38 BULLETIN 387, IT. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
time to time collected information relating to the public roads of 
the State and has issued road maps, route books and charts, and has 
had signposts erected along some of the main traveled roads. 
The control of the public roads, bridges, and ferries of the several 
counties is vested by general law in a county supervisor and a comity 
board of commissioners. The county supervisors are elected for four 
years with a few exceptions where a shorter term is provided by 
special law. The county board of commissioners consists of the 
county supervisor, as chairman, and two commissioners, appointed 
by the governor upon the recommendation of the comity delegation 
to the general assembly. In a few counties exceptions to the gen- 
eral law provide for more than two commissioners. 
A number of counties operate under special laws. For instance, 
Aiken County is administered by a chief commissioner and advisory 
board, known as the county board of commissioners and composed 
of one district commissioner from each of four districts into which 
the county is divided. The chief commissioner is required to inspect 
the public roads of the county and consult and advise with each dis- 
trict commissioner as to their improvement and maintenance. The 
chief commissioner and advisory board apportion the county road 
fund among the various townships of the county in proportion to the 
number of miles of public road in each township, the amount so 
apportioned to be expended by the district commissioners, respec- 
tively. A number of counties have their roads and bridges under 
the jurisdiction and management of a highway commission, and a 
few counties are authorized to employ a county road engineer. 
County boards of commissioners are authorized to adopt the con- 
tract system of working roads and to let contracts to the lowest 
responsible bidders. If the county board of commissioners conclude 
to work the roads by the labor of those liable to road duty, they 
appoint overseers in each township. In counties where township 
board of commissioners exist overseers are appointed by the town- 
ship board. In counties where the public roads are worked by those 
liable to road duty, or in which the roads in any highway district are 
so worked, the county supervisor and the board of county commis- 
sioners divide the highways into suitable sections of not less than 2 
nor more than 5 miles each, and where not worked by contract ap- 
point an overseer for each section. In counties where township 
board of commissioners exist they shall, subject to the approval of 
the comity board of commissioners or the comity supervisor, divide 
their respective townships into suitable districts and elect, at their 
annual meeting, from the qualified electors of the township one over- 
seer for each district. District overseers, when required by the 
county board of commissioners, call out the hands assigned to then 
respective sections for the purpose of working the roads and bridges, 
