PRACTICAL PAPERS—COUNTRA^ ROADS. 
287 
The objectionable course of conveying surface water across 
roads on the surface, instead of by the use of a proper culvert, 
is common in all parts of the country, even on macadamized 
roads charging heavy tolls. The damage annually done to 
teams in such cases is more than the cost of a culvert. These 
water crossings are often, in winter, a sheet of ice ten to twenty 
feet in length as wide as the road, in crossing which teams are 
often seriously injured by slipping. 
WATER FOR TEAMS. 
It is a matter of so great importance that a full supply of 
water by the roadside be provided for teams, at intervals of at 
least an average of five miles, that the subject should no 
longer be neglected, but a provision for securing a supply 
should be made in the county road laws. Except in very flat 
dry countries, it is generally practicable at trifling cost to 
arrange water troughs at proper intervals, so that the water 
will flow in and out perpetually. The supply-pipe should 
always be inserted into the bottom of the trough, and not rise 
much above the surface of the water when the trough is full; 
for, if it does, the water is apt to be blown about and to freeze, 
so as to makci the approach to the trough dangerous. If the 
water is received at the bottom of the trough, and the overflow 
is taken from near the supply, in a pipe to a culvert, there 
will be no ice about the trough. The supply-pipe should rise 
about half an inch above the level of the water in the trough, 
so as to form a drinking fountain for teamsters and travelers. 
In the heat of summer, teams will instinctively hurry their 
pace as they approach these grateful thirst-slacking stations, 
and their comfort will be promoted to a degree that will well 
compensate for the outlay. The temperature of water standing 
in a trough exposed to the sun is more wholesome for working 
teams than that from cold wells. 
WATER BARS. 
The purpose of the bar is to cast the surface water from the 
road to the side or sides before it has accumulated in such 
