PEACTICAL PAPERS—COUNTRY ROADS. 
291 
the high point, shall have but little, if anything, more than the 
real difference in the altitude of the two points to overcome. 
This error, if corrected in all existing cases in this country, 
would be of incalculable advantage to the community. 
WIDTH BETWEEN FENCES. 
It is important that the width of a road between fences 
should be ample to provide the material required in construc¬ 
tion and repair, without endangering the fences by undermin¬ 
ing the banks, and also to leave a grade that will be self- 
sustaining. Greater width is necessary in snowy districts 
than in those not subject to blockade from this cause. In the 
northern portions of this country there are districts where the 
cost of keeping roads open in winter exceeds that of repairs in 
summer. Increasing the width between the fences, and keep¬ 
ing the gutters suitable for the use of sleighs, have proved to 
be the most efficient remedy. The width required by law 
varies in the different states from two to four rods. In the 
opinion of the writer the latter width is not too great to be 
economical for highways generally. Walls, close fences, or 
close belts of trees, on read margins, are also objectionable, as 
they tend to blockade them with snow, and prevent the sur¬ 
face from drying. 
SHADE FOR ROADS. 
On all earth roads shade is objectionable in its effects on the 
surface, yet it it admissible to provide a good shade with 
deciduous trees on the summits, where the fullest benefit of 
the fanning breeze may be enjoyed, and shade will be least 
injurious. The effect of shade on stoned roads is less injuri¬ 
ous than on those of earth. Abrupt banks or dense thickets 
on the south side of a road-bed, so high and near as to exclude 
the sun from it in winter, are very objectionable and danger¬ 
ous, as such portions of the road are generally icy, when the 
remainder is free. 
EXISTING ROAD LAWS. 
There is a great similarity in the general road laws of the 
different states pertaining to the maintenance of county roads, 
