SECTION LXV. EARTH ROADS 



GOOD roads make country life more attractive. They also 

 make possible in the country good schools, churches, and 

 social gatherings. They soon pay for their cost in the 

 labor of men and teams saved by hauling with a few loads 

 over good roads the same weight that requires many loads 

 over bad roads. Good roads pay, too, because they save 

 wear and tear on teams and vehicles. Improving a road 

 increases the value of the land near it. 



Location of roads. A road is no better than its worst 

 part. The load hauled is as large as the team can pull up 

 the steepest hill or most boggy part of the road. Hence, 

 the first work in improving a road ought to be to improve 

 the worst places. It pays to change the location of a road 

 to avoid the worst hills. Roads ought not to go straight 

 ; up steep hills, but should curve around their sides. 



The best roads are made of a thick layer of broken stone 

 or gravel. Stone roads cost several thousand dollars for 

 each mile, and an engineer is needed to plan or build them. 

 At slight expense earth roads can be much improved by 

 proper grading, rounding, and draining. 



Avoid a steep rise or grade. A road ought to be as 

 nearly level as possible. The grade or slope of an earth 

 road ought not to be more than six feet rise in each hun- 

 dred feet of length, though steeper grades are sometimes 

 necessary. The load that one horse can pull on a level 



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