CHAPTER XX 



AGRICULTURAL ENGINEERING 



THE ROAD PROBLEM 



Importance. — Few boys and girls realize the great im- 

 portance of roads. As we walk over them to school day- 

 after day we are likely to think how bad or how long they 

 are, rather than to think what they are for, how they are 

 made and how maintained. 



Uses of Roads. — Roads are used as a means of com- 

 munication, and 

 as they become 

 better it is easier 

 for persons to 

 travel and to haul 

 loads upon them. 

 Where roads are 

 good, therefore, 

 we can with less 

 effort and much 

 greater comfort 

 go to school, to 

 church, to town 

 and to our neigh- 

 bors. Such con- 

 ditions make life 

 pleasanter in the 

 country and have 

 a very strong ten- 

 dency to make 

 property more 



Rgure 116. — A well-constructed turnpike. 



valuable. Good roads have an educational and social in- 

 fluence of as much importance as their economic value. 

 Cost of Roads. — We often hear the remark that roads 

 are poor, because it costs too much to build good ones. 

 But did it ever occur to you that bad roads may cost more 



