Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1901-08-09

of last year causes them to do that
which makes n show of repairing, but
which in the end leaves the roads in
worse condition than before repairs
were attempted.
My idea of what should be done is to
elect at the annual town meeting on al
ternate years n road supervisor whose
term of office shall be for two years
unless sooner terminated. Give him
the entire charge of the roads, bridges
and sluices and pay him liberal per
diem for time necessarily expended.
The first duty of the supervisor
should be to appoint a resident road
guardian for each section of road, such
section not to exceed three miles in
extent The duty of this road guardian
Shall be not to repair damage, but to
prevent it. He should inspect the road
under his charge frequently, especially
during heavy rains, and see that gut
tiers and sluices are kept open and wa
ter bars unbroken. Often ten minutes
work with hoe or shovel at the right
moment will save ten hours work with
teams and men. l have recently driy-
en- over hundreds Of miles of coun-
try roads and have observed the great
damage done by the spring rains. In
nearly every case little work at the
right time could have saved the roads.
In the event Of any unusual damage
the guardian should report promptly
to his superior.
The material usually used In repair
ing country roads is road wash or turf
that has grown upon 1t and is in no
sense suitable. The worn pebbles have
no power Of coherency. They will not
bind, and the organic matter Of turf
is productive only Of mud or dust.
There Is no road 80 pleasant to ride
upon as a well made, we'll drained. well
graded dirt road. Once settled into
place 1t will last in good condition for
years II frequently looked after. On
heavy soils It will. Of course, be muddy
when the frost is coming out, but that
Is only for short period. and the pleas.
ure Of riding on 1t free from noise and
dust at other seasons compensates for
a good deal OF springtime annoyance.
1t Is not practicable to harden all
country roads, and II the road Is well
drained and the cutters and sluices
kept open It Ia not desirable A clat.
tering stone road takes away much OF
the charm Of a country drive, to say
nothing Of the annoyance to jewellers
thereon. Sometimes, II gravel is readily
I available, II Is economy to surface a
, damp dirt road with four inch coat
This will keep all light vehicles out OF
the mud, even in springtime, and un-
less very heavy teams pass over 1t will
last for years. Wet places that cannot
be successfully drained should be filled
with a telford pavement and from six
to eight inches Of gravel placed over It.
All cutters and sluices should BIZ
large enough to take the rainfall at Its
greatest excess. and the failure to have
them so Is frequent source Of dam
age and consequent expense. To sum
Marie, put your roads into the best
condition possible with the means avail
able and then give them constant at
tention rather than neglect them fol
II months and repair them in one
When you have them In good condition
expend your efforts upon keeping the
cutters and sluices open and leave the
road itself alone as much as possible
An old, hard roadbed Is better than any
new, soft one that can be made with
earth in any case, and 1t is far more
desirable than the usual agglomeratiou
Of road wash leaves and turf