Macadamizing.
The Times, 1824-10-07T00:00:00

TO THE EDITOI OF TIIE TIMES. Sir,-Permit me, through the medium of your widely circulated and valuable journal, to cal the public attention to the alterationis Tnw going ol, called" Alacadamizing," in some of the streets of the rnwpoli t . system with which rite public in getieral seem so zuch, andt in my ht;tnble opinion, so fatally enamoured, that I can hardI$ exp~eet that any re0nark against it will imceet with any atten- n otrI am, however one of the few who (ntotwithstanding alU the Sderivesi fr-s being carried over Alacadamized streets) con- sier a little P, to the ultimate efficacy of the plait. I hare occasion Ero1 Y toys~ pass along Bishopsgate-street, where the svstem is mniull,vigour and the whole line of street from Clhamomtle-street 6pital.sqtare is !tlacadamized. If it answers in Bishopsgate- street, I am readv to admit it will answer in many of the streets in London; but I assert confidently that it will not, and in short, that it does not answer. I have frequentlv observed it after a few hours' rain one continued sea of iud the next (lay, however, may be fine, and then at this season of tite year, the road being kept by great labour constantly scraped, and with a continual sul ply, at an enor- mous exuense, of fresh stones, it is, thouigh uneven, in a tolerablv good state: but judge of tbe wear, when I assert that at the crossing from Sun-street to ULnion.street I have tnore that once observed the new stuff laid on, and the whole of it either forcel into the road, or crushed to powder by the next day: the next shower of rain con8e- qnently produces a plentitul supply of mud. I observe also that the road beingaow tolerably hard,a great proportion of the stones thrown on it are immediately crusled by the very heavy xweight passing over it; in<leed it must be obviosa to the most casual observer, that the fresh stuff cannot become solid until a sufficient proportion of it is ctusbed to btnd the rest. hlow it will answer in winter time, is yrt to be seen, though not very difficult to foretell, and is what the months of January and February next will probably de- termine. The principal objections to this new plan are therefore the great expense of keeping the streets scraped, carting away the tnud, and of providing stuff for the repairs that aTe constantly rmequired-to say nothing of the evil that wilf be occasioned by the sand and mud running into the sewers, attd the seriotis damage that uill be occasioned by opening the streets to repair waterpipes, &c. Considering the shameful state of the pavement in the principal streets of London, I am net surprised that the public should try cvery chance of gzetting something better; but how much more ad- vantageous would it be if those whiose business it is to attend to the atate of the pavement, would endeavour to discover the cause of the present evil, instead of attempting a new system tlhat in thie end will only increase expense to no good purpose: to prove this propo-stion I wil state only one fact, lately communicated to me bya friend, who, as well as myself, has taken some pains in considering the sub'ect- namely, that in one particular street in London, pavedl withi the best granite, the wear in one year is twso inches and a half on the surficeof the stones. If this ia the wear on' granite,%,what sub. stance more durable can we possibly hope to find ?' No ; the great evil which occasions the bad state of the pavement is two-fold- -first, the shape of the stones; and, secondly, the mode of placing them. In regard to the fotrner, the public mnay aest asaured that as long as the stones are formed narrower at the base tlhan at the surface (as they are at present), they must,by the continued pressure of heavy weights (the principle being that of a wedge) sink, and anereby form holes. Ir the second place, instead of fornt- ing the strect as flat as possible, the plan has F-een (though I admit it is gradually falling into disuse) to lay the pavement some. ,what in the form of an arch, the contequence of which is, that a heavy carriage 'la ixn say a coal-waggon, a tluier-crarriaMe, or a brewers dray, three fourtns or more of the entire weight is in the channel, the off wheels, comparatively speaking, sustaining .little or nenc of the weight; judge, then, of the wear on that part of the pavement. Another evil is, the quantity of grayel placed between *hc stornes. It is an eld saying with paviern, " two inches of gravel ic worth more in stone." It is one of the greatest frauds in pavinr in order to save stone. To remedy all these evils (for rely upon it they arc not without remedy), I would suggszt to the Commissioners of the diffcrent paving boards of the metropolis, that the stones should be as wide at the base as at the surface, all of a size, as near as poL ible, and in the shape of a three.quarter brick, and not less than the largest now in use; let the pavier lav as mueh gravel as he pleases on tbe ground before the stones atre laid, but let none be used on the surface, until the stones are placed ; let the stones be dressed so that the sides may present a tolerable even aurface, and let them be placed as close together at possit)le-then let fine gravel or sand be raked in rithl a small iron instrument; let the street be nearly even-i. e. a very little indeedi lower in the channels than at the crown. If these directions are followed, the attention I have bestowed on the subject convinces me that there will no longer be reason to compin of bad pavement; and the public will he relieved from the folly of r4cadamizing, as it is called, the streets of London. I remain, very respectfully vours. VIATOR. tAJUUUIJ vJLL. A. .. CA DAXMI ZIl.