CHANGE OF SYSTEM REQUIRED. 303 



lished ; they have four wheels and are drawn by one horse, carry 

 nine persons, and go seven or eight miles an hour. Previously 

 the carriage for the same number of persons, had two wheels, two 

 horses, and went much slower." 



At the time these statements were made, these French engi- 

 neers calculated that by maintaining the roads in the best possi- 

 ble condition, which they assert can be done without increased 

 expense, the cost of draft of merchandise over the roads in 

 France might be reduced one-third, or about 130,000,000, saving 

 that amount to the public. From the foregoing statements it 

 will be perceived that the cost of labor upon the roads is in- 

 creased, while the cost of material is diminished by the system 

 of constant care. 



The inferences to be drawn from them, and from experimen- 

 tal tests, all point the same way as the suggestions of reason, 

 and from experience gathered from the practices observed in this 

 country, namely, that the best public economy and convenience 

 would require that the highways should be maintained in the 

 best possible condition. The cost of maintenance including im- 

 provements, would not be increased, the wear and tear of car- 

 riages and harness would be diminished, there would be a saving 

 of time, by increased speed, less cruelty to animals, and far 

 greater comfort in travelling. 



Defective System op Management. 



It is useless to attempt to improve the condition of the roads 

 except with a change of system, or rather by the substitution of 

 a system for the hap-hazard way the work is done. Constant care 

 and oversight is required, and workmen should be employed to 

 be on the road all the time, to keep the surface clean, and to 

 repair any injury or defect as soon as it occurs. 



The importance of cleanliness is illustrated by some experi- 

 ments made by M. Morin, showing that the resistance to draught 

 upon broken stone roads is four times as great with deep ruts 

 and thick mud, as upon a good one, and is greatly increased by 

 the muddy or dusty condition of otherwise perfectly good roads. 



The way Roads aee now Mended. 

 The laws of Massachusetts relating to the maintenance of the 

 highways, however well adapted to colonial times when the coun- 



