262 ELEMENTS OF FARM PRACTICE 



bed is first given the slope desired, then covered with a 

 layer of coarse, crushed rock, which is rolled with a heavy 

 roller. Then another layer of finer crushed rock is placed 

 on top, and rolled until it works in between the particles of 

 the coarser material. More, but still finer, crushed rock or 

 sand is added, sprinkled with water and rolled until a smooth, 

 hard surface is formed. A stone road made as previously 



described, and from 6 

 inches to 12 inches thick, 

 makes an excellent, hard, 

 permanent road. Such 

 roads cost so much 

 ($3,000 to $6,000 per 

 mile) that they can be 

 built only where the pop- 

 ulation is dense and 

 where there is a great 

 deal of travel over them. 

 Earth Roads. — Inmost 



Figure 118. — A split-log drag faced with forminD" Hicsfripfs} for 



steel. (Sefe description and cost page 252). I^rmmg QlStriCtS, lOr 



many years to come, 

 roads must be made of the material at hand; which 

 means, in most cases, common earth. Such roads, if proper- 

 ly made and maintained, are very serviceable and may be 

 much better than country roads generally are. 



Drainage. — Since the object in making roads is to keep 

 them hard, it is plain that, to do this, water must be kept 

 from standing at or near the surface. Drainage, then, is 

 the first problem in building roads (except sandy roads) 

 and it is safe to say that, if all roads were properly drained, 

 the greatest problem in road building would be solved. 



The Turnpike. — The most common form of road is a 

 turnpike, made by taking earth from each side of the road 

 and putting it in the middle. This makes a very good 

 form of road, as the center of the road is high, so that the 

 water runs off to the sides into the ditches constructed 

 there. Often water remains in these ditches, because no 

 outlet is provided by which it can escape into the natural 

 waterways. Water standing beside a road, and within two 

 to four feet of the surface, is very often detrimental to the 



