The weekly register. [volume] (Point Pleasant, Va. [W. Va.]) 1862-1909, 1906-02-21
The Ar G. Road Making.


consideration. Road making in
those sections mems reducing the
grades, constructing bridges
over streams, and drainage where
roads GROSS sloughs which carry an
abnormal supply of water for that
section. In heavy clay soils such
as southern Iowa and northern
Missouri. and in deep, rich, heavy
coils such as central and northern
Iowa and central Illinois and In
diana, where the rainfall varies
from thirty to forty inches, and
over, there will always be. until the
road problem is solved in a prsc-
ticaI way, mud and misery at GER
tain seasons of the year; and, for
tunateIy. under these conditions
mud and misery mean also money.
Ia short, deep. Tfch soiis weather
prairie on slluvial, with q rainfhil
of twenty-five inches, always bring
to their possessors q very serious
road problem.
The common cause of bad roads
in the prairie country with a nor
NAL rsinfall is water uncontrolled,
Hence the first consideration is
drainage. either side drainage or
under drainage. as circumstances
may require. When nature with
holds rainfall. as in periods of pro-
longed drouth, We have no bad
roads perpetually rooted would be
always good. barring perhaps dust.
Hence no matter what kind of road
you propose to make in humid fer
tile sections, the first consideration
is sdrainsge. Ordinarily side drain
age is sufficient. the depth of the
drains an the sides b ng deter
mined by the fall available and by
the amount of water that naturally
flows in from the rolling lands ad-
joining.
In Iowa and Missouri and some
parts If Illinois tie water that
gives the most trouble is that which
seeps out On the hillsides. This
seepage is caused by the existence
of bed of clay through which the
water cannot readily pass and
hence must push out lsterally; and
if this OCCURS in the road We have
a road problem. The remedy
for this is tile drains laid far enough
above the seepy places to carry off
the water that seeps in end turn it
into the ditch. Fortunately, the
dirt removed from the side ditch,
if properly handled, elevates the
road bed. There are cases where
tile under the road bed may be
practical, but they are rare. When
they are used it is not for the pur-
pose of draining the surface f the
road, but to remove the water under
the road bed to the depth of three
feet in order to prevent the
movement of water upwards by
capillary action, and the breakipg
up of the road in time of frost.
Proper drainage and grading
are absolutely essential, no matter
what kind of surface covering is
to be used. There are sections in
Illinois and Iowa where surface
covering is SO cheap and 80 we'll
adapted to the purpose that hard
roads are practicable. They are
not practicable in large sections OF
Illinois. Indiana, Missouri, and
Iowa, for the reason that neither
gravel nor rock are available But
no matter how available OF how
cheap this surfecing material may
be. it is absolutely useless to un-
dertske to apply it until the water
has been taken care of and the
road graded up.
Farmers in these sections are
therefore compelled to make tbs
very best use they can of the coD
mon clay OF dirt of the roadside.
We say "olay or dirt" not "soil.
because soil-sgricultural soil, soil
in which you can grow great crops
of oorn-is not only of no use bu'
an absolute damage to any road
bed ever made Fortunately. mos
of the roads in the territory men
toned have been laid out and trs
veled for thirty, forty. fifty, ano
sixty years. This travel has ex
hsusted the humus and left road
bed of the clay peculiar to tht
country. The heavier the clay ano
the less the amount of vegetabI,