The weekly register. [volume] (Point Pleasant, Va. [W. Va.]) 1862-1909, 1899-03-15
GOOD ROADS.

Talk about road laws, what is
the use of having any kind of n
road law if the county court don't
appoint road surveyor who knows
how to build and maintain public
road and has the industry to do it?
Along the line of how to build, ETC.,
we clip few a few ideas from n
letter written by our worthy friend,
Frank A. Polsley, formerly aCivil
Engineer, of this county, to the
Port Gibson, Miss Reveille:
To make and keep in constant re-
pair suoh cheap roads as l speak of,
it is manifestly necessary that no
other material should be used in
their construction than just our
common dirt. And with no other
material 1 again assert, that they
can be made smooth and solid
and practically self-drying within
from six to thirty-six hours after
the complete cessation of each
rain. Before discussing the econ
omy of my plan, let us first try and
get picture of properly con-
structed dirt road and the method
of keeping it in repair, without re-
gard to the cost. And, both for
the purpose of emphasis and of
contrast, it will be we'll for us to
consider some of the defects of our
present system by way of suggest
ing to some of our road overseers a
few "Donts." Then, do not try to
make firm new road bed, by plow-
ing up the the old one. Don't Mt
tempt to make it solid by draining
the water onto, instead of constant
ly away from it,-far away from it.
Don't think to make it smooth
by dumping ut irregular intervals
on it's surface, scrapers of dirt, dan
gerous brush and cart loads of
brickbats and stones. Never, no
never, under any conceivable cir
cumstances, fill up mud or water
hole with brush, logs, stone or
briokbats. On the contrary to move
q pond off of a road, we should first
open a drain sufficiently deep, and
sufficiently long, to drain all the
water from both the pond and the
vicinity of the road, and then fill
up the thus dried out hole with the
same kind of dirt that the contigu-
GUS road-bed is made Of Don't lay
rails, poles, or logs cross-ways of a
road for the purpose of making n
wet, springy place firm. Either
move the road around the springs
or divert the overflow by means of
culverts, tiling-or even piping.
Don't dig deep bitches ut the sides
of your road-beds without giving
them, at the lowest point of evory
swag, ;good outlets, (mGde wide
enough to prevent their accidental
ly getting checked up with small
sticks and trash). There are two
dangers from deep-side bitches
BY reason of the water held in
them their banks easily cave whom
the wheels of vehicle are driven
near their edges and the rond-bed
is liable TO become soft and spongy
from capillary attraction. Another
don't" Very often road over
seer has a link of road, much of
which, because it is not much trav-
eled in wet weather, and is natur-
ally SO situated as to be self-drain-
ing, scarcely ever needs working.
In such cases let him not, for the
mere purpose of showing that he
has had the road hands out in the
Spring, pillow up four or five feet of
each side of the road-leaving it in
that ship-shod shape. For a mo-
ment's reflection should teach him
that dirt thus loosened up will alb
sorb and hold water from rains,
which otherwise would have flow
ed right on off of the road, leaving
it firm and dry; instead of a nasty,
Doggy string of road to harass and
worry every team and driver, whose
misfortune it is to have to travel
along it.
In brief then, we have eliminat-
ed, until we have left the following
simple manner of building and
keeping up good dirt road. viz:
First-BuiId it in Pike form,
make it sufficiently high in the
middle for tho rain to speedily run