The county record. [volume] (Kingstree, S.C.) 1885-1975, 1904-10-06

aoR visions Of increased taxa
tion and inadequate returns. Beng
naturally conservative, he objects -
the expenditure Of large sums Of messy
unless he is thoroughly satisfied that
adequate profits will result.
As q rule this conservatism Is Wfsa.
Much money has been wasted In At
tempts to secure hard roads, and the
matter should be thoroughly invesd-
gated before improvement fs under
taken. Where gravel or stone ID noe
available excellent earth roads San be
secured by thorough dragging. eYelIng
the road carefully, then grading or
dragging a sufficient number OF times
during the season to keep the surface
level and prevent water standing. Ths
has been demonstrated over and over
again, and attempts to force hard road
legislation upon such sections wah
never avail.
On the other hand, in many locali'
ties, good gravel suitable for road max
ing Is available and should be used.
The expense Of hauling must OF course
be carefully considered As rule tnb
can be done by the farmers themselves
when work is slack. They can, In facfs
work out their road tax in this way.
The mistake has frequently been mads
by using gravel containing large per
centage of clay. OF course some eAy
is desirable, so that the material VIVA
compact firmly and make o solid oed.
Too much, however, will result IN Z
muddy surface and a tendency to stick
mess after every rain, and particularly
in early spring.
After securing the gravel spread II
on the surface at least eight feet wiae
and one foot thick. going over with =
heavy roller and compacting as COM
pletely as possible. a medium whicn
will result in a solid bed will be satts-
factory. Sometimes a smoothing har'
row can be used to advantage III CON
nection with the roller. As travel pro-
ceeds and the gravel becomes compact
watch the road carefully, filling up al
holes and leveling down any elevations.
This must be attended to promptly ana
continuously until the road Is solid ane
level. Neglect of this results in an un-
even surface which never can be made
quite satisfactory.
in some sections gravel Is simply ap-
plIed to the surface little wider than
the ordinary wagon. This will answer
fairly we'll and is Of course more In
EXPENSIVE method. However, 1t u
much better to have an eight-foot roaa
so that wagons can pass ina wet ume'
without getting out into the mud.
For best results the gravel should 90
graded, and the large coarser parts ap.
piled first, the second grade next ana
the third or finest applied to the sur
face. Roll after each application. II
the gravel Is dry when 1t Is put on
water ought to be applied when the
rolling Is being done. This can be cas-
ily accomplished by the use OF an ordi'
nary tank, such as is used for convey
ing water to traction engines.
In many localities the graVei 10 SIM
ply applied to the road as 1t comes
from the pit. The results are net OF
course quite as satisfactory. but the
cost Of construction is much smaller.
In few localities in the Central West
It may pay to brea,: stone and make
-oode with that material. They, Of
course, are much more durable than
gravel roads, but are very much more
EXPENSIVE. AS stated in the beginning
each locality must devise Its own read
system.