BETTER ROADS WANTED. 



they need it are neglected, grow worse and 



worse, and all the evils of bad roads follow. 



What bad roads are doing for this country 

 is only one side of the evil. The other side is 

 what they are not doing. The loss does not 

 arise to much from the money and labor 

 wasted every year as it does from the absence 

 of the benefits which goofl roads would bring. 

 Our loss must be measured not so much by 

 the money and labor we are throwing away 

 oa bad roads, as bv the opportunities which 

 would come to us if the roads were good. 



One of the greatest obstacles in the way of 

 road improvement is the narrow view taken 

 of the question by so many citizens of this 

 country They have been accustomed to 

 think of roads merely as incidental to statute 

 labor ; and statute labor they consider as a 

 means whereby each pathmaster can get a lit- 

 tle work done in front of his owu farm •wliich 

 will be of direct personal advantage. 



They do not see nor appreciate the benefits 

 which would accrue to the township, county 

 and province. They overlook the public 

 good. But public good is merely individual 

 benefit conferred on every citizen. Money 

 and labor spent on the roads of tlie township 

 will enhance the value of every farm by in- 

 creasing the demand for farm land ; it will 

 increase the pri)fits of the farm by reducing 

 the expenses of the farm. The dairying iu- 

 dustry would be immensely benefitted by 

 good roads, fruit growing would become more 

 remunerative ; sale would be obtained for 

 products which now are not grown because 

 the market cannot be reached easily and 

 quickly. 



Regarding country roads, he con- 

 tinues : 



It would seem as though in everything the 

 present methods in regard to roads in Ontario 

 are contrary to good judgment. Gravel or 

 broken stone is duniped loosely, without even 

 spreading, on a badly graded, badly drained 

 sub-soil. In the use of these roads the same 

 recklessness is glaringly apparent. When 

 wide tires have uuiversally replaced the nar- 



row tires which are now foand on farm wag- 

 ons, a great part of the road question will be 

 solved. Narrow tires of two and one-half 

 inches in width have only one-half of the 

 bearing on the road which would be provided 

 by tires of proper width. By referring to the 

 supporting power of soils discussed in the 

 paragraph on " Foundations," the effect of 

 this is more apparent. By the use of a six 

 iach tire, the roadway will support, without 

 yielding, twice the load which it could sup- 

 port with a three inch tire. 



Narrow tires cannot be too strongly con- 

 demned. They cut and grind the road, plow 

 and upheave it. Wide tires, on the contrary, 

 are a benefit rather than an injury to the road, 

 inasmuch as they act as rollers to preserve a 

 smooth, hard surface. In some localities 

 wide tires are objected to under the argument 

 that they increase the draft required to move 

 the load. This may occur under certain occa- 

 sional conditions of very wet and soft roads. 

 But when wide tires are universally used this 

 objection will disappear, as the incieased 

 draft is due to the ruts and mud caused by 

 narrow tires. 



DIMESSIONS OF ROADS. 



For the average country road, a graded 

 roadway twenty-four feet in width between 

 the inside edges of the open drains, will be 

 ample to accommodate travel. For the aver- 

 age road, if the central eight feet is metalled 

 with gravel or broken stone, it will be suffi- 

 cient. (See Fig. 1392 " Plan of Country 

 Road," The depth and with of the open drains 

 will have to be governed by circumstances. 

 Sufficient capacity must be provided to carry 

 away all surface water. Toe depth must be 

 dependent also on the fall obtainable. With 

 tile under-drains, deep open ditches are not 

 needed to drain the road foundation. The 

 use of tile does away with the deep and dan- 

 gerous open ditcfies which may otherwise be 

 necessary. The crown of the road should be 

 such as to give a fall of one inoh to the foot 

 from the centre to the edge of the ditch. 



Gormley's Seedling Cherry. — On 

 page 317, volume 20, we referred to 

 this cherry as being of great promise. 

 To-day, July 12th, we have received 

 another sample lot and consider them 

 even superior to those received a year 

 ago. Being of Canadian origin, no 

 doubt the tree is very hardy, and would 

 succeed over a wide extent of country. 

 The color is bright red like the iMont- 

 morency, the form about that of the 

 English Morello, and the flesh like that 

 of a Bigarreau, not very juicy ; it parts 



297 



easily from pit, without dropping its 

 juice, flesh yellowish, a wonderful 

 keeper, and therefore a good variety for 

 distant shipments. Mr. Gormley writes : 

 •' This is a seedling cherry tree about 

 25 years old. I remember the tree 

 coming up in a fence corner. It has 

 never had any care, but has grown well 

 under neglect. I want to know if it is 

 a recognized variety, for if it is new it is 

 very valuable, as the quality cannot be 

 excelled and it bears every year." 



