ROADS AND ROAD-MAKING 317 



to carry off surface water should furnish the drainage 

 necessary for good roads. Water, standing or run- 

 ning, in roads is the great destroyer of good roads. 



4. The surface should be hard and smooth. A good 

 surface is made by putting a layer of larger stones at 

 the bottom, a layer of smaller stones next, and crushed 

 stone or gravel as the top layer. 



5. Ordinary earth roads can be improved by proper 

 grading and drainage. The best time to do this is in 

 the spring after the ground is settled. 



6. Drains should be kept open, and all depressions 

 filled. 



Pupils should write a paragraph on one of these 

 topics in their note-books. 



Practical Exercises 

 1. Constructing a Road 



For the second part of this lesson it might be pos- 

 sible at the school to construct a path from the school 

 house to some desired point a few rods away, accord- 

 ing to the best principles of road-making. 



If some of the larger boys or some school patron 

 would furnish a few loads of coarse stone, a few loads 

 of gravel, a plow and a team for a few hours, an inter- 

 esting and profitable demonstration of good road-mak- 

 ing could be made at the school. 



1. Select the line for the road or walk. 



2. Measure off a space six feet wide, the entire 

 length of the walk to be constructed, and mark it with 

 stakes. 



3. Plow up the whole area, turning it toward the 



