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. Another proposal for obviating this evil, has appeared in theScots Farmer’s Magazine, of laying the whole track, where thewheels move, with solid blocks of whinstone, supported by ma-sonry. In soils of clay, Mr Beatson proposes a road made per-fectly level on the surface, as best adapted for such a situation,and which would, of course, preveiH any tendency to one par-ticular track. The enclosures on the road-side must be madewith the ditch towards the field, and the hedge or paling to-wards the road. The road is then formed of two inclined planes,meeting in the middle of the road, of strong clay, with smallconduits at short distances, from the small inner ditches alongthe sides of the road, to the outward ditches. The road beingthen consolidated by rolling, the whole is covered, and broughtto a level with sand, rising some inches above the crown of theroad. A stratum of broken stones, of six inches thick, is laidabove the sand. The water, percolating through the upper ma-terials and sand to the clay below, is, by the shape of the' clay,thrown into the outward ditches, by the small conduits. Everypart of this road being equally travellable, it could admit of be-log made of less breadth.
Perhaps the only good rule for keeping roads in repair, is toleep up a constant stock of materials and labourers; and, thatthe expense may be. more easily afforded, never to make twotoads where one might serve both purposes.
The expense of road-making must vary, to the greatest a-mount, in consideration of the wide differences of local cir-cumstances. The road in Berwickshire, already alluded to,'including expense of bridges, and of compensations for da-»ige done to private property, is stated at 1000/. per mile.In the shires of Ross and Cromarty, the statement is 250/. permile, owing, it is said, to the number of bridges requisite, al-though, from the economy necessary, the roads are made onlyfifteen feet in width. In Galloway, the expense is stated at 100?.ptr mile for toll, and 50/. for by-foads, seemingly without in-cluding expense of bridges, one of which, thrown over the DeentTenglandin 1808, consisting of a centre arch of 11 O' feet span,and three Gothic ones on each side, to bring the road to its le-'A cost 7350/. This is probably the largest arch in Scotland ,“weeding the one over Tweed, at the foot of Leader Water, byfite feet of span.
Dr Adam Smith (Wealth of Nations, Book V. Cb. i. PartS.)states, that the revenue from tolls, after upholding the roads,“ad been held in contemplation by some ministers of state, as aresource that might, some time or other, be applied to the exi-gencies of the state, without burdening the people ; particularly,as the repairs might be executed by Government at small ex-pense, by employing the military, upon a small increase to their
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