all the besehis which ean be derived from it 10 syofd or cut dowa hli stsSp escents A veFy sh0rt yfise, of even eiderable steepness, may however. be allowed to main to save expense; since horse csn. for shnf lime pat forth extra exertioB to overcome such increased resistnuce and the danger ot sliPpiBg Is avoided by desceudiag upon the caFthern track.
 doHble plank track wil rarely be necessary No one without experience in the matter credit the amount of travel which such irack eosIsnsannie. Over a single track, near Syracuse. l6l ,0tD teams passed In two years, averaging over 290 teas per dsy, and dnriug three days I2b passed daily. Inc eartnern turnout track must, how ever. be kept iu good order and this Is easy, it slopes eff properly to the ditch, for il is not cn with any coaii1uous lengthwise rnls, hat Is only passed over by the wheels of the wagcOs which turn ofF from the truck, aSd return 10 1t. They thus move in curves, which would very rarely exactly hit cech other and this travel. being spread nearly uniformly over the esrsh teus to keep it in shape rather than to disturb fl.
 Gepertng --The blanks having been properly laid, as has been directed. should be covered over one iBch in thickness witk very siue gravel, or sand, from which aii sioues or pebbles are to be raked, so as te leave nothing upon The surface o the road that could be forced i1to and lnlurc the flores ef tho piaaks. 1he grit of tie sand soon penetrates into the grain of lie wood ant combines witi the flores, and lhe dreppings upon the road to form hard and tough covering like felt, which greatly protects the wood from the wheels an horses shoes. Saw dust and tan bark have also been used The road Is now ready for use.
 Loyag.--Ths piaaks should be laid directly across the road, right angles, "square, 10 it's Nttne. The ends of the blanks not laid evenly to line. tut project or inches on each side of the ptauk track, and to make it easier for loaded wag0ps to get upon It. as the wheels, instead of scrapiHy along the ends of the blanks. when com isg towards the track cbiiquey after turning off. will, ,en coming square upon the edge of one o these projecting planks, rise directly upon II. On the Canadian Fosas, every three blanks project , Inches on each side of ile road alternately.
 Cosl.--1hc Svracase and Centre Square plank roed miles. cost Si ,4S7 per mile, with lu,nbcr as S % per M. It has single feet track, ex- cept over few spots of yielding ssind. The Rome and Osw~go road, c. miles, cost sSe,0o0, or about Si ,300 per mile; lumber costing from I 10 $ per M u is of 5 feet hcmiock piank, to inches thick, with grades cut down to in 2I near Rome, and at the western end, where il is mora h'liy, b In I6I5. The Utca northern road, 22 miles, cost $l2 5O1, tb~sides SS,0o0 for right Of way a iarupIke.) being nearly S2,010 per mile. miles being a ney line cut through woods, at an extra cost for clearing S50D per mile. Deduct this, and the average cost would be nbout $l 300 per mile. A short road near Detroit, feet wide. laid on unveiled roadway, cost. with lumber at $6 per NJ Sl ,501 per mile
 Durability "A plank road may require renewal eihes because il has teen orD out at top by lhe travel upon it. or because it has been destroyed al bottom by rot. But, H the road have travel enough to make tt profitable 10 it's builders, it will ou first; aad if Il does so, it will have earned abun- < daniiy enough to replace l. twics over, ns sha see presently. The liability to decay Is therefore secondary consideration in roads Of importance.
 Wear.-The actual wear s of course proportioneC 10 the amount of travel he most definite resuit' have been obtained the first New York road that from Syracuse to CeRtrsl Square. In its frs two years. eadlhg July, lS4s. more than I6O,Uot teams passed over it's first miles. The travel wor, It's keHtoek plank down iHeh where they hae mol been hoated. Another inch could be worn dowr before Iho projections of the knots would make i necessary to relay the road. so that t would hay, borne the passage Of 2D,O00 teams But this Is aI tnnder-estnlaie, inasmacl iie wear and tear 0 the first year is mere than that of several follow ing, since the first travel upon the road tears off t outer splnters and hbers crosscut by tc saw while Inc coating subsequently, formed protects tn, plank from wear. Upon Canadian piae road, tra. veled over by at least loo two-Eorse per day (50,0O0 per year, tue road had wora down, iH Two years, one-qaaricr of an inch; and this, too, wa, attributed cheIiy to it's exposure the rsi year with ont sanding. IL vas estimated that sanded plank ou this road would wear at least 10 year. Oak would Of course wear longer
 Decay.-As 10 the natural decay. no hemlock road has as yet been in use long enough to deter mine how long the plank be preserved from rot Seven years Is, perhaps, fair average. Different species of emlock vary greatly. and upland timber is always more durable than that from low and localities The pine Toads in Canada generally last about years, varying from 10 l2. The original Toronto wood was used c isfly by teams hauiiBg steamboat wood, and al the end OI years began to break through in places, aad, not being Tepaired was principally gone al tue end oI 10 years. Hay- Ing been poorly built, badly drained, not sauded and no bestowed uPon it il indicates the mini mum of durability. Oak plank cross walks In IJe. tfoi, the pank being flat the groand, have las. ted two or three times as long those of piae. It is believed that oak plaHk, well laid, woaid last al least l2 i5 years. One set of si, e!ers iii two psankings. Several Cabada roads have bee Il reiaid upon the seepers, thus much lcsseniag the cost ef renewal.
 Canadisa Engineer thinks that $20 per m;lt would be required the hs, year. 10 restore grade where it had settled, 10 fasieH loose plank, sc FOi the next five years, SiO per mile; and thea there would bc some ptanks Io be replaced The repairs would tlen increase so us to athouat to a renewal of the sutfaee at the end of four years more, ma klng ten for the age of tho road.
 Adsanfsges.--Piankr roads the Jaylner's rail yaads. He profits most by tseir construction. al though al classes ot the cemmaai,y are beneIittea by asly such improvements. The peculiar meriI o plank roads is. that hr great elimination cl trietiol upon them makes them more akin to railroads lhal 10 common roads, with the advantage railroad. that every oae can drive his own way upon them Their aayaatnges naturally divide ths;nseives into two classes: their utility to the community al large and their profits to lhe stockholders who build lhem
 !. To iAe Csa.aaaaifg. Taking as our standard of cosaparison ihe load which horse can draw on I-.... G.La .L..L L... =.