Morning journal and courier., 1890-05-06
NEW HAVEN, CONN, MORNING, MAY G. 1890

pervision of a road master. More commonly some elder of the multitude is by common consent absolved from personal labor and made superintendent of operations.
 Arriving on the ground long after the nsu- al time of beginning work, the road makers proceed to discuss the general question of concern, until slow acting conscience con- vinces them that they should be about their task. They then with much deliberation take the mud out of the roadside ditches, If. indeed, the way is ditched at all, and plaster the same on the center of the road. A plough is brought into acquisition, which de- stroys the best part of the road, that which is partly grassed and bush grown, and the soft mass is heaped up in the central parts of the way. The sloughs or cradle holes are
 filled with this material, or perhaps little brush may be cut and hesped in, making very frail support for the wheels. An hour or two is consumed at monday by lunch and further discussion of public and private affairs. A little work is done in the after- making is abandoned until the next year.
 If we take the misapplied expenses of our country ways, if we count at the same time the mere social disadvantages which they bring to the people, it is probable that the sum of the road tax in this country Is great- CT than that of our ordinary taxation. From some data which have gathered in my per- sonal experience with roads, l am inclined to
 think that even in New England the cost to
 the public arising from ineffective roadwsys,
 as well as from the waste of money expend- ed on them, amounts to not less than an av- craze of ten dollars a year on each house
 hold. In this reckoning have included the
 loss of time and of transporting power of vehicles, the wear and tear of wagons and kI~1 f~I~ It is probable that the expenditure in this direction is greater than that which is in- cured for schools or any other single ele- msnt of public interest. I am inclined to think that it comes near the sum of all our state and federal taxation together.
 It would be greatly to the benefit of our system of road management if men could be thoroughly well educated for the duty of road masters. A we'll instructed expert could readily take charge of all the roads in an ordinary county. Bringing to bear the experience which has been gained in the art of road making, he could greatly diminish the cost of construction and maintenance, and, without any addition to the present ex- penditure of labor, secure good and perma- nent ways. No other step seems so likely to advance this element in our policy so effsc- lively as the institution of educated road masters.
 Clay roads can only be made into satisfao. tory way by means of effective drainage. Deep side ditches are absolutely necessary for such roads, and the narrower the roadway l the more effective will be this drainage work. | It is a great mistake in such roads to have any more width than is imperatively necessa. ry for the uses of the structure. If the ditches extend to depth which would main 1 tain the crown of the road two feet above | the water level, and the. roadway is of the l least possible width, the problem of protec- tion against mud is most easily solved.
 To effect any satisfactory solution of the difficulties which beset such roads 1t is ne- cessary, however, either to construct an arti- l ficial surface of timber or of stone, which is always matter of great cost, or to mingle some binding materials with the clay. If l gravelly materials or, what is better, shlngly waste such as is often produced by frost ac- l tion on slaty stones can be commingled in l the proportion of one-half with the clay, a 1 firm road bed can commonly be secured, provided the read is we'll ditched. This commingled gravel or other solid substance must extend at least for 8 foot below the
 surface in order to withstand any heavy car l riages. In many cases an equally good re- suit can be accomplished by covering the surface with repeated costings of any shrub | by vegetable matter. In northern Minnesota l have seen the material known as "excel sior," i. G., strip like shavings, cut by ma
 chinery from blocks of wood, serve admira
 bly, to prevent the motion of the clay, and
 am of the opinion that it would, in cla! l countries where stone cannot readily be ob
 tained, but where timber is plenty, be al
 admirable device to have 0 machine fo l making excelsior to be used as @ road mate
 rial. On the surface such woody matter rar idly decays, but when worked by the wheel
 into the clay it may last for several seasons
 At no great cost the material might be sstu I
 more resisting to decay. The finest branche
 of trees, the leaves of pines, even rushef
 may serve the need, if they can be cheapl
 applied.
 ) In sandy countries the problem of roa
 maintenance if very much simpler than 1t , in the regions underlaid by clay. The ail here should be to have the roadway as na , TOW and we'll defined as possible. In mol cases it is desirable to have all the vehicle run in the same track, with an abundal
 growth of vegetation either side of the ru , ! for by this means the shearlng Of the sanG , l is in @ great measure avoided.
 II We come now to the type of roadwa , ! which should be constructed wherever tt culture and condition of the country perm
 ! the expenditure of considerable amount ( 1 money on it's main carriage ways-a coI 5 struction commonly known as the turnpik The essential feature of all such ways coI 2 1 sists in the substitution of compact ma ! of stony matter in place of one of ordinal : soil. When properly built they 80 far spal
 1 the expenses of reconstruction as in mar T cases to be, in the long run, more economic !, | than clay roads. All macedamized roat should be double; on one side covered vii a stone, on the other having the ordinary fou V dation of the soil. If the soilway is kept
 fair repair, it will be preferred by sensib teamsters for more than half the year in g Q | fv,v nf a NO11n - for more than three-fourths of the time. 0 preparing such way care should be take :, | where possible, to remove the whole of tl - soil proper in order to secure a foundatio
 on the subsoil. which, having escaped in u @ l main the action of frost, as well as the di @ organizing effect of roots, is hrmer than tl ii over soil. Founded on hard pan or subsoi d 1t is commonly possible to make a tolerab s permanent road by placing upon the bed v layer of from eight to twelve inches broken limestone, or, what is better, le '. thickness of broken shale. The fragmen .s should, If possible, in all cases, bo of 1 '' somewhat limy nature, for in such nateria Z, | process of natural cementation goes IT whereby the mass coon becomes very frl 70 If possible, the inter.spaces should also ,s filled wish powdered or finely broken linn u stone, not with sand, which usually does n u add much to the frmnsss of the wa 10 Where the underlying layer of soil is D
 very compact, 1t ia in almost all cases a er vantageous to lay floor of fiat stones, II
 loose pavement, and upon this to place tl
 true macadam of broken bits of rock mat se rial.
 "a It is in the study of the road project, !" regards location, that we find the great'
 difficulty In our American system of rul ., ways. My much experience with this pl .. ". blem has convinced me that an edueat :" road master can do much for our people
 bettering the placing of our roadways.
 have frequently to traverse a road thr
 miles in length which crosses two deep v n leye, the deciivlties making it very difficu
 | if not impossible, to maintain the ways
 fair condition. Tho difficulties might hs ID been avoided, and nearly horizontal W secured, by slight deaec.ion from the pr "' ent line.
 The character of tho vehicles which 1 ss used upon a roadway has Q great infuer ,n upon it's endurance to the beat of the vince re With the same burden two wheeled O.
 does far more damage to the road than O lg of four wheels, and this because ot the su ,d dsnness in the motion of the wheels al s. their irregular twisting movement In t ID trackway. The greatest defect of our Anne k ican carriages is that for given weight a. carriage and barden the tires of the whet er are extremely narrow. It is true that on le conditioned and muddy roads a narro V wheel tread Is advantageous for the reas