The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1908-03-20


our roads were trailg or paths 10
Gated by the first sattlcrs; then IA
the county developed they wer,
| opened as wagon rOads, and later rs
tahlished and declared public road,
| or highways. These roads hav,
/ been in use 30, 10 or 10 and some
I times 40 years and have been worn
/ away and washed away until now il
| many places We find only II rough
! rocky ditch between two fences
( And one Of the worst problems con.
| fronting the road OVerSeers is how
| to transform narrow lane of ditch
es into good permanent highway
But why are these old roads nothing
but n lane of bitches? Because the
proper drainage has not been at
tended to: because the road has
been allowed to become Il drainage
ditch for the adjoining lands. There
are II great many kinds of roads.
But the kind we have the most Of
are the dirt roads. The kind we will
have the most of this year and for
years to come is the dirt rOad. II
is proper and right that we begin
our study with the subject Of the
of the gravel road, the foundation
of the city pavement, the foundation
of all roads. And since dirt is the
foundation over which all traffic
must go, We must determine the
best way TO construct and maintain
that foundation always at its best
II "" can forget for moment the
muddy condition of our dirt roads
today and think how firm and solid
they become In the summer when
they are dry, we jump at once to the
conclusion that to get rid of the
water is the chief problem In the
matter OF road construction. Water
Is the great destroyer of roads. 1t
matters not what class Of road YOU
have, whether dirt, or gravel or
rock, II YOU allow the water that
comes In the ncighborhOOd to flow
along, across, through or under that
road ii will soon be ruined. To get
rid of the rain Water that falls on n
road, that road must be rounded
must be like roof-higher In the
middle than at the sides; then the
water flows easily and quickly to
the bitches. If there be depres-
sion, even though 1t hold only pint
of water, the dirt will become soft
mud and that will he carried away
by the wheels, so that the next rain
will find room in that hole for
quart of water, and the next shower
ii holds gallon, so that by and by
you can bury horse in that mud
hole, when only shovelful of dirt
nj the beginning would have pre-
vented any mudhole at all. Eternal
vigilance Is the price of good roads,
as well as of liberty.
Now about the ditch: 1t Is as inn
p0rtant that the water get out of the
ditch as to get off the road. The
ditch should be broad and deep
enough To carry all the water that
comes without flooding the road,
and discharge that water as quickly
rs possible into some drain that will
carry it away from the road. You
will see that where road is made
around II hill that the main ditch
should he on the uphill side To catch
and carry away the water flowing
down the hill. 1t should also he
deep enough to catch the water flow
ing in the soil, or the undcrilow.
The "split-log drag" is recon-
nended to you hy the county court
and its use will greatly benefit the
roads at this time of the year. There
are many reports of its successful
Use. The following is taken from
Good Roads Magazine" for Janu-
airy, 1908:
Use the drag when the road is
very wet and slushy, either when
or Immediately after; or use
he drag when the road has become
somewhat dry and the soil loose and
'riable. There is an intermediate
stage I'm which the earth is sticky
and rolls up in Jumps, instead OF
spreading out smoothly.
"If clay road is dragged in the
vet stage, II tough, rubber-like sur
lace is produced, but the road is
very apt to be cut up by traffic be-
fore IL becomes dry.
use the drag so frequently that
he road Is never really out of re-
pair, and draw only little earth to
the center ut each operation. If the
road is dragged only when very
rough and fiat, so that great ridge
Of earth is piled at the center, the
best results are not reached.
"Give the road round contour
not two fiat planes meeting at a
sharp angle in the center of the road.
In doing this n short, light drag is
most serviccable.
attach the end of the chain ut
.he outer side of the drag to the
,ross-bar, and the end ut the center,
TO ring in front, or pass through n
hole in the front of the drag. If
both ends of the chain are fastened
10 the crOss-bars, there is down
ward hearing on the front of the
drag liable to upset 1t in manner
dangerous to the operator.
"Thc cross-bars should be nearer
the top than the bottom, to allow
the earth to pass underneath them.
"Placc couple of planks over the
rross-bars, f.. the operator to stand
on. The operator can then regulate
the work of the drag by moving from
one end to the other
overseers Favor a $500 Poll-tax.
The question of the amount of
poll-taX that should be assessed was
discussed and the majority of the
road overseers were in favor of the
court placing that levy at three dol
lars. There are In the State of Mis-
souri, only II counties where 500
..,.l ,.I;l. Hftu nnnnfiag