Centre Democrat. [volume] (Bellefonte, Pa.) 1848-1989, 1879-10-16
Improving Country Roads.

'AE''a'HTM LhE'u"rf tu tHHhify "rhiirfg1n.
One of the greatest drawbacks TO
the ease and pleasure Of a rural life
is the general badness Of country
roads. The wrctchcd system by
which they are mismanagcd is con.
ducivc 20 waste of money and labor,
the injury Of horses and vehicles.
the destruction of harness, the in
convenience Of the rough driving.
and the most disagrccablc walking,
in clouds of dust or deep mud as the
case may bc, and to a very great cx.
tent, n great additional cost Of trans
portation on every load of produce
taken to market, and every load Of
supplies brought in.
Roads, to bc most useful, should
be rs short, straight, level, smooth
and hard rs possible \ straight,
level road is the shortest road, md
deviation from straightness is to be
preferred, rather than to lose the
level. For the use of road is
measured by its least effective part.
and if hill is to be surmountcd
about once in 10 miles. the load of
team for the whole distance must bc
regulated by that one difficult spot.
The increase Of distance in hori-
ZoDtal curve is comparatively little /;
n road 10 miles long may curve so
much that not more than n fourth OF
n mile can be seen from any one
point Of it, and yet the whole dis
tance will be increased only $50
yards oicr that OF straight line.
This corresponding increase of cost
in construction is trifle as compar.
ed with the avoidance of a hill that
would require load TO be decreased
one-fourth TO surmount it. The cf.
feet of grades is very great in in
crcasing the resistance TO traction.
a horse that can draw a ton upon
level road can draw only 1900 lbs.
upon a grade rising foot in 81 /;
only 1000 lbs. upon grade of in
%; and but 500 lbs. upon grade OF
! foot in 10. Otherwise he must
exert an increased force Of four times
his usual power in the in 10 grade,
and twice his power in that of | in
%. The frequent repetition of so
great an exertion upon our ordinary
roads, is n prevalent cause Of lame
ness and disease in farm horses. So
in descending grades, the departure
from n level Of more than foot in
81 is exceedingly destructive Of horse
flesh, as causing injurious and unu.
sual strains upon the tendons and
joints. At the slope mentioned, n
vehicle upon the smooth surface Of
the best made road will descend of
its own weight; all sleeper grades,
therefore, tend to the rapid wear
and tear of horses and harness.
Moreover, as the speed must neces.
sarily be decreased in travelling up
and down slopes, that is equivalent
to the lengthening of the distance to
double the length of the slopes. The
common idea that IL rests horse to
travel up and down hill, is contrary
TO fact and common scnsc--as much
so as that IL would rest man to 90
up and down stairs, rather than to
walk upon level floor.
The previously mentioned condi-
tions OF a road refer to its location /;
its smoothncss, hardness and the con.
tour of its surface refer to its mater.
ial and construction. These are the
all-important points of this subject I;
for road may be undulating If not
hilly, and yet, by reason OF its excel
lent surface, may be really good
one for all purposes, while straight
and level road, such as are common
in the western prairie States, may be
utterly impassable, because IL is bad
ly constructed, or made of poor ma.
terial. Again,.of the two--material
and construction--the latter Is by far
the most important, for it is difficult
to mention any kind of soil, except
one almost wholly of vegetable orr
gin, that cannot be used successfully,
in greater or less degree, in making
roads, by means of skillful methods
! OF construction. Thus, any mater.