GOOD ROADS AS RURAL CONVENIENCES 83 



placed first in the roadbed a layer of stones about three 

 inches through. These were packed firmly. On this 

 layer he placed another layer of stones about one inch in 

 diameter. These were also rolled or packed firmly. Then 

 a third layer, or surface dressing, of finely crushed stones 

 was placed on top, and likewise packed and rolled. Like 

 the other turnpikes, the road was elevated in the middle 

 and made to slope gradually toward the gutters on the 

 sides, receiving in this way a smooth and hard surface and 

 a gentle crown. The " macadam " road still ranks among 

 the best of highways all over the world. 



Until after 1806 the United States had only dirt roads, 

 from which, at most, the brush, stumps, and rocks had 

 been removed. Even these unimproved roads were few ; 

 and they ran, nearly all of them, east and west joining 

 some Appalachian district with an Atlantic port. 



The first movement in our country for good roads grew 

 out of the needs for closer union between the eastern 

 Appalachian slope and the Mississippi valley. In 1806 

 Congress made an appropriation to begin a highway from 

 Cumberland in Maryland to St. Louis ; and for thirty 

 years more the government gave many grants of money to 

 complete and repair this famous " National Road," until 

 its place was more than taken by the growth of railroads. 



The present good-roads movement in America is still 

 young. It received its first impulse largely from the new 

 needs of the automobile. Much has been accomplished in 

 the past few years, though we are still shamefully behind 

 European lands. Perhaps the best result from the move- 

 ment, so far, is the universal conviction that good roads 

 are vital to the prosperity of any farming district. 



52. The further discussion of good roads as rural conveniences 

 will be considered under the heads of economy, construc- 

 tion, and maintenance. 



