The Cape Girardeau Democrat. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1876-1909, 1897-05-29
FARM AND GARDEN.
REPAIRING ROADS.
A Lesson That Has Vet to De Learned
by Many Farmers.

Plans for improving the roads should
DC made early in the season. Too often
every thought of doing work on the
roads is delayed till after harvest, and
worse still till the fall months. With
out a doubt the sooner the work is lone
the better. Why should ii be necessary
to drive over holes, ruts and washes
made by one winter until another win
ter is nearly at hand before they are
repaired?
Were it not that some of US are TOO
afraid of doing a little generous work it
would not be so hard TO take our shovel
and stop washes, open bitches or fill
holes on the road 4 few yards from Our
doc 1t is apparent that a few minutes
or n few hours of this work done ut the
right time will save days of work later,
and the right time is during the wet
and thawing period of spring. when
our services are not especially occupied.
1t is not maintained that the era OF good
roads is to be brought about in this
way, but when one ~.'rs that days Of
work can be saved | y &c. little timely at
tcntion, and especially when the work
should be done in sight of his firesiGc.
he is not a little selfish who refuses to
do the same because the benefit may en-
tend to others as well as himself.
1t need not surprise the reader if the
one who cries the loudest for good
roads and who complains the longest
about high taxes is the last one to 10 a
Ittle TDDoiI vorE nm that mart Of the
public road which he travels every day.
l am not harsh, but it does not seem
out of place to agitate the need of a
little self-help along this line.
One lesson yet to be learned by man.
is the importance of taking care of a
road. In nearly every n~eighborhood
there are some farmers who manage tc
do a good deal of hauling every spring
at the time when the roads are in the
most viscid state of the year. As is to
be expected, a big load is hard TO pull,
and since there is no thought of lead
ing lighter the most natural thing to
do is to hitch on 70 r horses and take
the wagon right along. As would
be expected, such Il team has about
the same effect upon a soft road rs the
same number of horses hitchcd to a
Plow and throwing up a furrow at
each side of the track. Such a farmer
will explain to you that there is no law
to prevent him from doing So, that the
roads are for public use, and that it is
the best way he ever tried for tough
ening his horses for spring blowing.
There ought to be a law specifying such
destruction a misdemeanor, but shame
on the farmer who must be thus re-
strained from tearing up the highways
by legal enaction.
Let 1t be remembered that success in
road improvement lies most in making
the very best use of the means at ones
command. Not every section has gravel
and stone in abundance, and without
these there a be no pixies. But even
where these materials are scarce it
must be admitted hat such is often
wasted by lack of thought and neglect.
Because gravel and macadaIniZing ma
tcrial can be secured in but limited
quantities it is not thought necessary to
properly prepare the grade before lay
ing the road material. Nine times out
of ten farmers who haul out only a
dozen loads of gravel per year will use
them to fill mud holes. They are con-
WINGED that this is the best material
for the purpose that they can find. But
what a waste! Before a year these
isolated loads will have gone into the
soil, with only n little gravel mixed IN
the mud left as Il remembrance of this
the best material to fill 'chuck holes"
l do not wish to be misunderstood
here. Iwould~ especially urge the filling
of holes with gravel or macadam on a
road that has been thoroughly graded
and graveIed before. Such repairing
will repay many fold. But the person
who dumps a load of gravel in Il hole in
Il fiat or hollow dirt road may get Il
receipt for the time expended, but the
travelling public will not gain greatly.
Let the holes be first filed with earth
and the grade well raised, then after it
is well compacted apply the gravel, and
your wisdom will be manifest.-NH-
tional Stockman.