OFFICE OF PUBLIC ROAD INQUIRIES. 818 



valley, and the remainder on a hill or slope. This section of the State is underlaid 

 by rotten limestone TOO feet thick. The surface is a stiff calcareous clay that gets 

 very soft and muddy in the winter. The top of the hill was cut down about 18 

 inches, and the soil and clay carried in wheel scrapers to the valley, where the 

 road was raised about 18 inches. Sewer pipe was put across the road at three 

 points to allow the water to cross from the iii)per to the lower side. At two places 

 the sewer pipe is 12 inches in diameter and at the other 24 inches. The roadlied 

 was properly shaped and rolled, after which it was surfaced with ii or 6 inches of 

 sand gravel, gotten at Columbus, Miss., in the valley of the Tombigbee River. 

 On account of a recent overflow of the river depositing sand in the pit, the gravel 

 was not as good as we had previously gotten from the same pit. After using the 

 road a while some cinders from the power-house boilers were put on the surface. 

 The road is a fairly good one, but not the best. 



The gravel cost $5 a car (each car containing about 10 yards) delivered on the 

 side track at the college. Labor cost 60 cents a day for grown men. College 

 teams were used for the work. The items of cost are as follows: 



Gravel $125.00 



Sewer pipe . . . 35. 80 



Labor 74. 99 



Total -.._ 235.79 



Since this object-lesson road was built the station has issued a bulletin on Earth 

 Roads, and a great many counties have adopted the contract system for working 

 the public highways. — W. L. Hutchinson, Director llississijijJi Agricultural 

 College. 



The object-lesson road built by your Department has been seed sown in good 

 soil. I think it was the first object-lesson road built in Maryland, and it has 

 proven a great and good lesson to oiir people. I am sure no other plan could 

 teach the road oflBcials of our State so valuable a lesson in so short a time. 

 The road was built in a much-traveled section between Fork and Bradshaw, 

 Baltimore County, where much heavy hauling is done — as much as 5 tons being 

 carried upon one wagon with a 3^ -inch tire. It was built by your Office and 

 abandoned by the road mender to go down. While in construction there was held 

 a State "good-roads day."' July 30, 1898. Since then not one cent has been put 

 upon it, not even to clean out the side drains nor pick vip the few loose stones 

 coming to the surface by constant wear and hard rains. Few persons expected it 

 to be permanent, as your road engineer, the late Mr. E. G. Harrison, used only 

 about 8 inches of stone, while the road previously built was from 14 to 24 inches. 

 It was watched by those interested in good roads, and when they found that it 

 stood the test our people began imitating it. While many of the roads are not 

 constructed entirely upon your plans, they are greatly improved over the old sys- 

 tem used before yoii built the object-lesson road. I feel that the building of this 

 road and the good roads convention held had a great deal to do with bringing 

 about our present good roads law in Baltimore County. — Walter P. Reckord, 

 Reckord. Md. 



PLANS FOR 1902-1903. 



It is intended during the current j^ear to continue the work and 

 enlarge its scope so far as the ai^propriation will admit. "We have 

 made only a small beginning in the work desired to be done throughout 

 the country, and there are now on file 70 applications from 25 different 

 States for the practical cooperation and assistance of this Office. In 

 spite of the fact that ijractically all the expense except that of Govern- 

 ment supervision is guaranteed in these applications, it is evident 

 that we shall be able to comply" with only a limited number of them — 

 more, however, than in any previous year, because of the $10,000 in- 

 crease in this year's appropriation. Under these conditions a minimum 

 appropriation l\y the General Government is used to accomplish a 

 maximum of good results, as it is estimated that for every dollar ex- 

 pended by the Government the local authorities have been stimulated 

 to expend at least $10 in this object-lesson and experimental road work. 



Owing to the unusual interest in road improvement now prevalent 



