The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1910-12-04
JOHN MACADAM,
THE ROAD BUILDER
Origin Of the Macadamized
Roads That Are Yet to Revc-
lutionize Virginia.
HOW THE FIRST WERE MADE
Interesting Letter That Goes
Back to Early Principles
in Highway Making.
HOW THE FIRST WERE MADE

The American edition of Chambers
Encyclopaedia library of Universal
Knowledge), Vol. 8, page go, caves
full account of how and when tho
government Of Great Britain obtained
good roads, designated "macadamized
roads, AS this important question Is
/ now 50 prominent before the people
of Virginia, l send you this article
for publication in The Tines Dispatch.
| John Loudon MacAdam was born in
Scotland in 1856, and passed his youth
in the United states. On his return he
was appointed manager of district
of roads in Ayrshire. and originated
and successfully practiced the system
of road-making now known By his
name. In 1919 he was summoned to
England, and was appointed by Parlia-
ment to superintend the roads in the
Bristol district, which were in most
/ deplorable condition. In 1927 he was
/ appointed general surveyor of the
Metropolitan roads, and in reward Of
his exertions to render them efficient
/ received a grant OF 10000 from the
government. His system rapidly be-
| came general throughout England, and
was also introduced into France with
great success. MacAdam died at Moi
How to Do the Work.
The principles of his system, which
| is known as macadamizing, are as fol-
| lows: For the foundation of road
| 1t is not necessary to lay substratum
of large stones, pavement, etc, as 1t
lis matter of indifference whether the
substratum be hard or soft; a3d II
! any preference is due it is to the
| latter.
| The metal for roads must consist OF
broken stones (granite, flint or whin-
stone is BY far the best). These must
| In no case exceed six ounces each in
weight, and stones of from one to two
ounces are to be preferred. The large
| stones in the road are to be loosened
and removed to the side, where they
are to be brokeninto pieces of the regu-
| lation weight, and the road is then 10
! be Smoothed with a rake so that the
! earth may settle down into the holes
| from which the large stones were .o-
I moved The broken metal is then to
be carefully spread over 1t; and as this
operation is of great Importance to the
I future quality of the road, the metal
is not to be laid O.. in shovelfuls to the
requisite depth, but to be scattered in
I shovelful after shovelful till depth
| OF from six to ten inches, according to
the quality Of the road. has been OBJ
! tanned The roae. is to have a fall from
| the middle to the sides Of about one
| foot in sixty. and bitches are to be
J dug on the field side Of the fences to
| a depth of few inches below the
\ level OF the road"
The NIacAdam Family.
I This system, which at one time
threatened to supersede every other,
lis calculated to form q hard and I'M
permeable crust on the surface, thus
4 protecting the soft earth below from
the action OF water, and so preventing
1t from working up through the metal
! in the form of mud. Strange to say,
! it has succeeded admirably in cases
| where the road had to be constructed
/ over a bog or morass.
Chambers Encyclopaedia. same page,
| contains an interesting statement
about the prefix Mac. Nc NJ to name.
Also the prefix ZAP to a name, which Is
as follows:
4! Mac, or NJ, a Gaelic prefix occurring
i Frequently In Scottish names, means
SON and is probably allied to the
4 Gothic magus a. son, a boy, the
\ feminine of which is Magaths Ger,
magd, maid). Tho root Is probably
tho Sanskrit nah, to grow tsee G.) In
| Welsh, magu means to breed, The
Welsh form of Mac is Map. shortened
into 'ap or p, as Ap Richard, whence
/, Prichard,"
For the genealogy of the MacAdam
family see Burke's Landed Gentry of
Great Britain" page 1913. for the year
1900 published in London.
THOMAS L, RRoUN.
Charleston, w. Va,