The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1880-03-12
COUNTRY ROAD MAKING.

The Transportation question Is one OF /
the greatest importance to the Ameri- :
can farmer. 1t is probable, however, :
that the phase of this subject that has
been least discussed by public journals
the making and mendiug OF country
roads-is quite as important and less /.
understood rnan any other. y large I
proportion of American farm products /
never reach the railroads. They are /
consumed on the farm or in the villages /
and cities whittier the farmers team
and wagon convey them. Most OF these
farmers live so far from market that one
full dav at least Is consumed in market
ing q load of produce. II the roads are
uniformly good and level a team Will
draw two tons Of grain more easily than
on ordinary roads they will draw half
that amount This may seem to some
too great difference but it is because
we have too few really good roads. Too
little attention is paid to grading. In
a long stretch Of level roads. slight
hill may compel every teamster to put
On much less than he should be able to
do. In such case il would be better to
grade the hill. If that be possible, or go
around it. The measure Of value of a
road is what team can draw over the
hardest part of it,
ing value Of farms which always have
good and level road to market. l do
not believe the importance Of having
good roads is appreciated as II should
and Will be. but there is already an un-
derstanding on this subject which makes
intelligent road Improvement profitable.
As q rule, most Of the work annually
put upon country highways is wasted.
Consciousness Of this fact is one reason
why such work is generally shirked as
fa. as possible. Most men will not work
out their road tax as they do on their
farms for themselves. If they could
know that their work on the road was
as directly for their own benefit as that
which they do in every day farm work,
this would not be so. To have men en-
gage earnestly i'm road making, it must
be shown that their labOrs are producing
good results. As il is now, very often
the harder men work the worse will be
the roads.
The severe winters and superabundant
rains and SHOWS Of our northern climate
make the keeping of the roads in repair
extremely difficult. We have already
begun to appreciate the Importance Of
un lcTdTgining 10 keep roads in good or
der 1t is, on all heavy soils, the first
thing to be done. In neighbOrhOOds
where farmers underdrain their land,
the roads are much better than where
they do not Very often the drain cross
cs the road, and always at a point where
iJ Will be of most advantage. With an
1indeUdrain three feet deep crossing a
road. and usually in a depression, it
should be easy TO keep 4 long stretch of
road ALWAYS dry. This is the place to
put i'm a piece of macadam turnpike
two or three layers of stone lightly COW
cred with earth and gravel. The mac
adam turnpike is really a thoroughly
drained rOadbed when it is perfect. The
reason why it so often fails is because IN
many places there is no outlet to drain.
The water runs under the road to some
depression. and there lies until winter
fTosts have lifted the stones from their
foundation and left the road a qUagmiTe
rs soon as the spring came. II the mac
adam rGaGbed is connected with an
underdTain it viii Obviate this trouble
and make a firm and permanent road
bed.
Piling loose earth and sods in the CEN
tUe of the road may be somewhat better
than leaving the surface level. But if
the soil is vegetable matter, sOds and
the like, the more it is piled up the
worse the r0adbsd will surely be. Moth
ing viii do any good except to first re-
move surplus water by stone or tile un-
IoUdraius. When this is done, il is sur
pTisilE how little stone or gravel is need
ed. I am glad that road makers are
learning to use more gravel; but in
thousands Of places drawing gravel to
throw on an undraiued turnpike is near
iy a waste Of labor ". j. f.. IN CO1Gl-
.rg Gentleman.