The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1888-08-04
Improving Country Roads.

A writer in the Wagon Maker, on the
above subject, concludes that it is a work
too little thought of, too negligently done,
and often so misappied as to make roads
worse rather than better To see the black,
mucky soil on the sides of roadways plowed
up and scraped into the center, there to
remain an impossible ridge during the sum-
mer; finally degenerating into an unfath-
omable slough of mud the next winter or
spring, is enough to discourage the man
who knows how roads should be made, and
even force him to regard laziness in work
ing out the road tax one of the excusable
sins, if not actually positive virtue.
In our climate, deep freezing combined
with too much water is the bane of road
ways, We cannot altogether prevent deep
freezing, but if there be ample underground
drainage, it will not effect great damage
The first object, then, of the road maker
should be to secure good drainage. With
out this, ridging the road only makes the
mud deeper, and even stone or gravel do
little good 1t is often forgotten that the
chief advantage from using an abundance
of stone and gravel in road making is the
incidental drainage which these afford, even
when piled in the roads with no idea of
this use IF the center of the road is un-
derlaid with stone, and then ridged up with
earth or gravel, it does for years form
good drain to keep the roadbed dry But
sooner or later frost will penetrate to these
stones and upheave Them Then the last
condition of the improved roadway will be
worse than the first
The fact is often forgotten that in dry,
compacted road, well ridged up, the soil
freezes deeper than it does in the fields.
This is especially so where the road is ex-
posed to winds and swept bare Of snow.
The drain under the roadbed should be not
less than three feet deep, and, if possible,
four feet would be still better. Whether
made with tile or stone, it should be laid
as carefully and the joints covered as closely
as if it were laid in the fields. Then, with
good outlets and side drains to conduct the
water from the center in all the low places,
and with comparatively little ridging up
with stone or gravel, the roadbed will be
kept in good condition for years.
1t is not the amount or sharpness of the
ridge in the center that makes roadway
good, but the character of the surface and
its uniform slope to either side. Ruts spoil
roads quicker than anything else. They
are the reservoirs for water, which, mixed
by heavily loaded wheels, grinding it into
the soil and making mud, renders it i'm
possible for water to break its way through.
Over the drain should be foot or more Of
subsoiI to keep the frost out, then followed
by stone to depth Of six or eight inches,
pounded fine on top and covered with
gravel. There will always be an outlet
under the stone to the drain below, and if
its outlet is kept open in low places, the
surface of the roadbed will always be dry.
Such road cannot become muddy except
for an inch or so on the surface.
It costs something to thoroughly under
drain roadway and improve it after this
manner, but, once done, it will last practi-
cally forever if the drain outlets are kept
open. Doing little piece each year, the
people in any road district may in time
have good roads, that will need only trifing
attention to keep in repairs. 1t is far bet
ter than the wasteful way of trying to inn
prove long sections Of roadway every year,
and doing generally quite as much harm
as good The difference between having
good and bad roads to market does prac-
tically affect the valve of their land more
than most farmers think. If they appre-
ciated this as they should, thousands of
them would take greater interest in the
way their road tax is worked out than they
have ever done before.