Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1908-04-03
HINTs on ROAD WORK.
U. 5. Office Of Public Roads Tells How
To Make and Maintain a Model Earth
Road.

While American roac builders
ale as CAPABLE of constructing
good roads as those ofany country
OF the ole world. they have not
been as Loyalty supported as the
men of those countries in main
tanning the highways after com.
pletion. and the deplorable state
of many hundred thousand miles
Of road is thus accounted for.
County and township officials may
at the outset stand the expense Of
having a road built. bTt they
strennously object when asked to
provide funds to rebuild the road
that has been allowed to 90 to ruin.
1t is important that farmers learn
OF the benefits to be deprived from
good earth roads; that county
boards be impressed with the need
of a proper maintenance Of the
same. and that road builders and
overseers learn how best to care
for the roads in their charge.
The persistent and powerful
enemies Of earth roads are water
and narrow tires, and the constant
efforts of the men in charge o the
roads should be to guard against
their destructive effects and RENE.
dy all damage as quickly as DOS.
sible. The simple implements
which have been found to be Of
greatest assistance in this work
are the plow. the drag scraDer. the
wheel scraper, the road grader,
and the split log drag.
With a sandy soil and a subsoil
of clay. or clay and gravel, deep
blowing so as to raise and mix the
clay with there surface soil and
sand will prove beneficial. The
combination forms a sandy clay |
road at q trifinQ expense. On |
the other hand. if the road be en-
tirely of sand a mistake will be
made if it is plowed unless clay |
can be added. Such plowiEg
would merely deepen the sand. and
at the same time break up the
small amount of hard surface
material which NAV have formed. |
If the subsoil is clay and the sur
face scant in sand or gravel plow- |
ing should not be resorted to as it |
would result in at clay surface |
raher than one Of sand or gravel. |
A road foreman must know not
only what to pillow and what not to
pillow but how and when to pillow.
II the road is of the kind which
according to the above instruc-
lions should be plowed over its
whole width the best method is to
run the first furrow in the middle
of the road and work out to the
sides thus forming a crown. Re-
suits from such blowing are great.
est III the spring or early summer.
In bitches a pillow can be used to
good advantage but should be fol-
lowed by scraper or grader. To
make wide deep bitches nothing
better tNan the ordinary drag
scraper has vet been devised. For
hauls under 100 feet or in making
fills" is especially servicesble.
1t is a mistake however to attempt
to handle long haul material 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 generally
used in road . work is the grader
or road machine. This machine
lis especially useful in smoothing
and crowning.the road: and -in
opening bitches. A clay..subsoil
under a thin coating of soil should
not be DISTURBED with q grader.
It is also a mistake to use.a grader
indiscriminately and to pull ma
terial from bitches upon a sand