The people's journal. (Pickens, S.C.) 1891-1903, 1902-04-10


even where the hills arc steop and drain.
age good, from it's affinity for water and
it's ability to hold it like cup, in every
accidental abrasion or depression, be
comes gradually cut up to depth of
from l to #. The wear and tear on
Teams ana vehicles becomes worse and
worse until turnouts" arc resorted to.
the roadway being temporarily diverted
INTO the folds or woods alongside.
Frictlon and contention with adjacent
landowners result. Sometimes a new
roadway Is bought, and tho old ono ia
finally abandoned. This is frequently
the best way out Of the difficulty.
merely shaping up q roadway in red
or yellow clay, by machinery or hand,
docs little good, and tho money is large.
~ thrown away. The affinity of clay
10 ior o water and its ability to retain it
III every depression, easily made by ami.
ma and wheels when the clay is soft,
causes II soon to cut up to Indefinite
depths. Ono Of tho worst pieces Of road
the writer has ever seen was a place in
winch the section was as shown in Fig
g. 1t was in clay varying from rcd to
yellow and very soft. A natural drain,
8 or IT. deep, had been formed on each
side by washing, and the roadway be-
tween was barely wide enough for sin
gle vehicles, and slopcd naturally to
either side when dry. 1t was on a a
hill, too. Yet, notwithst landing this 40
parently excellent drainage, this place
cut up IN wet weather 50 as to become
nearly or quite impossible, and wrecks
were strcwn along its sides
a sandy loan. will often make good
covering when the proportion Of sand
Is heavy. A mixture Of fine and coarse
sand with little gravel is excellent. a
small amount OF clay with the gravel
ana sand not only does no harm, but by
compacting and ccmenting the othor ma
tcriHls makes surface that sheds water
perfectly, and rcssts abrasion or dcprcs
sion. The use Of gravel, especially
coarse gravel, is strongly obi cctcd to
lufthcr north, where frosts arc heavy,
because Of its holding water in the form
OF ice and snow, and becoming cut up
in tho thaws Of late winter and early
spring. l have especially noted the Oh
jcctions Of the Supervisors Of Roads in
Ontario, Canada, to gravel, on this &C,
count. This OBJ bjccti0n does not apply in
tho South, where frost does not pcnc
tratc so deep, and the ground dries out
moro rapidly.
COST or TIE WORK.
The actual cost Of the work, even
been remarkably small With a gang
OF only two or three scrapcrs it has
ranged from II! to Is cts per lincal yd
of road, with Il haul Of about 400 vds
over rather rough road. from II gravel
pit off the road. Only the common
teams OF the country were used, al
though they were light for such work
and inexperienced men handled the
scrapcrs. The gravel at the pit was
plOwcd and no snatch team was used in
loading, making the loads a little light
on the average.
With a larger gang Of scrapcrs, say
from four to six, the latter being proba
bly the best number, and with expert
cnccd hands, the cost could be rcduccd d.
with the larger gang OF scrapcrs, q
snatch team could be prolitably used.
and the loads increased. The loaded
scrapcrs passing over the material al
ready put out roll and pack it sufficient
ly. One man IS kept on the Dump"
or point OF unloading, to spread and
level of the material, with common
hoe.
The claycy surface Of the roadway
may be previously prepared either with
road machine very prcfcrably-or by
hand. With light gang Of scrapcrs on
a long haul, it has been found that the
imam on the dump" could do the work
fairly well, scraping the clay from side
to center and letting tho scrapcrs pack
it by passing over it before turning, as
they were unloadcd. This WAS in ono
OF the lighter micaccous clays, in a ra
| thcr damp condition. In the tougher
clays, and in dry weather, more labor
would be required.
The cost, as shown, ranges from
$4,000 to $265 90 per mile Of improved
! part Of road and as these improved
parts arc often detached, and alternate
with others not needing improvement,
except ditching, the cost Of making a
uniformly good road Of very bad and
| often almost impossible one, is thus re-
duccd to 1928 90 to $4,000 per mile, in
many instances.
| This is no fancy sketch, but is based
, on work actually done, the results of
! which arc there to stay and to be seen.
This ought to encourage tho poorest
| and fccblGst communities, in which the
physical conditions arc ut all similar to
! ours, to undertake the work Of road i'm
| prOvcmont. 1t is not contcndcd tina,
the plan presented is adapted to al
parts OF the country but it Is thought
that it is well adapted to q great par,
Of the South, including the southern
and eastern parts Of Virginia, the Caro-
linas, Georgia, Tennessee, Arkansas
and the States further South,
The wheel scrapcr plays an impor
tant part in tho work No. 2 scrapcrs
are generally best for the purpose
These can be bought for q moderate
amount, and worked either by teams
bought and kept for the purpose, or
hired in" from the surrounding coun.
try or by a ScOmbination Of the two,
some being regularly kept and others
hired.
A road machine is desirable addi
ton to the plant, and should be used
where practicable ; but where means are
too small For it, good work can be often
done without t. The writer earnestly
hopes that others may be induced tc
give the plan presented q full and fail
trial and will be glad to give further
information to those Interested, and in q
position to put 1t to practical use.
Nj In,N .I.- o..