ROADS AND PATHS 31 



tance exceeding the sphere of scrapers, earth is generally 

 conveyed in wheelbarrows. The limit, when one-horse 

 carts should replace barrows, will seldom exceed two 

 hundred and fifty feet to three hundred feet for all the 

 various kinds of earth. Beyond a certain distance, deter- 

 mined largely by the character of the road and its grade, 

 two-horse wagons should take the place of carts. 



Having finally adjusted all questions of grade, excava- 

 tions, and embankments with the assistance of the con- 

 tour map and experimental lines on the ground, the 

 course of the road adopted should be carefully plotted 

 on the map, together with cross sections that will 

 show the cuttings and fillings as well as the natural sur- 

 face of the ground. Specifications of the different 

 kinds of work, and drawings of drainage and pipe lines, 

 culverts, etc., should also be prepared. The center of 

 the road can be located on the ground that will corre- 

 spond with different points on the map. Cut and fill 

 should be marked on the stakes to indicate that the nat- 

 ural surface should be cut down or filled up at these 

 points in order to secure the proper grade of the road. 

 Stakes showing the proper width of the road should also 

 be set. All this work of planning and preparation may 

 seem unnecessary on a small place of less than an acre, 

 but it will be found to fully repay the trouble, for only 

 by making proper plans and specifications can you be 

 sure beforehand of good construction. 



The temptation to construct steep banks, to save ex- 

 pense, often leads to much trouble in droughts and heavy 

 rains. In dry weather the grass is especially liable to 

 turn brown and die on such slopes, and rains are gener- 

 ally apt to gully any slopes that are steeper than forty- 

 five degrees, or one foot on the perpendicular to one on 



