50 Missouri Agricultural Report. 



nobody's business, in particulaj', to look after tlieiii. The cost ol siicli 

 supervision of tbe road work of a county is money saved and not money 

 lost, and if any county does not improve road conditions under it, it is 

 the fault of the county and not of the law. The county must get a man 

 competent to fill the position — the law cannot legislate brains into men. 



Maintenance — Many people advocate expensive road building with- 

 out a thought for maintenance. Any road will wear out, and as soon as 

 a road is built provision should be made for maintaining it. Mainte- 

 nance is second in importance to construction, and we must not lose sight 

 of the fact that a good earth road is largely a question of maintenance. 

 Before we can have a good system of roads, we must have a maintenance 

 system — a continuous maintenance. The county might own an outfit 

 and employ a crew of men to do nothing the year around but keep up 

 the roads of the county. This road working crew, with the necessary 

 equipment and a good foreman, could work out a part of the taxes of 

 each district under the direction of the engineer or overseers, thereby 

 saving the overseer's time upon the roads and work the roads in a 

 season when they should be worked, from early spring to such time as 

 grading should be stopped. Employ them for the remainder of the year 

 upon culvert work, graveling, and other work seasonable for fall and 

 winter. Or, a dozen districts could band together in a similar arrange- 

 ment to work out a part or all of the district funds. It is the most 

 economical in the end and will eventually develop a class of men who 

 make it their business. It will be their duty to oare for the roads while 

 other men are attending to their own particular lines of business. 



Any kind of a road will be gradually worn out and this loss must 

 be replaced or the road will gradually go down. The old adage is true 

 that a "stitch in time saves nine." Any road of good material will 

 become unevenly worn in a few years, and it is then necessary to add 

 new material if it has not been added continuously during the time of 

 wear. In any event, the continuous maintenance system in advantageous 

 over that of any other. The system of going over and repairing the 

 roads once a year or once every few years is not maintaining, but it is 

 rebuilding. There are seasons of bad weather and initial destruction 

 when a one-man patrol of our roads would be more effective than any 

 other method. The road district should be of suitable mileage to em- 

 ploy an overseer by the year. During rainy season, the winter months 

 and at all times out of the actual road working season this overseer, 

 provided with the necessary equipment, should patrol the roads under 

 his care. This overseer, and those of a county under the direct control 

 of the county supervisor and highway department, who in turn has a 



