The Fremont weekly journal. [volume] (Fremont, Sandusky County, Ohio) 1867-1877, 1867-06-07

different townships in this county: 3'i9
NEW SYSTEM NECESSARY. -f
The first thing to be done is to adopt the
plan ofraisng the money for repairing roads
and putting into the hands of single agent
who shall be responsible that alb the. high
ways of the town shall be at all times safe,
and in as good repair as possible. Oxen and
horses and carts, and all the implements re-
quired in summer and winter, should be
put in his charge and he should hire by the
year or the month or day as he finds TO be
most convenient and profitable, as many
men as are necessary for his work, In this
way we have first a competent agent, or at
least an agent who may be soon educated
for business; secondly a corps of laborers
who can work at the time the repairs are
needed, who can repair the damage by
freshets or heavy showers in summer, and at
once break out the snow paths In winter.
A little work in filing hole, in turning
Waterfront road that has been washed out,
may save ten times the labor it costs, and
the seasonable removal of round, loose stones
from the surface, or digging out, fast stones
from the path, may save many an accident
aud the constant discomfort Of travellers.
70 ~ i''Rh DRA1NING OF ROADS t1i'
Z 1t is impossible, without floating bridge,
to makeia permanently good road on a, wet
foundation, MacAdam, the inventor of mac
adamized roads, used to say that he cared
not what material was the foundation of a
road, provided it was dry. The great fault
of road making is the want of drainage at the
bottom. Take tight cask and fill it with
any earth, sand, clay, loan, or even gravel
then pour in as much water as it will hold
then take a.weoden ramnner and attempt to
beat the mass solid, and the more you beat
it. the softer it becomes; you would not ex--
pect to make hard she'll on the top, by
such means. So it is with road, through
swampy or springy place the water is at
the bottom, and by attraction works'up and
keeps the surface wet, and no amount Of
gravel or of rolling can form a hard track
above it. 1t is not the water which falls
directly upon the road that does the greatest
harm, for this may be easily disposed of,
although with a wet foundation, the rain
increases the difficulty, there being no pass
age for it downward, as there is in soil
which is underdrained. y usy bne as..is
Farmers who have practiced thorough drain
age in their fields or meadows, will at once
understand this matter. They know howia
line or two OF tiles four feet deep, through "a
shaking bog, or along springy hillside, will
change spot over which no beast could pass
into soil compact enough that loads Of hay,
or even Of manure, may cross itsafely. Dry
sand islgood foundation for road or for "a
building clay drained of its moisture forms
hard subsoiE but cracks and opens suffi
ciently by drainage, TO allow water TO pass
through it, and even swamp mud or peat well
drained to the depth of four feet would sup
port the gravel or other. material necessary
to form a, 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, and are still
in the worst condition for travel, he will be
satisfied that we-aEe- correct when we say
that the one thing needful to the good repair
of our common highways,is is underdrainage.
.aaY 3a.il NODE OF DRAINAGE. ~
Any one who knows how to drain field
or meadow, knows how to drain highway.
Tiles have not been long in common use in
this country, but their use is now understood
by most farmers. As "A general thing, tiles
four feet deep, properly laid, two rods apart,
will drain any soil, though on very close clay
they are laid nearer. The pathway ofa road
is not usually more than twenty zOrr twenty
two feet wide, and line of drains parallel
with the road on each side of it, will almost
certainly draw off all water that can be taken
from the soil by drainage, and the rest what
is-held by capillary attraction, will do no
harm. .,.....- .,.t,,.,l ....-.-.,r
- Many seem to imagine that although these
little tiles Of two or three inch bore, may
drain a field well enough, some great process,
more expensive and imposing is necessaryto
drain public highway. So they dig
trench four feet wide and four feet deep, in
the middle of the road, and lay costly
culvert of fiat stones and. cart in hundredsiOf
loads of loose stones, and build their road
path on the top of if, when single line Iof
three inch tiles laid in place of the culvert,
and one.tenth of the cost would answer the
purpose far better. We say better, because,
although the culvert may drain as well as
the tiles while kept open, it is far more liable
to be filed up and obstructed than is tile
drain, because Ahe later is laid tighter and
cannot be entered by the various vermin
which work ruin to stone drains.
We have in our treatise on Farm drainage
set forth fully our views on these points, and
they are applicable alike for the most part to
highways as well as farms. The common
mode of attempting to remedy wetness in
roads, by rcarting gravel and sand upon the
surface, is only successful when the 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 cents to dollar
rod, and the cost of carting on material to
raise the road bed even two feet would be
ten or twenty times as much.
We know of tracts of road in villages, that
have been raised, and rounded up to the in
convenience of everybody, to get rid of wet
places, when tenth of the expense laid out
in drainage, would have left them level and
dry, and convenient.-Nass.P PloaghmGn.
WIDE-TIRE WAGoNs.-The advantage of
wide-tire wagons is not sufficiently appre-
ciated. Every farmer who has tried one up
on sandy roads or fields speaks highly in
their favor; and they are equally valuable
upon soft soil when it is wet, like muck up
on the great prairies, where the felloes cut
through the sod, and sink half foot below
the surface. Upon some meadows, wheels
with four-inch tire run freely, while those Of
the ordinary width of one and three fourths
inches can not be used at all. Upon more
than half the lands and roads of the United
States wide-tire wagon will run easier,
heavily loaded, with two horses, than mar
row tire will with three. 1t is, then, saving
of fifty per cent. Some turnpike companies
allow wide-tire wagons to pass for half toll,
and, as matter Of public economy, every
road district could afford to pay premium
to have all burden wagons made with tires
four inches wide.
FACTS FOR HOUSE, -KEEPERs.-Alway mend
clothes before washing them.
Alum or vinegar is good to set colOrs, red,
green, or yellow.
If you are buying carpet for durability
choose small figures. 4
A bit of glue dissolved in skim milk and |
water will restore old Grape.
Scotch snuff put in the holes where srickets |
run will destroy them.
Sal soda will bleach; one spoonful is
enough for one kettle of clothes.
A hot shovel held over vanished furniture
will take out white spots.
A bit of soap rubbed on the hinges ofdocrs
will prevent their creaking.
Green should be the prevailing color for
bed hangings and window drapery.
Wood ashes and common salt, wet with |
water, will stop the cracks Of stove, and |
preyent smoke escaping,