Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1899-04-28

GOOD ROAD.
should be taken advantage of in road
building If the road he properly crown.
ed-that is, IL its middle he properly
raised above the sides-the rain and
melting snow will naturally run eff into
the bitches On the other hand. if the
middle he worn down by travel. the wa
ter collecting there will soon form
puddle and ruin the road. In the same
way ruts formed 10y narrow tires afford
"a trough for the collection Of water and
contribute to its destruction
Labor as they might, American farm
ers have long been unable to build their
roads "a ~ to shed water. But the So
luton has teen found in the road
grader The American farmer is quick
to realize the value of machinery, and
the rapid growth in the use Of the reap
er the binder. the separator. Is an elo-
uuent tribute to the practical genius Of
American agriculture. The growth Of
the use If road graders has been Won
derful d-riny the last few years and in
dicatcs that the farmer has discovered
practical solution Of the problem how
to huild his local dirt roads
The peculiar feature Of Il road grader
is that it cuts away the dirt at the side
of the road and draws it up into the
middle. thus producing ditch at each
side and "A slope in each direction from
the center At the same time it viii!
cut away the dirt to Just the proper
depth ard no deeper In this particular
its work differs from that accomplished
by the use If plCEs. shovpls or hand
scruperS The road grader leaves q
smooth. regular surface. giving tho
road the proper contour \ dirt or
gravel road can be put into excellent
shape by running the grader repeatedly
over it Care should he taken first to
remove brush and rubbish from the
side Of the road that the grader may
not carry il into the travelled roadway.
To properly finish dirt road made
with the use of the grader il should be
Thoroughly rolled and hardened 1t is
not sufficient that it be crowned, but 1t
should he made hard and smooth The
same thing is true Of gravel roads This
cam be best ACCOMPLISHED with the use
cf rollers Hcrse rollers weighing from
five To ciyht tons are most frequently
used for the purpose All loose stones
should be removed from the road sur
face before rolling. as we'll as suds. turf,
leaves. sticks or any other matter that
will tend to soften the roadbed. A road
that is thoroughly and repeatedly rolled
is well fitted to stand the wear If travel
and can be made into IA perfect water
shed.
The difficulty about the use Of road
machinery in many localities is to he
found in its cost 1t is frequently
( thought wrong that farmers should be
obliged to tax themselves for the pur-
chase Of road graders and road rollers
in addition to having TO stand the reg
/ Mar road tax There is much Justice in
this position. for the average farmer
paws his full share of taxes. and these
/ should not be added to or increased
without some very excellent reason.
! But the farmers of the United States
are badly in want of good roads. and
/ the clamor for their construction il
growing from year to year. Quite a
nrmhar of towns have solved the road
/ machinery problem by voting TO nav
their taxes in cash instead of working
,bp,n rrt and usinr mart of this fund
for tina nrchase Of machines, which
avoids the necessity of lowing an extra
INK for the purpose This plan has been
sdontod in New York and Wisconsin,
and nrobah,v elsewhere
~, Wisconsin G. II Everett until re.