Undoubtedly the name turnpike as applied to some roads arose from the fact that pikes or gates were set across the roads by the keeper or toll-collector. In addition to collecting tolls, it was a part of the toll-keeper’s business to keep the road in repair. His wages and other expenses for doing this were received from the tolls collected from the people who used the road to ride on in carriages, wagons, etc. In the early days the toll-collector was armed with a pike, a long-handled weapon with a sharp iron head, which he used to prevent people who travelled his road from going by without giving up their toll. Later on a swinging gate was built across the road, which made it unnecessary to use the pike, though the name was retained, for no one could pass while the gate barred the way. When the passerby had paid his tolls, the toll-collector opened the gate and let him pass. If he did not pay the gate remained closed and the driver had to turn back or decide to pay. Hence comes the name turnpike. In some parts of the country they call these toll roads. What Is Dust? A large part of the dust we see in the roadway when the horses kick it up, or when an automobile passes, is made up of the pulverized dirt of the roadway. It becomes mixed with other things, such as the street deposits of animals, particles of carbon, etc. Particles of this dust get into our throats, and as there are many germs in it, they are very liable to cause sickness, especially the colds from which we suffer. What Becomes of the Dust? The dust of the roadway is generally blown away by the wind, to come down to earth again wherever the wind happens to carry it--on the lawns, the doorsteps or back to the road, perhaps. In any event, the rain which is certain to come sooner or later, washes this dust back into the soil, or into the sewers. Part of it mixes with the soil. The organic matter in dust helps to fertilize the soil, and is therefore useful. Other parts of the dust are oxidized and consumed by the air, through the heat of the sun. So you see the dust is continually changing from one thing to another. Are Stones Alive? Real stones are not alive. They do not become stones until they have been burned out--until they have become what is known as dead matter. This is meant entirely in the sense that we commonly think of the meaning of the word “alive,” which is to be able to breathe and grow. Stones can neither breathe nor grow. They belong to the inanimate kingdom of things on the earth. Particles of this dead matter, found in stones, etc., are in many cases taken up by things that are actually alive, and help to form the bodies of living things.