Orange County observer. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1880-1918, 1891-05-23
COUNTRY ROADS.
THE IMPROVEMENTS RURAL
THOROUGHE'ARES NEED
Macadam and TeIford the Great
Scientific Roadbuilders-Fran
Fine System-The Ancient Ro-
man Met hod-M Modern Needs

The most comprehensive system of
roadways is that in France aud there, too.
perhaps are found the best roads in the
world. The French Minister of Public
Works has charge of all roads, and these
are administered by a special department
and council of which the Minister is
President There is staff of six hun
dred engineers and inspecthrs and two
thousand inferior officials. the depart
ment also has school of roads and
bridges for the education Of engineers.
The roads are national, departmental.
military and vicinal. The national roads
are maintained entirely by the national
treasury. There are twenty five thou
sand miles of these The vicinal or cross
roads are maintained chiefly at the-sost
Of tt e communes, but undersa national
administration On these roads there are
constantly employed fifty thousand work
contrast this is to our happy go lucky
method of working out taxes on the
roads!
Switzerlghd, too. is famous for excel
lent roads, which are mainly cantonal,
corresponding to State roads here. Oc-
casionally, however, cantops have united
in some difficult work of construction.
Of the three greatest Republics of the
world the United States is the only coun-
try which has no decent system of com.
mon roads.
The roads in England and Scotland
are, as a rule, very good. They were
formerly, however, most wretched.
With the exception that our common
roads are now supplemented by railways
we are to-day where England was two
hundred years ago England met the
difficulty by the establishment of turn
| pixies with tolls, and thirty thousand
| miles of these roads had been built from
177O to 1880 The turnpike system does
not seem to be what we want IN America,
even though with it we might have good
roads.
The earliest roads about which any
thing definite is known are those of an
cient Rome. One of the oldest of these,
and the most celebrated for the grandeur
of its works Appian Way-was be-
gun in 312 B. c. Roman roads are re-
markable for preserving straight course
from point to point regardless of OBJ
stacles which might have been easily
avoid In solidjty Of construction they
have never been excelled, and many Of
then. still remain, often forming the
foundation for modern road, and in
some instances constituting the road sur
fece now used
This allusion to the Roman method of
road building has not been made in the
hope that it will be initiated in America.
There are other and cheaper methods,
which, if employed, would give us all we
could desire. These two systems are
known as the Teford and Macadam.
The name Of Teford is associated with
| pitched foundation, which is always
desirable for road that IS subject to
heavy traffic It consists of fiat stones
set on edge in courses across the road,
with the broadest edge downward. The
j upper edges should not exceed four
inches in breadth 70 hold the broken
stone well All irregularities must be
knocked off. and mali stones and chip.
must be firmly pinncN into the inter
stices with 4 hammer. 50 as to form q
1 regular convex surface, Win every stone
firmly fixed in place. The thickness Of
the pitching is generally six or seven
inches; Il should not be less than four,
ami il may generally be thicker without
any sensible increase Of cost Al least
four inches Of broken stone are required
over the pitched foundation, and when
consolidated six inches are always sufii
Gent. Telfora, i. will be seen, paid
most particular attention to foundations.
Macadam, the other great scientific
road builder. differed from Telprd n
regard to foundations He maintained
that if there were good drainage-Tel-
ford insisted upon good drainage, too
tha, the subsoil, however bad, would
carry any weight that could be placed
upon it, if il were made dry by drainage
aud kept dry b. al impeETious covering
Either If tiTese roads an=xe~S the Dtrr