It is undoubtedly true that the McAdam or Telford road is the best road for all practical purposes in this country, and will be the country road of the future; yet it is also true that the most of our highways are mere earth-roads, and will probably remain such for many years, and it is therefore desirable that they should be constructed as well as they can be made. It is an admitted canon of the road-making art, that a road ought to be so hard and smooth that wheels will roll easily over it and not sink into it, so dry and compact that rain will not affect it beyond making it dirty, and its component parts so firmly moulded together that the sun cannot convert them into deep dust. Therefore the travelled part of an earth-road should not be composed of loam fertile enough for a corn-field, nor of sand deep enough for a beach. If the road runs through sandy land, it can be greatly and cheaply improved by covering it with a few inches of clayish soil; and if it runs through clayey land, a similar application of sand will be beneficial. A gravelly soil is usually the best material for an earth-road, and when practicable every such road should be covered with a coating of it. The larger gravel, however, should never be placed at the bottom and the smaller at the top, as the frost and the vehicles will cause the large gravel to rise and the small to descend, like the materials in a shaken sieve, and the road will never become smooth and hard. CHAPTER IV. REPAIRS. After a road is located and constructed, economy as well as public convenience demands that it be kept in good condition the year round. If a road is allowed to go for several months at a time without repairs, ruts and holes are likely to form on its surface, and frequently the middle becomes lower than the sides. Then, in order to put it in good condition again, a great deal of work and expense are necessary, whereas if every break is repaired immediately, much less labor and expense are required to keep up the road for the same length of time, besides the increased advantage and convenience of a good road from day to day.