The great West. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1889-18??, 1891-12-25
THE FARM AND HOME.
CONCERNING THE MAKING OF
A GOOD ROAD.
Standing Water Rims . Road Bed
How to Make Farmer of the Boy
A Six-Acre Farm-Farm Notes
and Domestic JOts.
Building Roads.

y
points to make a good and permanent
road and the first of these is the grad
ing. The road must not only be
thrown up SO as to be high above the
water which may gather in the bitches
at the sides but there must be provi-
sion for drawing this water off so that
it shall not stand and soften the fill on
which the road is made. The grading
OF the road should be done in the early
part OF the season. not later than July,
so that it can be settled and compacted
before the ''metal'' is applied. 1t will
always be necessary to regrade few
weeks after the first grading. as some
parts of the road will settle more than
others, leaving depressions and inc
qualities which must be remedied.
am quite sure that it is an expen-
sive mistake to put on large amount
of metal at once. l have seen Is to 10
inches OF gravel put on road at first,
and after the surface is packed solid,
it you dig down you will find that I'M
derneath it there are several inches of
gravel still loose and unpacked. This
holds enough water to make the road
spouty at times during the winter and
spring when sudden thaw takes all
the frost out and the road cuts through
much sooner than it would with third
less metal if it had been put on at
three different times, few inches at
once. and each coating packed solid
before the next one was applied. The
first coat of metal may be coarser
than those used subsequently, but if
fiat stone or boulders are used there
must be but a single layer of them,
and enough gravel or finely broken
stone top of them to keep them in
place, for if a double layer of coarse
stone is used the top ones will work to
the surface.
After there is once a fairly good
foundation for road, l would never
apply more than two inches of gravel
at once. This amount will all pack
solid without strata of loose gravel
between the surface and foundation,
as will be the case if, as l have often
seen, s or 10 inches deep is put on at
once. l have watched this peculiar
point in road making, and feel sure
that a large saving in cost can be
made in this way and better road
No other work in road-making counts
for so much as a little attention to it
while it is being packed. Ruts will
open in the soft gravel and hold the
water Some one should go over the
road once a week with garden rake
and drag the pebbles and loose gravel
into the ruts until when it is finally
solid. there are no depressions to hold
what ruins road.
Where there is long slope, small
side-drains should be made every hun
dred feet to turn the water off into the
side bitches. If these are made close
together, it will not be necessary to
throw up high mound to turn the
water into the ditch, as this will be
unpleasant to drive over at full trot,
but slight depression and bank below
it will catch the water. l thing their
should be laws passed allowing the
road-master to prohibit the drawing
Of heavy loads for a few days in the
spring after the frost comes out of
the ground, or until the roads settle.
Often one days work with four
horse team and heavy load will cut up
a road and damage it to the amount of
many dollars a mile, when by waiting
few days, it would settle so as not
to be damaged at all.
There is much work wasted on the
roads by patching here little and
there little graveling a patch here
and there without properly grading.
The best way is to begin at the village
or railroad station and build and COM
plete good solid road as far as you
go; then every one who goes to town
or station gets the benefit of the road
while if you begin at the end farthest
from town. no man gets much benefit
from it till it passes his house. 1t will
encourage those Interested in the line
of road to push it rapidly to compile
ton when they see the difference be-
tween the good solid end of the road
and the muddy end.-Country Gentle
man.
The Petted Beasts of Prey.