The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1900-08-04

or men than will the contractor; can do
the work as cheaply and as WE'LL and 1t
Is very reasonable to suppose that no
contractor will put price on piece OF
work without figuring In good profit for
himself. and this profit can be saved by
doing the work yourself. The first thing
needed In the way OF road machinery is
a grader, 1t Is the only thing you can
afford to use Drag scrapers will do very
well for filling small holes or working
around the approach to a bridge. but to
undertake 10 use them for the purpose Of
grading up your lanes would be great
mistake, as with a grader you can do
much better work, and at saving of 10
per cent or more. A very pretty road can
! be made with a modern grader without
the use of any other implement, but as
n matter of fact no grading outfit Is COM
plete without a roller. and no road is nm
ished until It has been rolled. The reason
for this is obvious; to make good road
you must make hard road, and the only
way to harden IL Is by compression
brought to bear in some manner. You
can with grader put up road which,
! in time. may become a good one, but
Il can not be considered so at the time
II is finished nor SO long as there are
from ten to twenty inches OF loose dirt
IN the center.
} 1t Is she usual cugton to put the road
time and travel do the r9st, but this Is
a mistake, for several reasons. First,
as you all know, no one viii undertake
to roll down this soft dirt with ms wagon
wheels so long as 1t can be avoided ana
the result is that on freshly graded
road where no roller has been used, all OF
the travel is on the extreme outer edges,
and the BERN Is torn down and the side
dhches partially filed mp before t0e
travel reaches the middle OF the road,
and during this time your road can MT
be called COOL one. but only passa0le'
Another reason why roller shouia pe
used is that 1t greatly facilitates drainage.
and without drainage 1t is Impossible u
have good roads. The Important part a
roller plays with reference TO drainage
is that II firmly congresses and cements
the surface, at the same time smoothing
Il SO that water falling on IL sheds or
much more readily and the absorption Is
much less than where no roller Is used
Another feature that makes the roller
valuable is that with 1t you finish your
work as you go, AS soon as you have
finished rolling your road every inch of
II is ready for travel and vehicles at once
take 10 the middle OF the grade instead
OF to the sides, and rainfall immediately
after completion OF the work does not
materially affect It.
roller is also particularly valuable
*
four inches of gravel thoroughly rolled
will give a surface coating that no twagon
wheel will break through and VIII make
a better road than Will tsice the amount
OF gravel unrolled.
For these reasons l take the position
that no road making outfit is complete
without heavy roller
The best method OF constructing roads
, is a question upon which there Is a wide
difference OF opinion so far as concerni
width OF road, height--of grade, and widti
and depth uf side bitches, and as mattel
of fact all OF these features should b
determined ~ local conditions, but Their,
are some points upon which there car
be but little II any difference OF opin
ion, and 1t is to such points that-I invlt
your attention. For the purpose OF pre-
senting my ideas more clearly l will
deal with this subject under three sepa
rate headings. beginning With;
When you want TO grade or In any wa
improve the conditions OF your publ
roads. the first thing to he considered
the money necessary for carrying on IN
work, and upon your success In raising tn
money largely depends your success
making roads.
with the necessary money on hand th
remainder is easy, and good roads are as
, sured With money in your treasul
available FOR this purpose you can b.
. the necessary teams and machinery, an
,. II you have no practical knowledge Z
: road making you can employ man WI
! has. No money means no roads, as will
out It you can not make start Va
i may have hundreds OF men subject
! road duty but you can not grade a roa
4 with an axe or hoe. neither can va
make much Roadway with shovel, al
q such are the tools with which the roa
hand comes prepared to do business whe
h he comes at all.
h No. gentlemen. you can not grade
q road with such tools; you must have roe
: machinery, and when YOU get the 10
y chiuery you must then and horses. mule