s
condition can be greatly improved and sometimes perfected by simply
providing proper drainage for it. It is not sufficient to have
ditches on each side of the road; for if the water stands in them it
is liable to make the road muddy and to weaken its substratum. The
ditches themselves should be thoroughly drained, and all the water
which accumulates in them should be carried into the natural
watercourses of the country, or at any rate beyond the limits of the
highway.

Every carriage-road ought to be wide enough at nearly all points to
allow two vehicles to pass each other in safety. Whether it should
be wider than that depends upon its location and its importance as a
public thoroughfare. Any unnecessary width should be avoided, except
on pleasure and showy boulevards, because thereby land is wasted,
and labor and cost in construction and repair are increased. All
important highways should be wide enough to admit of footpaths five
or six feet wide on each side, and of a macadamized or travelled way
commensurate to the public traffic thereon.

If a road is to be made wider than two vehicles require, it should
be made wide enough to accommodate one or more vehicles; for any
intermediate width causes unequal and excessive wear, and therefore
is false economy.

The road-bed should generally be raised above the level of the
surrounding land, in order that it may be as free as possible from
water; and it should "crown" sufficiently to allow all the surface
water, to find its way quickly into the side ditches. If it is not
crowned enough, it soon becomes hollow, and therefore either muddy
or dusty, and in times of heavy rains or thaws the water stands or
flows in the middle of the road. If it is crowned too much, the
drivers of vehicles will seek the middle of the road in order to
keep their vehicles in level positions, and consequently the
excessive travel in one part of the road soon wears it into ruts in
which water accumulates, and carriages in meeting are forced to
travel on a side hill, which causes unnecessary wear to the road by
sliding down towards the ditches. This sliding tendency greatly
augments the labor of the horses and the wear and tear of the
carriages. Evidently, then, the wise course to pursue in the matter
of crowning the road is to hit the golden mean. Much of success in
life depends upon striking the golden mean, for human experience
teaches that those who follow in this pathway are apt to find