DEPARTMENT REPORTS. 31 



iinpi'oveiiients there as time and the conditions warrant. Last summer 

 the work upon the ''AA'ater Garden," be^un in 1898, was completed, and 

 in the fall the north portion of the grounds received attention. Some 

 ,jears ago considerable time was given to improving the ''Gravel Koad," 

 so called, along the north side of the campus, in order to lessen the driv- 

 ing through the grounds, which was so common, by farmers going to and 

 from Lansing, when tlie College drives were better than the highway. 

 As tlie road was becoming considerably worn, it was again graded and 

 graveled, from the east side of the apple orchard to the "White E'c- 

 phant" at the Trow^bridge corner, the distance being one mile. The 

 worst portion of the road was north of the Arboretum, near where the 

 nortli drive enters the grounds. At this point the roadbed was lower 

 than the surrounding land and it was noted for mud in wet seasons and 

 for its dust when the weather was dry. 



To remedy this, a tile drain was laid in the gutters on either side 

 and connections made that would carry off the water, A grade was 

 then established from twelve to eighteen inches above the original grade, 

 and by means of a wheel scraper it was rapidly brought up to this level 

 with soil taken from the roadway on either side of the holloW'. 



As this offered an excellent opportunity for testing different methods 

 •of improving roads under adverse conditions, it was determined to test 

 various road materials. About 800 feet of roadway were selected for 

 the experiment, and of this 320 feet was located in the hollow w^here 

 the mud had been deepest and where the fill had been greatest. This 

 was divided into four sections of eighty feet each, and the following 

 materials were selected: 1. Clay covered with gravel, the under soil 

 being a sandy loam; 2. cobble atones, taken from a neighboring field, 

 covered with clay and gravel; 3. field stone, covered with four inches of 

 broken stone; 4. broken stone. 



The roadway as laid out w-as twenty feet wide from shoulder to 

 shoulder, and in the center a space twelve feet wide was prepared for 

 the materials mentioned above. Clay and gravel were i)laced along the 

 sides so as to form shoulders six inches high, after giving the roadbed 

 a ci'own of three inches and covering it with two inches of gravel. This, 

 as well as the shoulders, was thorouglily rolled, and the road materials 

 were then put in place. The clay and broken stone were spread in two- 

 inch layers, each of wliich was well rolled. 



In })Iacing the cobble stones, the larger ones, many of wiiich were 

 flat, were placed at the bottom, and smaller ones w^re fitted between 

 them. In section No. 2, a second layer of small stones was spread over 

 this, making about eight inches of stone; while in section No. 3 about 

 four inches of broken stone formed the top layer. The broken stone 

 used here and in section No. 4 was a limestone, and rather soft for the 

 purpose, but it was the best that could be readily i)rocured. Section 

 No. 4 was constructed of six inches of broken stone upon a fii-m, sandy 

 loam bottom. Other sections were then added, the nuiterials being clay 

 upon sand, sand upon clay, and hard coal ashes and soft coal cinders 

 upon both sand and clay. 



Although the woi-k was done during Novcmlx-r and T)ec(Muber, the 

 sections came through the winter with little injury, although subjected 

 to a very heavy traffic. The sections upon which day was used became 

 rather soft in muddy weather and the clay was carried upon the wheels 



