rface will not wear so rapidly, and immediate attention is not so
important. It is usually more satisfactory in this case to make more
extensive repairs at one time, as a larger quantity of material added at
once may be more readily compacted to a uniform surface, the repairs
taking the form of an additional layer upon the road.

"Where the material of the road surface is very hard and durable, a
well-constructed road may wear quite evenly and require hardly any
attention, beyond ordinary small repairs, until worn out. It is now
usually considered the best practice to leave such a road to itself
until it wears very thin, and then renew it by an entirely new layer of
broken stone placed on the worn surface and without in any way
disturbing that surface.

"If a thin layer only of material is to be added at one time, in order
that it may unite firmly with the upper layer of the road, it is usually
necessary to break the bond of the surface material before placing the
new layer, either by picking it up by hand or by a steam roller with
short spikes in its surface, if such a machine is at hand. Care should
be taken in doing this, however, that only the surface layer be loosened
and that the solidity of the body of the road be not disturbed, as might
be the case if the spikes are too long."

In repairing roads the time-honored custom of waiting until the road has
lost its shape or until the surface has become filled with holes or ruts
should never be tolerated. Much good material is wasted by spreading a
thick coat over such a road and leaving it thus for passing vehicles to
consolidate. The material necessary to replace defects in a road should
be added when the necessities arise and should be of the best quality
and the smallest possible quantity. If properly laid in small patches
the inconvenience to traffic will be scarcely perceptible. If such
repairs are made in damp weather, as they ought to be, little or no
difficulty is experienced in getting a layer of stone to consolidate
properly. If mud fills the rut or hole to be repaired, it should be
carefully removed before the material is placed.

Wide tires should be used on all heavy vehicles which traverse stone
roads. A four or five inch stone or gravel road will last longer without
repair when wide tires are used than an eight or ten inch road of the
same material on which narrow tires are used.

Not only should brush and weeds be removed from the roadside, but gras