The southern sentinel. (Winnfield, La.) 1883-1910, 1884-11-14
Five Kinds OF Foot. Walks.

Foot-walks about house and garden,
more especially in rural villages than
on farms, are often SO poor as to cause
inconvenience, severe colds, serious
diseases, and at times death. through
feet and clothing wetted by walking
through grass-one of the exceedingly
dangerous thing. Board walks should
be raised from the ground on four-inch
foundations; be al least three feet wide
10 keep the skirts drv, for women
suffer more from wet clothing in this
way than men do should be laid with
close Joints to prevent grass growing
between them, and the grass and weeds
should be kept closely cut on each side.
Where gravel or coal ashes can be pro-
cured, spread three inches thick and
rolled firmly. they make excellent
paths. The surface should be rounded
to give fall to the water and proper
drains should be made on the sides.
The disadvantage of these walks is
that they will become covered with
grass and weeds if neglected, But a
good coating of cheap salt scattered
over them will kill everything but the
coarse crab-grass which appears in
July. and boiling hot brine is needed
for this bad weed.
Cement paths are made of various
materials, gravel, coal ashes and
broken stone are best. The usual way
OF making good foot-walks is as fol-
lows: The material Is gathered in
convenient place and Is heated in a box
having q shect-iron 1ttom and mount
ed on q few stones. AS the stuff is
made hot it is thrown into heap on .
mixing board and melted asphalt or
gas tar is poured over ii and the whole
well shovelled over until thoroughly
Incorporated; no more tar being used
than will merely coat the material and
be absorbed by it. The path is prop
erly graded and dug out. three or four
inches; dry coarse gravel is first laid
down and the prepared material IS
spread two inches thick and well ram
med down, 1t is smoothed as well as
possible and then busted over with dry
sand or fine ashes and rolled until q
hard, smooth surface is made. This
soon becomes like rock and no weeds
or moss will grow upon it.
Another way is to make concrete OF
water lime with gravel or ashes or both.
These materials are put in heap and
wetted. One barrel of the water lime
| is mixed with three barrels OF sharp.
clean sand, dry, being shovelied over
back and forth several times to get q
thorough mixture. A portion is then
mixed with water into thin, soft NOR
tar and five parts of the wet gravel or
ashes are well mixed with it, SO that
every fragment is coated with the COM
I bining mortar. This IS important for
| obvious reasons. Tbs concr te is
spread on the graded walk and beaten
down with rammer until the moisture
| gathers on the surface. Some o. the
dry sand or cement is then scattered
over the surface to absorb the mo sture
and the surface is smnothed over with 8
plank rubber having = sloping handle
to work it back and forth with. In q
| few DAYS this is hard and becomes
harder with time. Bymaking divisions
| of thin strips of wood or tarred paper
| paper the cement may be laid down in
blocks, square or diamond shaped, and
| for extra good walks the blocks may be
colored BY mixing the finish coat with
brown or gray or other coloD alter.
nately.--dH Engineer. - n r III.
hse<.