Page:Historic highways of America (Volume 15).djvu/212

 and the wear and tear of the horses and wagons are increased. Stone roads out of repair, like any common road in similar condition, will be found expensive to those who use and maintain them. The way to do is to look over a road after a rain, when the depressions and basins will show themselves. Whenever one is large enough to receive a shovelful of broken stone, scrape out the soft dirt and let it form a ring around the depression. Fill with broken stone to about an inch or two above the surface of the road. The ring of dirt around will keep the stone above the surface in place, and the passing wheels will work it on the broken stone and also act as a binder. The whole will work down and become compact and even with the road surface. The ruts are treated in the same way. Use one and one-half inch stone for this; smaller stones will soon grind up and the hole appear again.

The second cause of the necessity for road repairs is want of water. This occurs in summer during hot, dry spells. The surface stone "unravels;" that is, becomes loose where the horses travel. This con-