Martinsburg statesman-democrat. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1906-1921, 1908-01-24
Department of Agricul-
office Of Pebble Ronds.
Washington, ID. q

ng and maintenance, which will be
P ublished from time to time. Oursu
subscribers are u.ged to give this mat
tee careful consideration, and are re-
qussted to forward to this office for
transmission to the Office Of Public
Roads any practical question whicK
they desire answered relatiny to road
construction and maintenance. CUES
lions and answer, will be Published by
this pape. at suitable intervals.
No. |, Series A.
THE MAINTENANCE OF EARTH ROADS.
We may recognize the value of hard
and durable roads in all parts of the
country, but still the fact remains that
fer long time to come the majority of
the roads will be compose of earth.
Furthermore, in about nine months
out of th@ year, the earth road, il prop
erly cared for, is reasonably aatisfac-
tory For many agricultural districts,
IT is only the road at present available.
Hence, these communities shoald set
themselves seriously TO work TO learn
the best methods OF maintaining earth
roads and Of getting the maximum
service ffom them. Prosperity comes 10
the country 10 great extent through
the prosperity oil The farmers This
fact strongly suggests the Importance
OF giving the earth road every possible
care and attention in It's location.
drainage, construction and mantle
| nance.
An earth road composed Of water
| holding soil should be exposed to the
sun and air as free as possible, as con.-
| parison between the shaded and sunny
portions eff such a road will easily i'm
dictate. This should be- accomplished
! by clearing sufficient amount of
trees and underground away from ths
road. 1t must be remembered d, how
ever that sandy and gravely roads re-
| qu1fe moisture, and ia these cases some
shade should be retained. Furthermore
trees are beneficial along river banks
and on steep grades subject to wash
ing.
Drainage IS one Of the most impor-
tant points to consider in connection
with an earth road. The majority of
earth roads in all mountainous and
billy districts have too much drain
age. Occasionally road will be found
with five bitches, three in the middle
made by the horses hoofs and by
wheels of the vehicles, and two on the
sides. All well-constructed earth TO ads
are supposed to have no more than two
bitches, one on each side of the travel
cd roadway. Keep the water out Of the
middle Of the road by giving it crown
or elevation in the center of y inches
above the top of the inner slope of the
ditch for 20-foot road, and where the
hills are a little steep make the crown
III inches. With crown of about one
inch to the foot from the center to the
sides, the ditcbes which are often built
across the road on steep grades to de-
ilect the water Will not be needed. In
stead of carrying water across the road
III open ditches, tilsor concrete drains
should if possible, 'be provided They
, should have sufficient capacity and fall
to cary the maximum amount of
water That Is expected to flow throue h
them at any one time. The capacity is
Increased In proportion to the fall or
grade; for instance, Finch pipe LAID
on one per cent grade will carry 500
gallons. per minute, while the same
pipe LAID on 2 per cent grade will
carry $500 gallons per minute. Furth-
ermore, culvert laid flal will soon fill
up, while one having good incline
VIII keep itself clear.
In the maintenance of an earth road
avoid the mistake of changing the
natural order of things. Naturally the
soil is found on top and the CLAW on
the bottom. If this order is reversed in
constructing road, the. result will be
less satisfactory THAI if the soil be left
at the top of the road, for soil makes a
better surface TO road than clay. lfI
the bed is largely clay to start with, it
Will be well TO place sandy soil or
clean sand on top. a covering of 6 to
10 inches of sand upon clay that per-
slsts in breaking up into deep mud
holes will usually be satisfactory, and
II sand enoagh be added, this clay will
cease to make mud. If the roadbed il
composed of sand it can be improved
by an application of clay.
The rule for serviceable earth road
then, is as follows: Make bitches on
each side and keep them open haul
sand and gravel upon sections needing
this treatment; use road. machine
and a split log drag judieiously ia full