RURAL PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT S3 



oughly good paved road is a better economic feature than a railroad. 

 In extreme cases, where farms are situated in remote regions, he says 

 that loaning money becomes absolutely safe when good roads are 

 built back into these regions. Loans are made on bottom values, 

 and when new roads are built the farms are worth three, four, five 

 and even ten times the amount of money sought to be obtained on 

 mortgage. 



Good surfaces laid on well drained sites and good grades are 

 the two essentials of good roads, and proper planning is necessary 

 to secure both. The following comparative estimate of the cost 

 of transportation by horses and waggons, hauling on different road 

 coverings, is from an article by Joseph H. Pratt, in the Annals of 

 the American Academy, 1910: — 



Pro rata cost of hauling one ton a distance of one 



mile on level roads: Cents. 



On asphalt.... 2.70 



Dry stone paving _ 5.33 



Mud-covered stone paving 21.30 



Broken-stone road in good order 8.00 



Good dry sand-clay road 8.00 



Broken stone with ruts and mud 26.00 



Earth— dry and hard 18.00 



Earth — with ruts and mud 39.00 



Loose gravel 51. GO 



Dry sand _ 64.00 



On level grade, a horse pulls, as a standard, 1,000 pounds. On 

 a rise of 



1 ft. in 100 (1 per cent) 900 ft». 



1 ft. in 50 (2 " " 810 lbs. 



1 ft. in 25 (4 " " 540 lbs. 



1 ft. in 10 (10 " " 250 lbs. 



With regard to the general economic value of good roads, an 

 interesting statement has been made by Mr. W. A. McLean, Deputy 

 Minister of Highways of Ontario, in which he claimed that an ade- 

 quate road system in Canada would create a profit of $50,000,000 

 annually. The estimate was based on a computation that 100,000,000 

 tons passed over the roads in the Dominion, that the average haul 

 was five miles and that good roads would effect a probable saving 

 of ten cents per ton mile. If these figures are an indication of 

 the revenue-producing value of roads, then it would pay Canada to 

 spend $500,000,000 for that purpose; but, if only half of that sum is 



