The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1899-08-15
f ARM AFT AIRS.
FOR BETTER HIGHWAYS

The purpose of roads is to transport
from the place Of production to the
place Of consumption those agricul-
tural and commercial supplies which
are so essential to our life and we'll
being, as well as to subserve the best
interests OF society, education and re,
ligion; conse quently, they should be
located and so constructed that prod
uc and people can be easily, quickly
and cheaply moved from one place to
another.
In order to most successfully attain
these essential enCs it is necessary
that roads should be hard, smooth,
comparatively level and fi5 for use at
all seasons Of the year; that they
should be properly located or laid cut
on the ground, so that their grades
may be such tha6 power may be ap
piled upon them to the bCs advantage
and without great loss of energy; that
they should be properly constructed,
the ground we'll drained, the roadbed
graded and shaped, and that they
should be surfaced with the best ma.
terials procurable; that they should be
properly maintained or kept constantly
in good repair.
A horse can pull only four fifths as
much on a grade of two feet in 100 as
be can on a level road, and this grad
ually Il sens until with a grade Of ten
feet in 100 he can draw but one fourth
as much as he can on level road. AS
chain is no stronger than its weakest
link, just so the greatest load which
can be hauled up the steepest hill or
through the deepest gushy mire On
road is the gauge of that road, The
cost Of hauling is therefore necessarily
increased in proportion to the steepneas
of the grade or the roughness of the
surface. It costs one and one fourth
times as much to haul over a road hav
ing per cent. grade and three times
as much over one having q 10 per cent.
grade as on a level road.
Good roads should, therefore, wind
around hills instead Of running over
them, and in many cases this can be
done without greatly increasing their
length. Tee mathcna al axiom that
a straight line is the shortt s: distance
between two points is not therefore
the best rule to follow in laying cut
road. More appropriate is the proverb
that the longest way around is the
shortest way nu!A-.'
It has been ascertained that horse
or mule can for a short time double his
usual exertiOn, also that on the best
road he eXerts pressure against his
collar Of about one.thirty fifth Of the
load. II he can double his exertion
for time he can pull one thirty fifth
more, and the slope which would force |
him to lift this proportion will be one
Of one in thirty five, or about at per
cent. grade. On this slope, however,
he would be compelled to double his
ordinary exertion to draw a full load,
and it you'd therefore be the proper |
grade for all public highways.
The essential feature of a good road |
is good drainage; where you find the
one you are sure to fad the other. !
D Drainage alone will often change bad
road into a good one, while on the |
other hand, the best road may be de-
stroyed by the absence of good drains.
The drainage problem remains sub
stantially the same, whether the road
be constructed of earth, gravel, shells
or stone. Toe essential feature is that
the surface should be crowned or
rounded up towards the center to side,
thus compelling the water to fow rap
idly from the surface into the cutters,
which should be constructed on one or
both sides.
In addition to being we'll covered
and surface drained, the 81 ftace should
be kept as smooth as possible, that is,
free from ruts, wheel tracks or holes.
If any of these exist, instead Of being
thrown to the sides, the water is held
back, and is either evaporated by the
sun or absorbed by the material of
which the road is constructed. In the
latter case the material loses its solid
ity, sofrens and yields to the impact OF
the horses feet and the wheels of
vehicles, and like the water poured on
q grindstone, 80 the water poured on a
road surface, which is not properly
drained, assists the grinding action OF
tho uheala in runDinp oF cOmDletefV
destroying the surface. When water
Is allowed to stand on a road the holes