754 ANNUAL REPORTS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



for each five-year period, in order to show the progress which is being 

 made in each county in the United States. 



The cost data contained in Bulletin No. 41 are the first which have 

 been collected and published by the office, and it is believed that this 

 information will be of great interest and value to road builders 

 throughout the country. 



According to the 1904 statistics there were 2,151,379 miles of public 

 roads in the United States, not including Alaska and insular pos- 

 sessions, but, according to the 1909 figures, there were 2,199,387 miles. 

 In 1904, 153,531 miles of roads were reported as improved, but in 

 1909 there were 190,407 miles improved. In other words, the per- 

 centage of all roads improved has increased from 7.14 per cent in 

 1904 to 8.66 per cent in 1909. The improved-road classification in- 

 cludes only such roads as have been properly graded, drained, and 

 surfaced with hard material, such as stone, gravel, sand-clay, brick, 

 shell, slag, etc., as well as those which have been surfaced with hard 

 materials and treated with bituminous preparations. 



During the spring of 1910 an investigation was begun to ascertain 

 the economic effect of road improvement upon communities. In this 

 work counties were selected in w^hich the roads were exceedingly bad 

 and in which bonds had been issued for the purpose of improving the 

 main roads. A preliminary stud}^ of these counties was made after 

 the bonds had been issued and the roads selected, but before the actual 

 work of improvement had begun. The amount of bonds issued and 

 the names of the counties included in this investigation are as follows: 

 Spottsylvania County, Va., $100,000; Dinwiddie County, Va., $105,- 

 000 ; Lee County, Va., $364,000 ; Wise County, Va., $700,000 ; Lexing- 

 ton Township, Davidson Countv, N. C., $100,000; Beat No. 1, Lauder- 

 dale County, Miss., $200,000; Eussell County, Ala., $100,000; Dallas 

 County, Ala., $250,000; Manatee County, Fla., $250,000; Wood Town- 

 ship, Clark County, Ind., $10,000; Eiverton Township, Mason County, 

 Mich., $20,000. The total amount of bonds issued in these counties 

 is $2,268,120. _ 



A personal investigation and study is to be made in each of these 

 counties and townships each year until the roads have been improved, 

 and until the beneficial effects from such improvement can be clearly 

 ascertained. The results already accomplished indicate that the 

 final report on this project will be a powerful argument for road 

 improvement. 



Reports received from the principal shipping points in most of 

 these counties indicate that the incoming shipments of farm produce 

 far exceed the outgoing shipments. At the county seat, which is the 

 principal shipping point of one of these counties, the incoming ship- 

 ments of farm produce, as ascertained from the railroad company, 

 in 1909 were 13,042,803 pounds, while the outgoing shipments were 

 only 4,434,380 pounds. At another point in one of those counties 

 the incoming shipments of farm produce during 1910 amounted to 

 13,120,986 pounds, while the outgoing shipments amounted to only 

 1,471,937 pounds. At the principal shipping point in another 

 county the incoming shipments amounted to 8,262,724 pounds, while 

 the outgoing shipments were 1,200,704 pounds. 



