ROADS AND PATHS 41 



or brick. On village sidewalks, it is needless to say, the 

 asphalt and bricks are to be preferred. 



It is a good idea to lay a row of sods along path and 

 road borders, as it is not practicable to get firm edges 

 by means of grass seed. So far as the paths are con- 

 cerned on a country place, they should be run entirely 

 independent of the grade of the roads, although their 

 course may be near them. Diversity of surface is gen- 

 erally agreeable, and it is entirely unnecessary to seek 

 parallelism, or even similarity of level and course, in the 

 construction of la^^^ls and roads and paths. The only 

 thing to avoid in design is the close approach of roads 

 and paths, whereby the ground is forced to assume the 

 shape of very steep banks. 



The mistake is often made of allowing the road to 

 continue a long time in a bad condition, which always 

 involves more actual expense when the work is finally 

 taken up. Day-by-day maintenance, it is evident, will 

 either prevent disintegration of the road surface, or 

 will, by incessant work, prevent the extension of injuries 

 that would grow to serious dimensions in the course of 

 time. The prevention of wear and tear is, we \\ill find, 

 attained to a large degree by sprinkling \sith water the 

 smooth surface of roads, thereby lajing the dust, and 

 helping to hold firm the cementing or binding quality of 

 the road. The sprinkling should be given lightly, so as 

 not to create mud and ruts. The best sprinkling carts 

 are those that can be made to distribute water evenly 

 and lightly, for it is easy enough to make a cart that 

 will sprinkle heavily. 



Good maintenance, also, naturally requires continual 

 attention to open ditches, gutters, roads, walk basins, 

 and drains of all kinds, and, above all, attention should be 



