The Huttig news., 1908-03-28
HINTS ON ROAD WORK.
U. S. Office of Public Roads Tells How to
Make and Maintain Model Earth Road.

Did world, they have not been as
Loyalty supported as the men of
those countries in maintaining the
highways after completion, and the
deplorable state of many thous-
ano miles of road is thus accounted
for County and township officials
may at the outset stand the ex-
pense of having a road built, but
they strenuously object when asked
to provide funds to rebuild the
road that has been allowed to go to
ruin.
1t is important that farmers
learn of the benefits to be derived
from good earth roads; that coun-
tv boards be impressed with the
need of proper maintenance of
the same, and that road builders
and overseers learn how best to
care for the road in their charge.
The persistent and powerful
enemies of earth roads are water
and narrow tires, and the constant
effort of the men in charge of the
roads should be to guard against
destructive effects and remedy all
damage quickly as possible The
simple implements which have
been found to be of greatest as
sistance in this work are the pillow,
the drag scraper, the wheel scra-
per- the road grader and the split
log drag.
With a sandy soil and sub
soil of clay, or clay and gravel, deep
blowing SO as to raise and mix the
clay with the surface soil and sand
will prove beneficial. The comb
nation forms a sand-clay road at a
trif1ing expense. On The otsire1
hand, if the road be entirely of
sand mistake will be made if it is
plowed unless clay can be added.
Such blowing would merely deepen
the sand. and at the same time
break up the small amount of hard
surface material which may have
formed. If the sub-soil is clay and
the surface scant in sand or grav-
ell, blowing should not be resorted
to, as it would result in a clay sur
face rather than one of sand or
gravel. A road foreman must
know not only what to ploW and
what not to pillow, but how and
when to plow. If the road is of
the kind which according to the
above instructions should be
ploWed over its whole width. the
best method is to run the first fur
row in the middle of the rad and
work out to the sides, thus forming
a crown. Results from such ploW-
ing are greatest in the spring or
early summer.
In bitches a plow can be used to
good advantage, but should be fol-
lowed by scraper or grader. To
make wide, deep bitches nothing
better than the ordinary drag
scraper has ye. been devised.
For hauls under 100 feet, or in
making fills" it is especially ser
viceable. 1t is mistake, however,
to attempt to handle long haul ma
terial with this scraper, as the
wheel scraper is better adapted
to such work. For hauls of more
than 800 feet, a wagon should be
used.
The machine most general used
in road work is the grader, or road
machine. The machine is espec-
ally useful in smoothing and crown
ing the road and in opening ditch
&c. A clay sub soil under a thin
coating of soil should not be dis
turbed with grader. 1t is also a
mistake to use a grader indiscrimi-
nately and to pull material from
bitches upon a sand-clay road.
Not infrequently turf. soil and silt
from ditch bottoms are piled in the
middle of the road in ridge, max
ing mudholes a certainty. 1t is i'm
portant in using grader to avoid