198 BOAKD OF AGRICULTURE. 



downpour of rain and the, ebbing and flowing winds that threatened at 

 times to X'eacli cyclonic proportions, must liave been as productive of 

 transient piety as an ordinurj' protracted meeting. Be tliat as it ma}-, it 

 certainly furnished an object lesson such as ought not soon be forgotten. 

 In many counties of our State, and in other States, the morning light 

 revealed such a scene of havoc wrought by tlie floods of the previous 

 night as afforded the most conclusive evidence of tlie puerility of our road- 

 malving and carried conviction to the mind of the immediate necessity for 

 a radical change in means and mode of construction. Here, the grade 

 had been reduced to a level A\-itli tlie ditch; yonder, the torrents had cut 

 their way through in numerous places; beyond these, a great gap showed 

 where culvert or bridge hnd l)een torn out and swept away, thus demon- 

 strating that there had been no adequate calculation of the area of water- 

 shed drained into these, and, in some instances, that the water approaches 

 were poorly constructed. The damage was so great that for several days 

 travel and traffic were reduced to the most primitive forms and propor- 

 tions. In lieu of the occasional dust-covered and begoggled chauffeur, 

 dashing tlirough the lloclvS of the farmer, leaving in liis waive a whirl of 

 featliers and hair, and causing the family carriage mare, jogging com- 

 fortably along, to rear and tumble into the ditch; in lieu of the endless 

 procession of wagons, carriages, buggies and carts, tlie roads Avore an 

 aspect of loneliness that Avas peculiar and striking, broken now and then 

 by a figure upon horseback picking liis way carefully along, reminding 

 one forcibly of tlie days of our fathers, Avhen the roadbed in wet weather 

 was a "slough of despond," and tlie only firm ground was tlie path at 

 the side. It was many days ere the roads were restored to not quite 

 so good a condition as they were; how many thousand dollars were ex- 

 pended therein lias not yet been sliown. But storms sucli as that de- 

 sci'ibed are by no means the only cause of deterioration; heavy loads, with 

 no corresponding Avidth of tiro; ruts which are not filled at once, but al- 

 loAA'od to fill Avith AA'ater Avhich stands until passing wheels cut through, 

 and, above all, the miserable habit of scraping soil and sod iipon the 

 roadbed, the very material wliich the European mender of roads is so 

 careful to tliroAV away — these all conspire to undo the Avork of the pre- 

 vious year. Year after year these so-called repairs are made, Avliich serve 

 at best but to put the roads in their former condition, or occasionally, AAiien 

 tlie management is paticularly bad, the former standard is not maintained, 

 but alAA-ays a large sum of money is expended Avitli but little to show for 

 it but teiniiorary structures, Avhich one year of absolute neglect would 

 ;iliii()st ol)litci';iU'. INIany of our roads are no belter thnn they Averi' a 

 (piarter of a century since, nor does it appear that a half century of such 

 construction and maintenance Avill improve tlie situation so long as boards 

 of directors, superinteiideiits and supervisors are left Avithout mathem.-iti- 

 cally correct plans and specifications Avhich must be strictly adhered to. 

 So long as these have no model of any kind before them save that handed 



