The herald., 1893-05-29
nOYLu UtI0ufs sTAta.
HOW TO OBTAIN GOOD ROADS.
Whore Good Material IL Abundant Grcnt
Expense Is Not Necessary.

UHero Ooou NhteFlul Is ADunuanE 1roht
Expense Is Not Necessary.
So much has been said about the diff
GUILTY of making good country roads
without involving great outlay Of
money that it seems rather presuming
to take contrary view of the subject,
but 4 think the matter has been much
exaggerated, and that in any part Of the
country where clay, hardpan, gravel or
Gisintegrated rock can be found it Ia
quite easy to get excellent roads at com.
paratively little expense. / speak from
some practical experience acquired In
roadmaking in very wild and hilly re-
gion Of northern New Jersey, where we
are accustomed to work out our taxes
on 10 or more miles Of public highway,
and by adopting the following system
we have found ii easy TO keep the roads
in such good condition that they can be
driven over at an times with speed, COM
fort and pleasure.
The proper time to begin work or re-
pairs is in the early spring, just after
the frost comes out of the ground--aB
soon as the roads have thoroughly settled
and dried out. Where the road Is old,
with good, solid bed, the FIRST thing to
be done is to cover it all over with q
light dressing Of gravelly material, and
when possible finish 1t off with top
coating of hardpan, but avoid putting il
on too thiclCly, lest the going become
heavy, as it is slow to dry out. Loan is
packs properly and makes mud.
Care must be taken to raise the road
up toward the center and give it q
slight elevation at the crown, but only
just enough to shed the water on either
side into the cutters. On q level
straight road the crown should only be
slightly convex, for rounding up mar
row road in the middle is objectionable,
insomuch as it has the immediate effect
of forcing wheels of vehicles to run al
ways in the same limo and wear away
The new material into deep Tatts, that
quickly become water courses for the
wash Of the next rain and assist the
rapid destruction of the road by pre-
venting the water from reaching the
cutters.
AS fast as the new material can be
laid on it should be very carefully ralxed
over to remove all the large stones and
as many of the smaller ones as possible,
for where this precaation is neglected
until the staff packs down hard, which
happens in few days, the stones be-
come so firmly embedded that they are
not only difficult to remove, but soon
cause the road TO wear in humps and
bumps, and later In the season, during
the dry weather, they work up continu-
ally and become source of annoyance
and danger.
The cutters should then be carefully
cleaned by removing from them all de-
posits Of mud, decayed leaves OF branches
which have collected there during the
winter months Never allow this stuff
to be heedAsssly thrown along the edges
of the gutter or on the banks above
them, for the first rains will surely wash
all back to its old place, and the work
has to be done over again.
Another practical reason in favor Of
keeping the CUTTERS free just after the
roads are first repaired is that when the
heavy spring and summer showers have
washed away the greater portion of the
good, new coating it is at once caught
and retained in the cutters, ready to be
used the first time the road needs patch
ing, when a man or two can quickly put
it in first class order by simply shovel
ing back the material into its old place
agnin and then raking it over.
In the early spring, while the gravel
or hardpan rs still sticky OF heavy, the
process of drying out and packing down
can be greatly accelerated by keeping
some one raking over the road to level
off and smooth down the ruts as fast as
they are made by the cutting In of the
wheels, instead of allowing them TO wear
down deeper and deeper, and to furnish
sure channels for the wash of water,
which adds to the difficulty and expense
of repairing.
This method is quicker, easier and far
more economical than rolling, which re-
quires pair Of horses, and it is surpris-
ing how great distance a smart worker
can get over and put in perfect order
during day. By repeating this rakdng
once or twice, according to the condition
of the road and the amount of travel
upon it, the surface will pack down
quito as hard and even as that of park
! road.
Whenever q mud puddle appears, ow-
ing to some slight depression, IN place
so shaded by trees or shadows of hills
that the sun loses its power, it should
never be left to dry out slowly, day after
day giving the wheels a chance to cut
into it more deeply, but as soon as discov-
cred cartload of good, dry gravel should
at once be dumped into it, then raked
off, tamped down and perhaps reralzed
until it packs hard and smooth.--Sarat
Caalaar Hewitt in Har'rar'E
A blind mendicant In London wears
this inscription around his neck: Don't
be ashamed 10 give only penny. Ican't
see.n