River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1907-04-18
FOR BETTER ROADS.
What 1t Means to improve and Main.
tain Dirt Roads.

Inc ch1ef thing TO do IN attacking
the road problem is to thoroughly
drain and grade the roads and then
harrow or drag the surface, so that
the water will not stand. This being
done, the roads will be more satisfac-
tory during nine or ten months in the
year than if they were coated with
gravel or broken stone. AS is well
known, water is a great destroyer of
dirt roads and this must be removed.
Side bitches are nearly always pro-
v1ded, but experience shows that
these are inadequate. The best meth
cd of draining a dirt road is difficult
to describe, because so much depends
upon the surface. Where water falls
upon road, it must be carried OF
the surface to one side or the other
for drainage.
The first thing to do in starting to
improve a dirt road is to grade 1t
with some of the machines now on the
market for that purpose, says Orange
Judd Farmer. 1t should be slight
ly higher in the middle than at the
sides, so that when the water falls
upon it this will run to one side or
the other Of course, this grading
should be done early enough in the
season to permit the surface becom
ing packed and hardened before
freezing weather sets in in the fall.
The water which is carried off runs
to the open ditch on the side. 1t is
undoubtedly most satisfactory to have
tile along either side to carry off
this water and also remove the water
from beneath the roadbed. This tile
should be three or four feet below the
surface and have sufficient fall to
drain well. Some supervisors advise
putting tile down the middle of the
road but if side tiles are properly put
in, this will not be necessary. There
is, however, no objection to the form
er plan, but most roadmen find that
the side drain is sufficient. However,
occasionally road supervisor insists
that the middle drain should never be
omitted. If the outlets are of the
right kind, and the tiles have the
proper fall, all the surface and sub
surface water should be removed and
the road will remain in good condition
most of the year.
With the drainage looked after
properly, the care of the surface Of
the road is exceedingly important.
This matter has been before the pub
lie very prominently during the last
few years by those who advocate the
use of the split drag log. This is SIM
ply an instrument made by fastening
together two pieces of split log and
dragging this over the surface to re-
move inequalities, fill up ruts and
holes and keep the surface level, so
that all the water which falls upon it
will run into the side drain. This
method has been practiced for many
years and where conscientiously used
the drag is great benefit. The
smoothing harrow answers the same
purpose and a drag, with strip of
metal along the front, answers even
better.
The time of treating the surface of
the road is in the early spring, when
the frost is coming out of the ground
Whenever the surface is sufficiently
dry so that the upper part of the
ground is mellow, go over the road
with drag or harrow until the sur
face is perfectly level. Repeat this
every day until the road is packed
down solid. Continue the use of this
drag or harrow throughout the season
and just before the ground freezes
up, and see that the top of the road is
level, so that the water will run off
during the winter.
1t has been fully demonstrated in
Illinois, Missouri, Iowa and Nebraska
that this method of road treatment
will give good roads and removes the
necessity of taxing farmers heavily
for hard roads. Farmers in this part
of the United States will never submit
to the hard road law and there is lit
tie danger of it being passed.