Lexington gazette. [volume] (Lexington, Va.) 1871-1962, 1908-07-01


earth roads, that county boards be i'm
pressed with the need of a prope
maintenance Of the same and that roat
builders and overseers learn how bes
to care for the roads In their charge.
The persistent and powerful enemies
Of earth roads are water and narrow
tires, and the constant effort of thu
men In charge of the roads should be
to guard against their destructive eff
fects and remedy all damage as quickly
as possible. The simple implements
which have been found to be of great.
est assistance in this work are the
pillow, the drag scraper, the wheel scrap
err the road grader and the split log
drag.
With sandy soil and q subsoil 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 combination forms a
sand-clay road at a trifling expense.
On the other hand, if the road be en-
tilcilv If sand a mistake will be made
If it is plowed unfess~clay can be add
ed. Such blowing would. merely deep
en- the sand and at the same time break
up the small amount of hard surface
material which may have formed. II
the subsoil is clay and the surface
scant In sand or gravel, blowing should
not be resorted to, as it would result in
clay surface rather than one of sand
or gravel. A road foreman must know
not only what to plow and what not to
plow, but how and when to plow. If
the road is of the kind which, accord
ing to the above instructions, 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 Results |
from such blowing are greatest in the
spring or early summer
In bitches plow can be used to good
advantage, but should be followed by a
craper or grader. To make wide, deep
Iitches nothing better than the ordi-
lary drag scraper has yet been de-
ised. For hauls under a hundred feet
r In making fills it is especially
erviceable 1t is a mistake however,
D attempt to handle long haul mate.
lal with this scraper, as the wheel
craper Is better adapted to such work.
or hauls of more than 800 feet a
'agon should be used
The machine most generally used In
Dad work Is the grader or road ma
nine. This machine is especially USE
II in smoothing and browning the
'ad and in opening bitches A clay
lbsoil under a thin coating of soil
lould not be disturbed with grader.
Is also a mistake to use a grader
discriminatory and to pull material
ON bitches upon a sand-clay road.
OF infrequently turf. soil and silt
ON ditch bottoms are piled in the
idle of the road in ridge. making
udholes certainty. 1t is important
using grader TO avoid building ND
road too much at one time. A road
adually built up by frequent use Of
e grader will last better than If COM
eted at one operation.
The foreman frequently thinks his
I'D must be high in the first in
Ince. He piles up material from
inches to foot In depth only TO
I'm with the arrival of the first rain
1t he has furnished the material for
many inches Of mud. All material
'uld be brought up In thin layers.
n layer well puddled and firmly
,ked by roller or traffic before the
It Is added. A common mistake is
crown too high with the road ma
ne on narrow road.
he split log drag should be used
I'LL In ruts and smooth the road
en- not too badly washed The drag
sesses great merit and Is so simple
construction and operation that
ny farmer should have one. a