AGRICULTURAL ENGINEERING 



263 



roadbed, as it soaks up through the earth and keeps it soft. 

 It is sometimes necessary to ditch across some farmer's 

 land to get the water out of these roadside ditches. Farmers 

 should willingly co-operate with the town board to do such 

 work. Instead, they sometimes object. But in most states 

 the town board is authorized by law to construct such 



Figure 119. — Cutting weeds along the roadside. 



ditches as are necessary across any property. It, of course, 

 must pay damages, if such ditch does damage the property; 

 but, if it proves a benefit, then the owner of the property 

 must help pay the cost of constructing it. 



Where the road is made mostly of clay, it is greatly 

 benefited by the addition of sand, as the mixture is less 

 sticky, sheds water better and dries out more quickly. Like- 

 wise sandy roads are benefited by covering them with clay, 

 as the clay helps to bind the sand together and keep the 

 road hard. 



If good gravel is at hand, that is sharp and will pack 

 together, almost any of the common earth roads will be 

 benefited by a coating of it. 



Good gravel roads are better than earth roads, but not 

 so good as stone roads. They are much cheaper than stone 



