The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1893-04-15
Ghe Sarmer.
DIRT ROADS.

ID
By this term is meant those roads which
arr. formed of the natural soil found IN the
line Of the roadway. They are so common
as TO b. almost our only roads outside OF
town and city limits, and will for many
wears be used largely in country districts,
and especially on the lines Of cross roads
which connect the main highways Dirt
roads. at their best, are greatly inferior to
Macadam and Taliord roads in every essen
rial of a good highway; in durability, cost
of maintenance, drainage, tractiye qualities,
and, in many locations, in point of economy
also But the dirt road is here, and the
pubic hand must be directed to its treat
ment The first and most important thing
necessary for the maintenance of dirt road
NAV be stated in single word-drainage.
Ii is the one thing that can neither be dis
peDsed with nor neglected. Most dirt IS
soluble, and is e1sily displaced under the
soItenine influence of rain, and the process
is FASTENED in the dirt road by the passing
of heavy wagons over the wet surface. On
every mile of roadway withia the Unit d
States there falls each year an average OF
27.OOJ tons of water-a heavy, limpid
fluid: always directing itself to t e nearest
outlet and seeking the lowest level. Water
is hard To coniine and easy to release, and
vet, through sheer neglect OF the simplest
principles of drainage, water Is the most
active destroyer of our country roads.
Ia providing for the drainage OF dirt
road we should first consider the material OF
which the roadway is composed. If u
heavy, viscous clay predominates, the
ordinary side-ditches should be of good
depth. and will even then, in many cases,
be inadequate for thorough drainage with
out tn: addition of center-drain running
midway between, and parallel with, the
side bitches. The center drain should Of
course be filed with loose irregular bould-
ers. cobblestones, broken bricks, or similar
filling, covering line Of tiles or fascincs
at the bottom, and should be connected with
the side bitches by cross drains out at pro-
per intervals along the length of the road
way. Center drains, though often
greatly needed for the improvement of
country roads, are not in common use.
They add somewhat to the cost of the
roadway, but, in most cases, considerably
more TO its value, and should be employed
in all situations where sand or gravel can
not be had to relieve the heyiness and
water holding properties Of the clay. If
gravel, sand, or other porous material can
be conveniently or cheaply obtained, the
center and cross drains may often be dis
peused with by mixing the gravel or sand
in plentiful quantities with the clay road
way, so as TO insure us nearly as possible a
porous and self draining surface layer,
which should not be less than ten inches
in depth, and should be laid on the round
cd or sloped subsoil so as to insure easy
drainage into the side bitches.
In locations where the prevailing material
is of loose, sandy nature, the difficulties
of drainage are more easily overcome, and
side bitches, if found necessary at all, may
be made Of moderate depth and left open,
without mourning the risks and dangers Of
travel that prevail where the deeper open
bitches are used for draining heavier soils.
But, ON the other hand, the light and
shifting nature of sandy road material
destroys its value as surface layer for an
earth roadway, and its deficiency in this
respect is most easily remedied by the
addition Of stronger and more tenacious
substance, such as stiff clay. When mix
ID with sand in proper proportions (Which
in each case depend upon the nature of the
clay and sand used, and which can best be
determined by experiment., this compost
ton affords many advantages which make
ii superior to roadway composed of either
sapd or clay when used alone. The sand
serves to quicken the drainage and to des
troy the sticky, tenacious qualities of the
clay, while the clay supplies the quality of
cohesion in the substance of the road sur
face, eounteracting the shifting qualities
Of the sand, and making the roadway more
easily packed and rolled, and more likely
TO retain its proper grade and slope.