The Van Buren press., 1894-08-04
FARM AND GARDEN.
REPAIRING ROADS.


Experience of One Of the Overseers OF
Yates County. n. Y.
We have great many different ideas
of working roads here In Yates coun-
ty, N. Y. Each town has road com
missioner, and he appoints an overseer
for each district, and the appointed
man must lay his plans and pick out
his shade trees for the men to sit
under and work out their road tax,
and the man that can tell the best
story gets the most praise. That Is
one way.
Then, In some districts we have road
machines. Then the overseer gets
two or three teams hitched to one and
starts out with four or Ave men follow
ing after to throw out stones and
sticks and turn sods over now and
then; and when they get through
there is ridge In the center Of the
track! OF course team can be driven
with one horse each side of the ridge,
but with single horse one wheel will
will be in the ditch and the other on
the ridge which hns been left by the
road grader-that is, by the mans
lack of judgment in running the
grader. If this is the only way a
wheel scraper is to be used they had
better stop the manufacture Of them,
as every person riding over such n
road needs bolster under one side Of
him to level him up.
l was talking with an o%erseer In
A., G,.k ,~,,% % ori1 xrhn ha5 ificf
been putting his district IN the shape
just mentioned, and when l remon-
strated with him and told him it was
too early to put fresh earth In the
road he said it wns all right. rs you
could not work roads too early in the
spring. thought at the time 1t would
be work thrown away. In what con-
dition would the highway be after the
spring rains? As the soil Is clay,
there was no earth to grade up with
when the weather became settled.
That is the way the work goes on in
the different districts; and the bicycle
rider comes along and wishes to make
war on the farmer, and DO not blame
him in some respects, for a great many
do not care whether the roads are
worked or not.
As have been overseer in the past,
and there are about 100 days in our
district and one-half of that paid in
cash. have managed In the following
manner with good results:
The first thing after the frost Is out
in the spring, l hire man with a
good team and plow burrows on the
side of the road where IL Is necessary,
and then, after the plowing is done;
clean out all sluice ways and the last
furrow; then, when the road Is dry
enough to scrape, we 60 over 1t with
the old og-scraper, which is a saw
blade bolted to log. This will smooth
off the ruts. One man with team
can do it. And this Is all that should
be done early in the spring; If it gets
rough again, 60 over it again, and
keep on doing so until 1t is time to
use the wheel-grader. When start
with that l manage to have three
teams, and that makes a power that
will keep the wheels turning. set
the grader blade to take furrows that
were plowed early in the spring, and
move the earth nearly to the center OF
the road, and go twice around this
way. Then adjust the blade to move
IL to the center; then go to the ditch
again and take all uneven places
down, so that the water can run freely;
when this is finished, move all loose
earth to the center of the track; then
adjust the blade again SO rs to move
this ridge, and have teams driven SC
us to move it from high to low places.
When this is all done, clean out by
sluice-ways where we cannot go with
the grader.
Then, with wagon, draw of nj
loose stones, and do not throw them
bnck to the side, to be scraped mp in
the road again next year. Now, II
gravel is wanted on the road, have
two teams for three wagons and men
enough to load as fast as the teams
can draw.
In this way we have built our roads
and they have given good satisfaction
and no one gets credit for labor whe I
sitting Under shade trecs.-Cor. Coun
try Gentleman.
@1A~-tOAl rNnnEnOE