Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1905-05-09
GOOD EARTH ROADS.


dirt roads is Of SO much Importance tc
the country at large that it justifies o
somewhat lengthy presentation in this
department Of a plan whereby the
common earth road may be wonderful.
~ improved at a very small outlay, q
plan adaptable to all states and all
soils save sandy ones.
It goes without saying that bad roads
infiict fearful tax upon the country
at large, burden which should be re-
moved to as great an extent as posi-
BILE. Bad roads depreciate the value of
farm land, interfere with the postal
service, cause gluts and famines in the
produce markets and are perennial
disturber Of the agricultural and COM
mercial interests Of the whole country.
The roads are the worst wherever
the soil is most productive. Fertility
Of soil means mud. Mud means money.
and 1t also means misery. Where the
soil Is sterile and stony good roads are
a natural sequence. Where big crops
can be raised there man gets stuck
hauling them to market.
The vast agricultural empire Of the
great west and northwest Is country
of bad roads, heretofore presenting an
almost unsolvable problem and one
which in the rapid development Of the
country becomes yearly Of more urgent
Importance.
It is conceded without argument that
an earth road is the best road in the
world when it is dry and smooth and
that when it is wet it Is the worst road
In the world. If the earth road could
be kept free from water it would thus
become the ideal road.
It has heretofore been assumed that
this thing was an impossibility, and so
all lines Of road Improvement have
been based upon the theory that the
earth must be covered with some SUBJ
stance-gravel or stone or burned clay
Ito make It impervious to water or at
least resistant to its effects, no atten-
ton being given to the possibility Of so
treating the earth itself that it should
become practically waterproof Fol
lowing this assumption we have the
various methods Of road building
macadamizing, paving and graveling-
all of which are very expensive,
slow Of construction, costly to main
tain, and which because Of the ex-
cesslve cost of construction and the
difficulty Of obtaining suitable mate
rial were only possible on main high
ways between cities in thickly settled
sections Of the country, at least for
the present generation. Such highways
cost from $500 to $4,000 per mile to
build There are about eighty miles Of
highway In each civil township, or, say,
an average of one-half mile to each
farm. Taking even the lowest estimate
Of cost-$25OO per mffe-the construc-
ton Of such roads, bonded debt prin-
cipal and interest, would mean bank
ruptcy and conf1scation, and thus it
comes that the macadamized road Is
not solution for the existing problem
Of bad roads.
There are Just three things which are
indispensable to the securing Of good
earth road, which, as we have said, Is
the best Of roads when It Is good, and
these are-it must be smooth, it must
be oval, and it must be hard. Given
these three conditions in conjunction
and we have the good earth road. The
object of writing this article is to show
how this thing may be accomplished.
To make it plain and easy to be I'M
derstood we will take stretch of gum
DO soil, soil notorious as the begetter
Of the worst roads on earth. We are
going to assume that such highway
has been graded up and ditched SO far
as possible to secure the escape of the
surface water. This much done, we
find the following condition: The track
all cut up during wet time, bottom
less chuck holes and ruts, a ridge of
earth between the wheel tracks and
other ridges at either slde When 1t
finally dries off, for the water which
falls on 1t cannot possibly escape, it is
so baked and so rough that it Is almost
as bad dry as wet; the travel is forced
into the ruts, making them more deep
and water tight. If dry season comes
constant travel will finally smooth the
road down until it becomes fairly
good road, but the Irregularities Of the
surface insure bad road just as soon
as rain falls, and so it but rarely Is
ever good road either wet or dry.
Every man is familiar with this condi-
ton Of the highways. At its best this
road is possessed Of but one of the
three essentials-it was hard. but nei-
ther oval nor smooth.
Now, supposing that this gumbo road
could be SO treated that the other two
factors, ovality and smoothness, could
be secured, it will at once become clear
that the problem Of the earth road is
solved
The country Is indebted to Mr.. D.
Ward King of Maitland, Mo-, for dis
Notwithstanding on to, he says-a
method Of doing this, the very simple
lty and cheapness and ease Of opera
ton of which plan make every man
wonder why nobody ever thought of it
before. The tool can be made on any
farm by any farmer or by any farm