Abstract
THE object of this book, as set out in the preface, is to give a discussion from the point of view of an engineer of the principles involved in the construction of country roads and city pavements. The contents of the book relate almost entirely to American practice, where, according to the author, 95 per cent. of the mileage of the public highways consists of earth roads, a form which has almost entirely vanished from this longer established country To the making and manufacture of earth roads the author therefore devotes a considerable part of his book; the remainder deals with roads having permanently hard surfaces used in urban and suburban districts; this part also is based on American experience, because, to use the author's words, “the principles of road making worked out in America are probably best suited to American conditions, and also because in most particulars American roads and pavements are superior to any other in the world.” Yet, notwithstanding this superiority over the rest of the world, which may be open to question, the author admits that even in America there is still room for improvement.
A Treatise on Roads and Pavements.
By Ira Osborn Baker Pp. viii + 635; with 171 illustrations. (New York: John Wiley and Sons; London: Chapman and Hall, Ltd., 1903.) Price 5 dollars.
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A Treatise on Roads and Pavements . Nature 67, 557 (1903). https://doi.org/10.1038/067557b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/067557b0