In speaking of the slop: of a bank, the expression 1 in 14 means that the slope is in the proportion of a rise of 1 vertical for a distance of 1 1/2 horizontal; thus, if the bank is 10ft. high with a slope of li to 1, or 1 in 1 1/2 the width at base will be 15ft For sloping walls the slope is called a batter; thus the steepest bank being, say,1/2 to 1, a wall at the same angle would be said to batter (5 in. per foot, meaning that the top is set back 6 in. for every lit. in height. A gradient is a very flat slope such as the longitudinal surface section of a road or railway, where the gradient may be from 1 in 30 in the former case, to 1 in 2,000 in the Litter, meaning 1 vertical to 30 or 2,000 horizontal.