The Logan County banner. [volume] (Logan, W. Va.) 1889-1903, 1891-01-22
THE FARMING WORLD.


SnEAI <6Ct@t -
nor Places where Dlrt BEDS. opea Dltchss
and wooden cufvsrts Are Used.
Plowboy, Oneida, Kan, whites Orange
Judd Farmer: That which vii do the
most good among the rural population
under existing conditions Il discus
sion Of the best practical methods Of
building and maintaining good dirt
roads at least expense. do not APP
prove OF the proposed plan Of doing
away with the small road district and
placing the roads Of whole township
under the control of one man 1t would
bring the Office more into politics, and l
fear the tendency would be to give the
more B4bfic roads between the towns
more than their just share OF attention;
Also in time OF high water. when bridges
are washed out and prompt action Is re-
quired simultaneously over alarge area,
the work would not be done SO quickly
as when divided between several super
visors; neither would the one super
visor feel the personal interest in all
the roads that Is taken by the officers
under the present system. Let the
small district remain, bu. elect tho SUI
pervisor for term Of three or five
years so he can not only lay his plans
but have time to carry them out Let
the wages be sufficient to recompense q
good man for his time, and you, farm
ers, vote for such a man irrespective of
party lines. regret to say that some
Of us do too much Sinking and lying
in-the-shade when we go on the road to
work when we ought to at least be.
willing to do decent days work to
have the road smooth and straight.
To maintain good roads good drainage
is necessary, and when properly con-
most practical and efficient The ex-
pensc OF artificial undertakings pre-
cludes discussion of its merits here.
The bitches should not be deeper than
necessary, and should be of as uniform
depth as possible, with good outlets
provided in all low places whore water
would stand without them. Let tho
roadway DO OF medium width, rounded
evenly and uniformly from the outside
of one ditch to the outside OF the other,
with the center sufficiently elevated to
bitches. For culyerts, stone arches ere
of course superior to wood, but we will
have to pass them, along with paving
and understanding. for q large part OF
our country. | have found boxes made
Of two-inch plank, using oak for the top,
more satisfactory than sewer pipe. Be
careful to make them sufficiently large,
and put good plank wings at the ends
60 prevent the banks being washed
away. 1t is not q good plan to cover
the plank with earth, as they soon rot
under it. On either side Of these cul-
verts mud holes are some times formed,
and it Is common practice to fill these
with earth taken out near the end OF
the culvert where it is handy ard soft
easy to plew But mud is mighty
poor material TO fill mud hole with. In
such cases it will pay to draw better ma
tefial from some distance.
The practice Of blowing up the beaten
track where it follows the center of the
road should not be followed. Let it
remain for solid foundation on which
to build new road-bed. In addition to
the use OF the grader and the small
scrapers, each district should be pro-
vided with good steel pillow and be re-
auired to keep it bright and in good
order, and use it intelligently. The
crooked slovenly blowing often done
even where there is chance to do nice
straight work, would be disgrace to a
Chinaman with his crooked stick. If
instead of starting the grades directly
in the sod, couple of burrows were
drawn by stakes, for starter, would it
not be an advantage? When the road
side intended to be worked is in sod, it
should be plowed up in the fall, using
sharp pillow and taking narrow burrows,
except in case OF prairie sod when
regular prairie breaker should be used
and the burrows laid fiat
There is another point to which i
wish to call attention. In travelling
one often sees the roadside occupied to
a great extent by noxious weeds, such
as cockleburs, thistles, smartweed, jim
son, etc, producing seed which will be
scattered by wind and water. by rab-
bits, dogs and stock to the lands of
good, careful farmers often miles dis
tant Therefore, whenever possible,
the roadside should be left in good
shape to be run over with mower and
the weeds cut before they go to seed.