THE HANDY MAN’S CORNER.

Otago Witness, Issue 3806, 22 February 1927, Page 10

THE HANDY MAN’S CORNER.

MAKING A GARDEN PATH.

(Special.—Fob the Witness.)

■ Many materials are available for path making, ranging from quarry stone to ;• cinders, concrete, brick, or tiles. All have their virtues and disadvantages, not the least 1 being the considerable first cost, which in the case of stone or brick is a substantial item. For many purposes a good gravel or cinder path is quite appropriate, and well drained will dry up quickly after rain. One of the cheapest practicable paths can be made from a combination of gravel and a suitable hard core or bottom. The latter can be made of old broken brick, small pieces of stone, pebbles or the like, while the addition of old tin cans, broken bottles, and other hard rubbish is often definitely useful at bottom of a path. Any such rubbish must be quite free from any suggestion of decaying vegetable matter or anything of that kind. It is a good plan, therefore, to burn this class of rubbish before using it in any way. In many districts it is possible to obtain boiler ashes and clinkers from local factories at a low cost, and in brick districts, burr’s and imperfect bricks can be purchased cheaply. The essential requirement in any case is clean hard material that can be. broken into comparatively small pieces, the largest about the size of an orange, grading downwards to quite fine stuff about the size of a pea. First prepare sufficient of the material by breaking the large pieces, and sifting or screening out the finer, making three large heaps, one of large or coarse stuff, CCT THIS OUT: Subject <

one of medium, and one of fine. It is 1 usual in many districts to purchase hard core by the yard, which gives you enough material to fill a box 3ft square and 3ft deep—that is 27 cubic feet. As a guide to the quantity needed multiply the length of the path in'feet by the width in feet, and then multiply this product by the

depth of the path in feet. Dividing this result by 27 will give the answer in yards. The depth of the path will be determined by the nature of the soil, and it this is very hard jt need not exceed 3in to 4in. In soft and yielding soils a depth of 6in to Sin is necessary. On clay soils a depth of about 6in is ample, >f Next Week’s Article: —“MAKING AN

and the hard core can be made on the spot by excavating sufficient solid clay from the site and burning it thoroughly. This is done by building up a pile of brushwood or the like with a little coal, and heaping the clay over and around it. Leave a small opening near the top and another" at the bottoift. The lower opening is filled with dry kindling connecting with the "central fuel. Light up the fire, and when well alight close in the top and bottom holes and leave it to burn out — an operation which should take several weeks. Sift out the powdery stuff and use the hard baked clay as hard core. The operations involved in path making are simple; first mark out the site with pegs and lines as in Fig. 1, and then excavate to the required depth. If there are any hollow places in the length of the path liable to retain water, cut grips or side trenches as in Fig. 2, and lay a few plain agricultural drain pipes. Add the side boards or edging if desired (as in Fig. 3), and then spread a good layer of hard core. Ram this well down and add a layer of medium stuff and well rake and roll it to a fair surface. Let the path settle for a few days, watering it if dry, and then spread the fine stuff on the’ top. Rake and roll it thoroughly, using plenty of water, and making a I good camber by the use of a curved guide I or camber board as shown in Fig. 4. This will ensure a compact and durable path. ELECTRIC PENDANT.”