The Savannah morning news., 1902-06-09
Good Roaes our Greatest Need.

NOOu OuF GEeaHeSN Need
A recent bulletin of the Illinois Sta
ton says: "All over the country there
is now a great deal of interest mani
tested in the subject of good roads.
The great Importance of good roads
to farmers is becoming appreciated,
and there is a great deal of inquiry in
regard 10 the best methods of construc-
ton. Hard roads, formed with rock
and gravel are, of course. best, but
there are extensive districts where
these materials are unavailable and
in many places earth roads must for
long time be the means of commune
cation. Earth roads during certain
seasons of the year are inferior 70
none and more pleasant to drive over
than hard stone roads, but during 9TH
er parts of the year they may become
practically impassa BILE. 1t is a serious
question. then. whether anything can
be done to improve earth roads at all
seasons of the year. AS to location,
the bulletin we'll says that the roads
are mostly already established and
the locations cannot easily be changed.
The right of way in Illinois is Sc feet
for public roads, one-tenth of which
the law requires shall be reserved for
foot travel on each side, between the
property line and the ditch This
makes the wogan road SO feet wide.
Grades on steep hills should be re-
duced in the Improvement of a road,
and when an embankment is made,
the earth should be deposited in lay
ers so that Il viii settle uniformly.
These layers should be kept lower in
the middle than at the sides. so that
there will be less liability of the sides
sliding down. Each layer should be
spread and rolled with a heavy roller.
The ordinary farm roller is too light
till we'll loaded with rock The most
important thing in an earth road is the
drainage. No road of any kind can
be permanent without good drains.
Drainage alone will often make a bad
road good, and the best road will be
destroyed by bad drainage Water is
the destructive agent in earth roads
well made road will have three sys-
TENS of drainage. undertakings, side
bitches and surface drainage. Most
roads need underdrainage, though wa
ter may not stand in the side bitches.
The object of the underdrain is to low
er the water table in the soil. If the
subsoil is dried the road will sustain
almost any load. but a soft substratum
Will always be a muddy road. The road
needs underdrains more than the farm.
second object of these underdrains is
to dry the ground quickly after a freeze.
When the frost comes out in the
spring it thaws as much from the bot
tom as from the top. If the road is
underdrained, the water. when re-
leased by thawing from below, is i'm
mediately carried away, and the road
will then remain solid. A third OBJ
Ject is to carry off what is called the
underffoW. Water rises in the soil
after it freezes, and if not drawn off
by underdrains it saturates the sub
soil. Removing water the underdrafns
prevent damage by frost, since frost
cannot leave a dry soil. All roads ex-
cept on pure sand, can be improved by
tile drains. Roads tiled, without gravel.
are better than gravel roads without
tiles The tile should be on the side
of the road and not under the mid
die, since the roadway being puddled
by hoofs above will not drain as well
as the side. The manner of laying the
tile is shown in a simple diagram
which shows how a single line of tile
may be better than two tiles The
manner of making these drains is well
described. The side surface bitches
are of Importance for carrying off the
rainfall rapidly, by having a free out
let. They can be well formed with the
ordinary road machine. The center of
the roadway should be high enough
to carry the water freely to the side
bitches, and it is of the greatest i'm
portance that the water shall not
stand in the side bitches. but will pass
off with a free outlet. No earth road
can be good with water standing in
the bitches. Even on a steep hill
there should be side bitches so that
the water may not run down the cen
ter of the road and form gullies. No
road will remain good unless kept
good. 1t will not care for itself, wheth-
er built of earth or stone. The secret
of success is in keeping the surface
free from holes and the side bitches
clear. If the surface of the road is
properly formed the water will run
into the side bitches, but if it remains
on the surface it will be worked into
mud and make holes. Ruts, holes and
depressions of all sorts should be filled
as soon as made. Mud holes are made
by water standing on the surface, and
water is the great enemy of roads A
hard road cannot be made of soft
mud, so the water must be gotten
away before the mud is made. In
brief, it means that the making and
care of roads should be in the hands of
men who understand the work and
should not be done in the old Slip
shod way of working out taxes and
making the roads worse in doing it,
Notice.