The Weekly Perrysburg journal. [volume] (Perrysburg, O. [Ohio]) 1861-1???, 1867-06-21

Inc toHoWhg pefuneut remotks cOncern-
iug tho roads, neri, aud should receive
tie careful consideration Of tho Trustees
Of the different townships III this county;
NNsw sYsrEa NECESSARY.
The fltst thing to be done is to adopt the
plan Of raising the money Tor repairing
roads and putting iuto the hands cf single
agent who shall be responsible that all The
highways Of the town shall be at all times
safe, and ia as good repair as possible
Oxen and horaes and carts and all tho i'm
plomeuts required IN summer and winter.
should be put ia his charge aud he should
lire by the year or the month or day, as he
finds TO be most convenient aud profitable,
MS many men as are necessary for hia wUtk,
In this way We have first u competent
agent, or at loast an agent who may DO soOn
educated for business souohdly corps ol
hborcrs wlIo can work at the time the re
pairs are needed who eau repnir the dam
age by freshcts or heavy showers in sum
ners, and et once break out The snow paths
in winter. A little work in filling hols,
in turning water from a road that has been
washed out, may save ten times the labor |
1t oosts aud tho sGasonablo removal o.
round loose stones from hg surface, or
digging out fast stones from the path niay |
cave maiiy an accident aud tho constant
discomfort of travellers.
pRAINlNu or ROADS.
II is impossible, without floating bridge,
10 make permanently good road on wet
foundation. MacAdam, the inventor OF
macadani2ed roads, used to say that h0
cared not what material was tho foundation
of a road, provided it was dry. The great
fault of roadmakng is tho want of drainage
at tho bottom, Take tight cask ard iii
il with any earth, sand, clay, loan, or even
gravel, then pour in as much water as il
will hold then take a wooden rammer aud
attempt to beat the mass solid AM tho
more YOU beat it, the softer il becomes
you would not expect to mako hard shell
on the top, by such means. So il il with |
aroad through swampy or springy pl ice ; |
the water il at tho bottom and by attruc-
tion works up and keeps tho surface wet,
aud no amount OF gravel or of rolling can
form q hard track above it,, 1t is not the |
water which falls directly upon tho road |
that does tho greatest HARM for this may
be easily disposed OF, although with a wet
foundation, tho rain Increases the difficulty, !
there being no passage for it downward, |
as there is in soil which ia underdraned, |
Farmers who have practoed thorough |
drainage in their fields or meadows viii at
once understand this matter They know
how a line or two OF tiles four feet deep, |
through shaking bog, or along II springy
hillside, will change spot ovor which no
beast could pass into soil compact enough
that loads of hay, or even manure, may
cross il safely. Dry sand is good founda.
tion for road or for building clay
drained of its moisture forms n hard sub.
soil but cracks aud opens suicently by
drainage, To allow water to pass through It, !
and even swatu1iS mud or peat well drained
TO the depth of four feet would support the
gravel or other material necessary to form
good country highway If the reader
will call to mind the places on the roads in
his own neighborhood which have been
most expensive to repair aud are still in
the worse condition for travel, he will be
satisfied that we are correct when we say
that the ono thing noediul to the good re
pair of our common highways, is under
drainage.
MODE OF DRAINAGE.
Any one who knows how to drain field
or meadow knows how to drain u highway.
Tiles have hot been long in common use in
this country, but their uso is now under.
stood by most farmers. As a general thing
tiles -four feot deep, properly laid two rods
apart, will drain any soil, though on very
close cMy they are laid nearer, Tho path
twenty-five leet wide, aud line OF drains
parallel with tho road on each aide OF it, VIII
most certainly draw of all water that can
be taken from the soil by drainage and the
rrst what is held by capillary attraction,
will do no harm.
Many seem TO imagine that although
these littlo tiles of two or three inch bore,
may drain Gell we'll enough, soma great
process, more expensive aud Imposing il
necessary to drain u public highway, So
they dig " tronoh four feet wido aud -four
feet deep, in tho middle OF the road, and
lay costly culvert ot ltd stones and cart
IN hundreds of loads Of loose stones, and
build their roAdpath on the top OF it, when
a single line Of three inclr tiles laid IN place
of the culvert, and one.teuth Of the cost,
would answer the purpose far better, We
say better, because, although tho culvert
may drain as well as the tiles, while kept
open, it is far moro liable to be hIlod up
and obstructedthan ia tilo drain, because
the latter ie laid tighter and canGot be
entered by tie various vermin which work
fuin to stone drains.
We have in our treatise on Farm drain.
age set forth fully our views Oh these
pointa, and they are applicable alike f, +
tle most part to highways as well as iarms,
The common mode attempting to remedy
wetness in roads, by cmting gravel and
sand upon the surface, is only successful
when tho road is so far raised above the
common level that it is thus drained at the
foundation. Now a tile drain may be laid in
the best manner, anywhere almost, for
fifty ceuts to dollapa rod, and the cost of
eartns on material 10 raise the road bed
even two feet would be ten or twenty timos
as much,
We know OF tracts OF road in villages
shat have been raised and rounded up tC
the Inconvenience of every body, to get lid
Of wet places, when tenth Of the expens,
Iald out in drainage, would have lett then
level, and dry, and convenient. .MdSs
Pioughntan.