New-York daily tribune., 1858-02-06
AGRICULTURAL.
HOW TO HAVE A GOOD ROAD.
To ne Edho, Of The N. Y Tribune.

To ne Editor Of The ". Y. 1yor"e
SIR: Again and again have you called attention to
the necessity of good roads, but still the days OF bad
rosds are not ended Travel where or when we will
no matter what part Of the country, nor what time IN
the yearand it Is almost sure to be difficult 10 mako
spy progress: and often is impossible. The journey
has but one refrain-tramp! splash! sink water !!
mud holes foot deep. And it this element OF wet
which preeminently constitutes bad road and there
fore, when speak of bad roads in this article mean
roads covered with mud and water and not rough ones
las against SMOOTH nor hlly ones las against ieveI
though these last are by means good All other bad
roads are as nothing compared with these wet anu
muddy ones and oil other badness Of no account by
the side of this abommabe and filthy pool instead
of a road.
How to have good road, then, is the same as how
to have a dry one. No matter what kind OF eafth
forms the composition of the road-gravel sand, clay
loam or even the blackest Of muck 30 the ROAD Is
only Dry it will nfallbly be good one. And no mat
ter through how low and bad place you have TO lay
out the road-even if it be perfect swanp-stin, 80
the yoad is dry II is all you want it viii be the very
perfection Of highway. And you need not hacadam-
ize il ether stone road costs infinitely more, ana
not 20 GOOD 70 travel over and besides in making H.
you lose sight ,of that word dryj ana because you
do therefore your road will settle rght DOWN, sne
and all and soon be in the-water agan; Dut yvu
had frat made dry road, you might then naYe as
bented with the stones, and your roao "'u'0 now
stayed where you made it, too ~, ra,.,n wa..r
A dry road Ia not one that does pot ie,a'u .e- "a
standing on it, but one that does NO. reta sei e. 70
in it, under its surface; as field fnat ID uy a IL M
plow not only must not be wet to the eye Una. iooA
over h but also must not be wet 70 that same pioS
whole foot beneath the cod that Is being overtu;
IT must be dry below as well as above. NO sou lI.r
ther Of a road nor Of field can ever possi1y % ~
which has NOT been leeched and made perfecty Po-
rous by the water having run through i to lower
level and in this lies the whole philosophy oi
ing land by dching; or, better yer, py en- 20
1t is simply that water will find ts level; ana .IeI 49,
get lid of the water we have only 10 cut ,niose .
6srdpan or sub-so on which it rests, and thus giVe
a new and lower level to which TO SINK. 90 tiat ~
road can be dry which has water standlng on te
Of IT, nor on either side of II; for IN that case te
ter 10 find its level will settle directly DacK into tue
road-the road will be as wet the sides, not on
the surface yet Just below il. And s tnat Na'ei
not the roadpath, but just under IL, "cn sPo,.'
the road. Ii is precisely that which does a tns M
chief rendering possible IN case 2. and even with.
out the raiD making the road soft and pe ecny unu
the horses feet and cauiage-whees 80 Ine' = eool
all cut up, and filed with ruts ana hoes. e', and
the whole secret of making and always having goc9
road, hes in that most simple OF al Inine' s''So "
of that little water under ground.
Draining. then, is an infalible remedy, Tor PAD PAD
roac-snd as nfaliibls receipt tor gsod one just
orS i,e" ore siteh viii be needed deep enough TO
leech the rood and furnish its water Level
lower than tref, and at once you y3 have accom- VA
bor he afraid N cnt the ditches both deep and wide
epough TO make them perfectly efIectusi the dirt you
remove from them wifi help make your road. n you
can secure sufficient descent in the bottom OF the
bitches to empty off the water INTO the streams and
hoows alor Q the road that will be we'll but II not
cut di,cbes Wherever r quired into the fields aiion
ing the road and empty the accumulated waters
there There is not half mile Of road IN the country
with water standing a. its sides, and thus needing u
be carried away but in the fields the Other
AIDE there ere abundant facilities for emptyng ths