746 ANNUAL REPORTS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



Under the last item special mention should be made of the four fol- 

 lowing contemplated roads: 



(1) Portions of the Memphis-to-Bristol Highway, in Tennessee, 

 approximately 540 miles. 



(2) A portion of the Central Highway in Carteret County, N. C, 

 running irom Beaufort to Craven County line, approximately 15 

 miles. 



(3) A portion of the Charlotte-Wilmington Highway, in Colum- 

 bus and Kobeson Counties, N. C., approximately 95 miles. 



(4) A portion of the route from Omaha, Nebr., to Julesburg, Colo., 

 in Merrick County, approximately 50 miles. 



Si)ecial surveys were made during the year in the following States: 

 North Carolina, 2; Florida, 1; Tennessee, 2; and Nebraska, 1. 



This branch of the work is constantly growing in importance. 

 The staff of engineers, chemists, and experts of the office is develop- 

 ing into an effective corps of consulting specialists capable of offer- 

 ing reliable and effective advice concerning difficult and special prob- 

 lems which are not easily handled by local authorities. In this con- 

 nection the work done in the State of Louisiana deserves special 

 mention. Beginning with the construction of 16,200 feet of road 

 at Pineville, in 1909, this office has been of assistance on roads in no 

 less than 20 parishes, and there has developed in the State a senti- 

 ment for good roads sufficient to cause the enactment of a State high- 

 way law which provides for a State highway engineer. This law 

 places funds derived from a half-mill tax on all property, approxi- 

 mately $132,354 annually, for use in the construction of roads, on 

 which the various parishes pay one-half the cost. The State law 

 also provides for the use of State prisoners and sets aside the surplus 

 revenue from the oyster and fish and game commissions for use in 

 road construction. 



It is also a source of satisfaction to this office that the State of 

 Alabama has established a State highway commission and State 

 highway engineer, with an annual appropriation of $154,000 for 

 building roads. 



MODEL SYSTEMS— CONSTRUCTION, MAINTENANCE, AND ADMINIS- 

 TRATION. 



Mobile, Ala. — From January 18, 1911, to March 6, 1911, an en- 

 gineer from this office made a thorough study of the roads in Mobile 

 County, and in particular of the roads under county supervision in 

 the city of Mobile. Special attention was given to roads lying within 

 the recently extended boundaries of the city. Mobile County has an 

 area of 1,300 square miles and a total of about 2,000 miles of roads, 

 about 1,200 of which are maintained as public roads. Except for 

 a few miles of old shell roads around Mobile and the coast towns to 

 the south, there are no improved roads, though the county is one of 

 the most important in the State. A road map of the country was 

 prepared and a general study of the topography, drainage, and super- 

 ficial geology was undertaken. Recommendations based upon an 

 analysis of the data obtained included suggestions for the develop- 

 ment of park systems about the city of Mobile, the management of 

 streets in the city subdivisions, and the treatment of bridges erected 

 previous to 1900. Positive recommendations were submitted con- 



