Highland recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, 1906-03-09
GRADERS FOR ROADS
POINTS ON MAKING GOOD USE OF
THE MACHINES.

The grading machine is unQuestiona-
bly, the most generally useful Oh hlou-
ern roadmaking implements on ROADS
Of the class being built in Ontario says
the commissioner OF highways III ohta'
rio Canada. in his ninth amman repoi''
4 road grader is q necessity III every |
township where good roads are beine
constructed. BY their use the cost VI
grading the roads is greatly reuuceu
and great improvement IN tne max
ING and repair of roads is erected.
They are of greatest value Ill 'o"h'
sbins where gravel and broken stone
are not to be had and dependence must
he placed OF earth roads. Al the saile
time they are none the less necessity
in the construction and repair or graVei
and broken stone roads. and even
among stumps and stones when proper
" handled they work in Il most sur
nrisjnc manner. 1t is not their use
which it now seems necessary to urge
Int rather there is need of guarding
against their misuse.
A matter of first Importance in max
ing good use Of grader is to plan the
seasons work in advance. The town
ship road commissioners. councillors or
q committee of the council, according
TO the local system OF road manage
ment should 90 over the roads early III
the year and determine what grazing
is REQUIRED. This work should be staK-
cd out according TO the definite width
and dimensions of roads as required u!
township regulations. The grader wheh
II commences in the spring should pro-
coed 70 each piece of work consecutive
" and should be in use continuously
until the grading is done for that year.
In some townships it is customary
for the grading machines to go mere
and there over the township without
method-one day OH one side or the
township. next day on the opposite
side then to another distant part,
backward and forward, wasting con-
siderable part of the wages of men and
teams in moving from one part OF the
township to another. BY following
we'll considered schedule the cost OF
moving the machine between dlHerent
pieces of work is reduced to mini
mum.
Arrangements should be made every
spring to have the grader IN use as
soon as the ground is sufficiently dry.
The soil is then in it's best condition for
manipulation, having been mellowed
by frost The roads are rough ana
most in need of treatment. Roads
which are properly graded early IN
spring are at once compacted py tral-
fic. and they will remain in their best
condition all summer. If the work Is
left until late in the season clay SOILS
become baked and hardened, difficult
TO handle and rough when finished.
Sandy soils II loosened up late in the
wear will be much more dusty than II
treated early in the spring, when they
are damp and readily compacted by
traffic.
One of the first essentials in provid-
ing that the roads will be properly
graded is to select the right man to
operate the grader. He should be ac-
tive and energetic. with some mechan-
ical experience, one who will take an
interest in his work, who will make
study of roadmaking and who will be
willing to follow the instructions given
him by the township road commission
er or councillor having supervision OF
the work. When such man Is found
he should be engaged from year to
year, so that his growing experience
will render him more efficient.
The same horses should be used in
operating the grader for an entire sea-
son at least Green" horses are very
awkward. will not pull together. waste
much time, and even reliable man as
operator cannot under such circum-
stances perform good work. Horses
used continuously become accustomed
to the work, to each other, to the driver
and will produce much better results.
Some townships instead of horses use
q traction engine for certain work
Where one can be rented from local
thrasher it can usually be obtained
very cheaply in the early part OF the
year. Where a considerable stretch
has to be graded without turning, as in
cutting off the shoulders of old gravel
roads, traction engine is much pref
cradle to horses. 1t is more steady.
The township regulations as to the
width and dimensions of the road
should be closely followed in grading.
These generally provide for width Of
twenty-four feet between the inside
edges of the open drains on roads Of
greatest travel twenty feet on roads Of
moderate travel and eighteen feet on
roads of least travel. a rise OF from
one-half an inch to one inch to the foot
from the inside eCge of the drain to the
center of the road is ample crown for a
new road after the gravel or stone has
been placed on it. More than this is
unnecessary and an injury. There is a
tendency in the use of graders to
crown roads excessively, and this
should lie guarded against.
Where gravel or stone is regularly
used for surfacing roads only such an
extent W new road should be graded as
can be metaled and otherwise complet-
ed in the one "ummer. If this is not
done the work of grading has practi-
cally to be done over in many cases be-
fore gravel can be applied, as the road
will be Sc much cut By traffic and
washed out by rains and freshets of
the ensuing wet seasons. In addition
the road is left in Il very soft condi-
ton. readily turning it into deep
,Io,oJ, &c mud Tho ideal method for