The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1889-10-05

therefore been confined to city or sub.
urban streets, and TO a few of the Older
States in the East. Even the turnpikes
or toll roads, originally built by corpora
tions which made their profit by levying
toll on each passing horse or vehicle,
were macadamized only for a small
portion of their width in the centre,
leaving earth roads on each side. These
latter were habltually used in summer,
leaving the hard central portion, whose
surface was seldom kept smooth, for
use during the rains and mud in winter.
With the exception of these few
turnpike high-roads, American roads
have been built of whatever material
was nearest at hand. Frequently, if not
generally, they were made by simply
blowing a ditch on each side and
throwing the earth into mound IN the
centre. An improvement on this was
to spread layer of bank gravel con-
tanning large proportion of clay over
the road ; and on the New England
coast, where a rocky soil and clean
gravel or beach shingle were very avail
able, these materials were used, and
formed comparatively hard and dur
able road surface. Through the swamps
and clay soils of the South, where stone
and gravel were not available, the cor
duroy road was much used. This con-
sisted in telling trees, stripping the
branches and placing the trunks across
the road and 1t was probably the most
inhuman device ever suggested as a
means Of communication. In central
New York, and in some parts of the
West, plank roads were at one time
constructed, but their lack of durability
caused this system to be soon aban-
doned.
MAINTENANCE.
The condition of a road depends not
only upon the manner in which it is
constructed, but upon the manner in
which it is maintained. The best roads
are being constantly worn by traffic,
and if they are not quickly repaired
whenever any defects appear, they are
soon destroyed. Macadam's reputa-
ton was made not in building new
roads, but in repairing old roads and
keebiMg them arrays IN good order.
In order to accomplish this result in
cessant attention is necessary, So as to
fill up any ruts or holes the moment
they appear, and prevent them from
being enlarged by travel and rain. The
road thus gradually wears down, but
always presents uniform and smooth
surface and when its thickness IS re-
duced to about FIVE inches it is neces-
sary to make general repairs by cover.
ing it with new coating of stone. The
amount Of wear is proportioned to the
volume of traffic. On some of the
heavily travelled macadam streets OF
London and Paris it has been as much
as four inches in year, bat on high
roads between cities it is often as low
as one-half inch in year.
Nowhere is the art of road making
and maintenance carried to such per-
fection as in France, where the neces-
sity of constant supervision and prompt
repairs is fully appreciated. Her roads
have length of about 200, 900 miles,
of which more than 1000 miles are
macadamized. They have cost nearly
5000. 200, 900 for construction, and the
sum of $4,000, 900, Cor about three
per cent. OF first cos) is annually spent
for their maintenance. Until we are
prepared to expend the necessary sums
tor solid construction and incessant
maintenance, we cannot have good
roads. With an area of 2o4 900 square
miles, and population of 3S,ooo,o 200
inhabitants, France has about one mile
of road to every square mile of terri
tory, and to every 100 inhabitants =; its
roads have cost about $4,000 for each
square mile, and about SIS for each
inhabitant their maintenance costs an
nually 500 for each square mile, and
48 cents for each inhabitant.
The State of New York has an area
of 47,ooo square miles, and a popula.
ton of about $500, 900, the number O
inhabitants per square mile being abou
three fourths the number in France
On the basis of area, in order that 1t:
roads should be equal to those o
France, their length should be 10000
miles the first cost would be S13S,
900, 900, and the annual cost of main.
tenance would be $4,I4o,ooo, or 90
cents for each inhabitant. The railroad:
of this State have cost nearly goo, ,ooo,.
600, and the annual expense OF main
tanning their road-beds is fully 6 PEI
cent. of their first cost. 1t is eviden
that it would not be an impossible tasl
to create system of roads correspond
ing in excellence to the railroad when
ever the necessity for them is fully
recognized and it would not be diff
cult to prove that the benefits derived
in cheapening the cost of transportation
to the railroads, of which the road:
would act as feeders. would be more
than an equivalent for the expense
Nor would the cost in reality be any.
thing like the large sums above named,
for many of the existing roads contain
an abundance of stone, which could be
taken up, broken, and relald, after the
manner in which Macadam rebuilt the
roads of England, the cost of which is
stated in his memoir to have been as
low as 5000 per mile. Owing to the