COUNTRY ROADS AND ROADSIDE IMPROVEMENTS. 113 



The assistance now being offered by many States to 

 suburban districts in the construction of State roads made 

 on the most approved principles will lead to rapid progress 

 in correct ideas of road-making; and the large number of 

 bicycles now in use will furnish another incentive for 

 further improvement. 



In this volume no attempt will be made to give detailed 

 instructions for the construction of broken-stone roads, 

 but the discussion will be confined to the making and im- 

 proving ordinary gravel roads. 



Surface of the Road. 



The most noticeable feature of the ordinary country road 

 is its flatness and nnevenness of surface and the little atten- 

 tion given to surface outline and underdrainage, both of 



FIG. 61. SECTION OF ORDINARY COUNTRY ROAD. 



which defects can be easily remedied. A section of the 

 ordinary road, as often seen, is shown in Fig. 61, where the 

 shoulders are higher than the road-bed and with depressions 

 or basins here and there, caused by settling from the weight 

 of traffic or from the displacement by frost. Such a road 

 will wear out rapidly where the water stands, will be un- 



FIG. 62. SECTION OP MACADAM ROAD. 



pleasant to drive over on account of uneven surface and 

 mud, and the worn particles of the road will not be washed 



