which make repairing necessary. I will refer to only a few of them. Stone roads are liable to get out of order because of too much water or want of water; also, when the natural roadbed is soft and springy and has not been sufficiently drained; when water is allowed to stand in ditches and form pools along the road, and when the "open winters" give us a superabundance of wet. Before the road becomes thoroughly consolidated by travel it is liable to become soft and stones get loose and move under the wheels of the heavily loaded wagons. In the earth foundation on which the stone bed rests the water finds the soft spots. The wheels of the loaded teams form ruts, and particularly where narrow tires are used.
The work of repair should begin as soon as defects appear, for, if neglected, after every rain the depressions make little pools of water and hold it like a basin. In every case this water softens the material, and the wagon tires and horseshoes churn up the bottoms of the basins. This is the beginning of the work of destruction. If allowed to go on, the road becomes rough,
