The Kemper herald. (Scooba, Miss.) 1875-1908, 1906-07-26

Inc supervisors OF OunHOWer couH-
ty are advertising for bids Oh two
pieces Of burned road as an eXperi-
ment and if it proves a success, 9TH
ers will be treated in a like manner.
This plan Of road building is not en-
tirely new in Mississippi, some OF 1t
having been done several years since
In sections Of the state, notably the
Delta, the plan has proven an ex-
cellent one and it is likely that Ii
might be adopted with profit by q
great many of the counties where
there is not too much sand in the soil.
1t is nothing more than a burning OF
the earth that forms the road, making
it hard and imperious to water some
thing like brick. Hon. Walter Clark,
president of the Cotton Association
gave it a trial in conjunction with the
Board of Supervisors in his county
three years ago and is firm believer
that the plan is a success, IN his sec
tion at least. He described the pro
cess as follows: First grade youl
road to the required width, 20 to 81
feet, with a crown of twelve inches
in the center. Thea with a turning
plow, or preferably middle buster,
make ridges across the road some
thing like those for cotton, throwing
up the dirt as high as possible. These
ridges should be four feet in width so
that wood four feet long would meet
upon the top Of each. Then cover
with four foot split wood, five or SIX
inches in size, chinking the cracks
with bark, chips or other small stuff.
After this wood has been placed IN
position, cover with earth to depth
of five or six inches, smoothing down
as it is thrown on. On top of this
layer of earth, place another layer OF
wood, parallel with the other and the
road, using any size convenient, poles,
logs, stumps and other stuff. being
careful to fill in alongside any large
stuff with smaller timber to insure
perfect ignition and an even bur1.
Then place twelve inches Of earth on
top of this second layer Of wood. The
road is then ready for firing. Care
and judgment must be exercised IN
this part of the work to insure the
best results. If the wind is blowing
at the time of firing, build fires in and
next to the wind so that it will be
driven to center or through to other
end. Push lighted kindling to CEN
ter, thereby insuring a good fire at
that point. 1t is necessary that the
wood burn out first at the center,
allowing dirt to fall down at that
point first, otherwise the flue will be-
come clogged and the draft cut off.
The timber in upper layer will become
ignited at the proper time from that
below and in few hours the work
will have been completed. After al
lowing the road to cool sufficient for
teams to travel on it, little atten-
ton from road machine and roller
of proper proportions will provide a
hard, smooth surface that years Of
constant travel will not affect. Mr..
Clorl oc+;ooo4oe Tho ooc4 of q ,,,i1o of
this road to be something like 81 400,
although this would likely vary accord
ing to local conditions. Roads treat
ed by him in this manner three years
since is today in perfect condition
aad shows no sign Of wear. Even if
it was necessary to give it some little
attention yearly, it would still be an
economical plan of taking care Of our
roads. Gravel roads, even where
gravel can be had, costs about $4,000
per mile and this is said by those in
position to know, to be almost If
not quite equal thereto. The saving
in wear and tear on teams, harness
and vehicles, to say nothing OF the
increased loads and saving Of time,
would soon pay the cost of the good
roads. The farmer who howls about
his taxes should remember that his
bad roads tax is larger than all the
others combined. Our people have been
slow to take advantage Of opportuni-
ties to improve their roads, but there
is change taking place, and the
writer believes that a spirit Of pro-
gress is sweeping the country that will
show wonderful improvements along
this line in the next few years. The
crying need Of Mississippi today, is
better roads, and the pioneers who
are blazing the way to improved con-
ditions of our highways are the men
who deserve monuments to their mem
ory in later years. The writer would
like to hear from interested parties
on this subject and would appreciate
suggestions and experiences from
those who have studied the matter
and tried plans Of any kind.