The Mena weekly star., 1908-01-30

hoauS VIII Suppiy tIllS paper Wltn pTdc-
 tical articles on various features of road buildi lg and maintenance, which
 will be published from time to time.
 Our subscribers are urged to give this matter care ll consideration, and are requested to forward to this office for transmission to the Office of Public Roads any practical question which they desire answered relating to road construction and maintenance. Cues tions and answers will be publishsd by this paper at suitable intervals.
 We may recognize the value of hard and durable roads in all parts of the country, but still the fact remains that for long time the majority of the roads will be composed of earth. Furthermore, in about nine months out of the year, the earth road, if properly cared for, is reasonably satisfac- tory. For many agriculture. dis tricts, it IS the only road at present available. Hence. these communities should set them selves seriously to work to learn the best methods of maintaining earth roads and of getting the maximum service for them. Pros perity comes to the country to a great extent through the pros- perity of the farmers. This fact strongly suggests the imp 9rtance of giving the earth road every possible care and attention in it's location, drainage, construction and maintenance.
 An earth road composed of water holding soil should be ex- posed to the sun and air as freely as possible, as comparison be- stwcen the sha ded and sunny portions of such road will easily indicate. This should be accom- plished by clearing sufficient amount of trees and uudergrowth away from the road. It must be Remembered, however, that sandy and gravelly roads require mois- ture, and in these cases some shade should be retained. Fur thermore, frees are beneficial along river banks and on steep grades subject to washing.
 Drainage IS one ot the most Important points to consider in Connection with an earth road. The majority of earth roads in all mountainous aud hilly districts have to much drainage. Occasion- ally road will be found with five ditches, three in the middle made by the horses hoofs and by wheels of the vehicles, aud two On the sides. All we'll constructed earth roads are supposed 10 have no more tl.an two ditches, one on each side of the travelled roadway. Keep the water out of the middle of the road by giving it crown .or elevation in the center of .71z inches above the top of ths inner slope of the ditch for 20-foot road, and where the hills are a little steep make the crown 10 inches. With a crown of about one inch 10 the foot from the center to the sides, the ditches which are often built across the road on steep grades to defect the water will not be needed. h. stead of carrying water across the road in open ditches, tile or concrete drains should, if possible, be provided. They should have sufficient capacity and fall to carry the maximum amount of water that is expected to flow through them at any one time. The capacity is increased in proportion to the fall or grade; for instance; l2-inch pipe laid on a one per cent grade will carry 1,800 gallons per minute, while the same pipe laid on ? per cent grade will carry 2,500 gallons D 1T minute. Furthermore, cul- vert laid flat will soon fill up, while one having a good incline ~ill keep itself clear.
 In the maintenance of an earth road, avoid the mistake of chang ing the natural order of things. Naturally the soil is found on tor and the clay on the bottom. Ii this order is reversed in construct'