Page:Historic highways of America (Volume 15).djvu/156

 barrows or from wagons, and should be distributed broadcast over the surface with shovels, and all inequalities leveled up by the use of rakes. If this method of spreading is employed, grade stakes should be used so as to insure a uniformity of thickness. After the stakes are driven the height of the layer is marked on their sides, and if thought necessary a piece of stout cord is stretched from stake to stake, showing the exact height to which the layer should be spread. Spreading carts have been recently invented which not only place the stone where it is needed without the use of shovels, but spread it on in layers of any desired thickness and at the same time several inches wider than the carts themselves.

If the stones have been separated into two or three different sizes, the largest size should compose the bottom layer, the next size the second layer, etc. The surface of each course or layer should be thoroughly and repeatedly rolled and sprinkled until it becomes firm, compact, and smooth. The first layer, however, should not be sprinkled, as the water is liable to soften