Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1899-05-05
MAKING DIRT ROADS.
GRADERS AND ROLLERS NEEDED FOR
GOOD WORK.

BE Paid in Cash.
"Must the Farmer Pay For Good
| Roads" by Otto Dorner, is the title of
phamphlet issued by the League of
American Wheelmen and adopted by
the department of agriculture as circu-
lar No. 81 of the bureau of road in
quiry. 1t contains much valuable infor-
nation for the road builder and par
ticularly advocates the use of machinery
in constructing dirt roads. In this con-
nection it says: The ifst thing to be OBJ
served in building country roads is to
afford protection against water. dirt
or gravel road properly built and MAN.
tanned can be made to shed water like a
roof, and if the use of narrow tires and
the wearing of ruts could be prevented
our country roads might be excellent.
Water always runs down hill, and this
should be taken advantage of in road
building. If the road be properly crown
ed-that is, if its middle be properly
raised above the sides-the rain and
melting snow will naturally run of into
the bitches. On the other hand, if the
middle be worn down by travel the wa
ter collecting there will soon form a
pnddle and ruin the road. In the same
way ruts formed by 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 so as to shed water. But the So
luton has been 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-
quent tribute to the practical genius of
American agriculture. The growth of
the use of road graders has been Won
derful during the last few years and in
dicates that the farmer has discovered
practical solution of the problem how to
build his local dirt roads.
The peculiar feature of a road grader
is that it cuts away the dirt at the side
of the road and draws it up into the
middle, thus producing a ditch at each
side and a slope in each direction from
the center. At the same time it will
cut away the dirt to Just the proper
depth and no deeper. In this particular
its work differs from that accomplished
by the use of plOws, shOvels or hand
scrapers. The road grader leaves a
smooth, regular surface, giving the
road the proper contour. y dirt or
, gravel road can be put into excellent
t shape by running the grader repeatedly
over it. Care should be taken first to
remove brush and rubbish from the
: side of the road that the grader may
- ;,,t no loI
: TO properly finish a dirt road made
y with the use of the grader it should be
5 thoroughly rolled and hardened. 1t is
: not sufficient that it be crowned but it
=. should be made hard and smooth. The
same thing is true of gravel roads. This
: can be best accomplished with the use
i, of rollers. Horse rollers weighing from
n five to eight tons are most frequently
t used for the purpose. All loose stones
should be removed from the road sur
= face before rolling, as well as sods, turf,
: leaves, sticks or any other matter that
d will tend to soften the roadbed. a road
5 that is thoroughly and repeatedly rolled
: is well fitted to stand the wear of travel
: and can be made into a perfect water
u shed.
The difficulty about the use of road
machinery in many localities is to he
found in its cost. 1t is frequently
e thought wrong that farmers should be
/ Obliged to tax themselves for the pur
: chase Of road graders and road roller:
u in addition TO having to stand the reg
z ular road tax. There is much Justice il
5 this position, for the average farmer
II his full sharn IF and thasl
e should not be added to or increased
IS without some very excellent reason
it But the farmers of the United States are
e badly IN want of good roads. anC
t the clamOr for their construction il
lie growing from year to year. Quite
IS number of towns have solved the roaC
lie machinery problem by voting to pay
r their taxes in cash instead of working
'r them out, and using a part of this funC
ne for the purchase of machines, whicl
n avoids the necessity of levying an eXtri
: tax for the purpose. This plan has beef
adopted in New York and Wisconsin,
and probably elsewhere.
+, In Wisconsin G.. IL. Everett, until re
s. Gently the president of the Wisconsin
De Dairymen's ASSOCIATION, saws on thi
-. subject in recent letter: "The tow
y of Turtle, Rock county, where | reside
4. was among the first to adopt the cas-
D. system and has two improved roa
+. graders. do not think that our peopl
Il could ever be induced to go back to tn
H. old system. We know that we hav
81 spent enough money in road taxes dun
81 ing the past 10 years to have macadan
II lied every road, and until we begin t
i pay our road taxes in cash and use ms
, chinery there had been little or no in
IS provement in our highways"
il. The proposition to pay road taxes
ID cash met with little favor in the begin
n ming. Farmers were unwilling, q
II might reasonably be expected, to pa
+ their road taxes in cash instead of
Fl work. But sentiment is now largely II