No. 6. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 661 



shares of the cost of said work. After this has been done a con- 

 tract is then made between the Commonwealth and the successful 

 bidder, such bidder giving bond as required by law. Of any such 

 contract the State pays two-thirds of the amount and the county 

 and township one-sixth each. 



During the progress of the work, it is carefully inspected and 

 the final inspection is made by the State fligliway Commissioner 

 or his assistant upon completion of the work and before it is 

 accepted by the Department. 



The construction fund as provided by the act is apportioned 

 among the counties in proportion to the number of miles of town- 

 ship roads in each county. This apportionment per mile to each 

 county is a fraction over |4.58. No part of this fund passes through 

 the hands of any person connected with the Department. It re- 

 mains in the hands of the State Treasurer and is paid out by him 

 upon warrant properly drawn by the Highway Department. West- 

 moreland county has the greatest number of miles of township 

 roads, 3,64:4; York county next, with 3,598 miles, and Lancaster 

 county third with 3,143 miles. Cameron county has the least mile- 

 age, 167. The total mileage of the State is 98,123 miles of town- 

 ship roads. There are 1,101 miles of turnpike roads in the State. 



According to the square miles of area, York county has 4.1 

 miles of public roads; Lehigh county, 4.07 miles and Montgomery 

 county 4.01 miles. The distribution of the fund apportioned to 

 a county will be determined by the county commissioners. Just 

 how they will do this I cannot say, but in some cases I have sug- 

 gested that the distribution be chronologically; that is, the appli- 

 cations to be taken up in the order in which they were filed with 

 the commissioners and pushed to completion in that order. Pos- 

 sibly in some instances, the commissioners may decide that a par- 

 ticular application, owing to circumstances, may have a priority 

 over preceding ones. This will be a matter wholly for them to de- 

 cide. There is no direct apportionment by the State to a township, 

 of any part of the construction fund. The money apportioned to a 

 county remains at the disposal of that county for a period of two 

 years, and if not called for or used in the reconstruction of town- 

 ship roads within that time it is returned to the State Treasury, 

 and added to the appropriation for the current year, and distributed 

 anew among all the counties. 



The maintenance fund available each year is ten per cent, of 

 the amount appropriated and also remains in the hands of the 

 State Treasurer until paid out upon warrant of the Highway De- 

 partment. This fund is apportioned by the Stale Highway Depart- 

 ment among the townships and counties applying for the same, in 

 proportion to the mileage of improved highways made under the 



