No. 6. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 391 



si one which the point strikes and work down and out, until enough 

 dirt is secured to bring a good crown to the center of the road and a 

 good gutter on each side, making suitable outlets from all Ioav places 

 in the gutter. On portions of the road with proper care in honing 

 down after each heavy rain, and raking out loose stones this will be 

 sufficient, other portions will need a little gravel or shale along the 

 crown of the road. A cubic yard hauled on a twelve-foot wagon is 

 enough for the worst places by dumping in a full load in a place, and 

 in other places a half or a third of a load in a place will finish the 

 crown. Grading with the machine should not cost more than twenty- 

 five dollars per mile. Hauling gravel on the crown of the road not 

 more than forty cents per cubic yard. This makes the cost only two 

 hundred dollars per mile where a full load of gravel is placed on the 

 crown of the road all the way. 



The secret of success of such a road is the after-care. After 

 the first rain such a road will become cut up by passing teams and 

 vehicles, forming a hard crust as it dries. Before this becomes too 

 hard, hone the surface perfectly smooth and true with a light hone 

 about five to six feet long. One man and a team can hone off a piece 

 of road in this way if he understands his business, at a slight cost. 

 He should stand on the hone, and guide it by stepping from one end 

 of the hone to the other as the occasion requires. This should be 

 repeated after every heavy rain. Now rake off any loose stones and 

 you have a beaten track on the crown of the road over which an 

 auto or bicycle will roll as smoothly as on the best macadam, and 

 on which you can drive a clean buggy an hour after a summer rain 

 shower without having to avoid mud holes. The only care needed 

 on such a road will be to sprinkle a very little gravel shale on even 

 good hard pan right on the center of the beaten track occasionally 

 according to the amount of wear on the road. Keep the gutters 

 from filling by throwing the stuff out of them away from the road 

 instead of back into it. 



A road so built and kept is built on scientific principles. The 

 beaten track on the crown is a hard crust almost impervious to 

 water. Using the hone frequently keeps the upper surface of the 

 crust so smooth that rains flow quickly into the gutters at the side. 

 A road thus built and at this cost has stood the test for over two 

 years, and is still in almost perfect condition. The thawing of last 

 winter's frost seemed to have no bad effect on it last spring, though 

 formerly it had often been almost impassable. 



This hone which is used for scraping roads is a plank twelve inches 

 wide, three inches thick and five or six feet long, to one side of 

 which is bolted a plate of steel for a cutting edge. It is then stood 

 on edge and a pole fitted to the front with braces arranged so that 

 it will draw a little diagonally across the road. A pair of plow 

 handles may be fitted back of the scraper by which it can be guided, 

 or weighted by the driver standing on it. 



With State aid the first cost of such a road is within the means 

 of most rural townships. 



RECOMMENDATIONS. 



The recommendations in last year's report as to the encourage- 

 ment of the use of wide tires on the public highways are renewed, 

 as are also the same as to penalty for hauling of heavy loads with 

 narrow tires. 



