The county record. [volume] (Kingstree, S.C.) 1885-1975, 1900-01-04
Spain's =
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'fOOD ROADS NOTES.
Country Roads.

LEsTs country tNOa0s.
= , ae average country road, as at
Z Sent maintained and repaired, is q
instant source of unnecessary ex-
@ense to taxpayers and an almost con-
slant vexation to travellers. At Its
best the dirt road is good for only a
few months in the year, and those
months the time when the farmer-the
man most interested in good country
roads-is using his horses on the farm.
In the fall, winter, and early spring,
when the great bulk Of teaming is to
be done, the roads are in bad shape,
except when kind Providence sends q
snow that makes "good sleddin'." ="
Bad roads mean small loads, and small
loads mean to the farmer proportion
ately small profits. I know many
farms where the saving in time from
hauling larger loads, the saving in
wear and tear of horsefesh, wagons
and harness, would over and over again
pay for the increased initial cost of a
good macadam road. Made of the best
dirt obtainable, applied under intelli'
gent supervision, and kept in order
with proper road-making tools, the
dirt road is never entirely satisfactory.
What can be expected of the quality of
roads made of the material most easily
obtained, applied by men ignorant Of
the first principles Of road making,
working without proper tools, and su-
pervised by men equally ignorant, or
not at all?
The true remedy for poor dirt roads
is good macadam. Butwith no greater
expenditure of money than now, the
present road might be vastly i'm
proved. The road tax should be paid
in cash. The system of loafng out
the tax, under pretense of working
the roads," should be abolished. This
money should be expended under the
immediate supervision of one man for
each township, selected for knowl-
edge of road making, and put under
bonds for the faithful performance of
his duties. This would introduce in
to the system the element of response
bility, which is sadly lacking at pres
ent, and to the lack of which are due
many OF the abuses of the present
methods. One man, hiring his labor
where he pleased, and paying cash for
q days work, would get considerably
more done for the money than dozen
or fifteen roadmasters working outthe
tax in conjunction with their neigh
bors and fellowfarmers.
Proper tools should be provided to
work with. Roadscrapers are almost
unknown in many country districts,
and plows and shovels are the tools
most commonly used. Very good
road -scrapers can be bought for only
two or three times the cost of 9 good
plow, and two men, two horses and a
road d-scraper will do the work OF an
J equal number Of horses and ten men,
with shovels, and do it better. Only
the best obtainable materials should
be used in repairing the roads, gravel,
when possible, and when not, The dirt
most nearly approaching it in quality.
The use of 'gutter wash" sods. and
stones larger than two inches in diam
eter, should be forbidden. I have
seen roads "mended" with sods, that
were for weeks impossible at any gait
faster than walk, and l have seen
holes in the road bed filed with large
stones that were a nuisance for years.
The roads should be worked at
proper times. The need of the dirt
road is little repairs often made. The
common practice is to do almost all
the work just after "corn planting.
This is wrong for two reasons: It is
too late for the best results, and too
much is done at one time. Six inches
of dirt or gravel will make afar better
road if put on in layers of, say two
inches at intervals of O month or so,
than will the entire quantity applied
at once. just as soon as the roads
are settled in the spring, and before
they have become dry and hard, the
scraper should be put to work level
ing and filing the ruts that were worn
during the winter, and slightly round
ing the road bed towards the center.
The ground being still moist, and not
compact, as it is at the usual time Of
doing this, the work can be done more
easily and rapidly and the road will
pack better. Later, light coat Of
earth or gravel should be applied, to
be followed by another when the first
becomes packed hard, and this in turn
by third ii possible.
1y~>'
aS,I Wide and Narrow Tires.
On dry roads that are marked by
into made by narrow tired wagons,