and will be the
country road of the future; yet it is also true that the most of our
highways are mere earth-roads, and will probably remain such for
many years, and it is therefore desirable that they should be
constructed as well as they can be made. It is an admitted canon of
the road-making art, that a road ought to be so hard and smooth that
wheels will roll easily over it and not sink into it, so dry and
compact that rain will not affect it beyond making it dirty, and its
component parts so firmly moulded together that the sun cannot
convert them into deep dust. Therefore the travelled part of an
earth-road should not be composed of loam fertile enough for a
corn-field, nor of sand deep enough for a beach. If the road runs
through sandy land, it can be greatly and cheaply improved by
covering it with a few inches of clayish soil; and if it runs
through clayey land, a similar application of sand will be
beneficial. A gravelly soil is usually the best material for an
earth-road, and when practicable every such road should be covered
with a coating of it. The larger gravel, however, should never be
placed at the bottom and the smaller at the top, as the frost and
the vehicles will cause the large gravel to rise and the small to
descend, like the materials in a shaken sieve, and the road will
never become smooth and hard.

CHAPTER IV.

REPAIRS.

After a road is located and constructed, economy as well as public
convenience demands that it be kept in good condition the year
round. If a road is allowed to go for several months at a time
without repairs, ruts and holes are likely to form on its surface,
and frequently the middle becomes lower than the sides. Then, in
order to put it in good condition again, a great deal of work and
expense are necessary, whereas if every break is repaired
immediately, much less labor and expense are required to keep up the
road for the same length of time, besides the increased advantage
and convenience of a good road from day to day.

No doubt our roads could be kept in better condition than at present
without any additional expense, by the application of good sense and
business principles in their management. The present system in
nearly all our country towns consists in dividing up the roads into
districts, and appointing a highway surveyor for each district, with
a stated allowance of money to expend on repairs; and sometimes the
tax-payer residing in the district has