The commonwealth. (Scotland Neck, N.C.) 1896-1929, 1908-04-02
ROAD WORK HINTS.
Z. 5. Office oE Public Roads Tells
fioy so I;laae and Maintain
q fFoael Earth 29ad.
CITES SGRE PRACTICAL SUGGESTIONS.
fae Pl0H, Ta2 Hrag SCr1EaT, Tho Rad
Grader, and Taa spill Log Drag,
EgG Ihg G.E..;aIi friends 0I
Thu Eaad GleESacrs.

Correspondence 20 Tie Commonwealth
Washington, .. C.
While American read builders are
q capable Of constructing good
roads as those or any country OF the
Old world, they have not been as
loyalty Supported as the men Of those
countries in maintaining the high
ways after completion, and the de-
pIorable state Of many hundred
thousand miles Of road is thus &C
counted for. County and township
officials may al the outset stand the
expense Of having q road built, bGt
they strenuously object when asked
to provide funds 70 rebuild the road
thai hes been allowed to go to rum.
It IS important that farmers learn
of the Lonelfts to be derived from
good earth roads; that tcouDty boards
te impressed with the need of q
proper maintenance Of the same, ana
that road builders and overscars
learn how bast 20 care for the roads
in their charge.
The persistent and powerful cne-
mics Of earth roads are water and
. narrow tires, and the constant effort
Of the men in charge of the roads
zhould BE to guard against their de-
structive effects and remedy al dam
. age as quickly as possible. The sim-
pie implements which have been
fond TO be O. greatest assistance in
this work are The plow, Tie drag
8egaDer, the wheel scrapcr, the road
grader, and the spiit-log dgag.
/ With 4 saujIy soil and a sub5oil of
clay, or clay and gravel. deep plow-
! Iug so Is to raise and mix the alay
with the surface soil ana sara viii
. prove beneficial. The combination
. forms . sand-clay road at a tri6ing
/ expense. On the other hand, If tae
road be entirely of sand a mistake
I will be made il it is plowed unless
clay can be added. Such plowinE
wou'd merely deepen the sand, and
/ at the same time break up the small
amount Of hard surface material
which may have formed. Ifthe sub
soi! is clay and the surface scant in
( sand or gravel, pIowing should not
bc resortcd to, as it would result in
/ G clay surface rather than one 'cf
sand or gaYel. 4 read foreman
ulast know not only whit to p,o,2
and what not 10 plow, but how and
when to ploW. If the road IS Of the
J, a& which, according to the above
Instructions, should be plowed over
is Whole width, The best method IS
10 run The iy5t furrow in the middle
q the road and work ont to the
sides, thus forming q crown. Re
SUITS from such plowing are great
; est in the spring 5r early sumner.
IN bitches a ploW can be used to
good advantage, but should be fol-
lowed by a sGraaer or grader. 10
make vide, deep bitches nothing
better than the ordinary drag scra-
per has yet been devised. For hauls
under 1C0 feet, CT in making fills"
| it IS especially serHiceable. 1t IS =
mistake. however, to attempt 10
. handle long haul material with this
/ tacraper, as the wheel scraper is be-
-er adapted to such work. For
h-.a's Of more than 500 feet, a wagon
should bo used.
The machine most generally used
N road work is the grader, or road
machine. This machine is especially
. useful III smoothing and croWning
tie road and il opening bitches. A
clay subsoil under 4 thin coating OF
soil should not be disturbed with q
grader. Ii is also a mistake TO use .
grader indisciilninately and to pail
material from bitches upon g SAND
Lay road. Not infcequently tuIf,
sol and silt from ditch bottoms are
pied in The middle Of the road in a
ridge, making mai-hoie5 certain
( ty. It IS important in using a grader
/ to avoid building up the road too
mulch al one time. A road gradual
! .g built up By frequent use Of the
grader viii last better than If COM
/ ple.ed at one operation. The fore
man frequently thinks his road must
be high in the first instance. He
piles up material from ten inches to
/ q loot in dapth-o.ly to learn, with
the arrival Of the first rain, that &c